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In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Input: Consider Input: Article: For children with cancer ,the facts of life include the facts of death. There is always the fear that they might not live to grow up.Yet they realize that fighting cancer is the only way of beating it. So they fight.And sometimes, they win.It may take years.It certainly takes support from parents and doctors. Unfortunately, many parents can't deal with their child's illness.And doctors, no matter how caring, have other patients to care for. At times like these, the Children's Cancer Foundation can help. We are a group of Hong Kong doctors, nurses, psychologists, parents of children with cancer and concerned persons .All of us are volunteers (offer one's help without payment).We're with the children every day, listening to, and encouraging them. We also advise parents, educate the public and send doctors overseas to study new cancer treatments. Our funding (providing money) has brought better equipment to the wards (large rooms of a hospital), and paid for special flats where the children can recover. We want to do even more.But to do it, we need your help. It will be money well spent.One who looks at our past achievements should prove that. To the children, your contribution will also be a show of support.A sign that you're behind them is just the sort of news that a six-year-old chlid with cancer needs to hear.
Question: This passage is likely _ .
Options: (A) a story (B) an advertisement (C) a report (D) diary
Output: B
Input: Consider Input: Article: Why do our eyes open wide when we feel fear? And why do our eyes become narrow when we express disgust ? According to a new research, it has something to do with survival. In a recently published paper, researchers concluded that expressions of fear and disgust changed the way human eyes gather and focus light. They argued that these changes were the result of evolutionary development and were intended to help humans survive, or at least discover, very different dangers. In order to test their hypothesis ,researchers examined two dozen volunteer college students with standard eye-exam equipment, and asked them to show expressions of fear and dislike. It was found that when the students widened their eyes, more light was admitted and their field of vision was expanded. When they wrinkled their noses in disgust, their eyes narrowed. This had the effect of blocking out more light but focusing on a specific point. Although some scientists have admitted that emotional expressions are intended primarily to communicate information, expressions of fear and disgust seem to perform different visual functions. "Eye widening may help to find a potential danger that requires much attention. And this would agree with the hypothesized function of fear," said researchers. "On the other hand, eye narrowing may help to distinguish and avoid different kinds of dangers, such as disease carriers and dirty foods. And this would agree with the hypothesized function of disgust." These findings supported naturalist Charles Darwin's view that expressions are not necessarily for communication and are not arbitrary ."If our expressions were arbitrary, they would show little cross-cultural relationship." researchers said. "But actually, our expressions probably have some universal functional principles."
Question: What is the hypothesis of the research in this text?
Options: (A) Changes of human eyes lead to different emotional expressions. (B) Evolutionary development helps humans survive different dangers. (C) Emotional expressions affect how human eyes collect or focus light. (D) Evolutionary development causes people to express different feelings.
Output: C
Input: Consider Input: Article: Red squirrels have been wiped out from a large area of northern Italy, threatening a further biodiversity crisis for the species similar to its near extinction in the British Isles. There are now no red squirrels left in an area of more than 1,150 square kilometres (sq km) in Piedmont, according to research from the universities of Turin, Genoa and Varese. On the edge of this large region, the species is also under threat from the invasions of grey squirrels. If the spread of the grey squirrel continues uncontrolled, the species could spread as far as France, the scientists fear. They are calling for more research and control and conservation measures aimed at preserving the remaining red squirrel populations and containing the spread of the greys. Grey squirrels were introduced into Italy ly recently, in 1948. They were a gift from the US ambassador and kept in Turin, but escaped into the wild and rapidly colonized the surrounding area - despite warnings from the UK, where importing grey squirrels was forbidden from before the Second World War, when the destructive effects of having imported greys in the 1880s had become clear. Grey squirrels are not only more aggressive than the native European red squirrel, which causes them to invade red-dominated areas and take over, but they also carry a deadly virus, the squirrel pox. While greys are largely immune to the virus, it is deadly to red squirrels, which typically die within one or two weeks of being infected. From only four animals in 1948, at Stupinigi near Turin, the greys spread rapidly in recent years. Until 1970 the distribution of greys was limited to the Stupinigi woods, occupying an area of about 12 sq km. By 1990 this area had expanded to more than 200 sq km, stretching mainly southwards into the Cuneo province. By 2000, grey squirrels occupied 900 sq km and this year, fresh research from the three universities shows that their distribution now extends to more than 2,000 sq km. In more than half of that area, the native reds have been entirely wiped out, and in the remainder they are under severe threat.
Question: The best title for this passage should be_.
Options: (A) Red squirrels and grey squirrels struggle hard (B) Red squirrels and grey squirrels are distributed unequally (C) The invasion of foreign species has a deep influence (D) Red squirrel populations are wiped out in Northern Italy
| Output: D
| 2 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Article: Millions of people will be able to track each and every move by friends and family through their mobile phones,thanks to a new feature launched by Google yesterday. The new system named "Latitude" uses a map to show exactly where a loved one is at any time, sometimes discovering their location to a few meters.Worried parents will be able to check up on where their children have got to after school, friends can meet for a quick drink if they see they are nearby and wives will be able to see if their husbands really are working late at the office. The feature was made available immediately on millions of mobile phones that can access the web,such as the BlackBerry.Within weeks Google hopes to launch a new one that wilt also work on computers as well. "Once you've shared your location,you can hide it from all of your friends at once,or you can turn off Google Latitude completely at any time." said a Google spokesman."You can adjust your privacy settings in Latitude so that you share as much or as little about your location as you want,with whom you want." Google said that the company had tested the product with thousands of people to make sure that it was safe for the customers,but experts were not so sure.Simon Davies,director of Privacy International,said Latitude would open up a "privacy minefield ". "It's about the little white lies.You might be avoiding going to work, and now your boss might be able to see that you're at Twickenham instead of at home."said Ian Angell, an information expert at the London School of Economics."You've already got mobile phone technology where husbands and wives track each other in secret.Now Google is so widely used that it will only worsen the situation."
Question: According to Google,the new system "Latitude" can _ .
Options: (A) prove that the partner has told a lie about working late (B) tell the parents the locations of their children after school (C) provide the friends with the most suitable pub for a drink (D) help people find what their loved ones are doing at any time
B
Article: Oyster What is an Oyster card? Oyster is the easiest way to pay for journeys on the bus, Tube, tram, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London Overground and National Rail journeys in London. You can store your travel cards, Bus&Tram Pass, season tickets and credit to pay for journeys as you go. Where to get an Oyster card? There are a number of ways for you to get an Oyster card: * At over 3,900 Oyster Ticket stops * At Tube and London Overground station ticket offices * At some National Rail stations * At London Travel information Centres * Online at tfl. gov. uk/oyster How to use an Oyster card? To pay the correct fare on the Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services, you must always touch in on the yellow Oyster card reader at the start of your journey, and touch out at the end. If you don't, a maximum cash Oyster fare will be changed. When using the bus or tram, you must only touch in at the start, but not at the end of your journey. What happens if I don't visit London very often? Don't worry. Any pay as you go credit on your card will not expire , so you can keep it for your next visit or lend it to a friend. Fares Traveling by Tube from Central London (Zone l)to Heathrow (Zone 6) Adult Oyster single fare PS 4. 20 Monday to Friday 06:30 - 09:30 and 16:00 -19:00 PS 2. 70 at all other times including public holidays Adult single cash fare PS 5.00 For further information, visit tfl.gov. uk /fares.
Question: Which of the following is TRUE about Oyster cards?
Options: (A) They are limited in use to the owners themselves. (B) On National Rail services you must touch them on the reader twice. (C) They are not suitable for those who don't visit London often. (D) Oyster card Tube fares cost more on public holidays than on weekdays.
B
Article: During a career planning class, Brenda Fabian asked how many students use Facebook, a popular online networking community for college students. Almost everyone in the room raised a hand."Then I asked how many knew that employers are reviewing Facebook for hiring purposes,"says Fabian,director for Center for Career Services at Susquehanna University."No hands were raised, and their faces revealed the students' surprise." Although some parents do keep track of their teen's online activities,most teenagers don't realize that websites may be monitored by schools,prospective employers or anyone else who might be interested in the teenager's lifestyle not just today but anytime in the future. Most of us don't realize that the information that gets posted on the Internet may be deleted,but it doesn't disappear permanently."The stuff is there forever,"says Jamie Riehle,director of Web Publishing at Lycos."It is backed up on servers and doesn't go away." As company recruiters,college admission officers,law enforcement personnel and parents become more Web savvy ,it becomes even more vital for teenagers to be cautious when posting any information on their websites. Even though sites that are private can be seen only by a preselected list of friends,there are companies that,for a fee,can dig deeper into cyberspace and find anything. Even government officials who thought that deleting email would exonerate(......) them from wrongdoing are discovering that,on the Web,there is no such thing as private or gone forever. Steven Rothenberg,president and founder of College-Recruiter.com,suggests that teenagers think of their Web posts as tattoos . "Inherently ,there is nothing wrong with them if they are private,"he says."But if they are visible or offensive, it can affect the way others see you."
Question: The information posted on the Internet _ .
Options: (A) can be deleted easily (B) can't be deleted completely (C) usually falls in the hands of employers (D) remains for a long time
| B
| 0 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Ex Input:
Article: Studying abroad will shape you in various ways. You will learn things you never would have if you had stayed home. When you are young and unattached, you should travel. Besides, you just might save a large sum of money. College is expensive in the United States. It's cheap or free in other countries even for foreigners, so why not get out of here and come back smarter? More and more American students are currently studying at German colleges. That number has increased 20% over the last three years. Living costs are about $7,000 a year, which is even lower than in other European countries. Germany encourages international students. They create a multicultural landscape that benefits German students as well. According to a new report, Germany is home to six of the world's 100 best universities. These schools offer around 900 degrees completely in English and many German students speak the language. You could be part of Finland's excellent education system. The Finns charge no tuition and offer a number of courses purely in English. They would be happy for you to add flavor to their school scene. Cost of living there is high. Be prepared for frosty winters that far north, but you will get that sweet midnight sun in the summer. Many other European nations offer cheap or free college for foreign students, but if South America is more your thing, try Brazil. Most of the education will take place in Portuguese, so if that is in your plan you can study near beautiful beaches and jungles. The University of Sao Paulo and State University of Campinas are both highly ranked internationally. Your money will go a long way there, too. Many of the lessons you will learn will be outside the classroom. Living on the economy in a foreign country will keep you on your toes. You will learn new customs, how to bargain, stay safe, budget and become more flexible with people. There is no better way to learn a language than by immersing yourself in it. At first, it will be the toughest thing you have ever done. Eventually, it will become second nature.
Question: German universities are popular among US students mainly because _ .
Options: (A) they offer a multicultural landscape (B) they belong to the world's best ones (C) the cost of living there is reasonable (D) the students can get their degrees easily
Ex Output:
A
Ex Input:
Article: A survey reveals that employees in China say they are not engaged in their jobs. Judging by the survey data, many Chinese workplaces are black holes of misery and despair. Only 6% of Chinese employees said they are "engaged" in their jobs, according to a global Gallup survey released this month. China's numbers equal the numbers out of war-weary Iraq. Workers across all income levels and industries were surveyed by Gallup in China, defined by Gallup to mean they were "psychologically committed to their jobs and likely to be making positive contributions to their organizations". Out of 94 countries polled, only six countries scored lower rates of job engagement than China, including Tunisia, Israel and Syria. Unsurprisingly, 0% of Syrians admitted to being engaged at work. In a related survey, China ranked near the bottom in a poll measuring job satisfaction among 22 Asian countries. Only 49% of Chinese respondents said they were happy in their jobs. Part of the problem, I suspect, is that very few in China have the _ to pursue a career that truly interests them. Even university graduates often feel they have no choice but to choose the positions with the government or state-run enterprises, since those jobs are thought to be stable. That makes those who are happy at work in China a rare find indeed.
