Question: One-hundred-and seventh birthdays aren't usually celebrated for authors who aren't alive anymore. But Theodor Seuss Geisel---better known as the children's books author Dr. Seuss ---who came into the world on 2 March, 1904, was an unusual man. Like generations of children I was raised on his wonderful stories. But when I now read them to my children it's not just the childhood memories I enjoy. His writing is brilliant and imaginative and flows with a self-confidence as sure as the words of a Shakespeare poem. Readers ride his characteristic rhythm   with an effortless joy that cannot be matched by any other modern writer: You have brains in your head You have feet in your shoes You can steer yourself any direction you choose And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed. Seuss's brilliant cartoons and clever words make his books a delight for adults but they attract mostly children of course. His stories teach kids moral lessons but in indirect and entertaining ways. The first Seuss book I was given was The Lorax, written just as the 60s were becoming the 70s. Seuss was ahead of his time, and in this book the dawn of concern for environmental problems are shown as the Lorax "who speaks for the trees" battles against an evil businessman who wants to destroy the forest and make goods "which everyone needs". It's not only a warning of the heavy price of environmental destruction, written well before most people had thought to worry, but it's also a smart analysis of consumer societies: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." This is of course a moral message, but not of the kind designed to persuade the youngsters into behavior that adults want. I could go on, but hey, it's a birthday, and I'm sure you folks have some good toasts to raise for the party... Why does the author include Dr. Seuss's poem? A) To encourage readers to use their brains and choose their own way. B) To give readers a sample of Seuss's story The Lorax. C) To provide readers with an example of Seuss's writing style. D) To explain how relevant Seuss's stories remain today.
Answer: C

Question: Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling   or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter. New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching   careers. The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is static by the age of about 18. Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilize  . But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can "upgrade" their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation   from others is crucial as the "brain seems to be rather like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets". However, the opposite is also true - so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels fall as a result. He found the "understanding quality" of a family changes the IQs of all members, especially children. It can "lift" or hold back, depending on the "gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents". A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage, compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings. However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up. Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. Therefore, the best way to boost IQ level is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging... We can learn from the passage that   _  . A) as the age grows, you will become smarter B) a 35-year-old man is surely smarter than himself at the age of 18 C) you will be smarter if you have a partner, a friend or a sibling D) after 18, you still have the possibility to become smarter
Answer: D

Question: Does solving a math problem give you a headache? Doyou feel nervous when you sit a math exam? For most students, math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually trigger physical pain. Scientists came to his conclusion with an in-depth experiment, which was published in the Public Library of Science One journal. They began by finding out how much participants fearmath. Those involved were asked a series of questions such as how they feel when they receive amathtextbook orwhenthey walkinto amathlesson. Based on their answers, participants were divided into groups. One group was made up of peoplewhowere particularly afraid ofmath  and participantsinthe other  group weremore comfortablewiththesubject. Both groups were then given either math tasks or word tasks. When a math task was going to come next, a yellow circle would appear but when a word task was soon to come, a blue squarewould beshown. Using a brain-scan machine, scientists noticed that whenever people from Group One saw ayellow circle, their brain would respond in a way similar to when their bodyis feeling pain. It waslike the pain they would fee, for example, if they burnt their hand on a hot stove. But theyreactedlessstrongly whenthey knew that they would befaced with awordtask. However, scientistssaw no strong brainresponsefrom peopleinthesecond group. Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMA), math is associated with tension, apprehension and fear. "When you are really thinking about the math problems, your mind is racing and you are worrying about all the things that could go wrong," explained Ian Lyons from University of Chicago, US, leader of the study. "The higher a person's anxiety of a maths task, the more he activated brain regions associated with threat detection, andthe experience of pain." More interestingly, the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealingwiththemathtasks. "This means that it'snot that mathitself hurts; rather, the anticipation... Whichisthe best titleforthe passage? A) How to overcomemathfear. B) Physical pain affectsmath performance. C) Math paininyour brain. D) Unknowntruth about pain.
Answer: