(Q).
Down-to-earth means being honest,open,and easy to deal with.It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth.A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to.He or she accepts others as equals.A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society,of course,but they do not let their importance go to their heads,and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important.Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride,often without cause,is said to have his nose in the air.There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth. Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth.The expression is both feet on the ground.Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality.He has what is called common sense.He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real.The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds.A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world.Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality;sharp words from the teacher,for example,can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground. The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground. _ .Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth.When we have both our feet firmly on the ground,we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others,and our lives are like the ground below us,solid and strong. If a person has his nose in the air,he  _  . A) is down to the earth B) is easy to deal with C) always thinks he is more important than others D) is confident
(A).
C


(Q).
We've all heard the old saying,"Sticks and stones can break my bones,but words can never hurt me." Don't you believe it?Words are powerful,and they can hurt--a lot. In fact,if you're not careful,you can even hurt yourself,by using the wrong word in your writing. Recently a friend sent me a copy of an email she received from the customer service department of her credit card company,after she contacted them with a question about her account. She was happy with their positive response. But as I read the email,one line jumped out at me:"In lieu of good customer service..." Did they really mean they were offering her a few extra reward points instead of good customer service?I doubt it. More likely,what the customer service department meant to say was,"Because good customer service is important to us..." followed by the details of what they were doing to make sure she remained a happy customer. So why didn't the writer say that?I can only guess that perhaps the writer liked the phrase "in lieu of",thought it sounded more interesting than saying "because",and so used it--without bothering to check the true meaning. Have you ever done that?Try to impress others with a big word,only to find out you've used the word incorrectly?It's just the opposite effect,isn't it?You may impress people all right,but it's not the impression you were going for. When you write,remember to choose your words carefully. People may still disagree with what you say,but they won't be able to dismiss you because you made careless mistakes in how you said it. What's the writer's purpose in giving the saying? A) To amuse the reader. B) To persuade the reader. C) To support a conclusion. D) To lead to the topic.
(A).
D


(Q).
We've reached a strange--some would say unusual--point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It's the good life that's more likely to kill us these days. Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What's going on? We really don't have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through--up to a point. In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades. Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world's most body-conscious country. We know what we should be doing to lose weight--but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower. Others blame good food. They say: it's just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food. Some also blame their parents--their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they're normal in shape, or rather slim. It's a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say--not as I do. Which would be the best title for the passage? A) Actions or Excuses? B) Overweight or Underweight? C) WHO in a Dilemma D) No Longer Dying of Hunger
(A).
