According to some predictions, human beings will die out in 2012. Nearly all people think it's impossible, but there are some more earthquakes in recent years. Animals can predict the weather or other natural events. It may sound strange, but farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years , they have observed animals. "Animals ' behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events." They say. For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories don't have scientific evidence(  ) at all. Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas. A Japanese earthquake researcher named Kiyoshi Shimamura noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit. Then he did research on twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake . He got some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake:  treatment for animals' bites had increased . In fact, aggressive behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly , jumped 60 percent. There are also other changes in animals' behavior before the earthquake. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups , but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected . These animals' behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people. Which of the following animals behave strangely before an earthquake according to this passage? A) Fish B) Cows C) Pigs D) All of the above.
D

Some countries have a large number of earthquakes. Japan is one of them, while others do not have many, for example, there are few earthquakes in Britain. There is often a great noise during an earthquake.  The ground vibrates  .Houses fall down. Railways are broken, which causes trains to turn over. Sometimes thousands of people are killed in different ways. About 60,000 were killed in 1783 in the south of Italy. Some people say that earthquakes often happen near volcanoes , but it is not true. The centres of some earthquakes are under the sea. The bottom of the sea suddenly moves. The powerful forces inside the earth break the rocks. The coast is shaken and great waves appear. These waves travel long distances and rush over the land when they reach it, breaking down houses and other buildings. Sometimes they break more buildings than the earthquake itself. A terrible earthquake happened in Assam, India, in 1986.The land near Shillong suddenly moved 1.5 feet to one side, and then back again. It continued to act like this 20 times a minute.Few buildings could stand what was happening and the great stones flew four feet up into the air. What kind of building stays up best in an earthquake? The Americans carefully studied the results of the earthquake at San Francisco(1906) and believed it best for buildings to be made with concrete  walls together by steel frames. Such are the buildings that can't burn or fall easily. _  make(s) more loss than the earthquake itself. A) Nothing B) Volcanoes C) Forces inside the earth D) Terrible waves by the earthquake
D

How do you celebrate New Year's Eve? Have you ever imagined how New Year's Eve would look in another country? Examples listed below are four of the top ten "Special New Year Traditions Around the World". 1. Breaking Dishes on Neighbor's Door----Denmark A strange Danish New Year tradition is throwing dishes at neighbor's door. Strangely, this makes them happy instead of annoying them. The family with the tallest tower of broken plates, glasses, cups is considered to be the luckiest one because it means their large number of true friends. 2. Talking to Spirits----Mexico Talking to spirits is a part of Mexican belief. Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. New Year's Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits. 3. Wearing Polka Dots  ----Philippines Imagine streets full of people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year. This all actually happens in the Philippines on New Year's Eve every year. Philippines believe that this will bring them wealth by relating the round dots to coins and wealth. 4. Mistletoe Leaves Are Placed Under Pillow to Find Husband----Ireland The unmarried women of Ireland wait until 12 for New Year's Eve because it is the night that can bring them the love of their lives. They place mistletoe leaves under their pillow hoping to catch their future husband. It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them stay away from bad luck. No matter how people celebrate the New Year, we all want to start a new, fresh year with renewed enthusiasm. We all want to be happier, find love, renew friendships, increase our wealth and also hope for a little extra luck in the coming new year. Why do Philippines wear polka dots? A) Because it makes them look cute. B) Because the polka dots are very popular in the culture. C) Because the round dots are like coins which means wealth. D) Because the round dots are very not easy to see in their daily lives.
C

Can you remember the day when you spoke your first words? If you can, you are unusual. Try to think what the first months of your life were like. I'm sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grew older, your parents spent more time playing with you and talking to you. You watched and listened. You began to know that people make some sounds to go with some things. Then you began to cry to make sounds you heard. And step by step   you were able to make the right sound for one thing. On that day you came to understand the secret of the language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things can they understand each other, so these people have a language. After you found the secret of language, you learnt words. Some of the words mean things, like books, chairs and shops. Some of the words mean _ , for example, go and swim. Soon you learnt to put words together to share your idea, like "I want to go out and play with my friends." This is language. By the way of language, people can communicate  . So we say languages mean sharing. The secret of language is that  _  . A) one sound might be as good as another B) a certain sound is for a certain thing C) people can understand each other D) there is a special sound for each other

B