Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback. "We're at the beginning of a golden age of audio," said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast  . These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day's digital podcast format. The term "podcast" was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped. The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities  . You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you're walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week. Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTune. "I listen while I'm wandering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable... And it's an easy way of keeping in touch with what's going on in the rest of the world," she said, "I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I've also been listening to This American Life and Serial. They have a special skill to really draw you in." Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this owes to the podcast's ability "to create close relationship and emotional connection." Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees. "When you're listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast's storyteller is talking directly to you. It's comforting." said Proust. It seems the age-old tradition of verbal... What is probably the best title of the passage? A) Return of Radio B) Opinions of Podcast C) Features of Radio D) Technology of Podcast
A

Researchers at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today's dogs can be from southern East Asia -- findings that are contrary to theories placing the birth place in the Middle East. Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably the only region where wolves were domesticated by humans. Research data show clearly that dogs are descended from wolves, but there's never been scientific agreement on where in the world the domestication process began. "Our analysis of Y-chromosomal DNA now confirms that wolves were first domesticated in Asia south of Yangtze River -- we call it the ASY region -- in southern China or Southeast Asia," Savolainen says. The Y data supports previous evidence from mitochondrial DNA. "Taken together, the two studies provide very strong evidence that dogs appeared first in the ASY region," Savolainen says. Archaeological data and a genetic study recently published in Nature suggest that dogs originate from the Middle East. But Savolainen rejects that view. "Because none of these studies included samples from the ASY region, evidence from ASY has been overlooked," he says. Peter Savolainen and PhD student Mattias Oskarsson worked with Chinese colleagues to analyse DNA from male dogs around the world. Their study was published in the scientific journal Heredity. Approximately half of the gene pool was universally shared everywhere in the world, while only the ASY region had the entire range of genetic diversity. "This shows that gene pools in all other regions of the world most probably originate from the ASY region," Savolainen says. "Our results confirm that Asia south of the Yangtze River was the most important -- and probably the only -- region for wolf domestication, and that a large number of wolves were domesticated," says Savolainen. In separate research published recently in Ecology... We can learn from the passage that   _  . A) there is a universal agreement on the place of first domestication B) data from ASY may highlight where dogs came from C) Dr. Savolainen's research mainly focuses on the Middle East D) the dog/wolf hybridization makes up most of the dog gene pool
B

Pulling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you're a thin 14-year-old.That was me in 1940-the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City's Pennsyl-vania Railway Station. After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging passengers. I'd like to join them, thinking, "Everyone else is doing it." When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do." You give an honest day's work," he said, looking at me straight in the eye."  They're paying you. If they want to do that, you let them do that." I followed my dad's advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since. Of all the jobs I've had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me. Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions. Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience. If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone. I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal. If one of my players were caught stealing, he'd be gone. Whether you're on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can't trust one another, there's going to be trouble. The writer can't put up with stealing because he thinks that   _  . A) it is a totally shared experience B) it is considered as the most dangerous C) it does great harm to human relationship D) it may lead to the loss of his sports team

C