Ques:Read the article and select the best answer. Article: What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night, and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That's the situation presented to Sam, Kelsey, Judy and Brenton in Dan Gutman's entertaining new book for young readers, The Home Machine. The four children, all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen's Grand Canyon School, are as different as any other 11-year-old child could be, but they have one thing in common -- all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father; Judy's sense of justice always annoys others; Brenton is the smartest child in the school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him. When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher, the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget  to do homework for him. While the boy is perfectly able to do his homework himself, Sam, Kelsey and Judy can use the help. Having perfect grades is something new for these three, and as they meet every day to "do homework", they find that they're learning a lot about each other. Such a good thing can't last though, and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them, they begin to get nervous. Soon there's an even more frightening problem -- why can't the Homework Machine be turned off? Told in different voices as all the children make statements to the Grand Canyon Police, the story develops in an interesting fashion. Gutman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children's books, each with a funny and impressing table that should be equally liked by boys and girls. Question: This passage most probably comes from  _  . Options: A: a student's diary B: a book review C: a school report D: a science story

Ans:B
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Ques:Read the article and select the best answer. Article: BUKHANNON, West Virginia--Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident. Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates on the rescuers' progress. The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren't informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened."It's very upsetting, but you've got to be patient, I guess," said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine. The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine's entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group. At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m.Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later. He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years.The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each.The company has not released the names of the miners. The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that." We don't want to be energizing anything if it's in an atmosphere with burnable gases," Kips said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.High levels of carbon monoxide were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided , authorities said. Question: If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about   _   per hour. Options: A: 1,000 feet B: 2,400 feet C: 1,200feet D: 4,800feet

Ans:C
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Ques:Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left at message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more and impatient. I was certain that my agent didn't care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?" At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket. I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth...? She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the test of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room----if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!" Then she turned to me. Kissed me and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room. After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight , I noticed that something in my mood   had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her aunties helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him and talk to him calmly. Question: What made the author laugh? Options: A: His own behavior B: His wife's suggestion C: His changeable feelings. D: His wife's sweet kiss.

Ans:A
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Ques:Read the article and select the best answer. Article: High-quality customer service is attached great importance to by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.                Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store  , but instead will alert their friends,  s, co-workers and even strangers. Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers frequently go to their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde Group and Wharton School.               "Storytelling hurts retailers and affects customers," said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde Group. "The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement." On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four others, and will no longer visit the specific store. For every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative review. The resulting "snowball effect" can be disastrous to retailers.                According to the research, shoppers who bought clothing met with the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers. The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered   shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.                During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved parking problems by getting moonlighting   local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. This guidance completely got rid of the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided the situation in which several customers eyed the same parking space at the same time.                Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.                Most importantly, salespeople should be good at dealing with different people and especially should be... Question: What does Paula Courtney mean by saying "...the shopper must also find a replacement" (Para. 3)? Options: A: New customers are sure to replace old ones. B: The shopper shouldn't buy all products in one store. C: Most stores provide the same kind of service. D: Shoppers have to face the trouble of finding another store.

Ans: