There is good and bad news for parents today. The word "mother" has been voted the most beautiful word in the English language. But "father" failed even to make it on the list of the 70 best words in a survey of thousands of non-English speakers across the world. From Ankara to Zurich, "mother" was voted above "love", "smile" and "blossom".     In second place was "passion", followed by "smile", "love" and "eternity", with "fantastic", "destiny", "freedom", "liberty" and "tranquility" completing the top 10.    The results were given by the British Council  which carried out a huge survey of more than 40,000 people in 102 non-English speaking countries.     The study was done to celebrate the group's 70th anniversary --and it threw up a few surprising words to the list.     "It's interesting that 'mother', the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll  ",said British Council spokesman Greg Selby. "It is great to see words in the survey that are so positive and suggestive of the British Council' s purpose -- words such as 'freedom', 'liberty', 'peace'."     Those surveyed were allowed to choose their words on either meaning or sound, said Mr. Selby. This explained why words that are satisfying to pronounce, like "flip-flop", made the list.     Famous mothers like Kate Winslet, Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer have all done their bit to make the word popular.     Kate, 28, even stopped shooting Woody Allen's new film to spend more time with her young family.     Singer Robbie Williams is proud to express his love for his mother, while actor Peter Kay went through a marathon British tour to pay for a new house for his mom.     The mood   was added to by Britney Spears, yesterday as she showed her love for her mother.  She said: "My mom was and still is a supermom. She is just so much fun and I think the reason why I love so much her is because she's a young mom."     She added: "Mom, thanks for being the best role model--you rock." What can we infer   from the passage? A) It is Kate Winslet, Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer that made their efforts to make the word "mother" popular. B) Kate stopped shooting a new film in order to stay with her family. C) Peter Kay took part in a marathon in order to pay for a new house for his mother. D) Britney Spears took pride in her mother.
D

Surrounded by the towns of Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius, Lake Norman is a man-made lake. It is also the largest lake in the state covering a shoreline of more than 500 miles. State Park on the lake gives a chance for different water activities. People, both tourists and locals, come to the area on weekends, where during the peak season a large crowd arrives to relax and have fun. A great activity for kids is education except fun. The tour coversaquatic  life, especially that seen at Lake Norman. Since it is more of an educational one it also covers other important knowledge about water. Those wanting to go boating are seen off into the lake on canoes and pedal boats which are rented on hourly basis. The charges are $5 per hour increased by $3 for everyadditional  hour. The boats can be kept on the lake all day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening during the summers. Both canoes and pedal boats can seat 2 to 4 people. The park also set up a group tent camp, where a site can hold about 25 people. People from all over the country come here to catch some fishing action, obviously hoping to catch some fish as well. The inner park lake is also great for fishing, though it offers a smaller area compared to Lake Norman. Those here for adventure like to go for biking and hiking on the trails inside the park. Lake  Norman is a great place to spend time with family and friends. People come here on vacation or simply to kick back after a week's work and relax. From the passage we learn that Lake Norman is   _  . A) the second largest lake in the USA B) surrounded by the town of Davidson C) not a natural one but made by people D) about five hundred metres long
C

For the rest of the week, Joe practiced kicking football hard, concentrating on his each kicking. Sometimes Joe hit the ball straight. Sometimes it went wide again. But it seemed that the more he believed he could do it, the easier it was. "I'm not a joke now," thought Joe. "Not a joke at all!" But a practice wasn't like a real match and his boots were still not giving him enough power. He should have told his mum and dad about it straight away but, of course, he didn't. He was always shy to ask for things. Finally, late on the night before the match, he could hold himself back no longer. "Dad, I haven't got any proper football boots ..." he said. "Ah," said Dad, "I might be able to help you there." At the words, Joe was excited. New boots! He thought. "He's got me some new boots! He must have got me them for Christmas," thought Joe, "But now that I'm in an important match, he's giving them to me early. Wonderful!" Dad went upstairs. Joe excitedly tried to watch the football preview on TV. He wasn't playing for Manchester United or Liverpool, of course, but he was part of it all now; part of the thrill. His legs twitched with every kick on the screen. His head shook with every centre. And all the time, his mind was racing ahead to his own great game the next morning, in his super new boots. It was ages before his dad came downstairs again. He put a large pair of shiny black boots in front of Joe. As he stared at them, the boy felt as if someone had poured ice into his brain. The boots were awful! "Good, eh?" said his dad. Joe found it hard to speak. He had never seen anything like them before. They weren't low-cut, soft or.... They had big, hard square toes, great big long studs and they were high at the ankle. They were his dad's old rugby boots, polished up. Joe was filled with disappointment. They had been good boots, quality boots. And they were his size. Joe's feet were enormous for his age. But he could imagine what everyone at school would say. " ...," he finally gasped, " should be exactly my... What can be the best title of the story? A) Joe's football B) Joe's football team C) Joe's football boots D) Joe's dream

C