Bamboo flooring is a growing trend in home flooring and is also a great improvement to traditional hardwood floors.It is the most environmentally friendly kind of natural flooring that you can select for your home.It is also a renewable resource,is stronger than steel,and does not suffer from problems as a result of temperature changes. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth,and only takes five years to grow to adult form.Bamboo is harvested every five years,and starts to re-grow immediately after being harvested.For this reason,bamboo is a kind of grass,not a tree.Bamboo is hollow but very hard and can stand up to 50,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Bamboo flooring has become very popular with its rich and beautiful golden earth colors.But it is important to shop around for a good-quality bamboo flooring product that contains no formaldehydes ,which is said to be the best kind of bamboo flooring.Many brands use cheaper bamboo that may contain formaldehydes,and this can cause indoor air pollution problems as certain chemical materials in the bamboo slowly release their pollutants into the air. So,why should we turn to bamboo to save the enviroment?In fact,bamboo cannot save the environment directly,but it is an excellent replacement product for much of the hardwood species of trees that are being harvested in rainforests.Once harvested,if these hardwood trees do grow back,it can take up to 200 years!Rainforests are the lungs of our planet and they make a significant contribution to global oxygen production. By selecting bamoo flooring,you can reduce the demand for hardwood materials and help save the environment for future generations.Of course,everyone wants to buy good-quality bamboo flooring.The brands from our shop are very high in quality and have received a lot of public praise. What kind of bamboo flooring is best? A) The strongest kind. B) The most expensive kind. C) The kind that has a beautiful color. D) The kind that contains no formaldehydes.
D
(Question)
Mass media are tools of communication. They allow us to record and pass information rapidly to a large, scattered audience. They extend our ability to each other by helping us overcome limits caused by time and space. Mass media can be divided into two groups: print media and electronic media. By print media, we mean books, newspapers and magazines. Electronic media include television, radio and movie. There are a number of ways in which mass media make daily life easier for us. First, they inform and help us keep a watch on our world. They gather and pass on information we would be unlikely or unable to gain on our own. Second, mass media help us to arrange our time and life. What we talk about and what we think about are greatly influenced by the media. When people get together, they tend to talk about certain happenings on the newspapers or on TV. Because we are provided with differing points of view through different kinds of media every day, we are able to comment on all sides of a certain issue. Third, mass media help us to connect with various groups in society. Through mass media, we are able to keep in contact with politicians in the world; with famous actors and actresses, and with our beloved singers. Fourth, the media help to socialize us. We learn about the preferred behavior and values from the people we meet as well as from the media. Through portrayals of people, the media tell us what proper behaviors are. By doing so, they teach us standards of behavior and values, and help us in our daily life. Fifth, the media are used to persuade people. A good example is advertisements through the media. Newspapers, magazines and TV are filled with all kinds of colorful, persuasive advertisements. Though many advertisements may not say openly that they want you to buy a certain product, they describe their products in such a way that you may want to but them. Sixth, the media entertain. All of the media make some effort trying to entertain their audience. For example, even though the newspaper is a main... According to the passage, which of the following statements isn't true about medium? A) Mass media have an effect on our speech and thoughts. B) Mass media keep us informed and connected. C) Mass media persuade us into buying what we don't need at all. D) Mass media help us spend time with others in a friendly way.
(Answer)
C
I went to Arizona earlier this month to see what the college of the future might look like. What I found is an exciting new era of higher education that will help more students get a great, personalized education at an affordable price. This future may not always include the lecture halls, dormitories, and other features of the traditional college experience. Instead, the colleges I visited are experimenting with ways for students to get their degrees online, allowing them to take courses any place and at any time. These " _ ," as they are sometimes called, are at the forefront of the effort to broaden access to higher education, especially for low-income students with full-time jobs and families. During my visit, I heard encouraging stories of students who were taking advantage of these flexible learning models to pursue degrees that could put them on paths to new careers. One of those students was Shawn Lee. He had a compelling story: After dropping out of college decades ago, he found himself in a series of low-paying, often back-breaking jobs. He recently decided to get his degree when he had his first child and wanted to start building a better life. Tucked away in an industrial park in Tempe, Rio Salado didn't look much like a traditional institute of higher education. There were no students running to class. Just a couple of glass-faced office buildings. The college had just 22 full-time faculty serving 60,000 students, with more than half of them attending classes online. Several students I met during my visit said they liked learning online. "I've taken college classes in a big auditorium with herds of people. There was no personal connection," one student said. "Now I can reach my teacher with the click of a mouse." After several days' visit, I left Arizona feeling quite optimistic about what the future holds for higher education. What made Shawn Lee return to attend college again? A) That he has nothing to do. B) That he couldn't find a job. C) That the cost of the college is low. D) That he wanted to find a better job.
D