Q: What would you do if your pet cat died just before Christmas? Many cat lovers would go out and buy another cat. But one American woman was unable to bear life without her much loved pet cat Nicky. He had been with her for 17 years; and when she knew he was going to die, she had him cloned. Little Nicky was cloned by an American company, called GSC. But the new cat cost his owner $50,000. "He is the same. His characteristics are the same," the woman told news reporters. The company, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, made her available to speak to reporters only on condition that her name or hometown was not used. The woman said she feared being the target of groups against cloning. "Nicky loved water, which is an unusual characteristic of cats. Little Nicky jumped into my bath. Most cats are afraid of water, but Little Nicky is different: he loves it, just like my old cat," said the woman, who said she was in her early 40s and worked in the airline industry. The company delivered Little Nicky two weeks ago and was expected to publicly announce the news on Thursday. However, the cat's creation has raised heated debate. Many people have said they felt disgusted at the amount of money spent on cloning a cat. They said that she should have chosen one of the many cats without a home -- cats like this are a common problem in many countries. The woman has only told news reporters her first name, Julia, but she has already received nearly 100 frightening letters from angry people, who say that cloning is against nature. Little Nicky was not only expensive, but also, like all cloned animals, may have more health problems than an animal which was born in the usual way. GSC said it had to try 80 times before it succeeded in producing a cloned cat. The company is now using new techniques and soon they hope to produce cloned dogs as well as cats. GSC said that if people were not happy with the cloned cats or dogs, they could have their money back. At the moment the cost of cloning is very high, but the manager of... Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A) Many people would have their cats cloned if their cats died. B) Cloned animals are healthier than those born in the natural way. C) News reporters told some angry people Julia's name and address. D) People could get the money back if they aren't satisfied with the cloned pets.
A: D


Q: Little Lopsy fluttered  into our home and our hearts one Saturday morning this summer. My husband went out to do something, and when he opened the door there was a great flutter on the ground and something came into the living room. It was clear that whatever it was was hurt. I was in a bit of a shock and didn't know what to do next. Fortunately it calmed down and tried to hide itself in a corner. I realized it was a sparrow chick . There are a few sparrow nests under the roof of our apartment, and this little fellow must have fallen out and hurt itself. It was also very young, and obviously far from ready to leave the safety of the nest. I ran to the place and found a box. Having read somewhere that one shouldn't touch a baby bird with one's hands, I picked the chick up with a hand towel and put it in the box. I placed the box outside the front door in the hope that the parents would try to feed it. They never came near it and I brought it inside. I placed the box on a table and it slept for about twenty hours. We later learned that it is quite normal for a hurt bird to sleep so much after undergoing such a hurt experience. When it finally woke up we carefully examined it for wounds, but fortunately there wasn't any. It had hurt its right wing and leg, which meant it must have landed on its right side when it fell out of the nest. We named it Lopsy. After doing some research we felt there was a chance that it might survive, but we weren't sure that it would ever be able to fly. A hurt bird doesn't stand much of a chance of survival and could fall easy pray  to cats, other animals. Was it fair to allow it to live if it meant keeping it in a cage its whole life? It was a hard decision, but we decided to give it a go.  We started off by dripping drops of water into its mouth. It was very thirsty and drank quite a bit. Next we fed it with bread soaked in water. Our household routine  soon revolved around Lopsy who needed to be fed about every three hours during the day. Fortunately we live on campus and my... What lesson can we learn from the passage? A) Well begun is half done. B) Work makes the workman. C) Where there is life, there is hope. D) It is the first step that costs troublesome.
A: C


Q: The rumors had been spreading for months but it still came as a shock when the hospital would be closing. It had served this poor neighborhood for nearly 100 years but it would close because of the health care crisis.  The day after the announcement co-workers found out that pretzels  had been  _ . Soft pretzels are the lifeblood of this city. So losing access to soft pretzels is no small matter. A week later, I decided to cheer up my co-workers by picking up some soft pretzels at a local store. I arrived just as it opened so I was the only customer. But I only had $6 in my wallet. I was working inside a large office at the hospital and knew I'd need more than the half dozen pretzels my six dollars would buy. A man's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Can I help you?"  I said, "I only have $6. I'm not sure how many pretzels I need. You see, I work at a hospital and it's closing and they stopped selling pretzels." The man's smile disappeared. "What hospital?" "Oh, Northeastern Hospital."  The guy looked deeply shocked. "I used to sell medical supplies and that was one of my hospitals." Then he turned around and grabbed a box of 25 pretzels and slid them across the counter.  I was surprised by his generosity and started to reach for my wallet, "Oh I can pay. Please let me ..." The guy smiled, "Just tell them Joe Sullivan said to do something nice for someone else."  And so that day everyone in medical records was treated to a soft pretzel. Word spread fast as people came asking, "Is it really true?" It was as if I'd carried in a box of gold. It mattered to them that a stranger cared. Why did the author decide to buy pretzels for his co-workers? A) To show his generosity. B) To make them feel less sad. C) To show his thanks to them. D) To encourage them to work hard.

A: B