On a cool summer night in Wyoming, Dean Biggins waits patiently in his truck. Suddenly, Biggins, a wildlife biologist, spots a pair of eyes in the distance. Baggins can't believe his luck: He's just caught sight of a black-footed ferret  --one of the world's rarest animals. Just over a century ago, hundreds of thousands of black-footed ferrets lived on the grasslands in North America known as the prairie. But the animals died off as prairie dog disappeared. Black-footed ferret depend on prairie dogs for both food and shelter. After a ferret has eaten a prairie dog, it moves into the animal's burrow . When cattlemen started setting up ranches  on the prairie in the early 1900s, they thought prairie dogs, which eat grass, might compete with their cattle and sheep for food. To make sure that didn't happen, they killed off billions of prairie dogs. As prairie dog populations dropped, black-footed ferrets disappeared. By 1979, researchers couldn't find any ferrets and declared the species extinct. Then, two years later, a small group was discovered. Although scientists were excited about the discovery, it soon became clear that the ferrets were in danger. A disease called sylvatic plague  was killing the ferrets. Soon, just 18 ferrets remained. "To help the species survive, the researchers put all the ferrets in cages in 1986 and began raising them," says Randy Matchett, a wildlife biologist. To help the black-footed ferrets learn survival skills, wildlife biologists put them through a process called preconditioning. Researchers build a fence around old prairie dog burrows and put the ferrets in them when they are a couple of months old. While the animals get used to their new home, researchers feed them live prairie dogs so they can practice hunting. "Now about 1,000 black-footed ferrets are back in the wild. Despite their amazing comeback, black-footed ferrets aren't out of the woods yet," says Matchett. Sylvatic plague is still a threat, and ranchers still don't want too many prairie dogs on their land. "We... What's Matchett's attitude towards the future of black-footed ferrets? A) Worried. B) Hopeful. C) Proud. D) Uncertain.
B

Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. The US is well known for jazz  , which has gained world-wide popularity. In contrast to classical   music, which follows formal European traditions, jazz is natural and free-form. It is full of energy, expressing the moods, interests, and feelings of the people. It has a modern sound that makes people very excited. In the 1920s jazz sounded like America. And So it does today. The origins of this music are as interesting as the music itself. Jazz was produced by American blacks, who were brought to the Southern States as slaves. They were sold to plantation owners   and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. This work was hard and life was short. When a Negro died, his friends and relatives formed a group to carry the body to the cemetery. A band often went with them. On the way to the cemetery the band played slow and sad music. But on the way home the mood changed. _ Everybody was happy. Death had removed one of their members, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music, which made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz. Music has always been important in their lives. Coming mainly from West Africa, the black men who were brought to America already possessed a rich musical tradition. This music centered on religious ceremonies   in which dancing, singing, clapping and stamping   to the beat of a drum were important forms of musical expression. As these people settled in to their fields, they made up work songs. Singing made the hard work go faster. Another musical form that helped to develop jazz was the blues. Blues songs always describe something sad -- an unhappy love affair, a money problem, bad luck. To this day, the expression "feeling blue" means being sad. Why did the band play happy music on the way home from the cemetery? A) Because they felt happy for the dead men. B) Because they were glad that they themselves were still alive. C) Because they would have a big dinner after they returned home. D) Because they hated that dead man
B

I was standing in the kitchen helping with dinner, asking my mom about my brother's doctor ' s  appointment. They  were  testing  him for  autism( ) .  My  brother, Captain, four  years old at the time, had always been my best friend. We would wrestle, play games and have the best of times together, even though we were far apart in age. My mom told me about the appointment, but ,when she got to the point about the test, she  stopped. I turned around  and  she had tears  in her eyes. I  stared  at her, wishing she would say  something , when  I realized what that  silence meant. My eyes  got blurry ( )  and  my  breathing  got  very  ragged.  " The  test was positive , sweetheart , "  she said. I broke down, crying. My mom was trying to cool me down, saying that Captain couldn't see me like this and I had to be a big girl , when the front door opened, and Captain, our three-year-old sister Cali, and  my father came in. I walked out of the kitchen. I couldn't look at him. Everything had just  changed. He was no longer that little baby brother who was just a normal little boy. We had to move a while later because Captain needed treatment. One day ,I was standing  in the bus line waiting when the " short bus"  came and picked some kids up. The children in  the other line started making jokes about the " retards  "  on that bus and I felt a  strange feeling in my stomach, ,which I had never felt before. During a band class, my teacher, Mrs. Young, stopped our playing to give us some feed-  back. " Guys ,we ' re playing like the kids on the short bus !  Come on!"  I felt that same feeling I had in the bus line. The entire room was laughing when I raised my hand.  " Yes , Alexis?"  Mrs. Young asked. "I don't think we should make fun of the short bus, because there are a lot of people on  that bus who have great personalities and have the same feelings as we do. And also ,I know  some people on those buses and they are some of the most caring, sweetest, and smartest people , so I would appreciate it if you didn't... Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A) Speaking up. B) Giving up. C) Looking .up. D) Taking up.

A