questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "About 1900 yuan."
},
"options": [
"About 1900 yuan.",
"About 2000 yuan.",
"About 1500 yuan.",
"About 1400 yuan."
],
"question": "According to the passage, how much will the two-day tickets cost if a couple go to... | Shanghai Disney Resort has revealed its ticket prices for Disneyland claiming the lowest of all 12 Disney parks and six resorts in the world.
Shanghai Disneyland ticket prices are set at 499 yuan (75 dollars) for the grand opening period (June 16-30, 2016) and regular price at 370 yuan. Its regular price for a one-day ticket is lower than its peers in Hong Kong, which is priced at 539 yuan and the Disneyland in Tokyo in Japan at 374 yuan. The regular price for a one-day ticket at the two parks in Los Angeles is $139. Tickets for Shanghai's Disneyland will be on sale on March 28, 2016.
Shanghai's Disneyland will have its opening day on June 16, 2016. All tickets will be date-specific and valid for admission only on the date purchased.
Peak pricing for high-demand dates, including summer holidays and weekends, is set at 499 yuan. Special pricing will be provided to categorized guests: children (1.4m and below), seniors (65 years old and above) and guests with disabilities will receive discounts of 25 percent, infants (1m and below) receive free admission. A two-day ticket will be available at a five percent discount. On March 28, 2016, guests can obtain information on tickets through several official channels.
The project has been under construction for more than six years now. Jun 16-that is, 6-16-2016-has been apparently chosen as the date of opening because the three 6s are believed to be _ , foretelling success.
"Investors believe that even a 10 square meter space for a noodle stand will be really profitable if it is close enough to Disneyland," said Lu Jianxin, a real estate agent with Shanghai Huayu Property Ltd. | high14295.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "are popular among people who want to quit smoking"
},
"options": [
"are much safer than common cigarettes",
"are popular among people who want to quit smoking",
"will take the place of traditional cigarettes",
"are prod... | Should e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think e-cigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration, but 47 percent believe the e-cigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.
"In the hunt for a safter cigarette, e-cigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit."or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer, "Zogby International, which conducted the survey, said in a statement.
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered, or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet, e-cigarettes were first made in China.
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using e-cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke e-cigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that e-cigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden, because they don't produce smoke, but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of e-cigarettes were more likely than woman to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people, aged 18-29, and singles were the groups most open to trying e-cigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide, according to the WHO. | high3872.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Guide dogs for the mind."
},
"options": [
"Guide dogs for the mind.",
"Pets, faithful companions.",
"Mental support for the disabled.",
"Dementia, a curable disease."
],
"question": "What's the best title for th... | Dogs already guide blind and disabled people and now they are to be trained to help people with dementia. The idea developed by some university students will now be put into practice by Scotland Medical Centre. The research is meaningful, for there are 670, 000 people in Britain who have dementia and by 2021 this is expected to rise to one million.
Dementia can make people confuse day and night or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water. The dogs would be trained to help to guide them through the day.
Joyce Gray from Scotland Medical Centre said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a ly normal life, and dogs help them to maintain routine. For example, people with memory loss will tend to forget to take medicine,but if a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it, there's a greater chance of them taking it."
Ms. Gray also said dogs were perfectly suited to remind their owners to eat. "Dogs have an ability to say 'it's my feeding time', so there would be a note in the cupboard next to the dog's food reminding the dog's owner to eat too."
Dogs would also encourage their owners to take them out for walks. "It gives a reason for the owner to go out into the community," Ms. Gray said. "We did a test with an elderly person walking down the high street on his own. Then we gave him a dog on a lead and he did the exact same walk. That time people would come up to him, chatting, smiling or making eye contact. We hope we'd see this with people with dementia too."
