[简答题]I want either to study English or study world history.

[单项选择]Looking in from abroad, much of the world has historically been baffled by America’s gun laws. In no other country can a mentally unstable person access a Glock pistol as easily as suspected Arizona shooter Jared Loughner did. And in no other country is the number of people who own guns as high as in the United States, where there are 90 guns for every 100 people.
The Second Amendment that guarantees the right to bear arms is part of America’s founding fabric. So is senseless violence brought about by guns also American
That was the question posed at today’s White House press briefing by Russian journalist Andrei Sitov, the Washington Bureau Chief for Moscow-based Itar-Tass. Predictably, the query irked (惹恼) many in the room, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
"I think there’s agreement on all sides of the political spectrum that violence is never, ever acceptable," Gibbs said from the podium. What happened in Tucson "was not in keeping with the importan
A. The use of guns has become a hot topic in the United States now.
B. The U.S. is now the country with the highest rate of privately-owned guns.
C. People with mental disorder are banned to use guns in the U.S.
D. Many countries have followed America’s example in making their gun laws.

[填空题]The World in a Glass: Six Drinks That Changed History
Tom Standage urges drinkers to savor the history of their favorite beverages along with the taste.
The author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses (Walker & Company, June 2005), Standage lauds the libations that have helped shape our world from the Stone Age to the present day.
"The important drinks are still drinks that we enjoy today," said Standage, a technology editor at the London-based magazine the Economist. "They are relics(纪念物) of different historical periods still found in our kitchens."
Take the six-pack, whose contents first fizzed at the dawn of civilization.

Beer
The ancient Sumerians, who built advanced city-states in the area of present-day Iraq, began fermenting(发酵) beer from barley at least 6,000 years ago.
"When people started agriculture the first crops they produced were barley or wheat. You consume those crops as bread and as beer," Standage noted