Ques: "Your homework is to collect sounds and take them down," Mrs. Olson said before class was over. She handed out sheets of paper shaped like giant ears. On his way home, Colin glared out of the school-bus window. Not fair, he thought. How could he collect enough sounds on his family's farm? If only he lived in the town. He got off the bus when it stopped at his mailbox. But he wasn't in the mood to wave as it drove away. "I'm home!"Colin called when he pushed open the gate. He threw his schoolbag down on a kitchen chair. "How was school?" His mother asked, walking in with his baby brother on her shoulder. "I've got homework," Colin complained. "Eat something before _ " His mother gave him the animal biscuits. Colin ate two tigers, three lions, and a seal, then drank some milk. Astrid, Colin's dog, woofed as Colin walked toward the barn .Her young dogs were yipping. Colin placed dog food into their pan. In the chicken house, Colin hurried two hens from their nests.He put their warm eggs into his jacket. The black cow napped in the sun. Colin woke her when he poured corn into her pan. "Moo, thank you!"she seemed to say. Colin put the eggs in the kitchen, then climbed to his tree house as usual. He could see Dad's beehives  by the field. Six hives usually meant plenty of humming noise. But today he couldn't hear it over the chattering sound of the sparrows,How could a person think? "QUIET!"Colin shouted. Suddenly, he sat up straight. Cows mooed and young dogs yipped. Chickens crackled in their yard. When Astrid began woofing below, Colin smiled broadly. "I hear you!"he called. He hurried down from the tree. How many animal sounds are mentioned in the text? A) 4. B) 5. C) 6. D) 7.
Ans: C

Ques: I have lived and worked in Slovakia for about three years. And I have talked to many people who had been working overseas for quite a long time. Here are some of the things that I have found helpful to anyone preparing to live or work abroad. Hopefully these tips will help. Research: Knowing about the geography and history of the place will help a lot. You don't have to be an expert but just know the basics. If you're going to be living there it is worth the effort. Find someone you trust at home: Find a friend or   you really trust at home to handle things that you might have to deal with when you're abroad. My parents were great at helping me with many things. They have been great at helping me to move to Slovakia and come back to the United States. Live simply: Learning to live on a small amount of money is a skill. It takes time. Living abroad can be expensive, so being able to live simply will help with costs. The other thing is that having lots of things to carry around is annoying. Try to experience the culture: Be open-minded and try your best to really experience the culture. Learn the language, hang out with the natives and try to have fun. You may not like everything but making an effort will help you make new friends and make life more enjoyable. Learning the language can be a challenge but most local people will see it as a sign of respect if you try, not only that it is just a cool way to impress your friends when they come to visit. What is the author's purpose of writing the passage? A) To tell his experience of living abroad B) To give some tips for living or working abroad C) To show us the difficulties of living abroad D) To warn the readers of the danger of living or working abroad.
Ans: B

Ques: Several years ago, the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, visited Germany, a leader in green roof design. Later he decided to have vegetation planted on Chicago City Hall. Today, the tops of many other buildings also look like parks. In Canada, the Coast Plaza Hotel in Vancouver has a forest on its roof. New York City has an unusual example farm for hydroponics. The farm is on a boat called the Science Barge. Rainwater and river water are used to grow lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. The farm shows the possibilities for designing rooftop systems. Green roofs are designed to save energy and capture rainwater. Rooftops covered with plants help keep buildings cool. They can extend the life of a roof. And they can reduce water running off into streets and storming water systems. Experts say green roofs usually do not get much above 27degC. So temperatures might not be a problem for growing. But rooftop gardeners have to be careful not to put too much weight on the roof. This is true whether plants are grown in soil or water. Earlier in 2008, researchers in Texas reported that green roofs can reduce a building's air conditioning costs by about onefifth compared to blacktop roofs.  But they also reported that not all green roofs perform equally well. They found that designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and to capture rainwater. The researchers put experimental roofs on top of metal insulated   boxes, to recreate green roof conditions. The study compared products from six companies to help businesses understand how to improve their designs. Each rooftop had sixteen different kinds of plants native to Texas. The researchers say the presence of native plants likely helped all the green roofs capture water better compared to sedums. Sedums are plants that need little water and often are used on green roofs. The native plants could take in more water and release more of it to the atmosphere. According to the passage, which conclusion is WRONG? A) Sometimes green roofs may break down the house. B) Not all the green roofs can reduce the building's air conditioning costs equally. C) Different designs of green roofs have different effects on buildings. D) Sedums are a kind of plants native to Texas.
Ans: D

Ques: SAN FRANCISCO -- Sales for Apple's third generation iPad has hit record in the first days after it was on the market, Apple and carrier   AT&T said on Monday. The new iPad went on sale on March 16 in the United States along with nine additional countries and areas. "We had a record weekend, and we are thrilled with it," Apple's CEO Tim Cook said Monday at a conference. Shortly after the conference call, AT&T said the launch of the new iPad set a new single-day record for its sales. "On Friday, March 16 AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales, showing strong demand for the new iPad on the nation's largest 4G network," said the mobile carrier in a brief announcement. The new iPad is Apple's first 4G-capable product, featuring retina   display, HD camera and faster processor. Before hitting stores, the new iPad pre-sales were sold out worldwide in two days. BEIJING -- A Chinese farmer was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday for stealing art pieces from the Forbidden City last year, court authorities said. Shi Baikui, 27, was fined 13,000 yuan ($2,059) and was deprived   of his political rights for 3 years, according to the ruling announced by the Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing Monday morning. Shi, from East China's Shandong Province, broke into the heavily guarded former home of Chinese emperors in the heart of Beijing, and stole nine art pieces made of gold and jewels, on May 8, 2011, the court said in a statement. While hurriedly escaping, Shi left behind five of the pieces in the Forbidden City's compound . Failing to immediately sell the treasures, he threw the other four pieces away the next day, the document said. Six pieces were recovered and the three missing were worth about 150,000 yuan ($23,760) in total. Shi was arrested by police at an Internet cafe in Beijing's Fengtai district 58 hours after the theft. What can we learn about the stolen art pieces? A) They were all recovered. B) They were all sold off. C) Some were left behind and some were thrown away. D) Some were missing and some were sold off.
Ans:
C