There is one more advantage of using the pets as companions. Since conversations can be increasingly confusing for people with dementia, dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship. Ms. Gray said, "We have found that people may forget familiar faces but not pets. People light up when they see animals. There is a speechless bond between the dog and its owner." | high19969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Diet"
},
"options": [
"Diet",
"Appearance",
"Reproduction",
"Hunting"
],
"question": "Which aspect is not mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | The great white shark is the largest shark and is probably the most well-known and feared shark. The great white shark is gray or bluish above and white below. The largest Great Whites can reach lengths of 22 feet and weigh up to 5,000 pounds. The Great White has massive teeth, which are positioned in rows. When the Great White attacks, it bites its prey and shakes its head back and forth. The serrated teeth act as a saw and literally tear the victim apart. Actually the Great White Shark often swallows many of its own teeth in an attack.
Great Whites employ several hunting skills depending on the prey. Most of the time, the shark will remain still underwater before attacking its prey from underneath. In the case of hunting some kinds of seals, the impact of the shark is so powerful that it knocks both the shark and the seal clear out of the water. With larger prey such as elephant seals, the shark will simply take a huge bite out of it and wait for it to bleed to death. When hunting dolphins, the shark will attack from above, to avoid detection from the dolphin's echolocation.
Interestingly, a Great White Shark has never been observed giving birth. However, pregnant females have been caught. The Great White Shark is known to be ovoviviparous. Females give birth to eight or nine pups that are already about five feet in length upon birth, which is different from other egg-laying animals.
Despite the fear of Great White Sharks, at least in part generated by Steven Spielberg's 1975 movie, Jaws, Great White Sharks do not target humans as prey. Most attacks are attributed to mistaken identity. Sharks can easily mistake humans for seals. Many human injuries caused by Great White Sharks are cases of test-biting. If a shark is unsure about a floating object, it often gives it test bite to determine what kind of object it is. While such bites do little damage to buoys and other objects, they obviously can cause serious damage on the human body. | high17944.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a memorial building"
},
"options": [
"a memorial building",
"a tourist attraction",
"a prison",
"a gift to Mumtaz"
],
"question": "The Taj Mahal was first built as _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | Say you are a 17th century construction worker who's worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there's the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife's dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz's remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the
that inspired its construction. | high16482.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because he thought he could get back his money."
},
"options": [
"Because he wanted to go back home due to the boring film.",
"Because he thought he could get back his money.",
"Because it was time for the baby to have a meal... | Let Baby Cry
The parents with their three-year-old son went to see a film.
When they walked into the cinema, the attendant said to them, "you'll have to go out if your son cries. But we'll refund you the tickets."
About half an hour later, the husband asked his wife, "What do you think of the film?"
"I've never seen such a boring film." His wife answered. "It's not worth seeing."
"I don't think much of it, either." The husband said. "Wake the child up and let him cry."
Blindfold Them
Stan: I won 92 goldfish.
Fred: Where are you going to keep them?
Stan: In the bathroom.
Fred: But what will you do when you want to take a bath?
Stan: Blindfold them!
Einstein and God
Einstein climbs to the top of Mt. Sinai to get close enough to talk to God. Looking up, he asks the Lord...
"God, what does a million years mean to you?"
The Lord replies, "A minute."
Einstein asks, "And what does a million dollars mean to you?"
The Lord replies, "A penny."
Einstein asks, "Can I have a penny?"
The Lord replies, " _ ." | high21548.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "is part of the permanent exhibition in the city of Salzburg"
},
"options": [
"is now being owned by the Mozart family",
"has been kept by Carl Thomas since Mozart died",
"is much bigger and heavier than modern ones",
"i... | The piano on which Mozart wrote all of his late works returned home to Vienna for the first time since his death in 1791.The piano will stand in his former Vienna home, now a museum, for two weeks, ending in a concert of the works by Mozart.
Mozart bought the instrument from Anton Walter, the most famous piano maker of his time, in 1782.He wrote more than 50 works for the piano on it, many of them in the apartment in Vienna.After Mozart's death, Constanze, Mozart's wife, gave the instrument to their elder surviving son, Carl Thomas, who donated it to the Mozarteum Salzburg on what would have been the composer's 100th birthday.The piano is now part of the permanent exhibition in the Austrian city of Salzburg.
" It was very hard to let it go," said Matthias Schulz, director of the Mozarteum Salzburg." If we didn' t know it was in the best hands, we wouldn' t have done it." The piano is much smaller and lighter than modern concert ones.Its sound is fresher and brighter than that of a modern piano, with lighter action and hammers .
Piano restorer Josef Meingast, who has looked after the Mozart piano since 1975, said it was superior to any of its surviving copies.Meingast said he had to fight to replace the existing strings , dating from a 1973 restoration, with softer ones that produce a rounder sound thought to be more similar to what Mozart would have produced.
Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov, who planned to give a concert of Mozart' s music on the piano on November 7, said he was privileged to play such an instrument.It's easily the biggest day of a musician' s life." | high10795.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "there are plenty of choices of products and sellers"
},
"options": [
"the consumer earn less money than before",
"the businessmen are not as honest as before",
"there are plenty of choices of products and sellers",
"the... | Anne Nelson has no doubts when she's arguing with a salesman over the price of a car. She first checks car prices and does some research and then adopts a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. That helped her get 15 percent knocked off the price of a used BMW.
But what about asking for a discount on vegetables at the grocery store? Or bargaining for a better rate for a hotel room? To some, maybe the very thought of doing these is terrifying.
Bargaining was once considered an old art only done in old world markets. But, this ancient form is spreading rapidly in modern day America, experts say.
This is thanks to a weakened economy, a decrease in consumer spending, and most of all, plenty of choices of products and sellers. Experts say that a growing number of people are starting to realize once again that a price tag is merely just a starting point for negotiations.
"People want better deals. As economic times have got more difficult, they're no longer afraid to ask for _ , "says Britt Beemer, chairman of the Charleston, South Carolina travel information and planning office.
Experts say that spend-thrift sensibility shouldn't be limited to big ticket items such as homes and cars.
Rick Doble, editor of savvy-discounts.com, says he bargains over everything: hotel rooms, electronics, and even food. "Nine times out of 10, when you ask, you'll get a better deal, " Doble says.
"Companies know they have to be prepared to offer the best deal these days, "says Steven Cohen, founder of the Negotiation Skills Co. in Massachusetts. "Because consumers have a huge amount of choice, bargaining is becoming more experienced and clever, especially over the Internet. " | high20656.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "San Francisco's Chinatown."
},
"options": [
"London's Chinatown.",
"Bangkok's Chinatown.",
"Mauritius's Chinatown.",
"San Francisco's Chinatown."
],
"question": "According to the text, which of the following has... | Preparations are underway around the world for Chinese New Year (Feb 19) and celebrations in China will be mirrored across the planet wherever the Chinese Diaspora calls home. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day.
London
Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London's Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns , previous years have seen shows with acrobatics , martial arts , dance and opera nearby.
San Francisco
San Francisco's Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Bangkok
With a more than 100-year-old history, the Thai capital's Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.
Mauritius
Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation's rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets. | high9387.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents"
},
"options": [
"wild animals have become more dangerous",
"the driving condition has improved greatly",
"an increasing number of animals are killed in road accide... | Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
"Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads," the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.
"Eco-passages" may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the eco-passages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass! | high15835.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It hit a police car."
},
"options": [
"It hit a police car.",
"The engine died.",
"The writer braked it hard.",
"The man from the Driver's License Office helped make it stop."
],
"question": "Why didn't the car ... | I turned 16 on Friday, but the Driver's License Office in my small hometown was only open on Tuesday, so I had to wait through that extremely long weekend and an endless Monday before going in for my examination.
I came to the Driver's License Office half an hour earlier _ , pacing back and forth on the worn porch waiting for the office to open at eight. I reviewed the driver's manual for the hundredth time. I was ready. I knew the manual backward and forward; I had made an "A" in my driver's training course, and I was a genius behind the wheel.
Finally, the door opened and a weary-looking man in a brown uniform let me in.
"Let me guess. You want to take the driver's test." his voice was not enthusiastic.
"Yes!" I answered in excitement.
"Ok, fill this out, and if you pass we'll go for a drive."
_ . A quick check showed that my paper was perfect.
