*Question*
The old shopkeeper led me through to the back of the shop.The room was filled with boxes and photographs of people dressed in old-fashioned clothes, holding packages in their hands.   "Who are these people?" I asked.   "Satisfied customers," answered young Mr.Hopkins."We have a very wide choice of items for sale.Whenever I serve a new customer, I always take their picture." Mr.Hopkins pointed to an ancient camera standing next to one wall."Now, how can I serve you?" he added.   By this time, I had started to trust Mr.Hopkins and had begun to appreciate the lovely items on sale.I needed to buy Christmas presents for my family and friends, and this seemed to be the perfect place to purchase them.I spent a very pleasant hour being shown  _ in Mr.Hopkins'shop.No matter what I asked for, Mr.Hopkins found it for me.Finally, I bought an antique jewelry box, a pair of riding boots, a leather-bound edition of the Complete Works of Mark Twain, and a sewing machine.   I was very excited that I had found such a good little shop.I promised Mr.Hopkins that I would come back soon."I will tell all my friends about your lovely place," I told the shopkeeper.   "Please do not do that, sir", said Mr.Hopkins."This is a special place for special people.You must keep this shop a secret." Then he took my photograph, and handed me the picture straight away.   "That was quick!" I exclaimed.I looked at the photograph.In the picture I looked proud and excited holding the presents I had bought in Mr.Hopkins' dusty shop.   On Christmas Day, my friends and  s were delighted with the presents I had bought for them.For weeks, my brother begged me to show him where to find this wonderful little shop.I finally agreed to take him to London to show him.   When we arrived in London, we walked along Oxford Street, past the department store and found...nothing.The little shop was no longer there.In its place was an empty space being used as a car park.I checked the area again.There was the music shop, and there was the department store.In between... Which of the following is true about the shop? A) It was knocked down a few weeks ago. B) It was a well-known little shop in London. C) It was a special shop selling special presents. D) It was between a music shop and a department store.
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Have you ever felt you were being watched? Some new technologies might make you feel that way. Digital billboards are being created with ability to recognize certain characteristics. These high-tech devices have cameras pointed at the people on the street, and software that tries to recognize people by age and gender. A computer inside the billboard then uses the information to display ads that are directed at the people who are looking at the billboard. For example, if a man passes a billboard featuring an ad for cosmetics, the computer can change the ad to something that is more likely to catch the man's attention, such as football games. While advertisers see this as a great opportunity to reach their target customers, some people feel that this kind of profiling is an invasion of their privacy. People are now much more aware of how information is exposed, shared, bought, and sold on the Internet. Now this debate will involve technologies such as "smart" billboards. But advertisers claim that they are sensitive to people's concerns about privacy--companies that have tested the billboards in Japan and the U.S. assure consumers that the billboards can only guess your age and gender, but they will not be able to recognize your face or obtain any personal information about you. Until recently, this kind of personal advertising has been mostly limited to the Internet. Search engines like Google and Bing can follow what we search for because each computer that connects to those sites has a unique identity. Companies then pay search engines to use this information to display ads for products and services that you have searched for. So if you search for travel information, you are likely to see ads for airlines and hotels. This kind of advertising has proven to be much more effective--and valuable--than traditional advertising. In addition to taking steps to deliver more personalized messages, advertisers are using billboards to offer more useful information. Digital billboards can connect to the Internet to... What is the reason for advertisers using high-tech billboards? A) It is cheaper to make high-tech billboards. B) Advertising effects of digital billboards are mixed. C) People tend to ignore ordinary advertisements. D) Billboards are not placed in good locations.
**Answer**
C

*Question*
George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America's greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs. Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way -- from jazz to country. In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular. In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition  with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics  were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works. George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written. What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris? A) He created one of his best works B) He studied with Nadia Boulanger C) He argued with French critics D) He changed his music style
**Answer**

A