Question: According to the author, why most Chinese dislike their jobs?
Options: (A) Because they don't take the jobs they really like (B) Because many Chinese workplaces are full of misery and despair. (C) Because they have no choice but to choose the stable jobs. (D) Because they are not psychologically committed to their jobs.
Ex Output:
A
Ex Input:
Article: Every kid wishes to be an adult. Do you remember playing houses as a child pretending to be a grownup like your parents? Did you imagine you were a doctor, a soldier or a teacher? At that time, anything seemed more exciting than young. But now as grownups, some adults find they cannot leave childhood behind. They become "kidults"(kid+adult). Being a kidult has become a lifestyle choice among young people across Asia. Some kidults collect toys they once played with. Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world. It is not unusual to see a 20something woman with a big, Garfieldshaped cushion on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory . Other kidults still enjoy children's stories and fairy tales. For example, even an edition of the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover came out in Britain. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children's book! "Kidults can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, childlike emotion may be needed in such a rough and dry society," said a professor in a Korean University. He added that kidult culture might fill the generation gap between adults and kids. It could give children and their parents books, movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together. Tim Greenhalgh, a professor in London explained that some kidults just refuse to grow up. They cling to childhood because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them. Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood. "So, they look for an escape from increasingly complex and stressful life that are hard to deal with," Greenhalgh said.
Question: We can learn from the passage that kidults are _ .
Options: (A) children who can't wait to grow up (B) grownups who hold on to childlike emotion (C) people who enjoy playing sports (D) young people who pretended to be grownups when young
Ex Output:
| B
| 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Example input: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Example output: B
Example explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Q: Article: Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of.It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices.By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living.By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labour, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment.It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television license would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 per cent more. And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and services you buy.Apart from the fact that twenty-seven acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements.He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising.He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the good sense not to buy the low-quality article more than once.If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value. What' s more, advertising does more for the material benefit of the community than any other force I can think of. There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on.Recently I heard a well-known television personality declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs.He was drawing excessively fine distinctions course advertising seeks to persuade. If its message were restricted merely to information, which would be difficult to achieve, for even a detail such as the choice of the colour of a shirt is subtly persuasive, advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention.But perhaps that is what the well-known television personality wants.
Question: By the first sentence of the passage the author means that _ .
Options: (A) he understands the cost of advertising well (B) advertising costs money like everything else (C) it is worthwhile to spend money on advertising (D) everyone knows advertising is money consuming
A: | C | 3 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[Q]: Article: Roughly speaking, teachers in traditional education may feel that students are too young to know much about the world, and have to be told what to do most of the time. By contrast, open education offers teachers quite different feelings. Students are expected to be responsible for their own education--to discover subjects by themselves instead of being made to study them. This way of teaching allows the students to grow independently and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Some students who do badly in a traditional classroom will be happier in an open classroom and enjoy learning. They will not have to worry about grades or rules at all. However, many students won't do well in an open classroom. For these students, they will do little in school if there are too few rules. They will not make good use of open education, which is so different from traditional class, because they may have a problem getting used to making so many choices on their own. For them it is important to have some rules to direct them. They may worry about the rules even when there are no rules. In addition to that, some traditional teachers do not believe in open education and do not like it either. Since both of some good points and bad points of the open education have been explained clearly, you may have your own opinion on the issue. Personally, I think that the concept of open education is good only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. I believe, most students, but of course not all students, need some structure in their classes. They may want and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.
Question: Open education allows the students to _ .
Options: (A) grow as the educated (B) be responsible for their life (C) discover subjects outside class (D) develop their own interests
[A]: D
[Q]: Article: She might not be paid, but Carnegie Mellon University's newest staff member does all that a typical receptionist can do: give directions, answer the phone -- and even gossip about her life. University officials revealed what it considers to be the world's first robot receptionist with a personality of her own. The blond receptionist, named "Valerie," puts on a headset and interacts with people by talking about her boss, her psychiatrist and her dream. Valerie, the roboceptionist, sits in a custom-made booth at the entrance of a computer science hall. With her ability to distinguish motion, she greets visitors as they come near. Type in a question on a keyboard and she gives directions around the Pittsburgh campus and provides visitors information about the weather. More than that, she tells stories about her life. From her booth, passers-by often can hear her talking on the phone. She recognizes when someone is in front of her and remembers their characteristics. She can change between tasks from talking on the phone to answering a question. Valerie, however, does have her limit. She is a drum-shaped mechanical device with a digitally lively face that appears on a computer display. Visitors have to type on a keyboard to communicate with her. And she understands only simple questions. Eventually her creators would like to install face recognition so people don't have to insert an identity card for her to remember them. And people won't have to type their questions on a keyboard if they can solve the problem of voice recognition in a crowded hall. Valerie will tell the story of a robot living in a human world.
Question: According to the passage we know that _ .
Options: (A) Valerie looks like a real beautiful woman (B) Valerie can do whatever a human receptionist can't (C) Visitors can have a conversation with Valerie (D) Valerie doesn't understand of the visitors' questions sometimes
[A]: D
[Q]: Article: It is well known that the Japanese people's love of fish is almost as strong as a bee's interest in honey. As fish populations were decreasing, fishing companies were forced to fish further and further away from the shore. Then they had a big challenge -- how to keep the fish fresh for longer. So they decided to keep the fish stored in freezers on the boats. But the public did not like frozen fish. So again the fishing companies had a new bigger challenge. What they decided to do was to have fish tanks on their boats. After catching fishes, they would put them in the tanks and keep them living there until they got back to shore. But in this protected environment, lacking predators , the fish stopped moving around. The Japanese public felt these dull fish did not taste fresh, which had an unpleasant effect upon sales. Once again the fishing companies had an even bigger challenge ... Stop for a minute! Before we go any further, I would like to ask "What are your challenges? How do you handle an unexpected challenge? " May I think it this way that you should try to attack your challenges? Conquer them with a Swiss Army knife. Take the most proper and simple tool that you can adopt to deal with your situation. Now back to our story. How did the Japanese finally figure out the fresh fish problem? Sharks! You might think the same. Sharks were caught and put into the tanks with other fishes. Don't sharks EAT fish? Well, they do eat a few fish, but they did also keep more fish active and alert . The fish stay fresh because they are challenged. _ to offer yourself achallengein your own business and career.
Question: The main reason for the fishing company to fish in the far sea is that _ .
Options: (A) the fish resource near the shore was decreasing (B) the fishes farther away from the sea tasted fresher (C) people would prefer eating fresh fishes to less fresh ones (D) it was getting harder and harder to keep fishes fresh
[A]: | A
| 5 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Let me give you an example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
The answer to this example can be: B
Here is why: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
OK. solve this:
Article: A teenager who is preparing to go to high school has probably heard all kinds of different things about high school freshmen from his parents , fiends , or old brothers and sisters. The change from middle school to high school can seem like a frightening experience for teens going into high school , but it is not always so hard as it may seem. Usually , middle school students can get used to high school life within a few months of their freshman year. A few tips for high school freshmen are as follows. Grades are important . While it is important for a student to try to do his best in school , the grades that he gets in high school are even more important , since they are what colleges will look like when considering his application for their school . Classes . The classes a freshman takes throughout his whole high school can help them a lot when he gets ready to go to college or look for a job . Some special classes allow students to get college credits while they are still in high school in some countries . Most high school classes will have more homework than middle school classes and this can be a hard adjustment at first . Being prepared . Middle school classes might not request students to prepare very much before they attend them . But high school teachers will expect students to get everything ready before the class begins .It is also important for students to study for tests and do all homework that is required during class. Making good choices. Most high school students have more freedom than middle school students, but what a student does with this freedom is very important to his future life for many years after high school is over. Peer pressure , while it can be good sometimes, is often a problem with younger teens .It is important for a teen to make good choices throughout his high school career so that he can be successful later on in his life . High school is a memorable experience for teenagers .They should not be afraid of becoming a freshmen . After studying for a period of time , they will surely enjoy it.
Question: According to the passage , which of the following is right ?
Options: (A) The grades in middle school are not important (B) All the classes don't allow the students to get credits in high school in some countries (C) A teenager may hear things about high school from their teachers (D) What a teen does with his freedom in high school has nothing to do with his college life.
Answer: | B | 8 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[EX Q]: Article: Looking through a magazine in a waiting room recently, I came across an article with the title "My top five most precious possessions".It was just a few lines of text with pictures, but it caught my imagination. It's interesting how inanimate objects can take on such significance and become woven into a person's, and sometimes a whole family's life history. Anyway, the article had me considering what my most precious possessions are. It was difficult to choose only five, but here are mine: An old cardboard box filled with my children's baby photos. A yellow pocketsized birthday book of special things (poems, pictures of flowers and trees, etc) given to me by my dad when I was probably about seven or eight years old. A 21st Birthday card from my mum. In it she's written her congratulations, her love, and her hopes for my future. She died not long after, when I was in my early twenties. A few ancient but very beautiful botany books that were once my great grandmother's. She was a botanist in a time when it was ly unusual for women to be qualified in this field and I think she was probably a remarkable and very interesting woman. I'd like to have known her. A brooch left to me by my muchloved grandmother. It was given to my great grandmother (her mother) by my great grandfather on his return from World War I. It is not worth anything in terms of money. However, it not only stands for a link between four generations of women, but it is also a reminder of one young man's return from World War I. How about you? I'd love to hear what you feel are your most precious possessions.
Question: What made the writer have the idea of writing the passage?
Options: (A) Her love for her s. (B) Her rich imagination about the objects. (C) An article in a magazine. (D) Some pictures in an article.
[EX A]: C
[EX Q]: Article: Manage your time well for each module , but also make sure you get a good balance between work and social life. That is for life in general. Set aside time specifically for each subject. Try to study one subject a day. You need to balance time. If you are bad at balancing things, make a personal timetable. Even if you do not stick to it, you will have an idea what you should be doing each day. This is better than trying to do everything each day and, at the end of the week, not achieve anything. Also, try to keep your weekends free of studying. Only study at the weekend if you really have to. I had to learn to balance work, study and family when I was at college. I was a retail assistant working part-time and had at least four modules to complete at the same time at college. I also had to help around the house doing household cleaning and shopping at times. I managed to finish my college work on time, which was very difficult and hard, and still hold down a job. Why was it possible? Because I only thought about my part-time work when I was at work on the weekends and my college work had to be done from Mondays to Fridays before the weekends. This was hard--but you need to set a timetable for yourself. It was an achievement when I finally realized that things have to be done in order, and need to be organized as well. Balancing study and other aspects of your life can be a problem if you have a job or a family, but planning in advance is helpful. Use the time you have well. Do not leave anything until the last minute, as this will only cause problems.
Question: According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the advice the writer gives?
Options: (A) Try to study many subjects in a day. (B) Try not to study on the weekends. (C) Plan in advance. (D) Try to set a timetable.
[EX A]: A
[EX Q]: Article: Fifteen hours is a long time to be on a plane ,but you know ,Africa is a long way from North America.Finally ,we're in Namibia, a country in southwest Africa.Namibia is about twice the size of California.However, it is home to just over two million people.And the country's main airport is 45 kilometres east of its capital,Windhoek. Now we are in a wildlife park.We will spend five days finding ways to protect this area's wildlife.At the moment ,my wife and our two kids are enjoying some local dishes.I'm talking with workers in this park.I'm so much looking forward to the following days ! --Thomas Yesterday morning ,I had nothing to do ,so I went to visit the Eiffel Tower,a symbol of Paris.It was my first time there,so I took a lot of photos. Finally.The big moment came! A lot of artists came to watch my show.It was a great success.After the show, I attended a big party.It was great,but i felt so sleepy after it. When I got back to my hotel, it was already 1:15am.I went to bed without washing.I just needed a good rest before my two-hour journey home by plane. --Jessica
Question: How did Thomas arrive in Namibia ?
