Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (,) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not... Question: We can learn from the passage that   _  . - Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer - he was a geologist with ambitious dreams - Columbus became extremely wealthy after making a total of four voyages - he was an unsuccessful canvasser
A: Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Let us say there is something you don't know how to do. In the past if you were determined to learn, you might have called friends or  s, taken a night class or walked down to the local library for a research term. But now a host of websites are springing up to provide free practical advice on these subjects and actually anything else you can think of. In one sense, these" how - to" sites represent a part of the growing world of online learning. These FAQs(Frequent Answers and Questions), many of which still circulate(go round continuously), took a special subject and explained it to complete  _ . But, "how - to" sites take the FAQ idea in a somewhat different direction by addressing subjects that aren't necessarily associated with discussion forums .These sites take the style of a written tutorial and a tone of friendly advice. Possibly the biggest and best known of these sites is learn 2.com(www. learn2. com)It offers nearly 1, 000 free tutorials and adds new ones frequently for a job interview. At ehow. com(www. ehow.)you can learn how to train for your first marathon, how to buy a vacation home, or how to make a movie in eight steps. Question: From the passage we may guess that  _  . - a deaf person can teach himself at home by visiting "how-to" sites - "how - to" sites are specially designed for the disabled - you can just click your mouse at home to question anything - it is pleasant to listen to the advice on "how-to" sites
A: a deaf person can teach himself at home by visiting "how-to" sites


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Zhao Cheng is a typical member of the post-90s generation. And like many of his peers, he spends a lot of time staring at his computer screen, looking for amusing passages to share on his micro blog. He also writes his own amusing comments and observations.  It may seem that Zhao,19, a fresh high school grade, is simply wasting time with his micro blogging exploits. His parents certainly thought so. And then Zhao amazed them by turning his hobby into a profitable career.     Enterprises, especially those targeting young customers, have realized the value of marketing on micro blogs. Ads, if forwarded by popular bloggers, will enjoy widespread Internet coverage. Therefore, it appears that running a popular micro blog and forwarding several ads per day is a financial rewarding career choice nowadays. However, in order to be successful, you need to ensure that your micro blog has a large number of followers. Launching a micro blogging sensation can be tough for rookies .  In Zhao's opinion, it's not necessary to come up with a totally original micro blog. " You can publish a popular post you have found in other online communities on your micro blog. But to become a sensation, you have to be the first one to publish the post," said Zhao. Therefore, a micro blogger needs to be aware enough to sense a post's potential to become an online sensation. He or she also needs to be daring enough to publish potentially controversial posts or launch activities which could be risky. Running a popular micro blog is an exhausting job, both physically and mentally. Publishing ads also requires energy and commitment. In order to hunt for the most up-to-date, hot topics online, Zhao has to spend almost all of his spare time surfing the Internet. He often stays up late. Question: Zhao Cheng often stays up late in order to  _  . - forward ads on his micro blogs - escape from his parents' supervision - collect proper topics for his micro blogs - make up the time spend on micro blogs
A: collect proper topics for his micro blogs


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside.  It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift. "I can't leave her out in this weather," the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door.  "Do you want a lift?" she asked.  The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, "Have you been waiting for a long time?" The old woman shook her head. "Strange," thought the young woman. She tried again. "Bad weather for the time of year," she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what she said, the hitchhiker  gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug. Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker's hands which were large and hairy. Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. "I can't see out of the rear screen," she said, "Would you mind clearing it for me?" The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off. When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp; inside the bag was a gun. Question: The young woman asked the hitchhiker to clear the screen because   _  . - This was the way she thought of to get rid of him - she couldn't see out of the rear screen - the hitchhiker was very helpful - the rear screen was covered with dirt
