How clean are the nation's homes? According to a survey by CIF, there's room for improvement all over Britain. Love or hate it -- cleaning your home is one job you simply can't ignore . But that's not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF-- experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier---- shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven ,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task. BATHROOM 25% of men have never cleaned the toilet -- but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You're not alone -- a  quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job. KITCHEN 36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes -- especially the kitchen -- in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour. BEDROOM 18% believe cleaning starts here: that's the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle --as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men. LIVING ROOM 32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise. SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF It's no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half-- and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF's top tips: *Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head--give it a quick squirt with CIF bathroom spray once a week. *Stainless steel tools seem to... CIF in the passage probably refers to   _  . A) an organization doing research on housework B) a group of experts who give advice on doing housework C) a company providing advice and products on cleaning D) a company providing cleaning services
C


(Question)
In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and preparing for the worst, Australian adventurer Peter Seiter wrote a farewell note to his family, put it in a bottle and threw it overboard. With a sense of bad feeling he wrote: "The ocean has a personality of its own. The place can be such a peaceful environment to be in, yet it can be frightfully violent. I've experienced both." Fearing he wouldn't make it home, he placed the note -- dated June 11, 1998 -- in a wine bottle and covered the bottle. "I included my geographical coordinates, so if anything happened to me, they'd know my last place when I threw the bottle into the ocean," says Peter, who was then sailing from the Azores in Portugal to New York and knew the Atlantic could be dangerous. He also included some money with his message, asking whoever found it to use the money to post the letter to his family. Seventeen days later he reached his destination, having survived the dangerous seas, but he assumed his message in the bottle had not -- until it was found on shore, 11 years later! Recently, American woman Katherine Ginn and her friend came across the bottle on a deserted beach in the Bahamas. "Alongside it they'd found a life jacket and, assuming the worst, opened the bottle and spent 24 hours drying it out so they could read my story and write to my family as I requested," says Peter, 44. "I couldn't believe it -- that after all these years my bottle had turned up with its contents, still undamaged." Overjoyed, he wrote to the pair, saying he was alive and living in Australia with his family. Katherine posted him his letter, money and some broken glass of his bottle placed in a tiny box as a special souvenir. These special items now share pride of place among photos of Peter's Atlantic voyage. "I can't express what this old letter means to me," Peter says. "It gives me a sense of hope and belief. It's something special to share with my children as they grow up." Why did Peter have the idea of a message bottle? A) He missed his family very much then. B) He hoped to share his experience with his family. C) He regretted taking a risk on the ocean. D) He thought he might lose his life on the voyage.
(Answer)
D


Ques: BEIJING, July 21-More and more parents in Shanghai have found that their children are forgetting how to use Shanghai dialect to express themselves, according to a report in the city's Jiefang Daily on July 11, and some have begun forcing them to speak it at home. Language experts say that the promotion of Putonghua, and the large number of non-Shanghainese setting down in the city have meant that the local dialect has lost its previous high social status, according to the report. They have urged that the dialect be protected alongside Putonghua (also known as Mandarin), the nation's common tongue that has been systematically promoted since new China was founded in 1949. In their opinion, dialects carry and preserve local culture . They say that a dialect is not only a linguistic tool. But is also like a person's "birthmark" and part of their local identity and feeling of belonging. They recommended that TV and radio stations set up channels and programs using dialects , and that schools offer selective courses in which the dialects are taught. The experts also suggested that dialect be protected while maintaining high standards of Putonghua and a multicultural environment in the city. What is the opinion of the language experts ? A) Putonghua should be taken place by local dialects. B) Shanghai dialect should be spoken by all the Chinese. C) People can only use local dialects in some selective courses in school. D) Dialects should be protected while Putonghua is widely used.
Ans: D


A great man married a woman and they had a little lovely girl. When the little girl was growing up, the man usually hugged her and said, "I love you, little girl." The Little girl would say, "I'm not a little girl any more." Then the man would laugh, "But to me, you'll always be my little girl." The little girl later left her home and went into the world. No matter where she was, the man would call her and say, "I love you, little girl." One day the little girl received an unexpected phone call. The great man became ill. He couldn't talk, smile, walk, hug or dance. So she went to the side of the great man. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could not. She sat next to the great man, and drew her arms around his useless shoulders . Her head on his chest , she thought of many good memories. She felt sad as she couldn't hear the words of love that had comforted her. And then she heard from within the man, the beat of heart. The magic happened. She heard what she wanted to hear. His heart beat out the words that his mouth could no longer say... I love you, little girl... I love you, little girl. What did the man do after the little girl left her home? A) He left her wife. B) He learned to sing and dance C) He left his home and went into the world. D) He would call her and showed his love to her.

D