Options: (A) By car (B) By plane (C) By ship (D) By train
[EX A]: | B
| 6 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
Detailed Instructions: In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
See one example below:
Problem: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Solution: B
Explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Problem: Article: After the coming of Europeans to the Americas, Indians were forced to change their way of life. Yet the influence of Native American culture is still felt throughout the United States. Many of the foods commonly eaten in the United States today were first grown by American Indians. Among these foods are corn, white and sweet potatoes, peanuts, pumpkins, tomatoes, and certain beans and berries. Native Americans also discovered ways to use herbs and other plants as medicines. Native American inventions, such as canoes, ponchos and parkas ,hammocks and snowshoes are still in use today. Other marks of Indian culture were left in American place names. The state of Alaska, for example, takes its name from a Native American word meaning "great land". Today nearly 1.5 million Native Americans live in the United States. Some still preserve the ways of their ancestors, speaking Indian languages and keeping alive their legends, art forms, and customs. Other Native Americans keep few of the old ways, but remain proud of their people's contributions to American history. Americans have come to appreciate the beauty of Indian crafts . Many artists find _ in traditional Indian designs. Many Indian values, too, have become widely held. Americans today believe that the land, air and water are precious resources that must be carefully protected. As one government official wrote recently: We have slowly come back to some of the truths that the Indians knew from the beginning. People need to learn from nature, to keep an ear to the earth, and to refill their spirits in frequent contacts with animals and wild land.
Question: What does "Native Americans" refer to in the passage?
Options: (A) Europeans settling in the Americas. (B) People born and living in America. (C) American Indians. (D) Americans.
Solution: | C | 4 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Let me give you an example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
The answer to this example can be: B
Here is why: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
OK. solve this:
Article: Lindsay Morgan Lohan was born on July 2, 1986. She was such a natural beauty that she began modeling at the age of 3, and because of her natural talent, she played parts in over 60 TV commercials for companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Wendy's, the Gap, Pizza Hut, Calvin Klein, and Jell-O, in which she shared the screen with Bill Cosby. When she was 7, Lohan was required to dress up as garbage for a Halloween short play on the Late Show with David Letterman called "Things You Find on the Bottom of the Subway." It was her first real acting job. In 1996, Lohan got her second big _ when she was given a role on the long-running NBC soap opera "Another World." For only one season, she became the third actress to act the part Alexandra Alli Fowler. Shortly after, she hit the highway to fame when Disney sought to remake the hugely successful family comedy "The Parent Trap" (1998). In addition, she also got a three-picture deal with Disney thanks to this movie. Her next move was to appear in the Wonderful World of Disney production of "Life-Size" (2000), a comedy also featuring supermodel Tyra Banks. In 2003, along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan performed in Freaky Friday and played one of the early roles that made Jodie Foster a household name. In September 2002, Lohan also got a contract with music heavyweight Emilio Estefan Jr who is of great influence in music. She signed a five-album deal with Estefan Enterprises. In 2005, she released her first album, "Speak," followed by "A Little More Personal" the next year.
Question: Which of the following is NOT the job that Lohan has done until now?
Options: (A) A singer. (B) An actress. (C) A model. (D) A dancer.
Answer: | D | 8 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Let me give you an example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
The answer to this example can be: B
Here is why: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
OK. solve this:
Article: I have this old clock that belonged to my mom. My dad gave it to me years ago after mom passed away. I have mixed feelings about having the clock. I love it because it was my mom's, but it also holds some bad memories. You see, it chimes. It counts out the hour and rings once on the half hour. Or at least it used to. Now you never know what number it will ring. When my mother was at home dying from cancer, she asked for the clock to be unplugged. Hearing the hours count down really angered and frightened her. Mom passed away. I decided I wanted to get the clock fixed so I could remember the good hours we had with her. I took it to a local clock shop the other day. "I know this has no particular value as a clock, but it was my mom's and I need to get it fixed," I said to the shop owner. I went on to describe the problem. "We get a lot of these in," he told me. "Here's what I do. We remove the clock works and replace it with a battery-operated movement that chimes electronically," he told me. "You can't fix this?" "No, we don't have the time nor the parts." I thanked him and went home. I called a few other places and was told the same thing. "How incredibly sad," I told the last one disappointedly. How incredibly sad that we have become a society that replaces craftsmanship with convenience and easy fixes. We copy the original instead of creating something new. We duplicate ; we don't originate . Sadly, the same goes for our attitude to life itself. Each of us is an original, one of a kind. But we find it so much easier to copy another style than to develop our own. We are wannabes rather than hey-world-look-at-mes. We fail to see the real value in who we are, so we spend our lives trying to be someone else.
Question: Why did the author decide to get the clock fixed?
Options: (A) Because it was a really old and valuable clock. (B) Because it was the only thing that her mother had left her. (C) Because it brought her memories of being with her mother. (D) Because it left the author with mixed feelings.
Answer: | C | 8 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Ex Input:
Article: About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it hit the Jaguar's shiny black side door! SCREECH ... ! ! ! ! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" "That's my new Jaguar, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?" "Please, mister, please...I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" tears were streaming down the boy's face as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up. " Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me. " Moved by the words, the young businessman lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long walk back to the black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -- a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming you.
Question: The boy threw a brick at the businessman's car because _ .
Options: (A) he wanted to ask for some money (B) he wanted to get help from the driver (C) the businessman drove at a high speed (D) he hated the brand-new car very much
Ex Output:
B
Ex Input:
Article: Millions of people will be able to track each and every move by friends and family through their mobile phones,thanks to a new feature launched by Google yesterday. The new system named "Latitude" uses a map to show exactly where a loved one is at any time, sometimes discovering their location to a few meters.Worried parents will be able to check up on where their children have got to after school, friends can meet for a quick drink if they see they are nearby and wives will be able to see if their husbands really are working late at the office. The feature was made available immediately on millions of mobile phones that can access the web,such as the BlackBerry.Within weeks Google hopes to launch a new one that wilt also work on computers as well. "Once you've shared your location,you can hide it from all of your friends at once,or you can turn off Google Latitude completely at any time." said a Google spokesman."You can adjust your privacy settings in Latitude so that you share as much or as little about your location as you want,with whom you want." Google said that the company had tested the product with thousands of people to make sure that it was safe for the customers,but experts were not so sure.Simon Davies,director of Privacy International,said Latitude would open up a "privacy minefield ". "It's about the little white lies.You might be avoiding going to work, and now your boss might be able to see that you're at Twickenham instead of at home."said Ian Angell, an information expert at the London School of Economics."You've already got mobile phone technology where husbands and wives track each other in secret.Now Google is so widely used that it will only worsen the situation."
Question: According to Google,the new system "Latitude" can _ .
Options: (A) prove that the partner has told a lie about working late (B) tell the parents the locations of their children after school (C) provide the friends with the most suitable pub for a drink (D) help people find what their loved ones are doing at any time
Ex Output:
B
Ex Input:
Article: I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students,15-year-old Mikey,gave me a note from his mother.It explained his absence from class the day before: "Dear Mr. McCort,Mikey's grandmother,who is eighty years of age,fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I couldn't go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future.P.S.His grandmother is OK." I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk.I said nothing.Most parental-excuse note, I received were penned by my students.The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off." The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent.So I decided to give the first class to study the art of the excuse note. "Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'."Heads went down.Pens raced across paper.They had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends. The next day everyone had excuse notes.Heated discussions followed.But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door.He entered the classroom and walked up and down,looking at papers,and then said."I'd like you to see me in my office."My heart sank. When I stepped into his office,he came to shake my hand and said,"I just want to tell you that lesson, that ask, was great.Those kids were writing on the college level.Thank you."
Question: We can inter that when Mikey was absent from the class, he was _
Options: (A) somewhere enjoying himself (B) taking care of his baby sister (C) looking after his grandmother (D) studying the art of the excuse note
Ex Output:
| A
| 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
Teacher: In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? If you are still confused, see the following example:
Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Solution: B
Reason: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Now, solve this instance: Article: Japan' s nuclear crisis is also causing concerns in China. Worried shoppers rushed to stores and supermarkets in the country for salt, with the belief that it might protect them from potential nuclear radiation spreading from Japan. Many rushed to buy to store as much iodized salt as possible because of the rumor that iodized salt could help prevent radiation poisoning spreading from Japan' s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Consumers also worried that the nuclear plumes might spread to China by air and sea, polluting food sources, including salt taken from the sea. The wave of panic buying spread quickly across the country, driving up salt prices by five to ten fold in some cities. Even regions rich in salt production, like Jiangxi Province,faced sudden shortages. The government took measures to guarantee enough supply and to stabilize the market. It also dismissed the nuclear rumors, saying the nuclear fallout was unlikely to reach the country, and that salt did not help to prevent radiation poisoning. Local authorities have stepped in to stabilize the market, too. As well, state-owned salt companies have been urged to increase their supply. Facing expanding market demand, distribution centers have taken extra measures to ensure they are well-prepared. Wang Yun, the General Manager of Beijing Salt Industry Corporation, said, "Our storage reserves can guarantee a two-month supply for the Beijing market."
Question: People made panic purchases of salt for the reasons EXCEPT _ .
Options: (A) salt might protect them from potential nuclear radiation (B) nuclear radiation might pollute food sources (C) nuclear radiation might pollute salt taken from the sea (D) there would be a shortage of salt on the market
Student: | D | 2 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Let me give you an example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
The answer to this example can be: B
Here is why: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
OK. solve this:
Article: New York Times--A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said. "The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds," Sgt. Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news. "We have been able to clear the mall," she said. "We don't believe we have any other shooters." The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings. She did not give the shooter's identity. "We are still conducting the investigation," Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city's mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha. She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background. The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over. It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by s. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to "go out in style". The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping. The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd. Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter. Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores. Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised. The president was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place.
Question: Where did the news about the shooting first come out?
Options: (A) On a newspaper. (B) On the Internet. (C) On TV news. (D) In a police poster.
Answer: | C | 8 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
instruction:
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
question:
Article: In tradition education, the teacher may feel that the students are not very grown up. Usually, teachers are older than students, and teachers feel that students are young and do not know much about the world. The teachers feel that they must tell the students what to do most of the time, and that they must also make the students study specific things. In open education, the teacher's methods are very different. These teachers feel that the students are human beings first, and students second. They expect the students to be responsible for the things that they do, just as adults are. A student's ideas and feelings are just as important as the teacher's. The teacher allows the students to decide what they want to do, and does not make them study what they do not want to. The teacher lets them decide what to study and how much to study. It's very important for the teacher to show how he or she feels about students.
Question: Which is the topic for the passage?
Options: (A) Traditional Education (B) Open Education (C) The Students Are Human Beings First (D) Two Kinds of Different Education
answer:
D
question:
Article: A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity . Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation legend Burt Rutan's Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal . Spaceship One is the world's first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said "flying officer" Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since. He said, "Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed--we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth." GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than PS2m a year, has three air ambulances . Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence's safety was not guaranteed. He said, "This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved." Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes. Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth's surface, just breaking through the planet's atmosphere. If it repeats the feat inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.
Question: Terence is _ .
