Question: One of my China Dialogue colleagues in Beijing recently bought a Philips energy-saving light bulb to replace a standard one.He was happy with his choice.It may have cost 30 yuan (just under US$4.50) - ten times the price of a filament   bulb - but he wanted to save energy as part of his low-carbon lifestyle.And according to the shopkeeper, he would save, in the long run, much more than the 30 yuan he was spending. Yet only one month later, his expensive light bulb blew up, before he had saved even a small part of the purchase price.Will he stick to his high-cost, low-carbon lifestyle? China's environmental organizations have started to advocate low-carbon lifestyles and the decrease of carbon footprints to help fight against climate change.But they have overlooked one fact: in China, low-carbon living comes at a high cost.It means buying energy-saving bulbs and appliances, and environmentally friendly building materials and daily goods.Cost can no longer be the only standard for purchases.An energy-saving and environmentally friendly product is more expensive than a standard alternative - whether it's a simple light bulb or the house it shines.For average consumers, even buying an ordinary bulb is a huge burden.How can we persuade ordinary people to choose an energy-saving residence? This is not a trend they can afford to follow; perhaps this fashion is only for the rich. Most consumers today do not cause huge carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.Their responsibility lies not in choosing a low-carbon lifestyle today, but in avoiding a high-carbon life in the future.The principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" - a basis of sustainable development - can be applied here as well. In China, low-carbon living still is resisted by a lack of social infrastructure . Even if your salary allows you to make that choice, nobody is there to help you accomplish it. Consider energy-saving homes. You need to find out whether or not the developer has used natural materials wherever possible; how effective the... We can infer from the passage that   _  . A) Using energy-saving bulbs and appliances is a fashion. B) It's easy for most Chinese to try to learn a low-carbon lifestyle. C) All citizens in China don't have the same responsibility in living a low-carbon lifestyle. D) Most Chinese families cannot afford to purchase an energy-saving residence.
Answer: C

Question: An out-of-body experience? It's just your brain playing tricks on you. Some report feeling as if they are floating above their own bodies, while others find themselves drawn towards a blinding light. But out-of-body experiences are nothing more than a trick of the mind, scientists claim. They say that common spooky scenarios, such as floating above a hospital bed or walking towards the light at the end of a tunnel, can be explained by the brain trying to make sense of the process of death. Scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge reviewed studies into changes in the brain that cause certain strong feelings associated with near-death experiences. Researcher Caroline Watt said one common vision -- that of people seeing a bright light which seems to be drawing them into the afterlife -- is probably produced by the death of the cells we use to process the light picked up by our eyes and turn it into pictures. "It is simply your brain trying to make sense of the unusual experiences you are having," Dr Watt said. Feelings of being out of the body can also be explained by the brain's behavior, the journal Trends in Cognitive Science reports. "If you put on a virtual   reality headset   showing an image of yourself three feet in front, you can trick your brain into thinking that is you over there, and get the sense you are outside your body," Dr Watt added. The scientific evidence suggests that all aspects of the near-death experience have a biological basis. In another example, the hormone noradrenalin, which is released when we suffer from stress and injuries, could be behind the feelings of love and peace that many experience when they seem to be approaching death. However, other scientists say we should not be so quick to dismiss (stop considering) people's accounts (descriptions). Sam Parnia, of the University of Southampton, stressed that being able to trace something back to the brain does not mean it is not real. Dr Parnia, who is close to completing a three-year study of hospital patients'... According to the passage, when people are dying, some may have the following feelings except that   _  . A) they are floating above their own bodies B) they are walking towards a light C) they are flying in the sky D) they are seeing a bright light
Answer: C

Question: prefix = st1 /Gland, Switzerland - Rivers on every continent are drying out, threatening severe water shortages, according to a new WWF report. The report, World's Top Rivers at Risk, released ahead of World Water Day (22 March), lists the top ten rivers that are fast dying as a result of climate change, pollution and dams. "All the rivers in the report symbolize the current freshwater crisis, which we have been signalling for years," says WWF Global Freshwater Programme Director Jamie Pittock. "Poor planning and inadequate protection of natural areas mean we can no longer assume that water will flow forever. Like the climate change crisis, which now has the attention of business and government, we want leaders to take notice of the emergency facing freshwater now not later."  Five of the ten rivers listed in the report are in Asia alone. They are the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus. Europe's Danube, the America'sLa Plataand Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, Africa's Nile-Lake Victoria andAustralia's Murray-Darling also make the list. Dams along the Danube River -- one of the longest flowing rivers in Europe -- have already destroyed 80 per cent of the river basin's wetlands and floodplains. Even without warmer temperatures threatening to melt Himalayan glaciers, the IndusRiverfaces scarcity due to over-extraction for agriculture. Fish populations, the main source of protein and overall life support systems for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide, are also being threatened. The report calls on governments to better protect river flows and water allocations in order to safeguard habitats and people's livelihoods. "Conservation of rivers and wetlands must be seen as part and parcel of national security, health and economic success," Pittock adds. "Emphasis must be given to exploring ways of using water for crops and products that do not use more water than necessary." In addition, cooperative agreements for managing shared resources, such as the UN Watercourses Convention, must be ratified and given... According to the passage, which of the following is not the cause of severe water shortage? A) Globe warming B) Less rainfall C) Pollution D) Poor planning
Answer:
B