Read the notice and answer the following questions.
Free Activities This Weekend
Open-Air Craft Market
In Front of the City Hall
Sunday from 8:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M.
Need to buy a present? Find bamboo toys; paper flowers, paper umbrellas; model cars and more! Food from around the world; too!
Pop Concert
Sunshine Square
Saturday from 9:00 P.M. to midnight
Five groups of college students are going to play the guitar and sing pop songs. Bring your own food and drink.
Library Lecture
City Library Hall
Saturday at 10:00 A.M.
How to find the job that you really want! Two-hour lecture. Advice on choosing and getting the right job for you. Coke and sandwiches are sold.
City Museum Travel Movies
Meeting Room
Sat. & Sun. at 2:30 P.M.
Do you want to travel but don't have enough money? See movies on Japan, Italy, America, England, Russia, and Australia. There are only 80 seats, so come early.
How many indoor activities are available for people to do?
Where can people taste food from different countries?
What should you do if you want to get some information about some foreign countries?
If you are only free after 8:00 P.M. this weekend, which of the following activities can you attend?
Read the e-mail and answer the following questions.
Dear readers and supporters,
Support for Kids Organization Inc. was formed in 2009 to help underprivileged children and orphans around the world. Everyone wants the best for their kids, because children are our future, a future that we hope will be better and brighter. But what about the kids who for one reason or another don't have loving parents, don't have the warmth of homes and do not have the privilege to be taken care of by a family and must live in an orphanage?
Every kid deserves normal living conditions, happiness, love and care. The better their life is, the more hope of building a brighter future for them and all of us.
So please, we are asking for your help and support for kids in Georgian orphanages. We will be able to offer that help with your generous support. We are a small organization that keeps overhead to the very minimum and get the maximum help directly to the kids. With your help, we will continue to do our best to help the kids!
For those who have already been one of us, we are very fortunate to have you as our friends and supporters, and none of our accomplishments would have been possible without you, without your continued support and trust.
Sincerely,
Ani Morrow
Founder of Support for Kids Organization Inc.
The word "underprivileged" is closest in meaning to _____.
What is the purpose of this e-mail?
What can be inferred from the e-mail about Support for Kids Organization Inc.?
The word "them" refers to _____.
Read the text and answer the following questions.
Scientific discoveries have changed man's life a great deal during the past century. First of all, they have greatly improved material well-being in several areas of life. In the field of medicine, cures for life-threatening diseases have enabled people to live longer. In communication, the telephone and email have made it possible for us to communicate with anyone in the world without leaving our homes or offices. Advances in transportation allow businessmen to fly across the ocean in the morning and return home the same evening. Space technology has put men on the moon. More efficient ways of using available resources, such as coal and solar power, have been explored.
Scientific discoveries have also changed man's moral atmosphere. Ethical issues are raised by these discoveries. Should we keep a terminally ill person alive through drugs and machines or should we allow him to die in dignity? With advances in transportation has come the problem of pollution for nearly every major city in the world. If cities become uninhabitable, then such technical advances may come with too great a price to pay. Many people also question the wisdom of sending men to the moon when there are urgent problems that have not been solved on earth. During future years, increasing attention must be given to the moral as well as the practical applications of science.
According to the passage, scientific discoveries have improved man's life in several fields EXCEPT _____.
Which title best expresses the main idea of the passage?
The word "they" in the first paragraph refers to _____.
What can be inferred from the passage about the improved material well-being in human life?
The word "terminally" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
According to the text, why do some people question the wisdom of sending men to the moon?
Read the text and answer the following questions.
Mankind has used flags for over 4,000 years. The first flags were simply wooden poles with carvings at the top. About 2,000 years ago, fabric was added to the poles giving the appearance of what we know today as a flag.
The flag has become an important symbol for identifying a country. Because there are thousands of flags in existence today, many look very similar. The flag of Russia consists of three horizontal stripes that are white, red, and blue from top to bottom. The flag of Yugoslavia has a similar design, with the colors in the order of red then white then blue. Colors on flags are important since they have special meanings. Red means power and white means peace. Orange is a symbol of courage or sacrifice. Green is the color of safety and hope and yellow of caution. Black is a symbol of death and often not a color used in country flags.
Symbols on flags also have meanings. The American flag has thirteen stripes, which represent the original thirteen colonies. There are also 50 stars representing 50 states in the nation. Because of the meaning that we place on our flags, they have become a symbol of our home and of ourselves.
What fact does the author say about the first known flags?
According to the text, when did the flag have its current appearance?
Why is black often not used as a color on country flags, as mentioned in the text?
Why does the author mention the American flag?