Options: (A) a real bear living in England (B) an experienced astronaut (C) an air force officer (D) a toy bear
answer:
D
question:
Article: I have this old clock that belonged to my mom. My dad gave it to me years ago after mom passed away. I have mixed feelings about having the clock. I love it because it was my mom's, but it also holds some bad memories. You see, it chimes. It counts out the hour and rings once on the half hour. Or at least it used to. Now you never know what number it will ring. When my mother was at home dying from cancer, she asked for the clock to be unplugged. Hearing the hours count down really angered and frightened her. Mom passed away. I decided I wanted to get the clock fixed so I could remember the good hours we had with her. I took it to a local clock shop the other day. "I know this has no particular value as a clock, but it was my mom's and I need to get it fixed," I said to the shop owner. I went on to describe the problem. "We get a lot of these in," he told me. "Here's what I do. We remove the clock works and replace it with a battery-operated movement that chimes electronically," he told me. "You can't fix this?" "No, we don't have the time nor the parts." I thanked him and went home. I called a few other places and was told the same thing. "How incredibly sad," I told the last one disappointedly. How incredibly sad that we have become a society that replaces craftsmanship with convenience and easy fixes. We copy the original instead of creating something new. We duplicate ; we don't originate . Sadly, the same goes for our attitude to life itself. Each of us is an original, one of a kind. But we find it so much easier to copy another style than to develop our own. We are wannabes rather than hey-world-look-at-mes. We fail to see the real value in who we are, so we spend our lives trying to be someone else.
Question: Why did the author decide to get the clock fixed?
Options: (A) Because it was a really old and valuable clock. (B) Because it was the only thing that her mother had left her. (C) Because it brought her memories of being with her mother. (D) Because it left the author with mixed feelings.
answer:
| C
| 9 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
Given the task definition, example input & output, solve the new input case.
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Output: B
It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
New input case for you: Article: It seems that politicians around the world are thinking about the health of their countries. While in China, Chen Zhu has announced his plans for a universal health service and reform across health services. Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, has also announced he is planning to make some changes in our health service. The crux of Mr. Brown's proposals are related to giving the NHS (National Health Service) a greater focus on prevention, rather than just curing patients. He is planning to introduce increased screening for common diseases such as heart disease, strokes, and cancer, for example, breast cancer. In Britain there are 200,000 deaths a year from heart attacks and strokes, many of which might have been avoided if the condition had been known about. Initially, the diagnostic tests will be available for those who are vulnerable, or most likely to have the disease. One example is a plan to offer all men over 65 an ultrasound test to check for problems with the main artery , a condition which kills 3,000 men a year. The opposition have criticized Mr. Brown's proposals, saying that they are just a trick, and claiming that there is no proper timetable for the changes. They also say that Mr. Brown is reducing the money available for the treatment of certain conditions while putting more money towards testing for them. The NHS was founded in 1948, and is paid for by taxation. The idea is that the rich pay more towards the health service than the poor. However in recent years there has been a great increase in the use of private healthcare, because it's much quicker. NHS waiting lists for operations can be very long, so many people who can afford it choose to pay for medical care themselves.
Question: All the following statements are true except that _ .
Options: (A) all people should pay for their healthcare at the NHS. (B) some people are against the reform of the healthcare. (C) the writer is likely to come from Britain. (D) more money will be spent on testing people than before.
Output: | A | 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[EX Q]: Article: For new countries joining the European Union, and older ones getting used to their dark red passports, becoming "Europeans" is a bit like marrying into a large, eccentric family. Europeans have a lot in common but it is their differences, not their similarities, that attract the attention of sociologists and market researchers, and are more interesting. * 35% of Germans live alone, but only 9% of Spaniards. Perhaps this explains why Spaniards lead Europe in the habit of going out for a drink. * The British attend more adult evening classes than anyone else in Europe, and the Belgians least. So it can't just be the dark evenings. There are no figures on how many Britons go for a drink afterwards. If there were, they might be up at the top with Spain! * The British think black cats are lucky. Every other European country regards them unlucky. * The Dutch and Germans are the greatest caravaners , but the Germans like bigger beds in their caravans. * The French are the most athletic Europeans. Next come the Dutch. But the Belgians, just over the border, play fewest sports. * The Germans spend twice as much on heating as the Spaniards. Well, of course they do, it's colder. * Dutch husbands do the household shopping a lot more often than Italians or Spaniards. * The French are the champion public transport commuters of Europe. If you hate commuting, go and live in the Netherlands, where journeys to work are shorter than anywhere else. * The amount of direct eye-contact between strangers is three times greater among Spaniards than it is among the British or Swedes. Sharing a lift is torture for both the British and the Swedish. * No European countries really agree with any other about how to make good coffee. All of them are different. There are exceptions to all these rules. Deal with them in the spirit of my 8-year-old daughter. "If you don't understand each other's language, you just laugh a lot, and eat, and point at things."
Question: We can know from the passage that _ .
Options: (A) sociologists are most interested in the idea of the European Union (B) all the European countries are not willing to join the European Union (C) Europeans have a lot more differences than similarities (D) trade opportunities exist in the cultural differences in the European Union
[EX A]: A
[EX Q]: Article: A jobless man applied for the position of "office boy" at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. "You are employed," he said. "Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start. " The man replied, "But I don't have a computer, neither an e-mail. " "I'm sorry," said the HR manager. "If you don't have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And who doesn't exist cannot have the job. " The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars. The man realized that he can survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or _ every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US. He started to plan his family's future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker and chose a protection plan. When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, "I don't have an e-mail. " The broker answered curiously, "You don't have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?" The man thought for a while and replied, "Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!"
Question: Why can't the man have the job at Microsoft?
Options: (A) Because he was lazy. (B) Because he didn't pass the test. (C) Because he didn't have an e-mail. (D) Because he didn't have a computer.
[EX A]: C
[EX Q]: Article: 5 Holiday Gifts By Liz Kennedy and Janice Lieberman Your family's life story in print? Priceless. An appetizer plate that holds a wine glass?Genius. Read on to see our picks for the best holiday gifts on the Web--all available at bargain prices. For Your Family Share your life story with your kids and grandkids. Record your answers to 500 questions, from"What was your engagement proposal like?" to "What is a typical family meal?" This hardcover book is a great way to store your life stories and pass them on for generations to come. Story of a Lifetime: $70 ( 15%discount for 2 ) at www.redenvelope.com For the Entertainer Hold a party with ease with wooden appetizer plates that can be attached to your wine glass. No longer will you have your hands full holding a plate in one and a glass in the other. Instead, be a one-handed wonder at your next party! Wooden Appetizer Plates: $40 ( 5%discount for 4 ) at www.homewetbar.com For the Pet Lover Ever wonder what your pet does when you're out of the room? See the world through your dog's eyes with Uncle Milton's Pet Eye View Camera. This mini video camera clips onto your dog's or cat's collar to give you a glimpse into your pet's secret life. Eye View Camera: $60 ( 10%discount for 3) at www. babyage. com For the Athlete Find a new level of motivation with the Nike+iPod Sports Kit. Listen to your favorite music while Nike records how far you've run, how many calories you've burned, and your personal best times. Upload your data to the Nike website, and see the progress you're making. Nike+iPod Sports kit: $30 (5 %discount for 2) at www. store. nike. com For the Nature Lover A symbol of long life and memory, a Ginkgo Bilobatree is the perfect gift for your earth-conscious friends. The kit includes everything you need to grow a tree. After 10 to 12 years, your tree will stand about 20 feet tall. Ginkgo Tree-to-Be with Personalized Tag: $50 (10 %discount for 3) at www. gifttree. com
Question: How much would it cost to buy 3 Eye View Cameras and a Nike + IPod Sports Kit?
Options: (A) $208.50 (B) $210.00 (C) $192.00 (D) $190.50
[EX A]: | C
| 6 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[Q]: Article: Handshaking, though a European practise is often seen in big cities of China. Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe. It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other's hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement. This practice was later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. "Let's shake (hands) on it" sometimes means agreement reached. Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Sometimes the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite. It is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or-her. Even if, for politeness, he holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly- There is generally a misunderstanding among the Chinese that westerners are usually open and straighforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved in manner. But in fact some people in western countries more reserved than some Chinese today. So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.
Question: In the old days in Europe, people put out their unarmed hands to each other _ .
Options: (A) to make a deal (B) to greet each other (C) to show friendliness (D) to reach an agreement
[A]: C
[Q]: Article: It's good to make mistakes,and here is why. First of all,mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It's always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new,how can you improve?How can you expand?The simple answer is"You can't."Look around you. With very few exceptions,either every-thing you see in your world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new. Another good thing about mistakes is this:When you are making mistakes,you are learning.Consider this:Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the 1ight bulb.When asked how it felt to fail that many times,he said that he hadn't failed 10,000 times,but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn't work. Finally,when you make a mistake you are much closer to success.Why?Because when all is said and done,you will have tried some numbers of things before you succeed.Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer.But this all doesn't mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake.Quite the contrary,when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn't work out the way you want it to,you will he in a position to try again. We all have limited time and money so don't blow them all on one approach to a problem.Realize that it probably won't be perfect the first time and allocate these resources properly so you can learn,make corrections,and try it again.If you accept and use your mistakes in this way,you can make great progress in your business and your career. There is an old saying that goes,"If you're not making mistakes,you're not trying hard enough."So go ahead and make mistakes.And learn.And grow.And succeed.
Question: According to the article,one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is _ .
Options: (A) avoiding making the same mistakes (B) accepting the punishment willingly (C) taking consequences into consideration1] (D) trying things out one by one
[A]: C
[Q]: Article: In1909, Sonora Dodd was sitting in her church in Spokane, Washington, listening to a Mother's Day sermon( ) when she had an idea: There should be a day to honor fathers. Sonora's father, William Smart, had raised Sonora and her five siblings all by himself after his wife, Ellen, died. Sonora felt her father _ a special day, so she went to work persuading her community to set aside Sunday to celebrate dads. Moved by her action, the following year, the mayor of Spokane declared June 19 to be the first Father's Day celebration .This date was selected because it was Smart's birthday. News of this day for dads spread across the country. In 1966, President Lyndon Johonson designated the third Sunday of every June as Father's day. However, it was not until 1972-62 years after the first official celebration in Spokane-that President Richard Nixon signed a law making Father's Day an everlasting holiday. Countries all over the world have special days to honor their dads. In Catholic countries like Spain and Portugal, dad is honored on March 19 during the feast of St.Joseph. In Thailand ,Father's Day is celebrated on the king's birthday. The current king, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was born on December5.In Canada, people wear roses on Father's Day. There are currently 70.1 million dads in the United States. Many of these dads are spending more time with their kids than dads did in the past ,according to a recent study by the Pew Research Centre .Years ago, taking care of kids was considered a job mainly for women. Now, however, the roles are sometimes overturned .According to the US Census Bureau ,in 2010,154,000 dads stayed at home to take care of their kids ,and 1.8 million dads raised their kids alone like Sonora's dad. On Sunday, dads across the country will open cards and gifts. Whether they know it or not , they have _ someoneto thank for the special recognition.
Question: Why did the mayor agree to celebrate the Father's Day?
Options: (A) He liked Sonora's father. (B) He understood Sonora's story. (C) He wanted to encourage the public. (D) He knew dads in the US are hard working.
[A]: | B
| 5 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Ex Input:
Article: Characters in novels don't always do what the writer wants them to do. Sometimes they cause trouble, take on lives of their own, or even work against the writer. It's not just a problem for inexperienced authors: famed children's novelist Roald Dahl said he got the main character in his bookMatildaso "wrong"that when he'd finished his first version, he threw it away and started again. Of course it's not the characters' fault. The problem lies with the author. Take Stephen King, who admitted that writing working-class characters is more difficult nowadays because his own circumstances have changed. "It is definitely harder,"King said."When I wroteCarriemany years ago, I was one step away from physical labour." This is also true for characters' ages, added King."When you have small children, it is easy to write young characters because you observe them and you have them in your life all the time. But your kids grow up, it's been harder for me to write about this little 12-year-old girl in my new book because my models are gone." For other authors, such as Karen Fowler, there's one quality that can stop a character in its tracks: boredom."I had particular problems with the main character in my historical novelSister Noon,"she says."She had attitudes about race and religion that seemed appropriate to me for her time and class, but they were not attitudes I liked. Eventually I grew quite bored with her. You can write a book about a character you dislike or a character you disagree with, but I don't think you can write a book about a character who bores you." According to Neel Mukherjee, it was Adinath, a character inThe Lives of Others, who made him work the hardest."I think I struggled because it's difficult to write a character whose most prominent personal feature is weakness, as Adinath's is, without making that feature define him,"Mukherjee says. But a troublesome character is far from an unwelcome guest, he continues, arguing that "when characters work against the author they come alive and become unpredictable". "That is a fantastic thing to happen,"Mukherjee says."I celebrate it. It is one of the great, lucky gifts given to a writer."