"Let's get in the car." He tossed me a set of keys, and I slid behind the wheel. Everything was going smoothly as we pulled out of the empty parking lot. I signaled a right hand turn, and we were on a deserted street. This was going to be easy.
"Turn left and go up Young Blood Hill," he ordered. My hometown is in the mountains, and Young Blood Hill was almost vertical . As I eased up the steep hill and came to a stop at the top, I heard the car's engine die. My heart sank. I would have to start it again without rolling back down the hill. I swallowed hard and turned the key; as I moved my foot from the brake, the car began to roll. I suppose I could have rolled all the way back to the bottom except for one thing. There was something behind me which stopped my roll with a rough shake and crash of glass--a police car.
The policeman wrote me a ticket as I looked over the damage, and the man from the Driver's License Office slid behind the wheel. I waited until we had parked before I asked how long a person had to wait before taking the test again. | high12182.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "physical exercise affected their health"
},
"options": [
"physical exercise affected their health",
"physical exercise gave them a deep thought",
"asthma attacks made them like physical exercise",
"asthma attacks could ... | Jeremy Wirick, 9, has been back in school for less than two months, but he has already had several asthma attacks. A recent attack happened on October 2, after he pushed himself too hard in gym class. Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll. When Jeremy got home an hour or two later, he was out of breath. He needed to use a nebulizer, a machine that helps send medicine quickly to the lungs, to get his breathing back to normal.
Asthma attacks like Jeremy increase in September and October. More than six times as many asthma sufferers who are elementary-school age need hospital treatment in the fall as in the summer.
Experts believe many factors can contribute to back-to-school asthma. Kids get together in close spaces, they start passing viruses around. A viral infection can cause an asthma attack. There are also certain fall allergies that can cause attacks. Exercise is another common cause of an attack. Besides, the stress of school can make asthma worse.
Parents can play a big role in helping kids with asthma start the school year right. Dawne Gee's10-year-old son, Alexander, has had asthma since he was a baby. Before the school year starts, she tells school workers in writing about her son's asthma.
The Gees live in Kentucky, which has passed laws allowing students to carry their asthma medication with them at school. Alexander's mom makes sure he has his inhaler with him when he goes to school and that he keeps it on hand at all times. In Delaware, where Jeremy lives, kids are allowed to carry their inhalers at school.
The American Lung Association says that about 6.2 million American children suffer from asthma. Asthma is the chronic illness that causes students to miss the most days of school. There are many things that schools can do to help students control their asthma | high8099.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "how to keep a long friendship"
},
"options": [
"why a long friendship is important",
"what we can do for our friends",
"how to make friends with others",
"how to keep a long friendship"
],
"question": "This pass... | Many people often lose their friends and they don't know how to keep a long friendship. So how can you keep a long friendship? The following passage explains very well about this matter.
The first thing you need to do is to become a good listener. In this way, you show your friends that you are interested in their lives. You want to know more about them and you want to help them solve their problems. They will cherish the friendship more if they know you care about them.
The next thing is that you should respect other people's privacy. People usually don't like others to know about their private life, so you should show respect toward their privacy. Sometimes, they need some suggestions from others, but this does not mean that others can know about their entire life. So respect for privacy is a must for keeping a long friendship.
The third important thing is that you need to be able to forgive. You must remember that nobody is perfect in this world. It is important to forgive others not to blame them for the mistakes they have already made. You are not perfect either. Thus you need to apologize to others for the mistakes you may have made.
Pay attention to the three things above, and you will be able to have long friendship. | high22041.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he drove too fast"
},
"options": [
"he didn't have a license",
"he forgot to re-register",
"he was seriously ill",
"he drove too fast"
],
"question": "The author was stopped by the police officer because _ ."... | The Truth Can Set You Free
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn't been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
"Can I see your license and registration?" the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver's license.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Are you with the army?"
"No, I'm not." I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn't had time to re-register yet.
"So what brings you here?"
He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. "Well, officer," I said, "since you've asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We've moved down here to be close to my wife's family."
"So you've got cancer," he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. "You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good."
