Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: An old man lived with his family. The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, dropping to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily at the tablecloth. With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became annoyed with the mess. "We must do something about grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor," the daughter-in-law agreed. So the couple set a small table at the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family looked in grandfather's direction, he had tears in his eyes as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp warnings when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood pieces on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done. Question: The couple served the old man's food in wooden bowls to _ . Options: A: show how sick they felt of the old man B: make the old man's food more enjoyable C: prevent the old man from breaking more dishes D: encourage their son to make more wooden bowls
Answer: C

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Man of Many Secrets-Harry Houdini---was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was famous for his escapes---from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and prefix = st1 /America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his "magic" tricks. Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted. Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother then performed card tricks in club in new York. They called themselves the Houdini brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, inChicagoin 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspaperman to watch. It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdini's success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape from ankle chains. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck---and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, passed quickly from her mouth to his. Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local jail of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? Worldwide fame, and a name remembered today. Question: It can he inferred from the passage that Houdini became successful_. Options: A: before he was about 17 B: when he was about 17 C: after the year 1898 D: before the year 1898
Answer: C

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on people's physical or psychological health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles, and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes when winds are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing, or from TV sets, duplicators or computer display screens. When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue , excessive anger, and some particularly sensitive people feel sick or even suffer mental disturbance. Animals are also affected, particularly before earthquakes, snakes have been observed to come out, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California. Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with streams or waterfalls. To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own... Question: What is an ion according to the passage? Options: A: It's a charged particle. B: It's basically static electricity indoors. C: It's a balance between the positive and negative charged. D: It's an ill effect on people's physical and psychological health.
Answer:
A