Ques: Today it seems perfectly natural for us to shake hands when we greet someone or say goodbye. But like so many things that we do without thinking such actions at one time probably represented something. For example, in primitive  life the hand was used to fight enemies, kill animals, and make spears and tools. So when the hand was extended to someone, it showed that the person was not armed or ready for fight. We know that the hand was an important symbol in early religion, probably as a mark of power. The Greeks prayed to their gods with raised hands. Presenting the hands palm to palm was at one time the way an inferior  person paid respect to a superior  one. Among the Arabs, it was customary at one time to kiss the hand of a superior. Later on, polite Arabs began to resist the efforts of people to kiss their hands, and sometimes they would end up shaking hands as each tried to prevent the other from showing this mark of "inferiority ." The early Greeks held out the right hand when they wished to show friendship to a stranger. So we can see that the hand, and what was done with it, was full of meaning to people down through the ages. And while we shake hands without thinking, we are really carrying on a custom that has been  _ to us from ancient times. The phrase " hand down" in the last sentence means   _  . A) put down B) leave down C) give down D) pass down
Ans: D

Ques: What do you remember about your childhood? I have good memories of exploring  the fields near my house and riding my bike around the park. Today, children don't spend enough time in the fresh air. Many of them fix their eyes on a screen either on a computer, or a TV ---they seem to be living in a _ world. They have lost touch with nature. Now 400 organizations in the UK are encouraging children to have some "wild time". They want kids to exchange at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time playing outside. The simple pleasures of exploring and discovering nature help children to learn and keep fit too. Andy Simpson, who is part of the campaign , says: "An extra 30 minutes of wild time every day for all under 12-year-olds in the UK would be the equivalent  of just three months of their childhood spent outdoors." Even if the kids live in a city, they can go on adventures in the garden or the park. However, children often need a helping hand from Mum and Dad. They need to be shown what to do and where to go. So despite  the complex  world that young people grow up in now, it seems that going back to basics and experiencing "nature's playground " is what modern children need. Andy Simpson adds: "We want parents to see what this magical "playground" does for their kids' development , independence and creativity  , by giving wild time a go " . David Bond from Project Wild Thing says, "We need to make more space for wild time in children's daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted. " What does the author think about the present kids? A) They depend on their parents too much. B) They're eager to play with their parents. C) They spend too much time playing outside. D) They don't get close to nature.
Ans: D

Ques: Many birds migrate. This means that every year they fly somewhere warm in the winter and then return to the place they came from in the spring. One mystery is how birds know how to travel such long distances without getting lost. Scientists have wondered for years whether they are born with the knowledge of where to go or whether they learn it after they are born. Now, researchers have found evidence that shows that one type of bird, at least, learns how to migrate. The bird is the whooping crane , a tall, white bird that lives in the United States. In the 1940s, the number of these birds decreased to fewer than 25 individuals, and many people feared that they would die out. Thanks to efforts to save them, they have now increased to about 600. However, the birds are not very good at taking care of their young. Because of this, eggs are brought to a site in Maryland. There, scientists from the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raise the baby birds. Later, the young birds are taken from Maryland to Wisconsin, where the scientists teach them how to fly. From there, they fly about 2,200 kilometers south to Florida to spend the winter. The first time, scientists lead the way in a small airplane. From the second year, though, the birds travel by themselves. For 14 years, the scientists have kept a careful record of every flight the birds have taken between Wisconsin and Florida. They have also recorded which birds fly together, the relationships between the birds, and the gender of each bird. When scientists analyzed the data, they were surprised by the results. These showed that each bird took a very different route. However, as they got older, they flew more and more directly between Wisconsin and Florida. This continued until they were five years old. This indicates that the birds gradually learned the best route to take. Moreover, when an older bird was in a group, the whole group flew more directly. This suggests that the older birds taught the younger ones a quicker route. Scientists say that this evidence... What do we learn from the data? A) Most birds like to visit new places when migrating. B) Most birds stop flying to Florida when they are five years old. C) Younger birds prefer not to fly together with older birds. D) Younger birds are able to gain an important skill from older ones.
Ans: D

Ques: Yu Pengnian is an 88-year-old real estate Chinese businessman. He amassed  a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career but instead of keeping the money and living like an emperor, he decided to give it all away. All of his fortune will be spent on helping poor Chinese students get a better education. And Yu isn't the only super-rich person in China who has this spirit of giving. Chen Guangbiao, a Jiangsu recycling tycoon, has given millions of dollars to charity  and promises to give all of his money to charity when he dies.    Yu and Chen are among the many businessmen who have become prosperous during China's economic rise. An American business magazine, Forbes, estimates that there are 117 billionaires in China and hundreds of thousands of millionaires. What sets Yu and Chen apart from the rest, though, is their tremendous generosity(,) when it comes to donating money to charity.    Last week Bill Gates and Warren Buffett came to Beijing. Gates and Buffett, two of the world's richest men, are also the world's biggest philanthropists. They invited fifty of China's richest people to have dinner with them and talk about the spirit of giving. At first, only a few people accepted their invitation. It seemed some of the invited guests were afraid that Buffett and Gates were going to pressure them into giving their wealth to charity.    A lot of people are angry at the billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes. They  _ hem for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate. But I think this criticism is wrong. A gift, any gift, should come from the heart. Instead of criticism, these reluctant billionaires should be encouraged to follow the examples of Yu Pengnian and Chen Guangbiao. Encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism. As we say in English, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." What sets Yu and Chen apart from other rich people in China? A) When it comes to charity work, they are very generous. B) They had dinner with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, talking about the spirit of giving. C) They are pressured into giving their fortune to charity. D) They are both businessmen.
Ans:
A