Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The bicycling craze came in when we were just about at the right age to enjoy it. At first even "safety" bicycles were too dangerous and improper for ladies to ride, and they had to have tricycles. My mother had (I believe) the first female tricycle in Cambridge; and I had a little one, and we used to go out for family rides, all together; my father in front on a bicycle, and my poor brother Charles standing miserably on the bar behind my mother. I found it very hard work, pounding  away on my hard tyres; a glorious, but not a pleasurable pastime. Then, one day at lunch, my father said he had just seen a new kind of tyre, filled up with air, and he thought it might be a success. And soon after that everyone had bicycles, ladies and all; and bicycling became the smart thing, and the lords and ladies had their pictures in the papers, riding along in the park, in straw hats. My mother must have fallen off her bicycle pretty often, for I remember seeing the most appalling cuts and bruises  on her legs. But she never complained, and always kept these accidents to herself. However, the great Mrs. Phillips, our cook, always knew all about them; as indeed she knew practically everything that ever happened. She used to draw us into the servants' hall to tell us privately: "Her Ladyship had a nasty fall yesterday; she cut both her knees and sprained her wrist. But don't let her know I told you." So we never dared say anything. Similar little accidents used to occur when, at the age of nearly seventy, she insisted on learning to drive a car. She never mastered the art of reversing , and was in every way an unconventional and terrifying driver. Mrs. Phillips used then to tell us: "Her Ladyship ran into the back of a milk-cart yesterday; but it wasn't much hurt"; or "A policeman stopped her Ladyship because she was on the wrong side of the road; but she said she didn't know what the white line on the road meant, so he explained and let her go on." Mrs. Phillips must have had an excellent Intelligence Service at her... Question: The writer's mother always had car accidents because   _  . - she did not like driving a car. - she could not control the car properly. - she did not understand the road system - she behaved too proudly
A: she could not control the car properly.


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Newspapers are not nearly as popular today as they were in the past. There are not very many people who seriously read a newspaper every day. Most people read only the sports pages, the advice or the gossip columns, the comics, and perhaps the classified advertisements. Most people don't take the time to read the real news. They attempt to catch the reader's interest with pictures and exciting headlines. These techniques are used on the front page because it is the first thing you see when you pick up the paper. The first page attracts attention and encourages the reader to look through the rest of the paper. This is why editors always look for a good first page story and headline to make them stop and look. If the headline is horrible enough or frightening enough or wild enough, perhaps they will go on to read the front page anymore. They may read the headlines, but that is all, then they turn to the sports page, or comics, or advertisements. It seems that people do not want the news from a newspaper anymore. They say they get the news on the television now.     More people watch television news because it is easier and more interesting than reading a newspaper. What about you? Do you read news from a newspaper? Do you think it is easier to get the news from television? Or do you care about news at all? Would you mind if there were no news? Question: According to the author, which of the following newspaper will most probably attract the reader's attention? - The ones with interesting pictures and exciting headlines on the front page. - The ones with sports news on the front page. - The ones with classified ads on the front page. - The ones with gossip columns on the front page.
A: The ones with interesting pictures and exciting headlines on the front page.


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A man in a very splendid restaurant started to take off his jacket. Seeing this, the head waiter dashed to his table and said, " I'm afraid I must ask you to keep your jacket on, sir, for it is not good manners to do it in such a smart restaurant." "Now listen," said the man, "I'll let you know that the Queen of England gave me permission to remove my jacket here." "The Queen of England?" said the waiter in great surprise. "Sure," replied the man, " When I was in England last month, a friend of mine who had a very important position in high society took me to see the Queen. It was rather hot, so I started taking my coat off. The Queen looked over and said, "You may do that in the United States, but you may not do it here. " So I got the Queen's permission, right? Question: It is certain that the story happened   _  . - in England - in the Queen's party - in America - in an ordinary restaurant
A: in America


Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: There is a brown female  Canadian duck that weighs only four hundred fifty grams. The duck had flown to the southern state of Florida for the winter.A hunter shot it on January fifteenth and  took it to his home in the city of Tallahassee.He put it in the refrigerator .Two days later the man's wife opened the refrigerator door.The duck lifted its head and looked at her.It was alive! The family took the duck to a doctor who treats animals.The doctor gave the duck to the Goose Creek Animal Sanctuary .Animal sanctuaries provide homes for animals and teach people about their care. The doctor said it was easy to understand why people thought the duck was dead. He said ducks generally do not move a 1ot,especially after being shot.And he said its low body temperature helped it survive in the refrigerator.  _ was enough to make the duck famous around the world.The Tallahassee newspaper published the story that was re-printed in many different countries.But that was not the end of the story. Workers at the wildlife sanctuary named the duck Perky.And they got the doctor to give an operation to repair the duck's damaged wing.During the operation,Perky stopped breathing--not just once but two times.The doctor tried to save Perky by giving her oxygen.But he finally said the duck had died.A few seconds later, however, Perky began to move.Reports say the people in the operating room were so happy that they cried. Workers at the wildlife sanctuary say Perky will not have any more operations. It seems the drugs that were used had side-effects on her.Perky is expected to live at the sanctuary.And a local company has begun to sell T-shirts showing a picture of the lucky duck. Money from the sale of the shirts will help pay for Perky's care. Question: What is the best title for the passage? - Save the Duck - The Lucky Duck - Stop Killing Ducks - The Poor Duck
