Q: Sitting is art that isn't getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies -or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn't sitting - it's watching. People used to sit a lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tries and spare parts, you could kick back and sit. Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest   the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel's illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze  . That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery   doesn't look as if it's doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul if you want to enjoy a truly full life, don't just do something -sit there. The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for  _  . A) eating food . B) watching TV . C) gathering together. D) playing with children.
A: C


Q: London--coffee protects mice from radiation and could get the same way in humans, according to Indian scientists. Scientist at India's Bhabha Atomic Research Center discovered that mice injected with caffeine  remained alive after high doses of normally _ radiation. Although the study was limited to animals, Kachadillilli George, head of the research team, believes the findings could have implications (something suggested )  for humans . "It does suggest that coffee might have some beneficial effects in protecting against radiation," he told New Scientist magazine late last month. George and his team injected 471 mice with caffeine and left them uncovered to 7.5 grays of gamma radiation ,enough to kill most mice. But 25 days later 70 percent of the mice that had received 80 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight were still alive. On the contrary all 196 mice that had been left uncovered to the same radiation but had not been given any caffeine died. Which is the best title of the article? A) Human and Mice B) New Radiation Defense--Coffee C) Deadly Radiation--Gamma Radiation D) Mice Died of Caffeine
A: B


Q: Calling all poets! TIME For Kids(TFK) has a challenge for you. WHO: The contest is open to students who are 8 to 13 years old. WHAT: Write a funny, rhyming poem and enter it in the TFK Poetry Contest. By entering, the entrant  should promise that the poem is an original one that does not copy another poet's work, has not been published in an y medium and has not won an award. HOW: Send your poem by e-mail to contest@poetry4kids.com. The subject line of your e-mail message should read "TFK POETRY CONTEST". Be sure to include your first name only, your e-mail address and your parents' e-mail address. Limit one entry per person or e-mail account. The sponsor  is not responsible for lost, late or incomplete entries, or those not received for any reason. WHEN: This contest begins 12:01 a.m. on January 13,2013, and ends 11:59 p.m. on March 1,2013. JUDGING: All entries will be judged by poet Kenn Nesbitt, based on the following standards: creativity and o riginality (50%),use of language and rhyme (25%) and relatedness to contest theme(25%).Winner will be informed by e-mail and must respond within five days. WINNER'S LIST: For names of the winner and finalists, visit timeforkids.com (after April 1,2013, you can get for a period of 10 days). PRIZE: Our judge will select four semifinalists from which one grand-prize winner and three finalists will be chosen. The one grand-prize winner will receive an online class visit from poet Kenn Nesbitt and a signed copy of one of his books of poetry. The poem of the grand-prize winner will be published on timeforkids.com. The finalists will receive signed copies of one of Nesbitt's books of poetry. The poems of finalists will be published on timeforkids.com. Which may be a proper work for the TFK Poetry Contest? A) A war poem published in a book. B) A great poem which has won many prizes. C) A fine poem downloaded from the Internet. D) A love poem which has been kept secret from others.
A: D


Q: It is a novel that is probably more talked about than read. People think: "It's such a big book! It has such a serious theme!" The feeling that they are going to be taught a long, hard lesson often puts readers off. But really, War and Peace (1869), which tells the stories of five upper-class families in Russia at the time of the 1812 French invasion, is not to be missed. Reading this novel is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like climbing the Great Wall: You will regret it if you do not try. Earlier this month, USA Today reported that a six-episode   War and Peace miniseries   produced by the BBC would air next year. With a complex plot and so many characters, readers unfamiliar with the work might be most interested in the characters from the financially-troubled Rostov family of Moscow. Count Rostov has four teenage children. Natasha is in love with Boris Drubetskoy, who is about to become an army officer. Nikolai Ilyich loves the poor Sonya, a ward   of the family, but his family is not happy with their relationship. The proud Vera is about to start a happy marriage with a German-Russian officer. The youngest Rostov is the 9-year-old Petya, who, like his brother Nikolai, has his heart set on fighting for his country. The lives of all are about to be changed by the upcoming great war that involves many other major characters of War and Peace, such as Prince Andrei, who goes into a military career partly in order to get away from his unhappy marriage to the socialite   Lise. The novel has a great reputation among many kinds of writers and millions of readers. US writer Ernest Hemingway wrote: "I don't know anybody who could write about war better than Tolstoy did." A comment by the great 20th-century Russian short-story writer Isaak Babel shows the rich sense of history that Tolstoy's work conveys. "If the world itself could write, it would write like Tolstoy," Babel commented. Why do people prefer to talk about the novel rather than read it? A) The story is directly related to their daily life. B) The story is too long and has too serious a theme. C) They often get confused with the complex relationship. D) They can understand the story through shared ideas.

A: B