*Question*
In the summer of 1980 a Spanish tourist, Gaspar Carner, went to Great Britain on holiday. When he was travelling in Scotland, he decided to visit Loch Ness, the famous lake where people say there is a monster. But while he was going across the lake in a boat, his bag fell into the water. In the bag were his passport, car keys, pen, and all his money. Loch Ness is 150 metres deep, so he didn't expect to see the bag again! Fourteen years later, in 1994, some scientists decided to explore the lake. They looked for the Loch Ness monster. Suddenly one of them saw something black in the water. They carefully went nearer. They thought the black thing was the monster. They went nearer and nearer. It was a bag. They took the bag out of the lake. They found that the photo on the passport was still clear. One of the scientists happened to be familiar with Gaspar Carner. So the bag was returned to him. How did the explorers know the bag was Carner's? A) Carner recognized the bag B) They expected it was the monster C) Carner was very famous D) One of the explorers knew Carner
**Answer**
D

*Question*
"Did you hear what happened to Adam last Friday?" Lindsey whispers to Tori. With her eyes shining, Tori brags, "You bet I did. Sean told me two days ago." What are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happens to be yours truly, Adam Freedman. I can tell you that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren't very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip . I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group. An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic--breakups, troubles at home, even dropping out--that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicer the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, bur cruel lies can cause pain. If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? The answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don't. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the "in group". In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority . Gossip can also have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do's and don'ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student... What advice does the author give in the passage? A) Never become a gossiper. B) Stay away from gossipers. C) Don't let gossip turn into lies. D) Think twice before you gossip.
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Young women who take part in beauty contests   are helping to keep alive an outdated opinion of women that a woman's most important value is how she looks. Women have been working very hard through the years to change their image. They have been trying to prove that the value of a woman does not lie only in her beauty. The world is just beginning to recognize that women are as smart, wise and strong in personality as men are, and that there are qualities more important than looks when judging people. When women take part in beauty contests for top prizes, they encourage people to value them for their beauty alone. It is unfair to say that beauty alone determines one's worth. Beauty contests not only encourage spectators   to judge women by their appearance, but they encourage this idea in the contestants as well. These young women spend months losing weight to be the "right" size and learning how to dress, wear makeup, and walk just right so that some judges will consider them beautiful. I think it's great for a woman to feel good about her appearance, but looks shouldn't be sought after in an extreme or unreasonable way. There are too many other, more important, things in a young woman's life: learning, developing friendships and preparing for their future work and perhaps a family. As long as there are beauty contests, women won't be fully recognized as well-rounded human beings. According to the author, beauty contests are  _  . A) disrespectful to women B) unpleasant to contestants C) necessary for modern society D) helpful in improving women's image
**Answer**
A

*Question*
American parents generally can choose any name they want for their children. They may choose a name because it honors a family member. Or they may choose a name just because they like it. A website called Baby Center lists some unusual names given to American babies born last year. Some were named for characters in old stories, such as Hero, Thor and Ulysses. Other people named their babies after kinds of food, like actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She named her daughter Apple. Other people named their babies Banana, Pumpkin and Cookie. Still some babies were named for places. These included Brazil, India and Rome. Some parents used names of famous people from history such as Newton and Hannibal. Other parents named their babies after flowers or the weather. These babies were named Buttercup, Iris, Sunshine and Thunder. Recording artists and movie actors influence some parents' choices of names. Babies were named Beyonce, Charlize, Reda, Pierce, Shajira and Whitney. Movie actors themselves often give their babies unusual names. For example, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt named their baby daughter Shiloh. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes named their little girl Suri. Some American parents do not want unusual names. They want their baby's name to honor their religious faith. Such names include Abraham for boys or Sarah for girls. And many people give their babies the same name as a family member or good friend. The United States Social Security Administration once published a list of the most popular names for American girls and boys born. Many of the top ten boys, names are from the Jewish and Christian Bibles. If a girl is named Sarah, the name reflects her parents'   _  . A) love B) career C) expectation D) religion
**Answer**

D