Reading passages

228- “24 hours and 37 minutes” is mentioned in the passage to signify ............... .
A) the length of time of one tour of the Earth around Mars
B) the distance between Mars and the Sun from the point of time
C) the span of one tour of Mars around itself
D) the similarity between Mars and the Earth
E) the duration when Mars can be best observed in a year
Superstition is a belief for which there appears to be no rational substance. Many persons, in nearly all times, have held, seriously or half-seriously, irrational beliefs concerning methods of warding off ill or bringing good, foretelling the future, and healing or preventing sickness or accident. A few specific folk traditions, such as belief in the evil eye have been found in most periods of history and in most parts of the world. Others may be limited to one country, region, or village, to one family, or to one social or vocational group. Superstition has been deeply influential in history. Even in so-called modern times, in a day when objective evidence is highly valued, there are few people who would not, if pressed, admit to cherishing secretly one or two irrational beliefs or superstitions.
229- According to the author of the passage, superstition is .................. .
A) a practice of belief in something with no sensible explanation
B) underrated in today’s modern world by all educated people
C) being practiced only is rural villages and tribes
D) no longer a concept not having been clarified
E) regarded as illogical even by the least educated
230- While some superstitions have greatly been prevalent throughout the world ............ .
A) it's hard to convince people of their irrationality
B) most of them are currently being forgotten
C) we have little to do but to believe in them
D) modern peoples don't esteem them to be rational
E) others might be believed only a small number of people
231- Most people in modern societies ............. .
A) don't underestimate superstitions due to their relevance to real life
B) have already lost their faith in superstitions
C) might have a couple of superstitions which will reveal when they are forced to recount
D) have reasonable basis to believe in superstitions
E) pretend as if they don't believe in superstitions