Question: What can we infer about Stephen King's bookCarrie?
Options: (A) It was his most difficult book to write. (B) It was the first successful novel King wrote. (C) There were few children featured in the story. (D) Some of its main characters were working class.
Ex Output:
D
Ex Input:
Article: A study of a million UK women, published today in The Lancet, has shown that happiness itself has no direct effect on mortality, and that the widespread but mistaken belief that unhappiness and stress directly cause ill health came from studies that had simply confused cause and effect. Life-threatening poor health can cause unhappiness, and for this reason unhappiness is associated with increased mortality. In addition, smokers tend to be unhappier than non-smokers. However, after taking account of previous ill health, smoking, and other lifestyle and socio-economic factors, the investigators found that unhappiness itself was no longer associated with increased mortality. The lead author, Dr Bette Liu, now at the University of New South Wales, Australia said: "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you ill. We found no direct effect of unhappiness or stress on mortality, even in a ten-year study of a million women." As in other studies, unhappiness was associated with deprivation, smoking, lack of exercise, and not living with a partner. The strongest associations, however, were that the women who were already in poor health tended to say that they were unhappy, stressed, not in control, and not relaxed. The main analyses included 700 000 women, average age 59 years, and over the next 10 years these women were followed by electronic record linkage for mortality, during which time 30 000 of the women died. After allowing for any differences already present in health and lifestyle, the overall death rate among those who were unhappy was the same as the death rate among those who were generally happy. The study is so large that it rules out unhappiness being a direct cause of any material increase in overall mortality in women. This was true for overall mortality, for cancer mortality, and for heart disease mortality, and it was true for stress as well as for unhappiness.
Question: The word "mortality" in the passage means .
Options: (A) richness (B) relaxation (C) death (D) morality
Ex Output:
B
Ex Input:
Article: Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil's population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited being Portugal's colony . Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live in Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: commercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started coming to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly. The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal's colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don't believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism. Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.
Question: Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about _ .
Options: (A) 22 years (B) 300 years (C) 322 years (D) 328 years
Ex Output:
| C
| 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[Q]: Article: Women love shoes! They will sometimes go to look for the perfect pair of shoes to wear only once with the perfect outfit or the fashion of the day. Once worn, these fashionable designer shoes may spend weeks, months, or years in the closet without being worn again until another special occasion comes up. With that said, are expensive designer shoes really worth their cost? Historically, shoes were invented to free feet from sharp rocks, hot sands, and blisters. Shoes were made to be simple and functional, with tough leather soles and straps. As society became more sophisticated , the role of shoes changed; shoes were made to add status to the wearer. Shoe designers began to work on the production of fashion shoes for the wealthy; shoes meant more for show than for practical use or simplicity. Good shoemakers became well known and printed symbols on their shoes, so people could recognize the maker of that particular design. Designer shoes were thus born. Many women develop serious problems with their feet after wearing these designer shoes during the workday and the medical costs for dealing with these problems can get very high. Some popular makers of designer shoes have been working towards combining comfort and practical use into their shoes, but it has been noted that women still go for style, beauty and uniqueness above everything else. So to answer the question as to whether or not designer shoes are worth the cost, the answer is certainly yes, but be smart and invest in a pair of comfortable, not so stylish shoes for the days when you stay outdoors for hours! They can also be very expensive, but I can surely say that they are worth the cost.
Question: When shoes were first made, their main use was to _ .
Options: (A) increase the wearer's image (B) protect the wearer from discomfort (C) make the wearer more noticeable (D) show the simplicity of life
[A]: B
[Q]: Article: Amazingly, US crime figures have been falling for 20 years now. Of course, the big question is, why? And can any lessons be learnt? One reason could be the fall in the demand for the drug crack. During the 1980s, drug-related crimes soared, mostly caused by desperate crack users. However, according to professor Blumstein, co-author of The Crime Drop in America, news of the dangers of crack use caused its decrease and led to a fall in the number of drug-related crimes. Some say that the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy in many cities has helped lead to a fall in crime. In New York City, for example, mayor Rudy Giuliani imposed strict and automatic punishments for all crimes, including minor offences such as graffiti and littering. Many believe this has had a very strong deterrent effect. Another reason could be smarter policing strategies. Anti-theft measures and educating the community about car theft has helped see a drop in crimes in many areas. Also, the use of crime mapping schemes that can discover identify crime peaks in different parts of the city has helped police target hotspots. Another reason could be that more criminals are now behind bars. Sociologist John Conklin (from Tufts University) says a significant factor behind the fall in crime in the 1990s is the simple fact that many criminals are in jail. In his book Why Crime Rages Fell, he says sentencing was merciful in the 1960s and 1970s, when crime rose. But then more prisons were built and more offenders were imprisoned. Some have linked the fall in violent crime to a decline in children's exposure to lead in petrol. Jessica Wolpaw Reyes says, "Even low to moderate levels of exposure can lead to behavioral problems, reduced IQ, hyperactivity and youth crimes. You can link the decline in lead between 1975 and 1985 to a decline in violent crime 20 years later." Others say that the drop in crime has something to do with birth rates. According to statistics, birth rates peaked between 1957 and 1961, and the proportion of men in the US in their late teens and early 20s (the so-called "criminal age") was highest in the late 70s and early 80s. However, as time went on, the proportion of people in this age group decreased. Others claim that videogames have helped. A recent study has suggested that these games are keeping young people off the streets and therefore away from crime. Advocates of this argue that any effects the games may have in encouraging violent behavior is _ by the fact that the games keep potential criminals indoors and in front of the television. Some argue that the widespread use of camera phones makes some criminals think twice before committing a crime and getting filmed doing it. Also, many believe that the mass use of CCTV has also had an effect. Finally, some say that petty theft just isn't worth it any more. The resale value of second-hand goods such as televisions, cameras or clothes is now so low (or even non-existent) that most people see no point in stealing. So, what do you think?
Question: By writing this article, the writer intends to tell us _ .
Options: (A) the amazing fact that US crime figures are going down (B) the recent statistics showing that crime rates are falling in the US (C) the answers to the question why US crime figures are falling (D) the special policies adopted by the US police that help a drop in crime
[A]: C
[Q]: Article: Salesman Ramesh lived in the southern part of India. He got his first assignment in the month of June, the start of the rainy season in the area. He was given a list of local laundry owners whom he had to approach and sell products to. He was scared and thought he wouldn't be able to fulfill the task, but he accepted the challenge as he had no other choice. The next day he started approaching the laundry owners, and within 15 days he got a really nice response. Most of them purchased his products, but they borrowed money from Ramesh to buy the products. Everyone promised to pay him back within the next 15 days. During the last week of June amidst heavy showers, he started visiting the laundry owners to collect money. Upon visiting half of them, he realized he hadn't collected a penny. After almost 14 days, on a bright sunny Monday morning, he started visiting the laundry owners once again. Suddenly, by noon Ramesh realized that he had collected the payments from almost 50% of the owners. He worked hard throughout the day, and by the end of the day he had completed 90% of his target for June and July. At last, he became the "star performer" for the months of June and July. Why did the laundry owners look at the sky and tell him to come the next day when Ramesh visited them? He went to a laundry owner and asked him the question. The owner said, "This is the month of the rainy season and we have to wash the clothes, dry them off and iron them before handing them over to customers. If the sun doesn't shine, how can we dry our clothes and earn money to pay you back?" Ramesh then realized that it was his patience and endurance that kept him going and ultimately helped him achieve success. Like Ramesh, each one of us should realize that apart from being honest and hard-working, if we can keep our patience, we are inching up the ladder of success.
Question: What can we learn about Ramesh?
Options: (A) He didn't like the job of salesman. (B) He was confident in his first task. (C) His customers were mainly the local laundry owners. (D) He accomplished his sales task perfectly within 10 days.
[A]: | C
| 5 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Ex Input:
Article: After commuting, cooking dinner and doing household chores, the average parent has just 30 minutes to devote to their children in the evenings, according to a new study. One in four working parents worry that half an hour simply isn't enough, while almost half fret that they aren't a good enough parent during the week. However, parenting experts believe just 12 minutes a day may be enough for mothers and fathers to fully _ with their child -- as long as they ask the right questions. Child psychologist Dr Claire Halsey said asking a series of open-ended questions can help improve parents' relationship with their children. Among the questions recommended in the research are: "How many times have you smiled today -- what made you laugh?"; "Can you act out what you did at breaktime?"; "Who is taller -- mummy or your teacher?" and "What are the names of the toys you played with today?" Parents of older children are advised to start up a conversation with: "I've got a great story for you but I want one in return... you first!" or "Tell me some school gossip ... _ !" Dr Halsey, working with the makers of Ribena Plus, who commissioned the research, said: "There is no one as tough on their own parenting skills as a parent -- but this study shows there is no need for parents to be so harsh. It's hard for working parents to juggle all their responsibilities and it can feel like guilt is simply a parent's lot -- but it's absolutely not. By using clever tactics such as a little preparation alongside use of open-ended questions -- such as 'Tell me what the best bit about your day was?' -- parents can reduce the time worrying about chores and work and spend more time learning about their children's day."
Question: Which of the following open-ended questions is for a three-year-old child?
Options: (A) Where are you off to with your friends this weekend? (B) Who played the best in your football match today? (C) What science project are you doing at the moment and can I help with it? (D) What are the names of the toys you played with today?
Ex Output:
D
Ex Input:
Article: College visits are important.Before you commit years of your life and money to a school, be sure you're choosing a place," that is a good match for your personality and interests.You can't get the "feel' of a school from any guidebook, so be sure to visit the campus.Below are a few tips for getting the most out of your college visit. 1.Explore on your own Of course you should take the official campus tour, but be sure to allow time to hang around on your own. The trained tour guides will show you a school's selling points.But the 1dest and prettiest buildings don't give you the entire picture of a college.Try to walk the extra mile and get the complete picture of the campus. 2.Read the Bulletin Boards When you visit the student center, academic buildings and residence hall, take a few minutes to read the bulletin boards.They provide an easy way to see what's happening on campus.The ads for lectures, clubs and plays can tell you what's going on outside the classrooms. 3.Eat in the Dining Hall You can get a good feel for student life by eating in the dining hall.Try to sit with students if you can.Do the students seem happy or stressed? Also, is the food good? Are there adequate healthy options? Many admission offices will give prospective students coupons for free meals in the dining halls. 4.Visit a Class in Your Major If you know what you want to study, a class visit makes a lot of sense.You'll get to observe other students in your field and see how involved they are in classroom discussion.Try to stay after class for a few minutes and chat with the students to get their impressions of their professors and major.Be sure to call in advance to schedule a classroom visit--most colleges don't allow visitors to drop in on class unannounced. 5.Talk to Lots of Students Your campus tour guide has been trained to market the sch001.Try to talk to students who aren't getting paid to impress you.These important conversations can often provide you with information about co1lege life that isn't part of the admission script.Few university officials wi11 tell you if their students spend all weekend drinking or studying, but a group of random(,) students might. For more tips,please go to collegeapps.about.com.
Question: The best way to know about a college in an official campus tour is _ .
