Do you know about a series of books that say they are for dummies? These American selfhelp books have been translated into more than thirtynine languages including Chinese, Arabic, Russian, French, German, Greek and Spanish. "Dummy" is a word for a stupid person. The dummy books are not really for stupid people. They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before, like painting a house or learning a language. The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies, such as WorldHistoryforDummies, RabbitsforDummies, ChineseCookingforDummies, andWeddingPlanningforDummies. The first such book,DOS forDummies, was published in 1991.It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers. Since then, more than one hundred and fifty million dummy books have been sold. The dummies.comwebsite explains the idea behind the books. It says that they show that people can be taught to do anything. First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand. Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy. he publishers say that the books do not provide more information than necessary. They give readers just enough information to do what they want. They say that the dummy books give the best and easiest way to do something. And the books use simple and easy language. There are more than one thousand different dummy books. A report in NewYorkTimessays that the topselling dummy books are those that explain technology and personal finance. The publishers say that the bestselling dummy books are those providing information many people need--like information about diseases,education and cooking. People interested in opera,car repair and wine can also find dummy books to help them. And there are even more dummy books to come. The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummy books every year. The dummy books have been popular because  _  . A) they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand B) they provide abundant information on the concerning subject C) people can learn to do anything with just one copy D) people can save lots of money through selfteaching
A

In today's congratulatory phone call to the team behind NASA's Mars Curiosity rover , President Barack Obama made sure that if the mission discovers Martians, he'll be one of the first to know. "If in fact you do make contact with Martians, please let me know right away," Obama said during the call, "I've got a lot of things on my plate, but I expect that that will go to the top of the list. Even if they're just microbes , it will be pretty exciting." Obama also said he was impressed by the attention that's been paid to flight director Bobak Ferdowsi, the "Mohawk Guy" whose star-spangled haircut and warmhearted behavior during Curiosity's Aug. 5 landing won him Internet fame. "I, in the past, thought about getting a Mohawk myself," Obama joked. "But my team keeps on discouraging me. And now that he's received marriage proposals and thousands of new Twitter followers, I think I'm going to go back to my team and see if it makes sense." The congratulatory phone call is a tradition for the White House. But it was clear that Obama particularly enjoyed congratulating the scientists and engineers behind the amazingly successful landing of NASA's newest Mars exploration. He also said the achievement reflected the American spirit, and he gave his personal promise to protect these critical investments in science and technology. "This is the kind of thing that inspires kids across the country," he said. "They're telling their moms and dads they want to be part of a Mars mission, maybe even the first person to walk on Mars. And that kind of inspiration is the byproduct of work of the sort that you guys have done." The Curiosity rover's $2.5 billion mission focuses on studying billions of years' worth of geology on Mars and determining whether the planet was ever potentially suitable for people to live in. The mission is not specifically designed to explore life, even on the range of microbes, but it could point the way for future life-exploration experiments. Obama phoned the team behind NASA's Mars Curiosity rover in order to   _  . A) congratulate them on finding Martians B) praise the flight director C) congratulate on the rover's landing D) encourage them to contact with Martians
C

On June 15th,2012,millions of people watched as 33yearold Nik Wallenda walked across one of the world's greatest waterfalls on a tightrope .What made the 25-minute walk that was televised live and watched by over 13 million people worldwide even more amazing,is that it was done over the Niagara Falls-An action that had never been attempted before. Even though Nik was wearing a harness ,a safety measure provided by ABC,the television network that broadcast the event,his action to keep his balance against the strong winds made for some heart-stopping  moments for the audience. Nik,however,never slowed down for even one moment.Wearing special shoes made by his mother,he remained totally focused on the job at hand.It was only when he got to the last stretch near Canada's Table Rock that he knelt down on one knee and finally broke into a smile.Waving and blowing kisses to the cheering audience,he knew he had accomplished a great task,which most people had thought impossible. While he described the whole experience as peaceful and relaxing,Nik said his biggest challenges came from a totally unexpected source-his 40 pound balancing pole.The balancing pole was so heavy that he could hardly carry it on the tightrope. One would think that now that Nik has realized his lifelong dream he would be ready to hang up his "balancing pole".However,the adventurer who already has seven Guinness World Records under his belt,is just getting started-Next up? A 5,000-foot tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon.While the one across the Niagara Falls took years of planning because he had to convince the US and Canadian officials,this one should happen in the very near future.That's because,the Florida resident has already been granted  a permit by the Canyon officials.5 What was the greatest difficulty for him to face in Nik view? A) The supplied tightrope. B) The safety belt. C) The balancing pole. D) The audience's noise.
C

Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery, partly because it cannot be detected  by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around but we can't detect them or sense them without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being outright by killing masses of cells in important organs. Even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and when they are killed outright. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in an unusual way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years. This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the knowledge of the person at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. A child can be born weak or easy to get serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us so much that it can   _  . A) kill large numbers of cells in main organs B) replace cells which may grow into cancer years later C) affect the healthy growth of our younger generation D) A and C

D