He lost his arms in an accident that claimed his father's life--who was the main source of support for the family. Since then, he has had to depend on the arms of his younger brother. For the sake of taking care of him, his younger brother became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life. One late night, he suffered from diarrhea and had to wake up his younger brother. His younger brother accompanied him into the toilet and then went back to dorm to wait. But being so tired, his younger brother fell asleep, leaving him on the toilet for two hours till the teacher on duty discovered him. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their share of problems and they would often quarrel. Then one day, his younger brother wanted to live separate from him, living his own life, as many normal people do. So he was heart-broken and didn't know what to do. A similar misfortune happened to a girl, too. One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness, disappeared. So her father went out looking for her mother, leaving her alone at home. She tried to prepare meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in a fire which took her hands away. Though her elder sister, who was studying in another city, showed her willingness to take care of her, she was determined to be completely independent. At school, she always studied hard. Most of all she learned to be self-dependent. Once she wrote the following in her composition: "I am lucky. Though I lost my arms, I still have legs; I am lucky." Though my wings are broken, my heart can still fly." One day, the boy and the girl were both invited to appear on a television interview program. The boy told the TV host about his uncertain future at being left on his own, whereas the girl was full of enthusiasm for her life. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote: My younger brother's arms are... When the girl wrote the words: Broken wings, flying heart, she really meant _ . A) though she lost arms, she still had legs B) her elder sister's willingness to take care of her could help her fly with wings C) if one had wings, his or her heart could fly D) faced with the misfortune, you should be strong, and you'll make it
D
(Question)
I got up and dressed, stuck my violin under my jacket, and went out into the street. I wandered about for an hour, looking for a likely place, feeling as if I were about to commit a crime. Then I stopped at last under a bridge near the station and decided to _ . I felt tense and shaking. I drew my violin from under my coat like a gun. It was here, in Southampton, with trains passing overhead, that I was about to prove myself. The first notes I played were loud and raw, and then they settled down and began to run more smoothly and to stay more or less in tune. To my surprise I was neither arrested nor told to shut up. Indeed, nobody took any notice at all. I walked the streets of Southampton for several days, gradually knowing how to try and get money by being a street artist. It was not a good thing, for instance, to let the hat fill up with money -- the sight could discourage the people; nor was it wise to empty it completely, which could also confuse them, giving them no hint as to where to drop his money. Placing a couple of pennies in the hat to start the thing going soon became a good idea. Before I played another tune, I took off the big money, but always left two pennies behind. Old ladies were most generous, and so were women with children, shop girls, and typists. As for the men: Heavy drinkers were always generous too and so were big young with muscles. But never a man with a hat, briefcase or dog; respectable types were the meanest of all, except retired army officers, who would bark "Why aren't you working, young man?" and then threw much money into the hat to hide their confusion. According to the passage, the writer thought the best way of encouraging people to give a street-violinist money was to _ . A) let the hat fill up with money first B) leave a small amount of money in the hat C) make sure that the hat was always empty D) choose the best place to play more smooth tunes
(Answer)
B
Immigrants are always being told by politicians to learn the language. But some people want to know how long it takes to speak good English. There are plenty of people in the UK for whom even basic English is a problem. According to a census , 726,000 people in England and Wales said they could not speak English well, and another 138,000 said they did not speak it at all. Ling, 40, who arrived five years ago from China, found it difficult to learn English."When I came here, I was pregnant and so I was at home for the next three years. It took me longer to learn as I was very busy with the children."Eventually she was able to begin taking classes and now speaks good conversational English. But even with classes, it can be a long process to pick up the language. Age is the most important factor in language acquisition, says Mila Vulchanova, professor of linguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology."There is a sensitive period in language learning, which is biologically determined. So the younger the immigrant, the better. Since this decline is only gradual, teenagers are at an advantage over adults,"she says. There are a number of systems for grading English. The government expects immigrants to reach"ESOL Entry 3"or"B1 level", also called"Intermediate 1"in Scotland, before they can be granted citizenship. It's equivalent to being able to hold a confident conversation and, although the government does not have a target figure, it might take 360 hours of study to achieve. George Osborne said in June following the spending review that welfare claimants who don't speak English will have their benefits cut if they fail to attend language courses. Huan Japes, deputy chief executive of English UK, a trade body for language colleges, says a rule of thumb is 360 hours, 120 hours for each of three stages, to get to the standard the government expects benefit claimants to reach. But many of the people who attend courses are visiting students rather than people settling in the UK. Immigrants tend to... What can be the best title for the passage? A) Why English is so important for immigrants? B) What can immigrants do to speak good English? C) When is the best time for people to study English? D) How many hours does it take to be fluent in English?
D