Options: (A) to walk around the campus alone (B) to take pictures of the campus (C) to visit the oldest and prettiest buildings (D) to hire a tour guide
Ex Output:
A
Ex Input:
Article: Sure, it's good to get along with your teacher because it makes that time you spend in the classroom more pleasant. And yes, it's good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it's smart to learn how to relate to the different types of people you'll meet throughout your life. But really, there's one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. Kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they're more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school issues, such as bullying. As a kid in elementary or middle school, you're at a wonderful stage in your life. You're able to take in lots of new and exciting information. Apart from that, you're able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, and in most cases, he or she is thrilled to be the person who's giving you all that material and helping you put it together. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you're open to what they're teaching you. That's why they wanted to be teachers in the first place to teach! Some kids may be able to learn in any situation, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren't going well, they won't learn as well and won't enjoy being in class.
Question: What's the writer's attitude towards getting along with teachers?
Options: (A) Doubtful. (B) Objective. (C) Uncaring. (D) Favorable.
Ex Output:
| D
| 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
One example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Solution is here: B
Explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Now, solve this: Article: Children today would rather toy with new technologies. The role of children has changed as well as that of teens. The world has truly evolved throughout the years. Today,a typical day in the life of a five year old is entirely different from what it once was. A few decades ago children used to work. They did the kind of work parents do today. Today there are shows on which children are putting pounds of makeup on and have flashing things all over their bodies. This makes a child want to _ all of their imperfections. They think they have to look perfect all the time. Teens have changed as well. My grandma got married when she was thirteen. Girls who had an arranged marriage had no time to play because they were expected to cook, clean,take care of the kids, and do housework every single day. Today,we go to school every morning, maybe participate in some after-school activities, and possibly go to work for extra cash. Then we go home and do homework, and eat. After all of this we have to find the time to socialize by texting, talking on the phone, or logging on to social networking sites. We enjoy ourselves a lot. The generation before us complains about how they did not have the things we have now. They say we are not appreciative and do not value life or just do not care about our futures anymore. Let's make a change! The youth have the power to work on whatever they believe in and make a difference in the world. Take advantage of your resources. It is never too late to make a positive change in our world.
Question: The role of children and teens has changed mainly because _ .
Options: (A) new technologies are developing and widely used (B) they don't have to work hard as their parents did (C) their world has truly evolved (D) they look perfect all the time
Solution: | A | 6 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
Given the task definition, example input & output, solve the new input case.
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Output: B
It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
New input case for you: Article: Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java sea, lived short people who dominated(, ) the food chain. Standing no more than three and a half feet tall, these human ancestors hunted giant rats, lumbering lizards , and _ elephants. It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it's true. Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors. Homo floresiensis, as the newly discovered species has been named, apparently could date back to 13,000 years ago. This means they have a lot in common with modern humans. So how and why did these people get so small? Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources. Take the miniature elephants for example. When elephants first came to the island either by swimming or by some kind of natural land raft, they were probably close to full size. But since there wasn't much to eat, over time smaller elephants lived longer and better. The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy. Scientists call this the "island role", and it can apply to humans as well as animals. Given the island's sparse food supply, it makes sense that the early humans living there would have evolved a body size requiring less food to survive. So bigger isn't always better. In the floresiensis, at least, getting smaller was the way to go.
Question: According to the passage, the fact Homo floresiensis are very small is based on _ .
Options: (A) the islanders in the Java Sea (B) the human ancestors (C) the unearthed relics (D) a newspaper report
Output: | C | 1 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
instruction:
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
question:
Article: Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did so before they published their own collection of English novels at home. Their small book contains stories about a holy war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion . The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume. "We're up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16. "I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion". Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wins between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said. "I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students' book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds." "We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable . We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao.
Question: After Wang An finished the first part of his story, he _ .
Options: (A) couldn't go on (B) had to put aside (C) just wanted to express it freely (D) lost it
answer:
C
question:
Article: Wesla Whitfield, a famous jazz singer, has a unique style and life story, so I decided to see one of her performances and interview her for my column. I went to a nightclub in New York and watched the stage lights go up. After the band played an introduction, Wesla Whitfield wheeled herself onstage in a wheelchair. As she sang, Whitfield's voice was so powerful and soulful that everyone in the room forgot the wheelchair was even there. At 57, Whitfield is small and pretty, witty and humble, persistent and philosophical. Raised in California, Whitfield began performing in public at age 18, when she took a job as a singing waitress at a pizza parlour . After studying classical music in college, she moved to San Francisco and went on to sing with the San Francisco Opera Chorus. Walking home from rehearsal at age 29, she was caught in the midst of a random shooting that left her paralyzed from the waist down. I asked how she dealt with the realization that she'd never walk again, and she confessed that initially she didn't want to face it. After a year of depression she tried to kill herself. She was then admitted to a hospital for treatment, where she was able to recover. Whitfield said she came to understand that the only thing she had lost in this misfortunate event was the ability to walk. She still possessed her most valuable asset--her mind. Pointing to her head, she said, "Everything important is in here. The only real disability in life is losing your mind." When I asked if she was angry about what she had lost, she admitted to being frustrated occasionally, "especially when everybody's dancing, because I love to dance. But when that happens I just remove myself so I can focus instead on what I can do."
Question: Which of the following statements is true about Wesla Whitfield's physical disability?
Options: (A) It was caused by a traffic accident. (B) It made her sad and depressed at first. (C) It seriously affected her singing career. (D) It happened when she was a college student.
answer:
B
question:
Article: A home computer not only helps children master the old ways of learning, but also opens up possibilities that simply aren't available in traditional education. Some software, for example, allows kids to make decisions and see the results in different situations. The World Wide Web encourages young minds to move easily from link to link, topic to topic. The best software draws children into learning by making them curious--what if I click on this picture, drag this over here, visit that website? Knowing how to use a computer also encourages a child's confidence. Kids figure out quickly that computers are powerful, and mastering the machine makes them feel grown-up. In turn, feeling confident on a computer often translates to academic confidence. Researchers have found that attitudes toward writing, for example, improve when students write on a computer. Perhaps most importantly, computers can enrich family life. Forget the idea that computer kids are separated. Children like to use the computer with adults and other kids, asking questions and comparing results. "The Internet is a unique opportunity to bring resources home, "notes Susan Haugland, PhD, Cape Girardeau, Mo. , author of Computer and Young Children:A World of Discovery. Although the benefits of computers are real, they have disadvantages, too. Kids can lose their way, wasting hours on mindless software of violent games. Just as parents have always helped children make good choices about everything from friends to food, books to TV, now we must make sure they get the best out of computers.
Question: The passage is mainly talking about _ .
Options: (A) the disadvantages of children's using computers (B) the advantages of children' using computers (C) the development of computers (D) the fact that using computers makes children lose their way
answer:
| B
| 9 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Let me give you an example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
The answer to this example can be: B
Here is why: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
OK. solve this:
Article: Of all the components of a good night's sleep, dreams seem to be last within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where there is zero logic and dead people can speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the hidden shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just "mental noise"--the random byproducts of the neural repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are regulating moods while the brain is "offline". And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events actually can be bought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. "It's your dream," says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago's Medical Center. "If you don't like it, change it." Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during rapid eye movement sleep when most vivid dreams occur as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved: the limbic system or the emotional brain is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex--the center of intellect and reasoning, is relatively quiet. "We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day," says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement. This link is shown among the patients in Cartwright's clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don't always think about the emotional significance of the day's events--until, it appears, we begin to dream. There is probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or "We wake up in a panic," Cartwright says. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep or rather dream on it and you'll feel better in the morning.
Question: What does Rosalind Cartwright think of dreams?
Options: (A) Dreamers can exercise conscious control over them. (B) They are shadows of our unconscious desires and fears. (C) People with more emotional changes dream more often. (D) They are actually products of our brain's neural repairs.
Answer: | A | 8 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[Q]: Article: I have this old clock that belonged to my mom. My dad gave it to me years ago after mom passed away. I have mixed feelings about having the clock. I love it because it was my mom's, but it also holds some bad memories. You see, it chimes. It counts out the hour and rings once on the half hour. Or at least it used to. Now you never know what number it will ring. When my mother was at home dying from cancer, she asked for the clock to be unplugged. Hearing the hours count down really angered and frightened her. Mom passed away. I decided I wanted to get the clock fixed so I could remember the good hours we had with her. I took it to a local clock shop the other day. "I know this has no particular value as a clock, but it was my mom's and I need to get it fixed," I said to the shop owner. I went on to describe the problem. "We get a lot of these in," he told me. "Here's what I do. We remove the clock works and replace it with a battery-operated movement that chimes electronically," he told me. "You can't fix this?" "No, we don't have the time nor the parts." I thanked him and went home. I called a few other places and was told the same thing. "How incredibly sad," I told the last one disappointedly. How incredibly sad that we have become a society that replaces craftsmanship with convenience and easy fixes. We copy the original instead of creating something new. We duplicate ; we don't originate . Sadly, the same goes for our attitude to life itself. Each of us is an original, one of a kind. But we find it so much easier to copy another style than to develop our own. We are wannabes rather than hey-world-look-at-mes. We fail to see the real value in who we are, so we spend our lives trying to be someone else.
Question: Why did the author decide to get the clock fixed?
Options: (A) Because it was a really old and valuable clock. (B) Because it was the only thing that her mother had left her. (C) Because it brought her memories of being with her mother. (D) Because it left the author with mixed feelings.
[A]: C
[Q]: Article: I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand.All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap.They did not make me happy, however, as tins was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time.I tried in vain lo convince him that I did nothing wrong all the way, but it didn't help. When we.arrived at the sate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls.I hesitated and clung to his hand, but he gently pushed me from him."Be a man, "he said."today you truly begin your life.You will find me waiting for you when it's time to leave." I took a few steps.Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view.I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me.I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way.But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, " Who brought you? " "My father," I whispered. ''My father's dead, " he said simply. I did not know what to say.The gate was now closed.Some of the children burst into tears.The bell rang.A lady came along, followed by a group of men.The men began soiling us into ranks.We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded by high buildings. Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis.From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls.I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences. We played all sorts, of games.In the music room we sang our first songs.We also had our first introduction to language.We saw a globe of Earth, which revolved and showed the various continents and countries.We started lean-line numbers, and we were told the story of the Creator of the universe.We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning. Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded.We had to be observant and patient.It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around. Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting.And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold.Even more frequently she would resort to physical punishment. The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work.The children rushed toward the gate, which was opened again.I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate.I looked around but found no trace of my father, who had promised to be there.I stepped aside to wait.
Question: The writer hesitated and clung to his father's hand when they got to the school gate because _ .
Options: (A) he loved his father and didn't want to leave his father (B) he had thought attending school meant being punished (C) he was afraid of the punishment given by teachers (D) he did not want to leave his mother and his rather alone at home
[A]: B
[Q]: Article: Lucky is the man who has no "skeleton in his closet." When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a "skeleton in his closet." Some people may have more than one skeleton. As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England. Before 1832, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse of an executed criminal. But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices. We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet. After a time, people began to suspect every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase"a skeleton in the closet"took on a broader, more general meaning: to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory. One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man's guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac. Balzac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet. The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.
Question: Which of the following situations is now suitable for using the phrase "skeleton in the closet"?
Options: (A) You have stolen something precious and hide them in the closet. (B) You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research. (C) If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the
skeleton secret. (D) You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep others from
discovering it.
