I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Ever wonder how this season's celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic: The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I'm not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts. Lately I've been particularly curious as to whether Santa's old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car. I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa's magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don't complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article. Santa's yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa's sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!! So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they're eating corn, they'd need to eat 16,500 lbs each -- or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we'll leave for another calculation. We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are "letting out" some of that corn in the form of methane (,). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO2, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20... Question: Which of the following is the best title for this passage? Options: A: Is Santa driving clean and green? B: Santa, watch where you're going! C: Santa Claus is coming to town! D: Let's reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!
A

I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: EVERY few hundred years, a sleeping giant in southern Italy awakens with a bang, spewing volcanic ash across the countryside. The volcano, called Mount Vesuvius, formed 25,000 years ago. During its most explosive eruptions, the volcano could blanket nearby cities with hot ash, sometimes also burying them with deadly flows of mud and rocks. One famous eruption occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, in the year AD 79. It lasted 18 hours and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people as they tried to escape. Scientists and city officials had supposed that Naples, one of Italy's most populous cities, was far enough away that it would be safe from the volcano's _ . New evidence suggests that this might not be the case. Researchers recently discovered 4000-year-old layers of ash and mud under present-day Naples. Just outside the city, they also uncovered abandoned villages, as well as human and animal skeletons. Most surprising of all, the researchers say, was the discovery of thousands of footprints from the same time period, pressed into layers of wet ash that had rained from the sky. The footprints show that thousands of people were fleeing to the northwest, away from the volcano, as it erupted. Mount Vesuvius hasn't had a major eruption since 1631, but it's still very active. The discovery of the ancient ash layers, skeletons, and footprints is a warning that modern Naples, a city of 3 million people, isn't safe from the volcano, scientists say. So, when the volcano begins to rumble again, Naples should have an emergency evacuation plan ready - just in case. Question: What can we conclude from the passage? Options: A: City Pompeii has been rebuilt now. B: City Naples isn't suitable for living. C: Mount Vesuvius will not erupt in a hundred years. D: Mount Vesuvius is a potential danger to Naples.
D

I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: California sea lions are the fastest of all the sea lions, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour when swimming. Males are much larger than females, measuring 2 to 2.5 meters and weighing 200 to 453 kilograms. Females only measure 1.5 to 2 meters and weigh 50 to 113 kilograms. They can also move fairly well while on land. California sea lions can be found living along the Pacific coast of North America. They prefer to live in waters near rocky and sandy shores. On land, they often gather in large groups as many as 1,000 of them. While at sea, they travel in much smaller groups of around 10 or more. They communicate with one another through a series of sounds. Their diet consists of a wide variety of fish and other sea animals. They are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes by slowing down their heart rate, allowing them to hunt for their prey for a longer period of time. They have been known to continuously hunt for up to 30 hours at a time, with their eyesight and hearing playing an important part in finding their food. Being so large, they do not have that many natural predators   that they need to be on the lookout for. Eleven months after getting pregnant, the female will give birth to one baby on land. If the baby can survive long enough, they can live to be 20 to 25 years old. California sea lions are not listed as an endangered species. This is largely because of laws such as the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Hopefully such acts will continue to show results. Question: What do we know about California sea lions? Options: A: They weigh at least 113 kilograms. B: They swim faster than any other sea animal. C: Males are much larger than females. D: They usually move very slowly after leaving the sea.
C

I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life. That's right. If you can communicate in English, you can: Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send email to interesting people.Learn about their life and culture. Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go--English is spoken in more than 100 countries (source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or...ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday! Push your career forward. If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!) Knowing English will let you: Put "excellent knowledge of English" on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money. Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you're going to read about technology, you'll probably have to do it in English. Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles! Be a worldclass businessman (or woman). It's simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English--to contact other business people, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc. Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines. Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better--and become a better employee. Question: A worldclass businessperson may   _  . Options: A: write his/her own articles B: read international business newspapers C: talk about his/her ideas and opinions D: read about technology
