(Question)
Maupassant(*)was born in 1850 in northern France. His early life was not happy. His parents separated when he was 11. Most of his education came informally from Gustave Flaubert--his mother's friend and his godfather, a journalist and novelist. Often Flaubert would let him take a walk and then ask him to write 100 lines about what he saw. This type of training developed in Maupassant a sense of observation, which he later put to use in his writing. Flaubert also allowed Maupassant to attend his Sunday gatherings with others in his literary circle For a few years, Maupassant was connected with the Ministry of Public Instruction. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Loisel, a poor man character in The Necklace, worked there. He also served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War. His favorite writing subjects were peasants, servants, in the city, and the Francd-Prussian War. At an early age, Maupassant started writing short stories. In 1880, some of his works were published and he received a wide reputation for Boule de Suif (Ball of Tallow). With this success, he began to work full-time on writing. During the next ten years, he wrote over 300 stories, including six novels, three travel books, and a book of verse. Through them, he earn a lot of money. His writing was classical and simple, avoiding social comments and dirty details. His works often showed a real world and an accurate knowledge of the subject. Although Maupassant wrote in many forms, he received widest recognition for his short stories. By 1890, Maupassant was suffering from the latter staged of syphilis . He died in 1893 in Paris. What are the characteristics of Maupassant's stories? A) They have few social comments. B) They are simple and humorous. C) They only focus on the lives of peasants. D) They are full of imagination.
(Answer)
A


(Question)
After much thought,I came up with a brilliant plan.I worked out a way for Rich to meet my mother and win her over.In fact,I arranged it so my mother would want to cook a meal especially for him. Rich was not only not Chinese and he was a few years younger than I was.And unfortunately,he looked much younger with his curly red hair,smooth pale skin,and the splash of orange freckles  across his nose.He was a bit on the short side,compactly built.In his dark business suits,he looked nice but easily forgettable,which was why I didn't notice him the first year we worked together at the firm.But my mother noticed everything. "So what do you think of Rich?"I finally asked,holding my breath. She tossed the eggplant in the hot oil,angry hissing sound."So many spots on his face,"she said. "They are freckles.Freckles are good luck."I said a bit too heatedly in trying to raise my voice above the noise of the kitchen. "Oh?"She said innocently. "Yes,the more spots the better." She considered this a moment and then smiled and spoke in Chinese:"When you were young,you got the chicken pox.So many spots,you had to stay home for ten days.So lucky,you thought." I couldn't save Rich in the kitchen.And I couldn't save him later at the dinner table. When I offered Rich a fork,he insisted on using the slippery ivory chopsticks.Halfway between his plate and his open mouth,a large chunk of redcooked eggplant fell on his brand new white shirt. And then he helped himself to big portions of the shrimp and snow peas,not realizing he should have taken only a polite spoonful. He declined the new greens,the tender and expensive leaves of bean plants.He thought he was being polite by refusing seconds,when he should have followed my father's example,who made a big show of taking small portions of seconds,thirds and even fourths,always saying he couldn't resist another bite and then groaning he was so full he thought he would burst. But the worst was when Rich criticized my mother's cooking and he didn't even know what he had done.As is the... Which is NOT the reason why the author didn't tell her mother she was getting married? A) She didn't have a chance to tell her mother. B) Her mother disliked Rich's freckled face. C) Mother was impressed by his boyish charm and humor. D) She was shocked by Rich's violation of cultural taboo.
(Answer)
C


(Question)
There once lived in China a very foolish king and queen. One day the queen had a baby daughter. When they saw their baby, they both cried out, "My goodness! How small it is! It's hairless and toothless! It's a monster!" They sent for all the doctors in the country and ordered them to prepare some medicine for her. "When she drinks your medicine, she must grow to the right size and have hair and teeth," the king said, "If you don't do this, you'll have a beating." The doctors thought it impossible, but they dared not say anything against the king's order. Just then and old doctor stepped forward. "Oh, we shall certainly obey your order," he said, "but it takes time. We have to dig a mineral from the Kun Lun Mountains when the snow melts for the second time. The snow melts on those mountains only once in six years. So we need twelve years." At last the king agreed and the doctors took away the little princess. On her twelfth birthday, they brought her back to her parents with long black hair and beautiful teeth. The king and queen were very happy and gave the doctors expensive presents. The doctors would be beaten if   _  . A) the baby daughter didn't drink their medicine B) they refused to obey the king's order C) the baby daughter grew to the right size D) the baby daughter became a monster
(Answer)

B