Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Life is difficult.    It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it. Then life is no longer difficult.    Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent  a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.    What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause us sadness, or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.    Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those things that hurt, instruct." It is for this reason that wise people learnt not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems. Question: From the passage, it can be inferred that   _  . Options: A: everyone has problems B: we become stronger by meeting and solving the problems of life C: life is difficult because our problems bring us pain D: people like to complain about their problems
B
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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Although the 2008 US presidential elections are still a long way off, candidates  are already getting ready for the campaigns ahead.    For the Democrats  , the two leading candidates are a surprising pair. The first is Hillary Clinton, 60, the wife of former President Bill Clinton. The second is Barack Obama, 45, a Harvard educated senator  .    It is the first time that the leading presidential candidates for a political party are either a woman or black. The energetic pair has certainly gotten people's attention. But the question remains, is America ready for either one?    It's not a simple question to answer. For the past 220 years, Americans have elected only white males to the nation's highest office. That can hardly be called a tradition of diversity. However, many people believe that 2008 will be the year that this changes.   "The white men that have been running the country recently have done such a bad job, at home and abroad, that maybe now is the time for a change," said Dorian Cool of San Francisco, California.    The polling numbers seem to back up his opinion: 86 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified woman. An impressive 93 percent say they would vote for a black man if he seemed right for the job. These numbers are much higher than they were just 20 years ago. They may suggest that Americans are ready to be led by a different type of person.    Still, there is a lot to overcome. Although women represent 51 percent of the American population, there are only nine female governors out of 50. Out of 100 senators, only 16 are women. The numbers are significantly lower for blacks in office.  Since the American Civil War, only two blacks have been elected governor and only three have been elected to the Senate.    Surely both candidates face difficult odds, but never before has there been so much support for either a female or a black candidate.    As Barack Obama himself said, "There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America and an Asian America -- there's the... Question: The author considers Hillary and Barack "a surprising pair" because they are   _  . Options: A: both powerful B: both likely to win C: either a woman or black D: either the wife of former President or a Harvard educated senator
C
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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf,James Francos world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live. One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and a muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years. The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a _ answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock. Question: What was James doing when he was struck by the lightning? Options: A: Putting an end to his life B: Sheltering from the rain under a tree C: Taking a walk with a stick D: Lying on the ground
B
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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Upon reaching an appropriate age (usually between 18 and 21 years), children are encouraged, but not forced, to "leave the nest" and begin an independent life. After children leave home, they often find social relationship and financial support outside the family. Parents do not arrange marriages for their children, nor do children usually ask permission of their parents to get married. Romantic love is most often the basis for marriage in the United States; young adults meet their future spouses through other friends, at jobs,  and in organizations and religious institutions. Although children choose their own spouses, they still hope their parents will approve of their choices. In many families, parents feel that children should make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to influence a child to follow a particular profession but the child is free to choose another career. Sometimes children do exactly the opposite of what their parents wish in order to be independent. A son may decide not to go into his father's business on purpose because of a fear that he will lose his autonomy  in his father's workplace. This independence from parents is not an indication that parents and children do not love each other. Strong love between parents and children is universal and this is no exception in the American family. Coexisting with such love in the American family are cultural values of self-reliance and independence. Question: From the passage we can know that   _  . Options: A: American young adults are likely to obey their parents B: most American people never make major decisions for their children C: American young adults possess cultural values of independence D: once a young person steps into his twenties, he will leave his home permanently
