Europe's deadly outbreak of a rare form of E. coli bacteria   has brought new attention to food safety issues. One of the problems when people get sick from food is that the simplest question is often difficult or even impossible to answer. Just what did the people eat that made them sick? Of course, one way to avoid these medical mysteries is to keep dangerous organisms out of the food supply. This is easier said than done, but scientists keep looking for new ways. Scientists in the United States have developed an experimental system that uses a high-tech optical scanner. The system is designed to identify the presence of contaminants  like soil or animal waste on fresh produce. These can be sources of E. coli. E. coli bacteria naturally live in the intestines  of humans and many animals. Most kinds of E. coli are harmless but some can make people sick. The new scanner can also show damage and imperfections that might make the produce unappealing to shoppers. Scientists designed the system at a Department of Agriculture research center in Beltsville, Maryland. Moon Kim of the Agricultural Research Service led the team. MOON KIM: "We were requested, we were asked, to develop a method to detect contamination in produce. So we started with the apple as the model sample." The scanner uses a high-speed camera placed over the conveyer belt that moves the produce along. As the apples move along the belt, the scanner captures images of each piece of fruit. Moon Kim says the team hopes the system will be available before long. MOON KIM: "We are targeting for development in commercial plants for the next several years." The scanner can direct a sorting machine to separate the bad apples from the good ones. The system is currently able to show the surface of only half the apple as it speeds by. The inventers hope to improve the process so it can show the whole surface. What can be inferred from the text? A) The scanner needs to be improved. B) The scanner will be available in the next several years. C) Moon Kim is unwilling to develop the scanner. D) The scanner is connected to a sorting machine.
A


Guo Jingming is a best-selling author in China. He was born in Zigong, Sichuan Province on June 6, 1983. He is well-known for his essays and fictions, such as On the Edge of Love and Hurt, City of Fantasy, and Tiny Times. His essays and fictions are especially popular with teenagers. He is also a director and once directed his movie Tiny Times successfully. In June 2013, Guo was awarded the Best New Director at the Shanghai International Film Festival for his first movie Tiny Times. The movie has sold 6.7 million copies. In 2001, Guo Jingming started to gain _ after winning the New Concept Writing Competition's top award. Lots of young people got to know Guo Jingming little by little. A year later, Guo entered the writing competition again and won the top prize for the second time. At the same time, a collection of his prose  On the Edge of Love and Hurt was published. In 2003, his first novel City of Fantasy came out. It was the novel that made Guo Jingming famous all over the country. In 2008, Guo was elected to the Chinese Writers' Association. He became the youngest member of the association. Guo's Tiny Times series was published between 2008 and 2012. What's Guo Jingming's first novel? A) On the Edge of Love and Hurt. B) City of Fantasy. C) Tiny Times. D) Cry me a Sad River.
B


Q: In 1975, George Carlin appeared on a popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, with his famous words about blue food. "Why is there no blue food? I can't find blue food--I can't find the flavor of blue! I mean yellow is lemon; orange is orange and red is cherry. Where is the blue food? " Well, Carlin pretty much has it right--there's not no blue food, but there's certainly not a lot of it. Fresh-picked blueberries are blue, though they become purple when they are turned into jam. The blue in blueberries--like the purple in grapes and the red in tomatoes--is found in nature. But it isn't a hot color for food. People don't seem to prefer blue food. Some diet programs even suggest that those determined to lose weight should make their food blue. Eating, in part, begins with our eyes. Charles Spence--an experimental psychologist from Oxford University--points out that color can change our taste experience. Commonly, we consider red-colored foods up to 20% sweeter than they actually are; and green foods as being more sour. Spence suggests: human expectations may be influenced by our long history of watching - green fruits can become sweet as they grow up and turn red. But what about blue? Except blueberries, much of the blue food we see these days _ blue artificially. Food producers argue that artificial color doesn't do much harm to health. A lot of research shows that some physical problems of kids are related to food dyes--while other studies show no effects at all. Blue birthday cake or even blue-dyed chicken can be served on the dinner table. So what? George Carlin's words are placed at the beginning of the passage to   _  . A) show the author's opinion B) introduce a TV show C) tell a famous person D) lead in the topic
A: D


(Question)
I teach geography at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then asked me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. "I choose to be cheerful." I said. Then I told them a story. In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died and wouldn't start again. So I left my car there and marched down the road to the college. As soon as I got there I called AAA  and arranged for a tow truck   to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the office asked me what had happened. "This is my lucky day." I replied, smiling. "Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?" She was puzzled. "What do you mean?" "My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway but it didn't." I replied, "Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance from here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class." The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class. So ended my story. I scanned the sixty faces in my class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe _ In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful. An Indian wise man once said, "Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say." I suppose it must be so. By saying "it wasn't the story at all", the author means that  _  . A) His story is not convincing B) He shouldn't have told the story C) His attitude to life has inspired the students D) His story is not as interesting as expected
(Answer)

C