Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

Honesty comes in many forms. First there�s self-honesty. Is what people see the real article or do you appear through smoke and mirrors? I find that if I try to be something I�m not , I feel unsure of myself and take out a part from my PBA(personal bank account ).I love how singer Judy Garland put it, �Always be a first-class version of yourself , instead of a second-class version of somebody else .�
The underlined part �appear through smoke and mirrors� in the first paragraph means � �.
A. to be honest
B. to be unreal
C. to become clear
D. to come from an imagined world

What is the difference between answer B and answer D?

2. One might get a bit more energy out of the ethanol than that used to make it, which could still make ethanol more sustainable than gas generally, but that�s not the end of the problem. Using corn to make ethanol means less corn is left to feed animals and people, which drives up the cost of food. That result leads to turning the fallow land � including, in some cases, rain forest in places such as Brazil � into farmland, which in turn gives off lots of carbon dioxide（CO2）into the air. Finally, over many years, the energy benefit from burning ethanol would make up for the forest loss. But by then, climate change would have progressed so far that it might not help.
The author thinks that replacing gas with corn ethanol is .
A. impractical B. acceptable C. admirable D. useless

I know the author's attitude towards using ethanol is negative. But what's the difference between answer A and answer D.


Thanks for a timely reply.

[pugachevV]

To be unreal is correct...
Magicians use smoke and mirrors to produce illusions of reality.
An imagined world is a world that exists only in the imagination.

The writer thinks that using ethanol is a useless solution to the energy problem.