Ques: I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching   at one another's hands for reassurance. They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled   round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon   into a larger cocoon. It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path. But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come -- with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts. According to the author, what might happen when a teenager stands up against the popularity wave and follows his/her own path? A) He/She falls behind the time. B) He/She loses good friends. C) He/She faces all kinds of criticism. D) He/She gains valuable popularity.
Ans: D

Ques: It is easy to lose patience with science today. The questions are pressing: How dangerous is air pollution? What about low-level radiation? When will that horrible earthquake strike California? And why can't we predict weather better? But the evidence is often described as "uncertain", forcing scientists to base their points of view almost as much on intuition as on science. When historians and philosophers of science listen to these questions, some conclude that science may not be able to solve all these problems any time soon. The unknowns can grow into riddles that are impossible to solve. Because of the unstable and changing state of the earth's atmosphere, for example, scientists have struggled for centuries to predict the weather with precision  but failed. The case is different for scientists of astronomy. For example, they think that the gravitational force of a nearby space vehicle, though tiny, is able to change the path of a much larger planet if the vehicle spends enough time close to it. With the aid of Newton's laws of gravitational attraction, ground controllers can predict the path of a planetary probe  -or satellite-with incredible accuracy. They do this by calculating the gravitational force from each of the passing planets until the probe speeds beyond the edge of the solar system.A much more difficult task is to calculate what happens when two or three times of such force pull on the probe at the same time. Such procedures can, of course, be very difficult, but for experiments, they are effective. This range of questions-from simple problems to those impossibly complex-has resulted in nicknames for various fields of study: "soft" sciences and  " hard "  sciences."Soft" sciences admit a great degree of uncertainty. Academicians tend to judge fields such as sociology, psychology, and political science as "soft" because they are assumed to be understandable, of unnecessary mathematical accuracy, and concerned with everyday affairs such as interpersonal relationships. However, "hard" sciences,... According to the author, "soft" sciences  _  . A) allow for certain inaccuracy B) focus on personal relationships C) are based on controlled experiments D) are rooted in data and mathematical models
Ans: A

Ques: Watson entered Mr. Smith's office. The boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn't do well without giving them a second chance. "Watson," said Mr. Smith, "this past year your department hasn't earned money. We're going to drop that department. It's finished. I'm sorry, --but you'll have to go." "But, sir -- if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School." "What's that!" said the boss. "Riverside! I didn't know you had a boy there. That's an expensive school for a man with your salary." "I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He's a star athlete and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ there." The boss sat perfectly still for a long time -- a faraway   look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, "We've got to close your department, Watson. But you'll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours--maybe more pay. Now get out. You're here for life." Watson got out, with surprise on his face. Then the boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie's last letter from Riverside School --written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read: I can't say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it's the same everywhere when you're a cripple  . But don't worry about me, Dad. They've got a good chemistry department here. And there's one boy here who is really great. He's a track star and boxing champ   and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, 1 want to do something for Champ. Something big -- that he won' t even know about. Your son,  Herbie The author wrote the text in order to   _  . A) share a moving story with us B) make our children enjoy life C) provide us with tips on work D) help us to deal with our boss
Ans:
A