Today, we know that the role of vitamins and minerals goes way beyond the prevention of deficiency diseases   to actually preventing cancer and heart disease, the most fearsome killers of our time. With this knowledge has come the widespread call for nutritional supplementation   -- and a confusing group of vitamin, mineral, and supplements lining the supermarket shelves. Far from contributing to better health, however, nutritional supplements threaten to turn a scientific breakthrough into a nutritional disaster.  _ of vitamins and minerals -- especially vitamins A, C, and E-- would have consumers believe that the little vitamin pill in the bottle is all they need for good health. Take your vitamins in the morning, and you're covered. It's okay to eat fast foods for the rest of the day or skip meals to achieve today's fashionably skinny look. But vitamins and minerals are only one part of the nutritional puzzle. A diet rich in fiber   and balanced in carbohydrates and protein is essential for good health. You can't get these things from a nutritional supplement. The focus on vitamin and mineral supplements may actually be robbing us of the full nutrition we seek. And no supplement can compare to the quality of nutrition found in natural sources. For example, our bodies turn carotenes   from plant foods into vitamin A. Many supplements contain a single carotene, but natural sources are rich in many different carotenes. Many supplements contain a form of vitamin E that is made from chemicals, when natural vitamin E is more readily absorbed and used by the body. And science is still discovering the wealth of nutrients in foods. You'd be hard-pressed to find a supplement as nutritionally comprehensive and powerful as a balanced diet. Even if you could, you'd pay much more than if you got the same nutritional value from natural sources. But perhaps the greatest danger presented by nutritional supplements comes from the very real risks presented by self-medication. Anyone can walk into the market and buy as many... According to the passage, nutritional supplements   _  . A) are made from chemicals B) are ineffective in supplying fiber C) provide too much vitamin C D) contain a kind of dangerous carotene
B

Nick Santonastasso has one arm equipped with one finger. He has no legs. He also has no limitations . " I know anything's possible ," the 12-year-old told TODAY 's Ann Curry. He can play baseball and football, play the keyboard and drums, and play video games with his brothers. When Nick was born, he suffered a disease only found in 11 other people. The Santonastassos had three other children, and they decided to treat Nick the same as others, with love but without excuse " We're supposed to be heroes to our children, but Nick is a hero to us," his father Michael said. But heroes have heroes, too, and Nick's is Tiki Barber, the former football superstar who retired last year and became a reporter for TODAY. Curry told Nick that for his birthday, the show wanted to give him a new skateboard. The person who presented it to him was Barber. " You're an inspiration," Barber said. " There are a lot of kids who might be at a disadvantage. You give them strength." Curry observed that most parents try to protect their kids from failure, but the Santonastassos didn't do that with Nick. "Absolutely not, "Nick's mother Stacey said. " If you do have a small failure, it just makes you stronger to succeed at the next stop." " It builds self-confidence in yourself to try it again," Nick added. Recently, Nick entered a drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey. His drawing was a tree with a spreading canopy   and deep toots. Above the tree were the words, "The roots of a family are..." Below the ground, the roots spelled out the final word for the message: " Love." It won the contest. The judges didn't know Nick' physical condition. He won on merit  , the same way he does everything else in life. What message did Nick's drawing express? A) Love is the "root" of a family. B) Each family has its own value among its members. C) Trees without deep roots can't grow tall and strong D) Roots are the most important of a tree.
A

In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years. Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless. The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty is undoubtedly one of the main causes. The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have _ . Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always. Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who, for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent. Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public refuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused  ,whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging . There are many who disrespect homeless people. Some cynics declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But who would willingly choose to live in a shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box? According to the text, what causes some people to be homeless? A) Lack of money. B) The increased standard of living. C) No government help. D) Agreement with their parents.

A