He was obviously thinking: "Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he's telling the truth." He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
"Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors are on the inside." And then, I don't know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn't taking this any further. He handed me back my license. "Do me a favor." he said, "Slow down from now on."
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen. | high10965.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "their parents would not be too sad if they died"
},
"options": [
"an old social custom could be kept up",
"maternal attachment could be maintained",
"they could have better chances to survive",
"their parents would not ... | While parents, particularly mothers, have always been attached to their infants . societal conditions frequently made this attachment difficult to maintain . First of all, the high infant death rate in the premodern times meant that such attachments often ended in hopelessness. Perhaps to prevent the sadness that infant death caused, a number of societal practices developed which worked against early attachment of mother and child.
One of these premodern attachment discouraging practices was to leave infants unnamed until they had survived into the second year. Another practice that discouraged maternal attachment was tightly wrapping infants. Wrapping effectively prevented the close physical interactions like stroking and kissing that are so much a part of modern mothers' and fathers' affection for their infants.
A third practice which had the same distancing effect was wet-nursing. Breast-feeding was not popular among the well-to-do in the early modern times; infants were often fed by wet nurses hired for the purpose. In some places, such as nineteenth-century prefix = st1 /France, city infants were sent to wet nurses in the country. Often a wet nurse would feed her own child first, leaving little milk for the city infant-who, in many cases, died. In Rouen, the death rate for children sent to a wet nurse was 35 percent | high21560.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Her research interests."
},
"options": [
"Flexible work hours.",
"Her research interests.",
"Chances of academic accomplishments",
"Her preference for the lifestyle at university"
],
"question": "What was Helen ... | It is pretty much a one-way street.While it may"be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world,there is very little traffic in the opposite direction.Pay has always been the biggest _ ,as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job.For some industrial scientists,however, the attractions of academia outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70%cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge.Her main reason for returning to academia halfway was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions.Some areas of research have few chances of a commercial return,and Lee's is one of them.
The powerful effect of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of an occupation.Guy Grant,now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge,spent two years working for a medicine company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher.He took a 30%salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder,where a pay cut is usually more significant,the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition to academia more attractive,according to Lee.Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not,such as how to build a multidisciplinary team,manage budgets and negotiate contracts .They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate,says Lee,perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development."Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic occupation.So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent a11 their time on a narrow research project." | high5595.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "an increased concern about the environment"
},
"options": [
"an increased concern about the environment",
"a demand for money-saving technology",
"the high cost of electrical power",
"the shortage of power supply"
]... | Store shelves are filling up with so-called "green" products promising to benefit the environment. A recent argument shows that it can be as difficult for buyers to confirm such statement as for producers to defend them.
The argument concerns the GreenPlug Electricity Saver. The GreenPlug is supposed to prevent energy waste by electrical equipment whose constant -speed motors operate at less full load---as is especially true of older refrigerators. Research showed that such motors can be made to do the same work with less heat, noise, and power consumption just by lowering the voltage of the power supply.
John and Wyck Hay, started Green Technologies to apply that finding to home appliances. In
the USA, there are more than 140 million refrigerators in use, accounting for an average of 16% of
the household electric bill.
Two years of research resulted in the GreenPlug. Connecting between wall socket and refrigerator, the equipment contains a minicomputer that gives a motor full power (120 volts on average) for start-up, then reduces the power to 106 volts.
Older refrigerators are the most overpowered and, thus, save the most energy with a GreenPlug. Refrigerators less than two years old are already energy-saving that a GreenPlug actually makes them waste electricity.
The higher the voltage, the larger the difference a GreenPlug makes.
Higher power costs shorten the payback time. The population-weighted national average is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. But some residents in Washington State pay 1.5 cents. Some in Alaska pay 41.6 cents.
Then come highly individual household differences like the number of children or refrigerator
-opening age. All in all, the GreenPlug should save the average consumer $20 a year.
Although the GreenPlug lowered the voltage as it was designed to do,Consumer Reports, an influential magazine, questioned how quickly---if ever---electricity savings due to the plug would repay its cost. People would be better off buying a new, high-efficiency refrigerator, the magazine advised.
