(Question)
Pepys and his wife had asked some friends to dinner on Sunday, September 2nd, 1666. The servants were up very late on the Saturday evening, getting everything ready for the next day, and while they were busy they saw the glow of a fire start in the sky. By 3 o'clock on the Sunday morning, the glow had become so bright that one of the servants, Jane, woke her master to see it. Pepys went to the window to watch it. It seemed fairly far away, so after a time he went back to bed. When he got up in the morning, it looked as though the fire was dying down, though he could still see some flames. So he set to work to tidy his room and put his things back where he wanted them after the servants had cleaned everything. While he was doing this, Jane came in to say that she had heard that the fire was a bad one: three hundred houses had been burned down in the night and the fire was still burning. Pepys went out to see for himself. He went to the Tower of London and climbed up on a high part of the building so that he could see what was happening. From there, Pepys could see that it was, indeed, a bad fire and that even the houses on London Bridge were burning. Someone told him that the fire had started in a baker's house in Pudding Lane, and then the flames had quickly spread to the other houses in the narrow lane. So began the Great Fire of London, a fire that lasted nearly five days, damaged most of the old city and ended, so it is said, at Pie Corner. The servants were up very late because   _  . A) they were chatting B) they were having a party C) they were preparing for a dinner D) they were watching a fire
(Answer)
C


(Question)
BEIJING -- China's education authority will tighten the widely criticized policy of "extra credits" for the national college entrance examination to ensure a fairer chance for all exam-takers. Under the policy, high school students who win awards in national Olympic competitionscould get ''extra credits', up to 20 points for the national college entrance exam. Students with talentin sports and students who are from ethnic groups can also benefit from this policy. The extra creditshave increased these students' chances of being admitted by famous universities. Some parents werefound to have helped their children fabricate award experiences or falsify qualifications to getextra credits. "It has harmed education equality," the ministry said. Xiong Bingqi, vice-chief of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the policy isdesigned to help students who have special talents but may be weak in academic performance tohave a chance to receive higher education. It will still be needed but it is time to make the rulesfairer," he said. The ministry said it will reduce the range of competitions whose winners can get extra credits,and limit the winners, privileges. The new policy will apply to students who begin high school in 2011, it said. Chen Lei, a mother of a 10-year-old girl, said she welcomed the ministry's policy adjustmentas she does not want her daughter to become an Olympic competition _ . But not all the Chinese parents welcomed the new policy. "It is like a thunderbolt for me. My 13-year-old son has spent so much time studying Olympic math, and participated in so manytechnological competitions during vacations. It is useless now," said Dong Wen, a 43-year-oldmother. A student said, "Many students have changed the current study plan, and they can abandon thecompetition. I will be interested in learning the courses which can improve my abilities." Yuan Guiren, minister of education, told China Daily that the reform is an attempt to consider the overall quality of an applicant. "But the country will... Which person in the passage was strongly against the new policy? A) Xiong Bingqi B) Chen Lei C) Dong Wen D) Yuan Guiren
(Answer)
C


(Question)
QINGDAO--Water and power supplies have been _ in the East Chinese city of Qingdao, the site of an oil pipeline explosion on Friday, the local government said on Monday. Crude oil began leaking from the pipeline at 3:00 an Friday in Qingdao in Shandong province. The valves of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later. The oil spill then flowed into the city's rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions occurred at two locations around 10:30 am Friday when workers were clearing the spill. According to the local government, about 85 percent of public heating and 90 percent of the gas supply were also brought back to normal as of Monday. Residents who have been taken to the temporary settlements are receiving bottled water and bread. Many schools and kindergartens have reopened classes after Friday's oil pipeline explosion. No injures and deaths of students or teachers have been reported following the explosions at an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec. The school buildings of one middle school in the district were seriously damaged during the explosions. Education authorities have arranged psychological help for students and teaching staff. All other 18 schools and kindergartens in the district reopened classes on Monday. As of Monday noon, the death toll from the explosion had risen to 55, with 9 people still missing and 136 hospitalized. According to local police, 49 bodied have been identified so far, and 42 of them were male victims. As of Monday morning, the blood supply in Qingdao was enough for the injured after more than 950 people in the city donated more than 340,000 ml of blood in the wake of the incident. We can learn from the passage that  _  . A) everything was brought back to normal right after the explosion B) no measures were taken to help the suffering people out of trouble C) no more dead body was found after Monday noon D) all the 19 schools in the district were affected by the explosion
(Answer)

D