2. Passage ThirteenTrees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods.Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important.In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees.So the forests slowly disappear.This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees.The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich topsoil.When all the topsoil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert.Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire.It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak.When the empire fell into pieces， there is nothing left except floods and starvation.Why do forests in many parts of the world slowly disappear?

3. Passage ThirteenTrees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods.Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important.In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees.So the forests slowly disappear.This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees.The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich topsoil.When all the topsoil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert.Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire.It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak.When the empire fell into pieces， there is nothing left except floods and starvation.Why did the country mentioned in the passage suffer from floods and starvation?

4. Passage ThirteenTrees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods.Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important.In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees.So the forests slowly disappear.This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees.The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich topsoil.When all the topsoil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert.Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire.It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak.When the empire fell into pieces， there is nothing left except floods and starvation.Why does land become desert after all trees are cut down?

5. Passage ThirteenTrees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods.Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important.In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees.So the forests slowly disappear.This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees.The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich topsoil.When all the topsoil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert.Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire.It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak.When the empire fell into pieces， there is nothing left except floods and starvation.What does the author tell us in this passage?

1. Passage FourteenFor a long time， people have disagreed about whether golf is a sport or a game.On one side of the argument， people say that golf meets the dictionary definition of a sport， because it is a physical， athletic activity.They add that golf is recognized as a sport by sporting goods companies， athletic groups， fans， and the media.Also， golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in 2016 is more proof that it is a sport.On the other side， people say that golf is a game， not a sport.They say golf is not a very physical activity and can be played well by people who are overweight or injured.Also， golf was only recently added to the Olympics.For more than 100 years it was not included in the Olympic Games.For many， the Olympic Games serve as a measurement for whether an activity should be called a sport.Golf was first included in the Olympics in 1900.However， it was removed shortly thereafter because of a lack of participation and conflict with other golf events.Through the years， there were several attempts to bring golf back to the Olympics.It wasn’t until the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil that golf returned.Some say the return of golf does not prove that it is a sport.Rather， it only proves that the Olympics wanted to benefit from the star power of famous golfers like Tiger Woods.The disagreement continues today.Those who think golf is a sport point to pro-golfers like Woods， who are strong and fit.Those who disagree point to golfers like John Daly.He is a successful pro-golfer who once had health problems.So is golf a sport? The answer depends on who you ask——and whether that person owns a set of golf clubs.All the following evidence is used to prove that golf is a sport EXCEPT ().

2. Passage FourteenFor a long time， people have disagreed about whether golf is a sport or a game.On one side of the argument， people say that golf meets the dictionary definition of a sport， because it is a physical， athletic activity.They add that golf is recognized as a sport by sporting goods companies， athletic groups， fans， and the media.Also， golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in 2016 is more proof that it is a sport.On the other side， people say that golf is a game， not a sport.They say golf is not a very physical activity and can be played well by people who are overweight or injured.Also， golf was only recently added to the Olympics.For more than 100 years it was not included in the Olympic Games.For many， the Olympic Games serve as a measurement for whether an activity should be called a sport.Golf was first included in the Olympics in 1900.However， it was removed shortly thereafter because of a lack of participation and conflict with other golf events.Through the years， there were several attempts to bring golf back to the Olympics.It wasn’t until the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil that golf returned.Some say the return of golf does not prove that it is a sport.Rather， it only proves that the Olympics wanted to benefit from the star power of famous golfers like Tiger Woods.The disagreement continues today.Those who think golf is a sport point to pro-golfers like Woods， who are strong and fit.Those who disagree point to golfers like John Daly.He is a successful pro-golfer who once had health problems.So is golf a sport? The answer depends on who you ask——and whether that person owns a set of golf clubs.The overweight or injured people are mentioned in Paragraph 3 to ().

3. Passage FourteenFor a long time， people have disagreed about whether golf is a sport or a game.On one side of the argument， people say that golf meets the dictionary definition of a sport， because it is a physical， athletic activity.They add that golf is recognized as a sport by sporting goods companies， athletic groups， fans， and the media.Also， golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in 2016 is more proof that it is a sport.On the other side， people say that golf is a game， not a sport.They say golf is not a very physical activity and can be played well by people who are overweight or injured.Also， golf was only recently added to the Olympics.For more than 100 years it was not included in the Olympic Games.For many， the Olympic Games serve as a measurement for whether an activity should be called a sport.Golf was first included in the Olympics in 1900.However， it was removed shortly thereafter because of a lack of participation and conflict with other golf events.Through the years， there were several attempts to bring golf back to the Olympics.It wasn’t until the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil that golf returned.Some say the return of golf does not prove that it is a sport.Rather， it only proves that the Olympics wanted to benefit from the star power of famous golfers like Tiger Woods.The disagreement continues today.Those who think golf is a sport point to pro-golfers like Woods， who are strong and fit.Those who disagree point to golfers like John Daly.He is a successful pro-golfer who once had health problems.So is golf a sport? The answer depends on who you ask——and whether that person owns a set of golf clubs.Which of the following statements about golf and the Olympics is true?

