Throughout history there have always been people who can make other people laugh. Early clowns often both annoyed and delighted listeners with their comments and songs. They were not the silent performers seen in today's circus rings. Clowns  _ when the big three-ring circuses made it impossible for the audience to hear them. Circus clowns give performances in various ways. Walk-around clowns use an animal or something, like a huge rubber hammer, as part of their performance. A carpet clown moves around, talking with the audience and performing while the acts change in the rings. Then there are acrobatic clowns, riding clowns, juggling clowns and others.  Everything a clown does looks easy, but it is not. Making people laugh can be hard work. Clowns must be in good physical condition to prevent injuries. Each funny move is carefully timed and well-rehearsed  . Most clowns have also been trained as acrobats, jugglers or aerial artists, and many include such skills into their acts. Generally, there are three types of circus clowns--whiteface, auguste and character. Each has a special makeup and clothes. Each has a typical act as well. The neat whiteface is usually a strict, in-charge character who sets up the punch line (the point of a joke) with a partner who is typically an auguste. His facial makeup is neatly detailed in red or black, and his clothes look so loose with a ruffle around the neck.  Old circus stories have it that the auguste clown got his name from a German nickname for someone who is clumsy, acting in a careless and stupid way. The auguste wears light-coloured makeup, but white is used around the mouth and eyes, and there's a big red nose. This clown performs a great deal of humour. An oversized suit or baggy trousers allow freedom of movement for all the clumsy acts. He also wears big shoes. Character clowns perform as different characters--cowboys, grandmothers or concert conductors. The most famous character clown, however, is the tramp  . Tramps wear different styles of makeup and torn... Why did the author write this article? A) To give some basic facts about clowns. B) To express his opinion on circus clowns. C) To tell readers about the history of clowns. D) To describe the hard work circus clowns do.
A


(Question)
Tensions have erupted over some barren rocks in the Pacific that you may never have heard of, but stay tuned--this is a boundary dispute  that could get ugly and some day have far-reaching consequences for China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. The islands in dispute are called the Senkaku chain by Japan, the Diaoyu islands by China, and the Diaoyutai by Taiwan. All three claim the islands, which are really just five small islands and three barren rocks northeast of Taiwan, 200 miles off the Chinese coast. The latest conflict occurred when a Chinese fishing boat collided  with two Japanese naval ships trying to stop it near the islands. The Japanese prevented the Chinese captain from leaving the place for questioning and the two countries have been exchanging angry protests. The reason to worry is that nationalists in both China and Taiwan see the islands as unquestionably theirs and think that their government has been weak in claiming this authority. So far, wiser heads have generally won the argument on each side, but at some point a weakened Chinese leader might try to gain the legal right with the public by pushing the issue and recovering the islands. It would be a dangerous game and would have a disastrous impact on China-Japan relations, but if successful it would raise the popularity of the Chinese government. In reality, of course, there is zero chance that the U.S. will honor its treaty  with Japan over a few barren rocks. We're not going to risk a nuclear conflict with China over some islands that may well be China's. But if we don't help, our security relationship with Japan will be at the breaking point. So which country has a better claim to the islands? My feeling is that it's China, although the answer isn't clear-cut. Chinese navigational records show the islands as Chinese for many centuries, and a 1783 Japanese map shows them as Chinese as well. Japan _ to "discover" the islands only in 1884 and took control of them by force only in 1895 when it also grabbed Taiwan. The best approach... The latest conflict referred to in the passage occurred because   _  . A) the Japanese government has bought the Diaoyu Islands from the Liyuans B) two Japanese naval ships sailed in the Chinese sea around the Diaoyu Islands C) the Japanese kept the captain of a fishing boat from returning for questioning D) a fishing boat collided with two Japanese naval ships by design in the Japanese sea
(Answer)
C


Question: Tayka Hotel de Sal Where:Tahua, Bolivia How much:about $95 a night Why it's cool:You've stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That's something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt--including the beds (though you'll sleep on regular mattresses and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric driedup lake that's the world's biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633squaremile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks. Green Magic Nature Resort Where: Vythiri, India How much: about $240 a night Why it's cool: Riding a pulleyoperated  lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window--there is no glass--you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy.  Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel. You don't even have to come down for breakfast--the hotel will send it up on the pulleydrawn "elevator". Dog Bark Park Inn B&B Where: Cottonwood, Idaho How much: $92 a night Why it's cool: This doghouse isn't just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30foottall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps to the loft in Willy's head, or hang out inside his nose. Gamirasu Cave Hotel Where: Ayvali, Turkey How much: between $130 and $475 a night Why it's cool: Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65degFin summer. It can be inferred that   _  . A) it is the same man who designed the four hotels B) Green Magic Nature Resort is the dearest in India C) the building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B is like a dog D) Gamirasu Cave Hotel is the oldest among the four ones
Answer:
C