When my mother was alive, she used to tell me again and again about the value of just being nice. "Never underestimate the power of a smile," she would say. I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today. A lot of people don't smile and when it comes to service today, they're just not nice. Now don't give me wrong, not all service workers but a good many. I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. First a man, then later a woman, who couldn't have been ruder. And this to a customer, who didn't know his way around a PC. But no matter, I could tell they thought I was a bother, The woman, in fact, seemed to be chewing gum as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform. The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss once looking up at him. Not once. You see it everywhere. Gone are the days when people cared about you. It's a sign of the time, I suspect. But that makes me sad -- for them and for us all. People who aren't happy, who don't smile, who don't kid, who don't joke or make light of even bad situations, make for an even worse situation. And it spreads like a cancer. Someone's rude to you, you're rude to them and to the next fellow you meet, and on and on. Smiles are contagious but so annoyances. The boss who can't be bothered with his workers. The celebrity who can't be bothered with her annoying fans. You know, my mom used to judge presidential candidates by how they smiled. I would say, "But mom, you don't know if that smile is real." "Oh, yes I do," she would tell me. "I can feel it." It's in their eyes, she would say. And it's in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place. Why did the writer mention his phone call? A) To prove his mother is wrong. B) To show many people aren't nice. C) To tell us he knows little about computer. D) To share his funny experience with us.
B


(Question)
The virus "Ebola" is named after the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That's where the virus was discovered in 1976. A person can only get Ebola through direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, for example, sweat or spit. Additionally, the virus can get into your body through your eyes and mouth if those areas come into contact with something that contains the bodily fluids of an infected person. That's why health care workers are supposed to keep themselves completely covered while treating patients. The deadliest Ebola outbreak is spreading fast in Western Africa, taking over 900 lives so far. The health systems in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are severely lacking in resources, and health care workers may not have access to adequate protective clothing when working in rural clinics, where the proper protections are lacking. Since Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia share a border; it's easier for people to move from one country to another, increasing the risk for disease spread. For now, all doctors can do is treat the symptoms and provide supportive care like monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing while making sure the patients' fluids are supplied. Sometimes patients are given antibiotics  to treat other possible infections. The hope is to make the patient pull through the infection so their immune system can eventually clear the virus. The people who survive Ebola have created enough antibodies to kill it. There are several promising drugs and vaccines in development, but since Ebola is less common--and research about it is not well funded -- there is no drug or vaccine that has been approved for use in humans. Many of the other drugs and vaccines have not yet been tested in humans. The WHO (World Health Organization) is meeting next week to discuss whether experimental treatments should be used during this outbreak. Why have there been no cures used for Ebola in humans so far? A) There are not enough drugs for the infected people. B) Ebola is rare and its research money is lacking. C) The people have enough antibodies to kill Ebola. D) The WHO has decided not to use them.
(Answer)
B


Ques: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third WheelBy Jeff Kinney A dance at Greg Heffley's middle school is going to be held, but he can't find someone to go with him. Finally he finds a girl from his class to go with him. That is when The Third Wheel story begins. The Third Wheel is full of jokes and interesting drawings. Ivy and Bean Make the RulesBy Annie Barrows Bean's older sister Jessie goes to a summer camp called Girl Power 4-Ever, but Bean can't join her because she is too young. So Bean and her best friend, Ivy, decide to create their own camp. At Camp Flaming Arrow, Ivy and Bean come up with all the activities and, of course, they make the rules. Their happiness and kindness will make you want to keep reading. Stick DogBy Tom Watson Stick Dog is a dog that lives in an empty pipe. He has four dog friends named Poo-Poo, Stripes, Karen and Mutt. When Stick Dog smells some delicious hamburgers, he and his friends decide to steal the food from a human family that is having a picnic in Picas-so Park. Along the way, they face a lot of funny challenges. White Fur FlyingBy Patricia Maclachlan Zoo and Alice's mother might just have the coolest job ever. She rescues Great Pyrenees dogs! But dogs aren't the only things that need to be saved. The family's new neighbour, Philfip, doesn't speak, and no one knows why. White Fur Flying is all about understanding that love can come from both inside and outside. Although it is a little sad, the book is good to read. Kids who love animals and a good story will really like it, too. Who wants to start a camp? A) Jessie. B) Greg. C) Bean. D) Alice.
Ans: C


Hippos have always attracted people's interest. Modern hippos in Walt Disney movies can dance lightly. A stone hippo in a 13th-century church in France has wings. And in ancient Egyptian fairy tales, the hippo was a goddess that guided the dead to the afterworld. Despite their popular appeal, hippos, as well as other animals, have difficulty when their needs conflict with those of humans. The early Egyptians liked to hunt hippos for their teeth and because they were dangerous animals. Amulets to protect babies from demons were made from hippo bones. About 4,000 years ago, there were so many hippos in Egypt that they caused serious crop damage. Egyptian farmers killed them routinely, and by the beginning of the 19th century, all the hippos in Africa had been killed. People used to see hippos fight in the arenas of ancient Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire, hippos weren't seen in Europe again until a few zoos began to exhibit them in the mid 1800s. All the various uses and abuses of hippos through the centuries have made their population fall greatly. Where they do occur, mostly in national parks, they live in such high density that they make the grasslands bare. This causes other grass-eating animals to go farther for food, and hippos, which can't live far from water, destroy their own feeding grounds. In Africa, hippos became extinct   _  . A) around the 1850s B) in the 13th century C) about 4,000 years ago D) in the early 19th century

D