Question: Most Americans think the quality of life for adults under 30 years old, or Generation Y, won't be as good as it is for their baby-boomer parents, according to a new poll.           More than 60 percent of people are pessimistic about the future, and 71 percent of young Americans under 30 said they would rather go back in time than leap to the future.           "It's interesting how strongly people feel things are getting worse, and how strongly people are backward looking," said Michael Hogan, 35, executive online editor at Vanity Fair which conducted the survey with CBS News.           "This is a time of high unemployment, people coming out of school with very few job prospects. The past probably seems more comforting," he added.           Although the past may seem appealing for young Americans, only 50 percent of seniors over 65 said they wanted to travel back in time.           The nationwide poll of 1,167 adults, which included questions about culture, lifestyle and politics, also revealed that if given the choice to take anything with them to the afterlife, 25 percent would take a pet, 47 percent would opt for a photo album but only nine percent wanted to take an iPhone or a Blackberry.           Despite romancing the past, people believe in rewarding the forward-minded. Thirty-three percent of those polled believe Internet entrepreneurs are most deserving of their large salaries, followed by 15 percent for sports stars and 12 percent for bankers. Only eight percent felt movie stars should get the dollars they do.           And despite a recent trip to the United States, more than three-quarters of people questioned could not identity David Cameron as the prime minister of Great Britain. Twenty seven percent might have confused him with "Avatar" director James Cameron when they thought he was a movie director. Why do many Americans wish to go back to the past? A) Americans could live as they wished to in the past. B) The quality of life for them isn't good as it used to. C) They don't find jobs because of leaving out of school. D) They tend to Cherish the memory of the past.
Answer: B

Question: When I was 15, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my short-comings . Week by week her list grew. I was skinny , I talked too loud, I was too proud, and so on. I put up with her as long as I could. At last, I ran to my father in tears and anger. He listened to my outburst quietly. They he asked, "Are the things she says the true or not?"True? I wanted to know how to strike back. What did truth have to do with it? "Mary, didn't you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion. "Go and make a list of every thing she said and mark the points that are true. You needn't pay attention to the other things she said. I did as he told me and discovered to my surprise that about half the things are true. Some of them I couldn't change(like being skinny), but a good number I could and suddenly wanted to change. For the time in my life I began to get a quiet clear picture of myself. I brought the list back to Daddy, but he wouldn't take it."That's just for you,"he said."You know better than any else the truth about yourself, once you hear it. But you've got to learn to listen, not close your ears in anger or hurt. When someone says something about you, you'll know if it's true or not. If it is ,you'll find it will echo inside you." "I still don't think it very nice of her to talk about me in front of everybody." "Mary, there is one way you could stop others talking about you ever again, and criticizing  you--just say nothing and do nothing. But then, if you do that, you'd find you were nothing. You wouldn't like that now, would you?""No, I admitted " The writer found that  _  . A) about half the things her"enemy"said were true. B) most of the things her"enemy"said were true. C) few of the things her"enemy"said were true. D) none of the things her"enemy"said were true.
Answer: A

Question: I was asked in an email about learning idioms in a foreign language. Maybe I am different from most people,but I do not bother with them. To me they are kind of dessert of language learning. They come at the end of a meal. Once you have filled up with the key words and phrases that are used in a variety of situations,then you can add a few idioms. And by that time, you will be able to pick them up naturally anyway. I find that many learners have trouble with idioms,as if repeating some very colloquial expressions is going to upgrade how they sound in a language. In fact, it is the opposite. Idioms are difficult to use correctly. Yes,occasionally you hear idioms and do not understand. But,in my experience,there are always situations where you do not understand. It is best to focus on the most important words,what they mean and how they are used. Certainly,it is best for a nonnative speaker to stick to standard speech. Some teachers even try to teach the "real language".Then you hear nonnative speakers saying things like "I goanna", "You wane" etc. You will learn all the idioms you need just by exposing yourself to the language. In general,you can save any phrase that you find interesting,and if that includes idioms,go to it. But I would not make any special effort to go after idioms. I,in fact,avoid them. If I come across something in Russian that strikes me as a particularly idiomatic use of words,I just leave it aside; do not even bother trying to learn it. If it keeps on appearing,then I will learn it. How did the writer develop the passage? A) By inferring. B) By comparing. C) By listing examples. D) By giving explanations.
Answer: