(Q).
When you think of an artist, you probably think of someone painting on canvas  . But Guido Daniele creates fantastic paintings of birds, elephants, tigers, and giraffes by painting on skin. Born in Soverato, Italy, Guido Daniele has been called"Ha nd Gogh" (after artist Vincent van Gogh) since he began creating works of art on people' s hands in 1990. Painting on the hands can be a challenge because, unlike canvas, the skin moves when rubbed. Daniele' s models must remain perfectly still for hours as he paints. He often uses his daughter and his son as his "canvases". Before he can begin to create his "manimals" ( the artist' s name for his hand animals), Daniele studies photographs of the animal that he will be painting in order to be able to understand its character and give it life. "Next," he says, "I look at the hand from different perspectives   ,and I begin to imagine what is the best way to position the hand for me to paint the animal. "He also studies the skin of the model, preferring it to have little hair and few blemishes  . Daniele starts by drawing on the model' s hand with a pencil. He next paints the skin using watercolor1s made specifically for body art. The eyes of Daniele' s painted animals look amazingly real, and they are the most difficult part to paint. Paintings on hands must eventually be washed away. Guido Daniele says that he's gotten used to this part and that he doesn' t really mind seeing his work washed down the drain  . " Tomorrow, I will paint the next one. The important thing is to take many good photo- graphs before washing the hand!" Daniele' s paintings are mainly about   _  . A) scenery B) plan ts C) stories D) animals
(A).
D


(Q).
In the 1930s, a lot of people in the USA were out of work. Among these people was a man named Alfred Butts. He always had an interest in word games and so, to fill his time, he planned a game which he called 'Lexico'. However, he was not completely satisfied with the game, so he made a number of changes to it and, in time, changed its name from 'Lexico' to 'Alph' and then to 'Criss Cross'. He wanted to make some money from his new game but he didn't have any real commercial success. In 1939, Butts happened to meet a man called Jim Brunot who showed an interest in the new game. The two men worked together on developing the game and in 1948 it was offered for sale in the United States under its new name -- 'Scrabble'. At first, it didn't sell very well. In the first year it sold just 2,250 sets and by 1951 it had only reached 8,500 sets a year. Then, in 1952 the manager of Macy's department store in New York, Jack Strauss, happened to play 'Scrabble' while he was on holiday. He thought it was a wonderful game and, when he went back to work after his holiday, he insisted that Macy's should stock the game and make an effort to call the public's attention to it. As a result, 'scrabble' became a big success in the United States and it soon spread to Australia and then to other English-speaking countries. The text is mainly about  _  . A) 'Lexico' B) three men C) a word game D) Alfred Butts
(A).
C


(Q).
Is it possible that the sinking of the Titanic was caused by a ghost? A plot of the story below is true ... but did it really happen quite like this? Our story begins not in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic, but rather thousands of miles away in Egypt. It is here, perhaps, that we can find the start of the mystery   of the Titanic, in the year 1910, in the great city of Cairo. One day, a famous professor of Egyptian history called Douglas Murray was staying in Cairo, when he was contacted by an American adventurer. The American had something unusual to offer Murray, something that was certain to thrill him: a beautiful ancient Egyptian mummy case, containing the mummy of an Egyptian queen. It was over 3,000 years old, but in beautiful condition -- gold, with bright paintings on it. Murray was delighted with both the object and the askingprice. He gave the man a cheque immediately. The cheque was never cashed. That evening the American adventurer died. For his part, Murray arranged to have the treasure sent back to Britain. However, it was not long before he learnt more about the beautiful mummy case: On the walls of the tomb in which it had been discovered, there were messages which warned of terrible consequences to anyone who broke into the tomb. Murray was disbelieving of these warnings until a few days later, when a gun he was holding exploded in his hand, shattering his arm. The arm had to be cut off. After the accident, Murray decided to return to his homeland. On the return journey, two of his companions died mysteriously, and two servants who had handled the mummy also passed away. The nowterrified Murray decided he would get rid of the _ case as soon as he arrived in London. A lady he knew named Janet Jones said she would like it, so he gave it to her. Shortly afterwards, Jones' mother died, and she herself caught a strange disease. She tried returning the mummy, but naturally Murray refused it. In the end, it was presented to the British Museum. Even in the museum, the mummy apparently... What is the main purpose of this passage? A) To entertain readers with a story of mystery. B) To introduce an important historical event to readers. C) To warn readers about the dangers of mummies' curses. D) To inform readers about the true cause of the Titanic's sinking.
(A).

A