Imagine that the rules of volleyball forbid the use of hands or arms---that's sepaktakraw . It's a difficult sport, but that isn't stopping the world from picking it up. The court where sepaktakraw is played is the size of one used for badminton doubles. A net and a plastic ball a little larger than a baseball are used. Two teams of three players(left inside, right inside, and server) take their places on either side. A teammate passes the ball to the server who kicks it over the net. Points are scored when the ball touches the court surface on the other side. How sepaktakraw began has been a hot topic. Many Asian cultures once had their own names and rules for it. In Thailand the sport can be found on a famous mural . It was also played to celebrate the writing of the nations' first constitution in 1933. however, various nations discussed to decide the official name and rules in 1960, At last, sepak is a Malay word for "kick", and takraw is Thai for "woven ball". International tournaments have been held for many years, but sepaktakraw continues to improve. It was introduced as an exhibition event at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. And though no other countries can b equal to Thailand in sepaktakraw, they will show improvement. Twenty-five continents on five continents now claim active teams that play internationally. Finally, a place in the Olympic Games is also being sought. If these changes continue, sepaktakraw may soon be familiar to all. In sepaktakraw, players are not allowed to use   _  . A) head and neck B) feet and head C) legs and knees D) hands and arms
D

Famous centenarians   still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire."Those who stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases.He knows from experience what it means, as the Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession.Every year, Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project."You have to work, work, work in order to forget that death is not far away," he said.When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some humility: "It's down to mother nature.It gave to me what it took from others." Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to do with character.Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to train the brain are essential for senior citizens. Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer (103), Nobel laureate Montalcini (101) and director Kurt Maetzig (100), Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of a listless elderly generation. Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer.The 103-year-old Brazilian is best known for his futuristic-looking buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the poor."The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently.He spends almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on ideas: After a gallbladder   operation he composed a samba tune   in the clinic. Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters.The Dutch-born opera singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works.Recently Heesters said: "I want to be at least 108-years-old." He also plans to keep performing." _ " Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally  of awards and is looking for a "good stage role". Italian scientist Rita... How many centenarians are mentioned in this passage? A) 4 B) 5 C) 6 D) 7
B

Can a Language Become Extinct? A language can become extinct when the last person who can speak it passes away. Or more likely when the secondlast person who speaks it dies because then there is no one left to talk to. According to linguists   there is nothing unusual about a single language dying out. But what is happening today is quite remarkable. According to the recent statistics, there are approximately 6,000 languages in the world as we speak. Of these, about half are going to die out in the next century. There are several reasons as to why a language can eventually die out. These range from natural disasters, such as hurricanes, to sociological factors, like cultural assimilation, in which the culture of a minority group is gradually replaced by a stronger one. The former can cause tribes to leave their natural habitat  and therefore become fewer and fewer in number. However, it doesn't happen very frequently. In fact, the latter is a much bigger threat and it is responsible for the extinction of a lot of languages in countries like the USA and Australia. For instance, Chemehuevi is one of the languages which is really close to dying out since its sole speaker is an old, yet healthy, man named Johnny Hill, Jr. It is very important for as many languages as possible to be preserved. Scientists have been trying to raise people's awareness on how certain tribes have specific words which cannot be expressed in let's say English simply because there is no equal meaning. Namely, the Yupik of Alaska have 99 names to describe different layers of ice formation, or how the Tofa of Siberia classify reindeer  . In other words, when languages die out, mankind's wisdom reduces. On a happier note, there are many famous cases which show what can be done to preserve languages in danger of extinction. In particular, the Maori in New Zealand have created socalled "language nests": organizations which help children under five learn the language. They provide them with a setting where they are exposed to the language... The author believes that   _  . A) all languages are finally going to die out B) human wisdom can be reflected in languages C) the protective approaches have proved ineffective D) the current situation of languages hardly requires attention
B

I visited the nearby car factory today with my uncle, who works there. One thing I noticed was that most of the work is now done by robots. Welding  , painting, testing, and many other jobs are performed by robots now.  The whole dashboard   of the car is now put into the car from above, through the windshield, by a robot. It would have taken two men to do this in the past, and it would have hurt their backs quite a bit. It got me thinking: is it a good thing that robots are replacing factory workers? On one hand, robots generally do a more accurate job than people. They aren't likely to make many mistakes, and if something goes wrong with one car, an alarm goes off. They do exactly the same thing, every time, without fail. A human worker is never able to do exactly the same thing every time. On the other hand, robots also reduce costs for companies. Companies don't have to pay robots wages or injury compensation   if they're broken. If something in a robot does go wrong, it won't have to take time off work for a year, or even forever, as could happen to a real person if he breaks his back or burn himself while welding. The obvious  _ to all of this is that it increases the unemployment rate.The company will have to bring in some very talented individuals who know how to operate the robots. Unlike regular factory workers, these intelligence workers usually demand a higher pay. What is the author's attitude towards using robots in factories? A) He is doubtful about it. B) He thinks it necessary. C) He is strongly against it. D) The text doesn't mention it.

D