What can be inferred about the flags of Russia and Yugoslavia?
According to the text, what might the Vietnamese flag imply?
Read the story and answer the following questions.
Tom, a thirteen-year-old schoolboy, was going to his aunt's home in New York. When he arrived at the bus station, he found it was quite early. The bus for New York would not leave until five to twelve. He saw a lot of people waiting in the station. Some were standing in line, and others were walking around. Tom looked around but there was no place for him to sit.
He walked into the station cafe. He looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. He found a seat and sat down before a large mirror on the wall. Just then, Mike, one of Tom's classmates, came in and sat with Tom.
"What time is your bus?" asked Mike.
"There's plenty of time yet," answered Tom.
"Well, I'll get you some more coke then," said Mike.
They talked while drinking. Then Tom looked at the clock again. "Oh! It's going backward!" He cried, "A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve, but now it's half past eleven."
"You're looking at the clock in the mirror," said Mike. Tom was so sad. The next bus was not to leave for another hour. Since then Tom has never liked mirrors.
Why did Tom walk into the station cafe?
The word "He" refers to _____.
Why did Tom go to the bus station?
What time did Tom arrive at the station cafe?
Which sentence from the story indicates the reason why the clock is going backward?
Why does the author say "Since then Tom has never liked mirrors"?
Which would be the most suitable headline for the article?
Read the text and answer the following questions.
Boxing is a sport in which two opponents wearing special gloves try to strike one another. Each boxer tries to get more scores than his opponent by the intelligent use of skills. The skills are gained through hard training. Sometimes, skill is even more important than strength.
Boxers wear gloves made of soft leather and rubber. Gloves usually weigh from 6 to 16 ounces according to different players. A boxer's hands are wrapped in soft cotton for protection from the impact of his own blows. Less professional boxers wear headgear to protect their heads and ears from injuries. All boxers use a rubber mouthpiece that helps prevent injuries to the lips and teeth.
The space in which a boxing match takes place is called a ring. It is generally 16 to 20 feet square. It is closed in by ropes. The ropes are 2, 3 and 4 feet above the floor of the ring.
The length of a round of boxing in college and most other amateur boxing contests is 2 minutes or less. In professional and some international amateur contests, 3-minute rounds are used. There is a 1-minute rest period between rounds. During the rest period, the fighters go to their corners of the ring opposite one another and prepare for the next round. Most amateur matches have three rounds, while a professional championship goes as many as 15 rounds. A timekeeper marks the beginning and end of each round by sounding a bell, gong, or buzzer.
The referee is a very important third man in the ring during a contest. He watches whether the rules are obeyed and will separate the boxers if they clinch one another. Blows below the waist, on the kidneys, or on the back of the neck are fouls. So too are pushing or butting, or hitting the opponent when he is down.
The word "strike" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
What can be inferred about the gloves used by boxers?
What can NOT decrease injury during a boxing match?
According to the text, what can be inferred about a ring?
How long does a round in a professional contest last?
According to the text, what is NOT considered as a foul by the referee in a boxing contest?
What might be the best title for the text?
Read the text and answer the following questions.
Crop circles are unexplained patterns that are found in fields, over treetops, and in ice and snow. They are mostly found in wheat or corn fields, but have also been found in oat, rape, and barley ones. Crop circles are also referred to as crop formations because they are not always round in shape.
While the exact date crop circles began to appear is unknown, such cases have greatly increased from the 1970s to current times. Twenty-six countries ended up reporting approximately ten thousand crop circles in the last third of the 20th century, and 90% of those were located in southern England.
Many of the formations appearing in that area are positioned near ancient monuments, such as Stonehenge. Nearly half of all circles found in the UK are located within a 15-km radius of Avebury. Formations are usually made overnight but have also been made during the day. The most widely known method for a person or group to make a crop formation is to tie one end of a rope to an anchor point, and the other end to a board which is used to crush the plants. More recent methods include the use of a lawn roller.
Some crop formations are paid for by companies who use them for advertising. Other formations are sometimes claimed by individuals or groups. But they don't have any evidence to support their assertion. In 1991, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley said that they had started the phenomenon in 1978 by making actual circles on crops with the use of simple tools. Nowadays, crop patterns not only still exist, but have become extremely complex. Some of them even look like the creatures from outer space in science fiction movies, thus leading to wild guesses and debates.
What would be the best title for this article?
What do people sometimes call crop circles when they are not round in shape?
The word "approximately" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
Where are the crop circles often located in the UK?
The word "them" in the fourth paragraph refers to _____.
What can we learn from the words of Doug Bower and Dave Chorley?
What does the text suggest about the appearance of some crop formations?
The word "crush" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.