[A]: | D
| 5 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
Teacher: In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? If you are still confused, see the following example:
Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Solution: B
Reason: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Now, solve this instance: Article: Hundreds of Chinese officials are to be sacked or demoted for their part in a vaccine scandal that has added to discontent at poor oversight of food and drug safety, especially relating to children. Xinhua, the state news agency, said late on Wednesday that 357 officials are to face punishment, with 192 criminal cases already filed and 202 people detained after improperly stored or transported vaccines were sent to 59 health institutions. This is the latest in a string of food and drug safety scandals in a country where parents often import products for infants and babies from overseas to ensure quality. Many remember with fear the 2008 milk powder scandal, in which infant formula laced with melamine caused at least six deaths and 300,000 children to fall ill. Beijing last month made public an illegal operation in eastern Shandong province in which a hospital pharmacist and her daughter traded $88m in vaccines that may have been compromised because they were expired or improperly stored or transported. The China Food and Drug Administration said, however, that the vaccines posed no greater than the normal risk to patients. "We don't see that the vaccines' effectiveness has been reduced," added the health watchdog in a report. Nonetheless, health officials fear a backlash against Chinese-manufactured vaccines, which already have a reputation for being more dangerous than those made overseas. Wang Yuedan, deputy director of Peking University's immunology department, said the key to evaluating risks is to check whether package seals are broken or for pollution with micro-organisms. "The vaccines in the Shandong case don't have those problems," he said. Those vaccines had been subject to higher than normal temperatures that could have lowered their effectiveness and reduced their protective value. But the official investigation showed the vaccines "are still effective", he said. Beijing, which publicized the affair almost a year after it was exposed, and several years after it started, appeared eager to show commitment to crack down on abuses by announcing the action, political analysts said. The CFDA said a system was being set up to track vaccines from production to use. The World Health Organization warned the scandal could endanger China's public health gains if parents become distrustful of vaccines. It also expressed confidence in Chinese vaccines, saying public immunization campaigns had erased polio and sharply reduced cases of hepatitis B and measles.
Question: According to Wang Yuedan's opinion, the vaccines in Shandong _ .
Options: (A) were polluted by micro-organisms. (B) were resistant to high temperature. (C) decreased their value of protection (D) were still effective
Student: | C | 2 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Article: So much to do, so little time.So much information, so little time to read.In this age there is more information than ever before.There is not enough time to read everything we want to read.However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading.This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly.You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading. When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out.Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud.The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head.Most people tend to read this way.Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously . How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read.Get some reading material, preferably a book.Find out how many words are on the page.Time yourself one minute.Start your timer and start reading.When the timer sounds, stop at once.If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute. The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it.Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance.Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed.This is the first and most important step in speed-reading. The next step is technique.As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique.You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal surface, such as a table or desk.Next, should be able to see the entire page.This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words.Lastly, _ .It's hard to read with a lot of noise.Find a quiet place to read.This will help your understanding of the text.You need something to guide your eyes while reading.Then right, you should use your hand.Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger.That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line.Move your finger smoothly across page.No need to go rush, start out slow.Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide.This will increase your speed. The third step is practice.Practice makes perfect.Set time intervals.Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you're reading.
Question: Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
Options: (A) Now there is limited information than ever before. (B) Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information. (C) Now people can read what they like. (D) The less you read, the more time you will spend.
B
Article: No matter where you travel in Asia, you'll find yourself faced with a new culture. You can start your Asian exploration by visiting some of these attractive cities first. Beijing, China Beijing is the second largest city in China and serves as the capital. The city is so old, in fact, that almost every building has some sort of cultural or historic features -- no matter how small. Getting around the city you'll find yourself faced with amazing temples , the largest palaces in the world, and many works of art that leave you breathless. Siem Reap, Cambodia Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has a lot of French and Chinese-style architectures. In the city, there are traditional dance performances, silk farms, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake. Siem Reap today, being a popular tourist attraction , has a large number of hotels and restaurants. Kathmandu, Nepal Situated in the heart of the Himalayans, Kathmandu, the largest city and capital of Nepal, is considered to be one of the most outstanding cities in the world today. The shopping districts are world famous and the hotels in Kathmandu are among the most comfortable in the world. Kyoto, Japan The city of Kyoto served as the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868. No longer the capital, it is known for being the seventh largest city in Japan. Kyoto was destroyed throughout history by fires and war. But now the city is home to more than 1.4 million people, and it presents a modern face to the rest of the world. Every city throughout Asia has a story of its own. It's up to you to explore them all and find out exactly what each one has to offer. Enjoy!
Question: If you want to visit the biggest place where ancient emperors lived in the world, you can go to _ .
Options: (A) Beijing (B) Siem Reap (C) Kathmandu (D) Kyoto
A
Article: A strong wind can be a dangerous thing-sometimes it is powerful enough to knock you off your feet.But to plants,the wind is a source of new life,carrying them or their spores thousands of miles. A NASA satellite called QuikSCAT has discovered highways of wind over the Earth's oceans.Scientists believe these invisible roads may explain why many nonflowering plants,such as mosses and lichens ,grow where they do. The satellite is able to send microwaves from space to the surface of the ocean.The pattern of signals that come back shows which way the winds are blowing. Using this _ , the scientists studied a group of islands in the southern hemisphere ,near Antarctica.Winds tend to blow anticlockwise in this region,but there are lots of local differences. When the researchers compared these local patterns to botanical data,they found that the wind had an important effect on where species of mosses,lichens,and other nonflowering plants grow. For example,Bouvet Island and Heard Island,share 30 percent of their moss species,29 percent of liverworts ,and 32 percent of lichens-even though they are 4,430 kilometers apart.In contrast,Gough Island and Bouvet Island,separated by just 1,860 kilometers of sea,share only 16 percent of mosses and 17 percent of liverworts.They have no lichens in common. Ferns and flowering plants don't travel as well in the wind,so they don't show the same kinds of distribution patterns.
Question: This story is about_.
Options: (A) the discovery of wind highways (B) how wind travels (C) how wind affects different plants (D) one of the wind
| D
| 0 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Q: Article: Who doesn't love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter's night ? Who doesn't love to watch flames curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man's greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes, though, a fire can start on its own. Wet hay can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to rot and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That's why farmers cut and store their hay when it's dry. Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the 17th century, a small fire which began in a baker's shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A.D. a fire burnt Rome. Even today, in spite of modern fire-fighting methods, fire causes millions of pounds' worthy of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside. It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master .
Question: The writer considers it _ to sit beside a fire on a cold winter night .
Options: (A) nice (B) dangerous (C) unhappy (D) painful
A: A
****
Q: Article: Like a growing number of young women in Vietnam's northern part city of Haiphong, Pham Thi Hue was infected with HIV by her husband, one of the town's many drug users. But instead of being shamed into silence, as Vietnamese with HIV and AIDS are, the 25-year-old tailor and mother of one went public, appearing on television and at conferences. Her business suffered and her neighbors insulted her, but Hue has now become the public face of Mothers and Wives, an HIV/ AIDS support group established in Haiphong by a Norwegian nongovernmental organization and her neighborhood's People's Committee. Last year, she founded a smaller group named after a local flower. People who need advice on treatment or help preparing bodies for burial can dial a hot line and get assistance from able and sympathetic HIV victims. "We gather to support each other," Hue says. "When we are sick, what we need most is encouragement and comfort from people who understand our situation and are willing to share our happiness, as well as our sadness." On a hot and damp night last month, Hue welcomed into her small home a very thin woman, also a tailor, who was HIV positive. The woman tearfully told Hue that she had not told anyone about her condition, fearing that she would lose customers and that her daughter would be insulted at school. Hue became the wise elder, offering medical and personal advice.
Question: What did Pham Thi Hue do after she was infected with HIV?
Options: (A) She kept silent (B) She worked as usual (C) She stayed at home and cried every day. (D) She went public and gave help to others.
A: D
****
Q: Article: There is a big question making the rounds among the parents at my daughter's class. Should the kids refer to the parents' friends as "Mr. Jones" or "Mrs. Smith", rather than using their first names? I was quite shocked, having come from a home where it would have been unheard of to refer to one of my parents' friends by their first names. This was reserved for only the closest of family friends and s, and even they always had "Aunt" or "Uncle" in front their name. Respect is something that is earned. Unlike many of the other virtues we try to nurture in our kids, respect is a bit more complicated. It is not only necessary when dealing well with others, but the virtue of self-respect is critical for kids to succeed and feel good about themselves and their choices throughout their lives. There are several factors that can have a big impact on kids and their ability to be respectful. The first one to consider is manners. Calling adults by their surnames, setting proper examples during sporting events and while driving, and how we talk to each other in our homes all can have an enormous effect on a child's concept of respect and how important it is. Many of these seemingly trivial ideas have become almost outdated, but one should seriously consider the value of these ideas before casting( ) them aside. It is easy to become unaware of these behaviors. Try to keep track of how often your child is subjected to this kind of disrespect. The media, as you may have guessed, plays a large part in the increase in disrespect. Movies are equally to blame, with a PG movie often containing an abundant amount of _ language. These factors and others all contribute to an alarming increase in disrespect in society. If we don't step in and change course, we will find living in a morally respectful culture unlikely.
Question: What does the author think of kids' referring to parents' friends by their first names?
Options: (A) It is common in his family. (B) It is OK if the friends are close. (C) Such behavior lacks respect. (D) Such behavior sounds funny.
A: | C
****
| 4 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Example input: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Example output: B
Example explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Q: Article: How to Study Smarter, Not Harder Here are some of our favorite study tips that will help any student study smarter, not harder: Recite As You Study Reciting--saying things out loud should first take place as you read through each paragraph or section. Test yourself. This will help you to understand as well as learn faster because it is more active than reading or listening. It will also help you to notice your mistakes and the topics you have trouble understanding. Take Fuller Notes Notes should be in your own words, brief and clear. They should be tidy and easy to read. Writing notes will help you better than just underlining as you read, since it forces you to rewrite ideas in your own words. Study the Middle The best time to review is soon after you've learned something. You are more likely to remember the material at the beginning and the end of the lesson, so make sure you focus on the middle when you review. Sleep On It Study before going to bed, unless you are very tired. It's easier to remember material you've just learned after sleeping than after an equal period of daytime activity, because your brain continues to think even after you've fallen asleep. Combine Memory and Understanding There are two ways to remember: by memorizing and by understanding. Multiplication tables, telephone numbers, and math formulas are better learned by rote. Ideas are best learned by understanding. The more ways you have to think about an idea, the more meaning it will have; the more meaningful the learning, the better you can remember it. Pay attention to similarities in ideas and concepts, and then try to understand how they fit in with things you already know. Never be satisfied with anything less than a completely clear understanding of what you are reading. If you are not able to follow the thought, go back to the place where you first got confused and try again.
Question: You can notice your mistakes by _ .
Options: (A) saying things out aloud (B) taking notes (C) studying the middle (D) sleeping on it
A: | A | 3 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Example solution: B
Example explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Problem: Article: Hong Kong businesses hit by nearly two months of illegal street occupations breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday. Police finally cleared illegal protesters camped at the main intersection in the Mong Kok district, arresting two student leaders. More than 7,000 officers backed bailiffs (,)clearing occupied sections of Argyle Street and Nathan Road. The two-day operation saw 148 people arrested for various offenses, including contempt of court, resisting arrest, possession of offensive weapons, unlawful gathering and attacking police. The Chief Leader Stephen Hui said 22 officers were injured during the clearances. Police used pepper spray and batons to keep protesters from reclaiming cleared roads and from spreading the illegal occupation to neighboring streets. Six-lane Nathan Road, which goes through the heart of Kowloon, was cleared after nearly five hours. However, comments on the Internet said protesters were looking to reoccupy roads later in the evening. This week's actions mark the first time the authorities have successfully cleared one of the three main protest sites, which sprang up after demonstrators seized key intersections in late September to press for unconstitutional reforms. Contractor Kwan Sui-sum, 55, said he wished the Nathan Road clearance had come earlier, as he has had to pay HK$20,000 ($2,580) after the protesters delayed building reconstruction work. The owner of the Chung Hing Duty Free drug store was cautiously optimistic and eager for his store at the corner of the cleared intersection to get back to business. Sales dropped by 40 percent during the occupation, he said. "I'm not worried about the guess that the protesters will return. I trust in Hong Kong's rule of law and in the police," the man said, who wished to remain unknown as he fears attack from protesters. But five stores at a cleared site owned by jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook were still closed hours later. A company spokesman said the outlets will remain shut while it continues to monitor the situation.
