It'll soon be the birthday of one of my closest friends, Susie. I still cannot decide what to give her. She's a rare friend because she has been there for me all the time whenever I need a friend to talk to. I can always depend on her to be the first to arrive to give me advice when I have problems. I guess I am so lucky to have her as a friend. It's more than seven years since I first met Susie in our school. I joined the theater group and she was a director then. At first I thought she was _ but in the end I realized that she needed to keep a strict image in order for her actors and actresses to take her seriously. And then during practice I got a chance to know her better. In fact, she was a friendly and warm-hearted person. Soon we become good friends. I don't know exactly what to give my friend on her birthday as I believe she has everything. So it's really hard to buy her a gift she will appreciate. This year I want something different and special but I don't know what to give. One day I searched the internet without any purpose and to my surprise there is a really lovely site where you can buy all kinds of gifts. I scanned some of their items and I found cool and exciting gifts. I chose a special personalized bracelet . I'm sure that this will look perfect on her. I put our names as part of the design of the bracelet so that it'll remind us that we'll forever be friends. I can't wait to give her my gift but I won't tell her yet. I don't want to destroy the surprise. Why does the author consider Susie as a rare friend? A) She can always offer help when the author is in need. B) She author and Susie have lots of things to talk about. C) Susie is good at solving problems. D) Susie is a friendly and warm-heated person.
A


I grew up in Jamaica Plain, an urban community located on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1940's it was a wholesome, specific little community. It was my home and I loved it there; back then I thought I would never leave. My best friend Rose and I used to collectively dream about raising a family of our own someday. We had it all planned out to live next door to one another. Our dream remained alive through grade school, high school, and even beyond. Rose was my maid of honor when I got married in 1953 to the love of my life, Dick. Even then she joked that she was just one perfect guy short of being married, thus bringing us closer to our dream. Meanwhile, Dick aspired to be an officer in the Marines and I fully supported his ambitions. I realized that he might be stationed far away from Jamaica Plain, but I told him I would relocate and adjust. The idea of experiencing new places together seemed somewhat romantic to me. So, in 1955, Dick was stationed in Alaska and we relocated. Rose was sad to see me leave, but wished me the best of luck. Rose and I remained in touch for a few years by regular phone call but after a while we lost track of one another. Back in the 1950's it was a lot more difficult to stay in touch with someone over a long distance, especially if you were relocating every few years. There were no email addresses or transferable phone number and directory lookup services were available at best. I thought of her several times over the years. Once in the mid 1960's ,when I was visiting the Greater Boston area, I tried to determine her whereabouts but my search turned up empty-handed. Jamaica Plain had changed drastically in the 10 years I was gone. A pretty obvious shift in income demographics was affecting my old neighborhood. My family had moved out of the area, as did many of the people I used to know. Rose was nowhere to be found. 52 years passed and we never spoke. I've since raised a family of five, all of whom now have families of their own, and Dick passed away a few... The writer failed to find Rose in the mid of 1960's, because    _   ? A) Rose left her homeland. B) Rose wouldn't like to see her C) the surroundings there had changed a lot. D) they lost in touch for a long time
C


Q: An old woman diverted ( ) attention from the book when I was sitting in my car. She walked slowly towards my parked car with a large shoulder bag. She stopped and put a hand out to rest against the car. She gently closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Was there a way I could do anything to help her? But I wondered if the lady noticed me sitting inside the car, she would feel embarrassed and walk away. I stilled my body while my mind searched for answers. I turned my head towards my driver, wanting him to ask the lady if we could give her a ride. Because of my head movement, she noticed me and moved her hand away from the car. Her calm expression changed to a cautious one. I grabbed the water bottle next to me, smile, gently opened the door and offered the bottle to her. She looked at me hesitatingly, shook her head with downcast   eyes and walked away. I was so annoyed with myself. I should have been more careful not to move. However, she was back I opened the door and patted the seat next to me. She sat down, opened her bag and offered me a banana. I took it and offered her the water bottle again. She took it. I ate, she drank and we smiled. She rested for a couple of minutes. Those minutes brought such tranquility   to me. She took my head in both her hands and kissed my forehead, and then she left. I was trying to help someone in distress(,). In turn, I became distressed and she took away my distress and replace it with tranquility. Why did the author feel blue? A) The old woman refused her water. B) The old woman left without saying a word. C) The old woman suspected the author's kindness. D) She interrupted the old woman's quiet moment of rest.
A: D


Q: My wife and I have always been friendly with the clerks at the local convenience store. I don't think many people appreciate what a difficult job these folks have. They work for a little over minimum wage and I often wonder how they make ends meet. One of the clerks, Charlie, was always wearing his glasses but he didn't one day. I asked him about it and he said they'd been out of order and that he couldn't afford a new pair. His family needed money. It was obvious that he was having a difficult time. We wanted to help him, so we turned to our own eye doctor for assistance with a plan. We had his secretary contact him, asking him to come in for an eye exam for free. We told the doctor to let him order whatever glasses he wanted and that we would pay for them. Although Charlie questioned what was going on, the doctor just told him that someone had offered the money for his new glasses. When we went in to pay the bill, the doctor told us he was so touched by our idea that he _ the exam fee and only charged us for half the price of the glasses! It was so wonderful to see Charlie in her new glasses and he enjoyed telling all the regular customers how the gift came about. I'm sure that upon hearing her story, ideas of kindness may have emerged in the minds of many. From the passage, we can infer that   _  . A) Charlie was a young man with skills B) Charlie knew who paid the money for the new glasses C) Charlie didn't support his family with enough money D) Charlie entirely accepted the money for the new glasses

A: C