Ques:The bicycling craze came in when we were just about at the right age to enjoy it. At first even "safety" bicycles were too dangerous and improper for ladies to ride, and they had to have tricycles. My mother had (I believe) the first female tricycle in Cambridge; and I had a little one, and we used to go out for family rides, all together; my father in front on a bicycle, and my poor brother Charles standing miserably on the bar behind my mother. I found it very hard work, pounding  away on my hard tyres; a glorious, but not a pleasurable pastime. Then, one day at lunch, my father said he had just seen a new kind of tyre, filled up with air, and he thought it might be a success. And soon after that everyone had bicycles, ladies and all; and bicycling became the smart thing, and the lords and ladies had their pictures in the papers, riding along in the park, in straw hats. My mother must have fallen off her bicycle pretty often, for I remember seeing the most appalling cuts and bruises  on her legs. But she never complained, and always kept these accidents to herself. However, the great Mrs. Phillips, our cook, always knew all about them; as indeed she knew practically everything that ever happened. She used to draw us into the servants' hall to tell us privately: "Her Ladyship had a nasty fall yesterday; she cut both her knees and sprained her wrist. But don't let her know I told you." So we never dared say anything. Similar little accidents used to occur when, at the age of nearly seventy, she insisted on learning to drive a car. She never mastered the art of reversing , and was in every way an unconventional and terrifying driver. Mrs. Phillips used then to tell us: "Her Ladyship ran into the back of a milk-cart yesterday; but it wasn't much hurt"; or "A policeman stopped her Ladyship because she was on the wrong side of the road; but she said she didn't know what the white line on the road meant, so he explained and let her go on." Mrs. Phillips must have had an excellent Intelligence Service at her... How did the writer feel about tricycles? A) They were not as fast as bicycles. B) They were safer and more convenient for women. C) They were very hard to ride. D) They were not proper for women to ride.

Ans:C
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Ques:Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree could find a good career quite easily.Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to select graduates.However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs. Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career:recognizing abilities, matching these to available jobs and presenting them well to possible employers. Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities.One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area.Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes.An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought. The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future.To do this, graduates can study job and position information in newspapers, or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession.After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers. Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career.Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors.Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible.They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer's needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already... "Those days are gone, even in Hong Kong" in Paragraph 1 suggests that   _   . A) finding a good career used to be easier in Hong Kong than elsewhere B) now everyone in Hong Kong has an equal chance of finding a good job C) graduates now face stronger competition in Hong Kong than elsewhere D) even in Hong Kong companies tour universities trying to select graduates

Ans:A
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Ques:There was great excitement on the planet of Venus  this week. For the first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since. The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan (named after the great Venusian astronomer Prof. Manhattan, who first discovered it with his telescope 20 000 light years ago).Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to feasibility  of a manned flying saucer  landing on Earth.A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology. "We have come to the conclusion,based on last week's satellite landing," Pro. Zog said,"that there is no life on the Earth." "How do you know this?" the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.  "For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is composed of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide  and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive." "What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?" "We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much heavier flying saucer than we originally planned. " "Are there any other hazards that you discovered in your studies?" "Take a look at this photo. You see this dark cloud floating over the surface of Earth? We call this the Consolidated Edison Belt. We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there." "If what you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?" "Yes, but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds." "Prof. Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?" "Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmosphere, then we can live anywhere." During the week of great excitement the Venusian scientists succeeded in getting important information on whether they can  _  . A) land a satellite with Venus astronauts on Earth B) make a firstrate flying saucer C) get a Earth Being to Venus D) direct a flying saucer into Manhattan

Ans:
A
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