Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I want to tell you the story of one of my old friends called Bob. His teachers called him A Troublemaker. They also said that he had no future and no hope. But now he owns a small second-hand bookstore store which makes him enough money to live on and also to support his mother. He told me that after he finished grade nine, he went to study at a technical college. He was a pretty bad student so he became one of the gang   leaders there. Many of them got caught many times for fighting. It looked like nothing could change his life. That was until one sad day when his father died. That changed everything. After his father died, his mother had to work very hard to make enough money to support the family. He told me that he really pitied his mum after his dad died. He felt that he needed to earn some money rather than let his mum work alone. He loved reading cartoon  books and had been collecting them for years. As his family was short of money, he decided that he should sell them. He did this by the side of the road where his mother was selling food. Soon he realized that his books were very popular. So he decided to set up his own business. He started his business by going around buying cartoon books from other people. He bought them for 25% and then sold them for half price. He could make enough money to help support the family. He was a troublemaker to his teachers but he is a hero to me. If you are judged as a bad student or as someone being stupid, I suggest you pay no attention to what they say. Just do your best in everything. Don't give up so easily. Believe in yourself. If you think that you can do it, then you can. Believe me, one day you could be more successful than those persons who looked down upon you. Question: What does the author want to tell the readers? Options: A: How a young man helped his mother. B: How a young man graduated from college. C: People can change when they are determined to. D: People can be successful after they lose a family member.
A: C


Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Believe it or not, oceans and seas are easy to be harmed by the development of human society. They are also influenced by man-made pollution easily. It is human beings that do great harm to the ocean ecosystems . The coral reefs are fine ecosystems that provide food and protection for many ocean creatures. The coral in almost all of the oceans is in danger from pollution.Chemicals from factories end up in the seas and oceans and destroy coral reefs. If the coral systems die some ocean creatures will be sure to die out. Protecting the ocean also has something to do with the protection of ocean wildlife like dolphins. The fishing industry depends on modern ways to catch many fish in order to earn more money. But the nets for fishing also _ other sea animals. The fishing boat workers are advised to check their nets and set other ocean animals free. But the boats are in a hurry to make money and often other ocean animals are caught with fish. Offshore oil spills  can destroy the ocean environment because oil kills all ocean life. The world depends on oil and because there is a great amount of oil off the shore of many countries, the need for oil is more important than the risk of the oil spill. However, the fact is that one human mistake can lead to an ocean environmental accident that will cause years of damage to the fine ocean ecosystems. Oil spills will kill all the creatures in the area of the spill. The oil will be washed up on shore and destroy the ecosystems along the shore including birds. Everyone who cares about the environment should be interested in protecting the ocean, and all of us should do something for the protection of the ocean. Question: According to the passage, the ocean is harmed easily as a result of  _  . Options: A: the overuse of the oceans B: the change of natural conditions C: the increase of population by the sea D: the increasing activities of humans
A: D


Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Ever tried taking smart drugs to perform better in exams? They certainly work. Before last summer's exam, a few of my mates, merely out of curiosity, took a considerable amount of Modafinil, a drug normally used for narcolepsy . Guess what? While I was feeling sleepy, bored by revision, my mates were more focused. Modafinil is a smart drug that gives a user a feeling of staying awake for hours. It also sharpens the mind, improves memory and helps problem-solving. But it does more than just keeping you awake. It disturbs your mental system, making you desperate to do what you are doing. You just don't want to do anything else but revise all the time non-stop. A recent study discovers that healthy people use smart drugs, like Modafinil, to get down to and complete tasks they have been putting off, because these tasks seem more enjoyable when taking these drugs. This might sound like what a stressed student desires. However, the pills have a range of side-effects. "At present no evidence shows that these drugs are safe in healthy people," as a medical expert puts it, "Ordering online, though easy, is a dangerous way to obtain drugs. You never know what you're actually purchasing. " In my experience, Modafinil changes people's behaviour too. Over those weeks my friends became different people--in turn aggressive, cold. Even eating became "a waste of time" and so did conversation. A BBC survey found that of those who had tried smart drugs before, 92% would do so again. My friends say they'd happily do so without considering the practice a form of cheating. I admit I was curious--but not enough to try it. Seeing the strange behaviour of other users, I feel a little bit upset and scary. Modafinil may promise to change your grades, but it might also change the way you act. Don't say you haven't been warned! Question: What does the author think of his mates' taking the smart drugs? Options: A: Worrying. B: Inspiring. C: Acceptable. D: Reasonable.
A: A


Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Nick Hancock hopes to set a new record by living alone for 60 days on a small island in the Atlantic. Tom McClean, an SAS soldier who holds the solo record for occupying  Rockall for 40 days in 1985, told Hancock that being alone for two months was the greatest challenge Hancock would have to face. "I'm fully expecting it to be tough," Nick Hancock said. "I'm hoping that by doing my daily tasks fairly slowly, I'm going to be able to keep most of my time busy. I think the worst times will come if I'm boxed up for several days by bad weather." Hancock hopes to land on Rockall in early June and will carry out the last tests of his boat next week. He has a small wind turbine  and a solar panel for power, more than two months' food, a satellite phone and a laptop loaded with e-books to keep him going. Hancock will update an adventure blog, texting messages out on Twitter and emailing his wife Pam and friends every day. Rockall has been occupied before, most famously by McClean but also by three Greenpeace campaigners, who set the long-stay record of 42 days in 1997 by occupying the rock in protest at oil and gas exploration in the area. The last human inhabitants Hancock knows of are a small group of Belgian amateur radio enthusiasts, who are interested in broadcasting from distant islands; they were on Rockall overnight in late 2010. Hancock has no large support team behind him. Except for the coastguard , his only lifeline will be the Orca III, the passenger boat which will take him to Rockall. Question: We can learn from the passage that  _  . Options: A: Tom McClean was the first person to set foot on Rockall B: Hancock will rely on his large support team C: Rockall is not suitable for humans to settle on D: Hancock was already a famous online writer before making the plan