4. Passage FourteenFor a long time， people have disagreed about whether golf is a sport or a game.On one side of the argument， people say that golf meets the dictionary definition of a sport， because it is a physical， athletic activity.They add that golf is recognized as a sport by sporting goods companies， athletic groups， fans， and the media.Also， golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in 2016 is more proof that it is a sport.On the other side， people say that golf is a game， not a sport.They say golf is not a very physical activity and can be played well by people who are overweight or injured.Also， golf was only recently added to the Olympics.For more than 100 years it was not included in the Olympic Games.For many， the Olympic Games serve as a measurement for whether an activity should be called a sport.Golf was first included in the Olympics in 1900.However， it was removed shortly thereafter because of a lack of participation and conflict with other golf events.Through the years， there were several attempts to bring golf back to the Olympics.It wasn’t until the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil that golf returned.Some say the return of golf does not prove that it is a sport.Rather， it only proves that the Olympics wanted to benefit from the star power of famous golfers like Tiger Woods.The disagreement continues today.Those who think golf is a sport point to pro-golfers like Woods， who are strong and fit.Those who disagree point to golfers like John Daly.He is a successful pro-golfer who once had health problems.So is golf a sport? The answer depends on who you ask——and whether that person owns a set of golf clubs.According to Paragraph 5， the inclusion of golf in the Olympics ().

5. Passage FourteenFor a long time， people have disagreed about whether golf is a sport or a game.On one side of the argument， people say that golf meets the dictionary definition of a sport， because it is a physical， athletic activity.They add that golf is recognized as a sport by sporting goods companies， athletic groups， fans， and the media.Also， golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in 2016 is more proof that it is a sport.On the other side， people say that golf is a game， not a sport.They say golf is not a very physical activity and can be played well by people who are overweight or injured.Also， golf was only recently added to the Olympics.For more than 100 years it was not included in the Olympic Games.For many， the Olympic Games serve as a measurement for whether an activity should be called a sport.Golf was first included in the Olympics in 1900.However， it was removed shortly thereafter because of a lack of participation and conflict with other golf events.Through the years， there were several attempts to bring golf back to the Olympics.It wasn’t until the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil that golf returned.Some say the return of golf does not prove that it is a sport.Rather， it only proves that the Olympics wanted to benefit from the star power of famous golfers like Tiger Woods.The disagreement continues today.Those who think golf is a sport point to pro-golfers like Woods， who are strong and fit.Those who disagree point to golfers like John Daly.He is a successful pro-golfer who once had health problems.So is golf a sport? The answer depends on who you ask——and whether that person owns a set of golf clubs.The author seems to suggest in the last paragraph that ().

1. Passage FifteenBig data can be defined as information that is too big or complex to be contained or processed by any one machine or person.As a student at the University of Sussex， Julian Dailly had two majors——English and philosophy.When he completed his studies， Dailly wondered how he would ever earn a living in a world filled with machines and technology.Now， he is part of the big data industry that includes Google and Facebook.Dailly’s research company， Monar Consulting， started three years ago with five employees.The company’s earnings have increased by 25% each year.It now employs 90 people.“What we do here is we try to discover what’s meaningful for people and link that to their economic behavior，” Dailly said.He noted the importance of working with people with different skills.“We have people from traditional research backgrounds， in addition to some in social sciences， economics， people from tech backgrounds， and sales people，” Dailly said.Companies like Dailly’s employ recent college graduates.The industry profits from the ideas of these young men and women.New forms of data also make it possible for some observers to predict the future.They are more valuable to companies than the traditional forms of data recording or reporting.“We have access to the core information inside people’s heads，” Dailly said， “They tell you what people are going to do as opposed to what they’ve done.That helps people take proper action in advance.This makes it much more useful for strategy.”Julian Dailly dismisses concerns that computers have finally taken control of our daily lives.“Some may worry that humans will be allowed to be replaced by machines.I think it’s a fantasy.”Dailly has an education background of ().

2. Passage FifteenBig data can be defined as information that is too big or complex to be contained or processed by any one machine or person.As a student at the University of Sussex， Julian Dailly had two majors——English and philosophy.When he completed his studies， Dailly wondered how he would ever earn a living in a world filled with machines and technology.Now， he is part of the big data industry that includes Google and Facebook.Dailly’s research company， Monar Consulting， started three years ago with five employees.The company’s earnings have increased by 25% each year.It now employs 90 people.“What we do here is we try to discover what’s meaningful for people and link that to their economic behavior，” Dailly said.He noted the importance of working with people with different skills.“We have people from traditional research backgrounds， in addition to some in social sciences， economics， people from tech backgrounds， and sales people，” Dailly said.Companies like Dailly’s employ recent college graduates.The industry profits from the ideas of these young men and women.New forms of data also make it possible for some observers to predict the future.They are more valuable to companies than the traditional forms of data recording or reporting.“We have access to the core information inside people’s heads，” Dailly said， “They tell you what people are going to do as opposed to what they’ve done.That helps people take proper action in advance.This makes it much more useful for strategy.”Julian Dailly dismisses concerns that computers have finally taken control of our daily lives.“Some may worry that humans will be allowed to be replaced by machines.I think it’s a fantasy.”Dailly’s company focuses on businesses in ().