The U.S. has long had the unenviable distinction of holding the world's largest prison population, in part because of tough-on-crime policies enacted in the 1990s. But sentencing reforms passed in recent years appear to have made a dent, leading to declines in the population over the past eight years. A criminal justice reform organization reported Friday that in 2017, the U.S. prison population dropped below 1.5 million for the first time in more than a decade. The decline, according to the Washington-based Vera Institute for Justice, was driven by a sharp decrease in the number of inmates in federal prisons and decreases in several states with large prison populations. Total U.S. prison population dropped to 1,486,000 last year, a decline of nearly 16,000. The number of federal prisoners fell to 183,000, and the number of inmates in state prisons declined to 1.3 million, according to the report. (The overall figure does not include the more than 600,000 defendants held in local, state and federal jails.) The decline extended an eight-year downward trend in U.S. prison population that has been driven by federal and state sentencing reforms enacted over the past decade. But the Vera institute cautioned that it was unclear whether the trend would continue. "Whether criminal justice reform can continue to fuel this sustained decline in the prison population remains to be seen," said Jacob Kang-Brown, senior research associate at Vera. "We must continue to do the hard work, as advocates and agents of change, to ensure that all our communities feel the relief of decarceration." The report came as President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass legislation to help former inmates reintegrate into society and avoid going back to prison, as many do. "We want former inmates to find a path to success so they can support their families and support their communities," Trump said at a White House summit on prison reform attended by two state governors and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, who is spearheading... When did the report about prison population come in? A. not enough information B. As President Donal Trump called on Congress. C. Friday D. 2017
B

(Question)
Former President Barack Obama unveiled plans for his future presidential library and museum on the south side of Chicago where he raised his family and launched his political career. The designs show a complex of modern buildings, with a library, museum and event center, plus a community garden, a children's play area and possibly an athletic field. "What we want this to be is the world-premiere institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in their countries and in the world," he told the crowd that included Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his one-time chief of staff. Flanked by drawings and renderings, Obama also announced that he and former first lady Michelle Obama will be donating $2 million to fund a Chicago summer jobs program. The museum, the tallest of the three buildings, will hold exhibition space, public spaces, offices and education and meeting rooms, according to the Obama Foundation. The forum and library buildings are intended to be used for study and foundation programming. Obama said his foundation, which is overseeing the project, is also looking into the possibility of locating a Chicago Public Library branch on the site. Obama said he envisioned recording studios where musicians could help young people work on music, and space for movie directors who could take on community storytelling. The center will also have exhibits with campaign memorabilia and personal artifacts. "Let's face it, we want to see Michelle's dresses," the former president joked. Obama also squashed any notion that the library was ever going to be elsewhere. Multiple locations in three states Illinois, New York and Hawaii had initially pitched proposals. "The best things that have happened to me in my life happened in this community," he said. "Although we had a formal bidding process to determine where the presidential library was going to be, the fact of the matter was it had to be right here on the south side of Chicago." Why did former President Barack Obama unveil plans for a presidential library? A. He wished to provide better resources and a location that can train the citizens of Chicago to better achieve their dreams and aspirations. B. He wished to have a location inspired and named after him, in tradition with the goals of past presidents. C. not enough information D. He believed Chicago was in dire need of a library that better suited the needs of older citizens.
(Answer)
A

Ques: The sound of the clacking grew unbearable, so we turned the volume down. "Mute it." We muted it. "Turn it up; we might miss something." It's a silent movie. We won't miss anything. The sound of clacking gradually fills the room as my brother reluctantly turns up the volume. I can tell he's pressing hard on the button, jamming his thumb down in defiance or muted anger. He doesn't like for anyone to tell him what to do with the remote. But my grandmother wants the volume up, so we turn it up. We're all sitting along the edges of the tiny living room, staring at the fuzzy black-and-white images as they hazily walk across the television screen. I can hear a siren outside, barely discernable and then gone entirely. "Who's that?" my brother asks, evidently past his momentary and barely-noticeable indignation over the remote. "Uncle Arehl, and maybe his sister, Edna," my grandmother says, leaning in closer. "I think it's Edna," she says, in the tone of a doctor diagnosing a disease, as if the verdict was somehow relevant to someone who has only the vaguest idea who Arehl's sister is, or was. Uncle Arehl (I don't know precisely whose uncle he is, or for what the two initials of his name once stood) saunters slowly across a dry, patchy lawn, and the camera follows him. For some reason I'm more interested in the lawn--if it can be called that--than in the people on it. The sun in the movie is blazing, and everyone filmed looks only briefly at the camera before averting their faces once again to look at the stubbly grass. The camera pans once again and I can see an incredibly rutted path leading from the porch to the fence at the edge of the yard, broken pieces of concrete amid deep tire tracks fossilized in sun-baked mud. The fence is low, wire like a chain-link, but lower, with metal stakes holding it up instead of tubes. Who was sitting in the living room? A. The narrator, his brother, and his grandmother. B. Family members. C. Three people who are related. D. not enough information
Ans:
A