Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did so before they published their own collection of English novels at home. Their small book contains stories about a holy   war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion  . The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume. "We're up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16. "I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion". Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wins between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said. "I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students' book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds." "We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable  . We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao. What is the best title of this passage? A) Creative homework leads to a popular book. B) Writing interesting stories. C) Students' new book. D) A popular book.
A

There are several reasons for hair loss in women. However, in most cases, treatment is quite effective. Female hair loss patterns in women are not as easily recognizable as they are in men. A woman may experience it temporarily due to pregnancy or illness, although they may experience it for other reasons. Hair loss can be due to a variety of factors, including a genetic tendency (which is not genetically linked to just one parent--both parents contribute to the tendency to lose hair). Women who are experiencing hair problems seem to have more limited choices than men. There are some female hair loss treatments that are available such as the Tricomin System which is a topical treatment that is nutrition based. Shen Min for Women is another natural treatment that contains herbs   that are said to stimulate  hair growth and even restore hair that is graying to its natural color1. The majority of the popular, prove hair loss treatments are only intended for men and are not suitable for women. True, a woman's hair issue is different from a man's. The biological makeup is different and the needs are different. Women have different needs and their bodies react in different ways to environmental changes, physical illness and even the treatments that are available. There are many natural treatments such as vitamin and mineral supplements that are said to stimulate hair growth, but, for the most part, these claims are currently unproven. One of the first and most important factors to effectively treating is to get a diagnosis from a doctor. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms  that you may be experiencing in addition to the thinning hair. Stress, weight loss or gain, illness and depression, all of these can be contributing factors. The natural treatments   _  . A) include vitamin and mineral supplements. B) are applied to keep the hair healthy. C) have been proved useful. D) are the most commonly-used ways.
A

People say time is  . But   to what. I do know that sometimes time "seems" to be moving slower. Remember Christmas Eve when you were a child? It was the longest night of the year. It lasted forever! And now it seems like I just paid my bill yesterday... and it's due again! People tell me all too frequently... I need more time! Oh, really?... Mother Teresa, Michelangelo, and Helen Keller all had 24 hours a day. Look what they did with their time! Is it that we need to manage our time better... or our priorities ? You've heard the expression "first things first". The first step in understanding the power of time is to understand that it is limited. Why is it then that some people get a lot more done? We know the answer. They use their time smartly. One day an expert on time management was speaking to a group of students and announced a quiz. He pulls out a wide-mouthed jar. Next,he places about a dozen fist-sized rocks, one at a time, into the jar, until no more will fit. "Is it full?" he asks. "Yes," responds the class. "Oh really?" he asks. So he takes out a bucket of gravel , which he manages to work down into the spaces between the larger rocks. "Is it full now?" he asks. Wising up, one answered, "Probably not." Sure enough . He takes out a bucket of sand, which he pours into the empty spaces. "Is it full now?" he asks. "No" reply the students confidently. So he takes a glass of water and fills it in. Then he asks, "What is my point?'' One said, "No matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!" "No," the speaker replied, "It tells us if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get  them in at all." What are the big rocks? The things you should put in to your jar first. The rich don't get 25 hours and the poor don't get 23... we all get the same. Let's use them wisely! Invest your time wisely! How is the passage mainly developed? A) By inferring . B) By comparing. C) By listing examples. D) By giving facts.
D

Carrying a passenger on a bicycle is an offence punishable by law. Everyone knows that but still some of us do it. I had done it many times before until something happened to teach me never to do it again. It was not the police. Rather it was an unforgettable, and unpleasant, experience. It happened one evening when my friend Segaran and I wanted to go and visit another friend who lived some distance away. I had a bicycle. Segaran did not. So, as usual, he sat side-saddle on the horizontal bar of the bicycle while I pedalled. We had done it many times before, so it should not be any problem. Near my friend's house, we got onto a gravel  path made slippery by the recent rain. Still we managed to move along, thoroughly enjoying the rough ride. As we passed by a stream, I made the mistake of going too near the bank. The rain had softened the soil and it could not hold our combined weight. One moment we were going along merrily, the next we were tumbling head over heels into the stream. Splash! Splash! Splash! We plunged into the river bicycle first, followed by Segaran, then me. Normally the stream is only a few centimetres deep with clear water. When we fell in, it was a metre deep with smelly black water. The water prevented us from getting badly injured but we also had to pay the price of swallowing some of it. It tasted horrible. Segaran got the worst of it for being sandwiched between the bicycle and me. Our pride was far more hurt. We walked all the way home. I had to push the bicycle because its front wheel was bent out of shape. From that moment I promised never to carry anyone on a bicycle again. Where did they land when they fell off the bike? A) Into the dirty river B) Onto the friend's house C) Onto the gravel path D) Into the softened soil
