For several years now, the dollar has fallen lower and lower against other major currencies. Lately, though, the dollar has risen, especially against the Japanese yen and the euro. Some traders think the dollar will continue to rise, but that is not clear. The dollar moved up this week after comments by American officials in support of a strong dollar policy. On Monday, before he left for his last trip as president to Europe, George Bush said: "A strong dollar is in our nation's interests. It is in the interests of the global economy." Also Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on CNBC television that he would consider intervention to keep the dollar from sliding further. The United States has not intervened in currency markets since two thousand. That year the administration of president Bill Clinton bought euros to support the European currency. But on Tuesday, President Bush said in Slovenia that the "relative value of economies will end up setting the proper valuation of the dollar." A weaker dollar helps American exporters. But it means Americans have to pay more for imports and for travel to other countries. Some experts say dollar weakness is the main reason why oil prices have risen so high. Oil is priced in dollars on the world market. But Treasury Secretary Paulson dismissed any link. He noted that since two thousand two, the dollar has fallen about twenty-four percent. But the price of oil has gone up well over five hundred percent. Adding to pressure on the dollar, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggested that the E.C.B will raise interest rates next month. European officials are increasingly concerned with inflation. But investors can already get higher rates of return on investments in euros than in dollars. High prices for oil, food and other products have raised inflation concerns worldwide. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the latest increases in energy prices have added to inflation risks. His comments in recent days have suggested that the central bank... We can infer from the passage that  _ A) the dollar is sure to continue to rise B) the dollar is sure to slide further C) investors will get more benefit from dollars D) there is a chance of inflation in the world
D

It was about 11:15 pm on the passenger ship California. The night was freezing cold and the water was filled with ice from the North Pole, making it difficult for the ship to sail on. In the radio room, ship California's operator Cyril Evans listened to the radio-talk between a nearby passenger ship and the telegraph station on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Evans interrupted it and said, "We're stopped and surrounded by ice. Be careful as you pass through these waters." The radio operator on the nearby ship replied, "I'm too busy to talk now. I have many messages to send to the telegraph station. " Twenty minutes later, as he turned off his radio and went to bed, Evans could still hear the ship sending its passengers' telegrams. Earlier in the evening the California's captain, Stanley Lord, had seen another ship approaching. It looked about the size of his own, but attempts to contact the ship failed. It lay dark and mysterious about 10 miles away. At 00:40 am there appeared a sudden flash of light just over the mystery ship. Captain Lord, thinking the ship might need help, ordered his officers to signal the ship by lamp. There was no reply. Three more rockets then exploded, none appeared to go higher than halfway up the mast of the mystery ship. Then at about 2:00 am it turned and slipped into the darkness. In the light of the dawn there was no mystery ship, but 20 miles away was the scene of a great disaster. Unfortunately, the mystery ship had stopped directly in front of the California, preventing people on board from seeing clearly. If this ship had not been there, Captain Lord would have recognized that the rockets were SOS rockets that came not from the mystery ship but from a more distant ship which the California could not see. If Cyril Evans had kept his radio on for just 30 minutes more he would have heard SOS signals coming from that distant ship he spoke with the night before. That ship was the Titanic which was sinking fast, leaving 1,500 of its passengers dead. It was April 14, 1912. How many ships are mentioned in the passage? A) One. B) Two. C) Three. D) Four.
C

London has a new magazine.However,it is not printed on paper any more.Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is already on TV!     In order to read this magazine,you need to have a decoder.Each page of it is numbered,so you have to dial a number to choose which subject you want to read about.You have a wide choice of topics to choose from-everything from cooking to the latest news.     If you want to read some news,the first thing you have to do is to check at the index page which has an easy-to-remember page number,1 00 for example.From page 100,you can then choose from the news articles on page 101 to 109.From here,you will have to key in the numbers again.Then,the news will appear written across your screen.If you want to go out in the afternoon,you can press 181,and a brightly color1ed weather map will appear on the screen.But if you want to buy some cheap things,you can press 162 for a list of the week's best bargains.And whether you should drive or just take the train,you can simply press 189 for the traffic report.This new magazine on TV is very simple to use.But probably,the best thing about the service is that is being updated all the time.Journalists type new materials directly onto screen and the page of the magazine is replaced in minutes.     London already has three services.One,transmitted by ITV ,is called ORACLE while the other two,on BBC,are called CEEFAX because they let you see facts.Although CEEFAX and ORACLE have been operating for some time, they have not been well publicized.BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because this new invention can't be taken with you wherever you go.But many people would agree that this is a breakthrough as great as the invention of printing, which could change not only our reading habits but also our lifestyles. What topics in the magazine   _   are mentioned? A) news, weather, cooking and driving B) traffic, shopping, reading and weather C) news, shopping, cooking and traffic D) weather, traffic, cooking and swimming
C

Outlook Outlook is back with a new series of reports to keep you up to date with all that's new in the world of entertainment. Stories go all the way from the technical to the romantic, from stage to screen. There will be reports of the stars of the moment, the stars of the future and the stars of the past. The director with his new film, the designer with the latest fashion, and the musician with the popular song are part of the new Outlook. The program is introduced by Fran Levine. 9:00 PM Discovery When a 10 -year -old boy gets a first class degree in mathematics or an 8-year- old plays chess like a future grand master, they are considered as geniuses. Where does the quality of genius come from? Is it all in the genes or can any child be turned into a genius? And if parents do have a child who might become a genius in the future, what should they do ? In this 30-minute film, Barry Johnson, the professor at School of Medicine, New York University will help you discover the answer. 10:00 PM Science/Health Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs? The answer is "yes", according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers. After a study of 800 persons with high blood pressure, they found that after 6 months, those devoted to weight-loss exercise and eating a low-salt, low-fat food lost about 13 pounds and became fitter. Plus, 35% of them dropped into the "normal" category. This week, Dr. Alan Duckworth will tell you how these people reduce their blood pressure to a level similar to what's achieved with Hypertension drugs. According to the third text, which of the following has almost the same effect as Hypertension drug? A) Low-salt and low -fat food. B) Loss of thirteen pounds in weight C) Six months of exercise without drugs. D) Exercise plus a healthy diet.

D