Question: You can infer from the passage that _ .
Options: (A) the Hong Kong police cleared the roads at a cost (B) all the Hong Kong citizens are doubtful about the result of the clearances (C) all the illegal protesters were willing to leave the protest sites (D) the Hong Kong government's attitude to the illegal protesters is unclear
| Solution: A | 5 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
[EX Q]: Article: Experts believe that storms and severe weather in North America and Asia have disrupted bird flight paths across the world and swept huge numbers of bird species towards the British Isles. Birds flying to the other side of the Atlantic or to the Pacific to lay their eggs have been trapped in Britain and Ireland, adding their numbers to native species, and causing great excitement in the bird-watching community. Local birdwatchers have already observed a total of 442 species in the British Isles this year. The highest number ever seen in one year is 445, in 2008. "We only need four more to break our record," said Lee Evans, who runs the British Birding Association. "With three months to go I'm sure we'll do it." Last month an extremely rare Siberian Rubythroat bird was seen in Scotland, sending hundreds of birdwatchers north in the hope of catching a glimpse of this colourful Asian beauty. Another very uncommon bird, the bufflehead duck was cited in Cornwell and caused similar excitement. "I couldn't believe it," said Evans. "The poor thing was completely _ . It must have been blown to England by the storms while trying to fly from Canada to the southern United States for the winter. That's 3000 miles!" Evans said that global warming over the past decade was playing a key role in transforming bird movements across the world. In addition, melting Arctic sea ice may also be opening up bird flight paths over the North Pole, making it easier for birds from the Pacific -- such as the slaty-backed gull and tufted puffin, both of which appeared in London earlier this year -- to reach Britain. Bird-watching is becoming an increasingly popular hobby among all age groups, added Evans. "A fifth of our members are under 18. This is a round-the-year hobby that you can enjoy from the kitchen window or from a car. More and more people are bird-watching, and as a result more and more unexpected species are being spotted in the British Isles."
Question: What is the passage mainly about?
Options: (A) The results of global warming. (B) Changes in the British bird population. (C) Increasing environmental pollution. (D) Worsening British weather.
[EX A]: B
[EX Q]: Article: What's the most expensive place to station an employee overseas? London? Tokyo? Sao Paulo? Try Luanda, Angola. That's the finding of a survey by Mercer, the world's largest human resources consulting firm, headquartered in New York City. Two African cities (Luanda, N'Djamena) were in the top 10, along with four (Moscow, Geneva, Zurich, Bern) in Europe, three (Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong) in Asia and one (Sydney) in Australia. Switzerland alone has three cities in the top 10. Mercer's 2013 Cost of Living Survey examined data from 214 cities worldwide, comparing a market basket of over 200 goods and services, including unfurnished luxury two-bedroom apartments or three-bedroom houses, movie tickets, blue jeans, international newspapers, coffee, fast food restaurant meals, gasoline, milk and soda. If it sounds odd that Angola would be the most expensive, Mercer's Barb Marder explains that"Despite being one of Africa's major oil producers, Angola is a ly poor country yet expensive for expatriates since imported goods can be dear. In addition, finding secure living accommodations that meet the standards of expatriates can be challenging and quite costly."The survey found similar supply issues in N'Djamena, Chad, the other top 10 city in Africa. Mercer measured locations worldwide against New York, on a U.S. dollar basis, meaning that exchange rate shifts could impact the rankings. For example, although Tokyo is Asia's most expensive city for people who live in a foreign country, the weakening of the Japanese yen against the dollar makes it seem cheaper than it was a year ago. Canada, too, has become a bargain as the U.S. dollar strengthens against the Canadian dollar. Measurements were taken in March, 2013. What's the trend in the United States?"Overall, U.S. cities either remain stable in the ranking or have slightly decreased due to the movement of the U.S. dollar against the majority of currencies worldwide,"explains Mercer's Steven Nurney. However, that may change as real estate prices rise nationwide. New York is the nation's most expensive place to station expatriates. While housing is generally the most important factor in the survey rankings, the survey revealed some other significant differences in prices. For example, you may need a vodka chaser after paying $ 8.29 for a cup of coffee in Moscow, but the same coffee in Managua, Nicaragua would cost only $ 1.54. Expect to pay $ 20.10 for a movie ticket in London, versus $ 5.91 in Johannesburg.
Question: Which of the following cities may be the cheapest for employees overseas?
Options: (A) Geneva. (B) Sydney. (C) Tokyo. (D) New York.
[EX A]: D
[EX Q]: Article: Greece is one of the most beautiful countries of the world.Millions of tourist visit this place every year.In Greece the bus is the most convenient and preferred means of traveling.There are intercity buses operated by KTEL that interconnect various cities of Greece,!! and there are international buses operated by OSE that connect Greece to other European cities. Every tourist must visit Greece at least once in life.This country is really a vacation heaven.It is the perfect blend of history and art with adventure and romance.You car| dive into deep[ blue waters, climb up the mountains or enjoy ancient architecture and history. Buses in Greece are cheap and very comfortable.All bus stations display schedules of buses on every route.Conductors and drivers are very polite and helpful.Travelers never face any rouble locating and boarding buses to their destinations.Tourists can always ask the conductor to inform them about their stop, so that they can get down at the right stop.Everyone here is more than happy to help tourists. Athens, me capital of Greece, has three bus terminals .Buses to different parts of Greece leave from different terminals.Air-conditioned express buses also operate between major cities.They are faster and more comfortable than other buses.Tourists can choose guided Greece bus ^our.These tours are the perfect way of exploring this great country. | Buses in Greece are also a great way of saving _ on the journey.The long-distance bus system is very cheap.Buses save a lot of money to cover long distances, cheaper than taxis or cars. They are also the best means of interacting with local people.You can sit next to a native of Greece and get some information about the place.
Question: The company KTEL offers bus services _ .
Options: (A) to different cities in Greece (B) from Greece to other countries (C) to tourist attractions in Greece (D) from Greece to its bordering countries
[EX A]: | A
| 6 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
Q: Article: Computers are very important to modern life.Many people think that in the future computers will be used in lots of everyday life.It is thought that we won't have to go shopping because we will be able to get most things which are sold in shops on the Internet.There will be no more books because we will be able to get all texts from computers.The Internet will be used to play games, see films and buy food.Most telephone calls will be made by computers, too. Some people are glad about those new ways of shopping and communicating .Others do not think that computers will replace our old ways. Some people think that one day we will not read books made of paper. Instead, we will buy and read books using computers, which will keep many different books in them at the same time.We won't need to turn lots of pages and paper will be saved.Computerized books will be used more and more. While many people say it is a pleasure to go into shops and look at things you want to buy.It is also unlikely that many people will want to read large texts on our computers. Because paper books will perhaps be more friendly.Maybe computers won't change these two habits.
Question: Which is the main idea of this passage?
Options: (A) People like going shopping (B) Reading books is important (C) Computers are important (D) Computer can be used to play games
A: C
****
Q: Article: Almost every family buys as least one copy of a newspaper every day. Some people subscribe to as many as two or three different newspapers. But why do people read newspapers? Five hundred years ago,news of important happenings--battles lost and won,kings or rulers overthrown or killed--took months and even years to travel from one country to another. The news passed by word of mouth and was never accurate. Today we can read in our newspapers of important events that occur in far away countries on the same day they happen. Apart from supplying news from all over the world,newspapers give us a lot of other useful information. There are weather reports, radio, television and film guides, book reviews, stories, and of course, advertisements. The bigger ones are put in by large companies to bring attention to their products. They pay the newspapers thousands of dollars for the advertising space, but it is worth the money, for news of their products goes into almost every home in the country. For those who produce newspapers, advertisements are also very important. Money earned from advertisements makes it possible for them to sell their newspapers at a low price and still make a profit.
Question: The habit of reading newspapers is _
Options: (A) widespread (B) found among a few families (C) not popular (D) uncommon
A: A
****
Q: Article: The right to pursue happiness is issued to us all with our birth, but no one seems quite sure what it is. A holy man in India may think that happiness is in himself. It is in needing nothing from outside himself. In wanting nothing, he lacks nothing. We westerners, however, are taught that the more we have from outside ourselves, the happier we will be, and then we are made to want. We are even told it is our duty to want. Advertising, one of our major industries, exists not to satisfy these desires but to create them--and to create them faster than any man's money in his pocket can satisfy them. Here, obviously someone is trying to buy the dream of happiness and spending millions upon millions every year in the attempt. Clearly the happiness-market is not running out of customers. I doubt the holy man's idea of happiness, and I doubt the dreams of the happiness-market, too. Whatever happiness may be, I believe, it is neither in having nothing nor in having more, but in changing--in changing the world and mankind into pure states. To change is to make efforts to deal with difficulties. As Yeats, a great Irish poet once put it, happiness we get for a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties. Robert Frost, a great American poet, was thinking in almost the stone terms when he spoke of "the pleasure of taking pains." It is easy to understand. We even demand difficulty for the fun in our games. We demand it because without difficulty there can be no game. And a game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it. The rules of the game are man-made difficulties. When the player ruins the fun, he always does so by refusing to play by the roles. It is easier to win at chess if you are free, at your pleasure, to cast away all the rules, but the fun is in winning within the rules. The same is true to happiness. The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market seem to have lost their sense of the pleasure of difficulty. Heaven knows what they are playing, but it seems a dull game. And the Indian holy man seems dull to us, I suppose, because he seems to be refusing to play anything at all. The western weakness may be in the dreams that happiness can be bought while the eastern weakness may be in the idea that there is such a thing as perfect happiness in man himself. Both of them forget a basic fact: no difficulty, no happiness.
Question: Who shares the same idea of happiness with the author.?
Options: (A) The Indian holy man. (B) The great Irish poet Yeats. (C) Advertisers. (D) The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market.
A: | B
****
| 4 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
One example: Article: Homework can put you in a bad mood , and that might actually be a good thing. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England doubted whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out the answer, they did two experiments with children. The first experiment tested 30 kids. Someshapes were hidden inside a different, larger picture. The kids had to find the small shapes while sitting in a room with either cheerful or sad music playing in the background. To test their mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, from happy to sad. Children who listened to cheerful music tended to point to the smiley faces while the others pointed to the unhappy ones. The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. They also found an average of three or four more shapes. In the second experiment, 61 children watched one of two scenes from a film. One scene was happy, and the other was sad. Just like in the first experiment, kids who saw the sad scene acted better compared to the others. The researchers guessed that feeling down makes people more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Not all scientists agree with them, however. Other studies argued that maybe, that cheerful music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes. While scientists work on finding out the answers, it still might be wise to choose when to do your tasks according to your mood. After eating a delicious ice cream, for example, write an essay.
Question: Researchers did experiments on kids in order to find out _ .
Options: (A) how they really feel when they are learning (B) whether mood affects their learning ability (C) what methods are easy for kids to learn (D) the relationship between sadness and happiness
Solution is here: B
Explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the article that to the check effect of mood on children is the main purpose of the experiment. So, B is the correct answer.
Now, solve this: Article: Read the following reviews for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions. Happiness(Romance) Happinesstells the story of two people (Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy) who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don't like each other. But then they _ by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music. I Scream(Thriller) InI Scream, Paul (Colin Jacks) is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn't make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers. Paul's Heroes(Comedy) This is a very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Turblow) have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dressup as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it's great fun getting there. _ (Drama) This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr. Lloyd (Phil Driver) who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
Question: Which of the four movies is the least popular with people?
Options: (A) The 1st one. (B) The 2nd one. (C) The 3rd one. (D) The 4th one.
Solution: | B | 6 | NIv2 | task309_race_answer_generation | fs_opt |
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