Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: At the top of a three-story brick building, Sue and Johnsy had their studio. One of the girls was from Maine; the other from California. They had met in an Eighth Street restaurant, and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so much in tune that the joint studio  resulted. That was in May.     In November, a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called "pneumonia", stalked  about the district, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Johnsy was among his victims.   One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a bushy, gray eyebrow.     "She has one chance in ten," he said. "And that chance is for her to want to live. Your little lady has made up her mind that she's not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?"      "She wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day," said Sue.  "Paint? Bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking about twice? A man, for instance?" "No, doctor; there is nothing of the kind."     "Well," said the doctor. "I will do all that science can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriage in her funeral procession , I subtract 50 per cent from the power of medicines." After the doctor had gone, Sue cried.   Johnsy lay, scarcely making a movement under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window. She was looking out and counting--counting backward.     "Twelve," she said, and a little later "eleven," and then "ten," and "nine," and then "eight,' and "seven," almost together.     Sue looked out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, depressing yard to be seen, and an old, old ivy vine climbed half way up the brick wall of the brick house. The cold breath of autumn had blown away its leaves, leaving it almost bare.     "Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now."     "Five what, dear?"     "Leaves, on the ivy... Question: What can we learn from the passage? Answer:
A: The doctor believed that medicine would lose half of its power on the patient who did not want to survive.

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Imagine sailing through the sky, high above buildings and trees, in perfect peace and quiet. No noisy engines. No window with dirty marks in your way. No strong wind blowing in your face. You can't feel or hear the wind because you're traveling in the exact same direction and at the exact same speed it is. A hot-air balloon has three main parts: the balloon, called an envelope; a basket, where passengers ride; and a burner system, which supplies the hot air. Most balloon envelopes are made of strong, lightweight nylon.  They vary in size and shape, but they have to be really, really big to lift even a single person. Most weigh more than an adult man and use more fabric than you'd need to cover a baseball diamond . The basket is usually made of wicker ,which is strong but not too stiff . It needs to bend a bit for a soft landing, just like a good jumper bends her legs instead of keeping them stiff and straight when she lands. When the burner system blasts  flames, it makes a noisy sound, but once the balloon is flying , the burner can be turned off. The air in the envelope will then slowly cool, and the balloon will gradually sink unless the pilot starts the burner again. To operate, a pilot adds hot air to the balloon to go up or deflates it to go down, until he finds a breeze blowing in the direction he wants to fly. But no matter which way the wind blows them, balloonists have an amazing bird's-eye view of the world. Question: The text is probably from   _  . Answer:
A: an article on hot-air balloons in an airplane magazine

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Midas was a powerful king, both rich and greedy. Once he did a great favor for Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus offered Midas his choice of a reward. Midas answered at once. He asked that whatever he touched be turned into gold. Bacchus agreed, though he was sorry that Midas had not made a wiser choice. Midas was eager to put his newly gained power to the test. He pulled a branch from a tree. The branch became gold in his hand. He picked up a stone; it turned to gold. He touched the grass, it, too, turned to gold. Midas was overjoyed. Returning home, he ordered his servants to prepare a magnificent meal. But when he picked up some bread, it turned to gold. He lifted a glass of wine to his lips. But before he could taste it, it turned to gold. Midas wished to free himself of his power. He hated the gift he had so recently hoped for. He raised his arms and begged and prayed for Bacchus to take away his deadly gift. Bacchus showed pity. "Go," he said. "to the River  Pactolus. There dip yourself in. Wash away your greed and its punishment. "Midas did so. Hardly had he touched the waters, before the gold-making powers passed into them. The river sands changed into gold. And they remain golden to this day. Question: Today when we say that a person has the "Midas Touch", we mean that   _ Answer:
A: everything that the person does makes money

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100 DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh  and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005.  A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration , heat stroke and diarrhoea .  "We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC .  The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon  rains which are normally due by the middle of June.  Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said.  While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said.  At least five people have died in prefix = st1 /Nepalfrom extreme heat, the government said. Question: We can infer that the heatwave can cause   _  . Answer:
