(Q).
Not everyone goes to university after high school graduation. Some work, others join the army and an increasing number worldwide are taking a "gap year" to travel or do community service in their own countries or abroad. They are studying sharks off the Australian coast, building schools in Mexico and learning Spanish or Italian. The concept of a gap year may not be new, but the recent surge   of interest certainly is.  Some students are putting off admissions. Others, who don't get into the college of their choice, are taking a year to explore new frontiers before reapplying. Students are choosing to take a breather; they are thinking. They are not sure what they are going to do. They are going and exploring some of their interests. They are getting experience they can take to the school they finally go to. It is an idea actively encouraged by colleges. Princeton University has just launched a "bridge year" program that will send 10 percent of its incoming class to do volunteer work abroad, starting in 2009. And the Harvard has spent the last 30 years urging incoming students to take a gap year. "Many speak of their year away as a 'life-changing' experience or a 'turning point'" says Harvard admissions director Marlin Lewis. "Many come to college with new opinions about their academic plans, their extracurricular interests and the career possibilities they observed in their year away." A student won't   _   in a gap year. A) travel B) join the army C) do community service D) learn a foreign language
(A).
B


(Q).
Chances I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career . I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn't the type to have a career. I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn't too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn't often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early morning with the children. One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a parttime course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten. Now I've got a fulltime job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren't top of the class at school. When staying with the two girls' family, the author  _  . A) was paid for extra work B) got much help from her boss C) took a day off every other week D) often worked long hours
(A).
D


(Q).
Hong Kong (CNN)--A Dutch artist and designer has come up with a device he hopes will suck pollutants from Beijing's smog-covered skies, creating columns of clean air for residents. An electromagnetic   field caused by copper coils   will pull small pieces in the smog to the ground where they can be easily cleaned. "It's like when you have a balloon which has electricity and your hair goes toward it.Same with the smog," says artist Daan Roosegaarde.His studio has reached an agreement with the Beijing government to test the technology in one of the capital's parks.With its skies regularly covered by filthy gray smog, Beijing this week announced a series of emergency measures to deal with the problem in public. Roosegaarde says an indoor experiment has already proved it works and he is confident the results--with the help of a team of scientists and engineers--can be copied outside."Beijing is quite good because the smog is quite low. It's in a valley so there's not so much wind.It's a good environment to explore this kind of thing.We'll be able to purify the air and the challenge is to get rid of the smog so you can see the sun again." Roosegaarde acknowledges that projects like this are a way of drawing attention to the problem, rather than a complete solution to Beijing's serious and terrible air pollution."This is not the real answer for smog.The real answer has to do with clean cars, different industry and different lifestyles," he says. However, he hopes the project will make a difference by allowing the city's residents to realize the difference between breathing clean and smog-filled air."I want to take a park in Beijing, 50m by 50m square, and make it the cleanest park in Beijing," he says.He is still discussing with local authorities which park will be used. Roosegaarde's studio has worked on several projects that use static electricity  in unusual ways:creating a road that charges electric cars and a floor that generates electricity when danced on. Why is the project carried out in Beijing? A) Because Beijing is the most polluted city. B) Because the designer lives in Beijing. C) Because there is much wind in Beijing. D) Because the environment suits the project.
(A).

D