Consumer Reports also said that the GreenPlug didn't give a promised 25% savings worth $50 a year. The savings on the oldest model was the best at 8.6%, worth $20 a year.
Green Technologies ordered tests of the GreenPlug on up to 2,800 refrigerators through next year. The company will not put that data in stores. Instead, potential buyers will call to learn how their model of refrigerator performed.
Meanwhile, there is little evidence of consumer dissatisfaction. Sales topped 45,000 units last
month. The return rate is less than 0.2%. | high23377.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a shoe shiner"
},
"options": [
"a college teacher",
"a company manager",
"a shoe shiner",
"a medicine maker"
],
"question": "Cai Yong decided to work as _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Few students would dream of getting a job as a shoe shiner working along the street. College students, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the public, are expected to get at least a proper job, if not working in a high-income or white-collar position.
Cai Yong's decision to work as a shoe shiner shocked not only his parents, who had high hopes for him, but also his girlfriend.
"It is right for young graduates to be ambitious . But they have to start in a solid and down-to-earth way," Cai said. Cai is not alone in making such a choice. The company has got 12 college students in all.
"I come for the 800yuanmonthly pay," said Xiao Ji, who is a student from Nanjing University. "I have grown up and no longer live on my parents," he said.
"Working as shoe shiners can mean a bright future," Cai said.
Not everyone can accept this job choice. Cai's girlfriend left him because she felt ashamed to be with a shoe shiner, and Cai accepted the fact. "This is the price to be paid for a job," he said.
A former shoe shiner, Zhong Haibo, from a medical college, believes it was a good training for the rest of his life. "There is nothing I can't do after working as a shoe shiner," Zhong said, meaning that such kind of experience in early life is helpful in a future job. | high267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "what they learn in university classes is not adequate for their new life"
},
"options": [
"They were not well educated at school.",
"what they learn in university classes is not adequate for their new life",
"the society is t... | When young people get their first real jobs, they face a lot of new, confusing situations. They may find that everything is different from the way things were at school. It is also possible that they will feel uncomfortable and insecure in both professional and social situations. Eventually , they realize that university classes can't be the only preparation for all of the different situations that arise in the working world.
Perhaps the best way to learn how to behave in the working world is to identify a worker you admire and observe his behavior. In doing so, you will be able to see what it is that you admire in this person. For example, you'll observe how he acts in a crisis. Perhaps even more important, you'll be able see what is his approach to day-to-day situations.
While you are observing your colleague, you should be asking yourself whether his behavior is like yours and how you can learn from his responses to a variety of situations. By watching and learning from a model, you'll probably begin to identify and adopt good working habits. | high22069.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Definition 2"
},
"options": [
"Definition 1",
"Definition 2",
"Definition 3",
"Definition 4"
],
"question": "Which meaning of the word javelin is used in the sentence below?",
"question_type": null
}
] | Answer the following questions by using the information taken from a dictionary page. (You may read the questions first.)
jaguar: n. a type of large, yellow-colored cat with black markings found in the southwestern region of the U. S. and in Central and South America.
jargon: 1. n. speech that doesn't make sense. 2. n. an unknown language that seems strange or impossible to understand. 3. n. a language made up of two or more other languages: His jargon was a mixture of French and English. 4. n. the special vocabulary of a field or profession: Her report on computers was filled with jargon.
jaunt: 1. n. a trip taken for fun. 2. v. to go on a brief pleasant trip: We jaunted to the country last Saturday.
javelin: 1. n. a spear most commonly used as weapon or in hunting. 2. n. a lightweight metal or wooden spear that is thrown in track-and-field contests. 3. n. the contest in which a javelin is thrown. 4. v. to strike, as with a javelin.
jazz: 1. n. a type of music that originated in New Orleans and is characterized by rhythmic beats. 2. n. popular dance music influenced by jazz. 3. n. slang empty talk. 4. ad. of or like jazz: a jazz band, jazz records.
Jennet: n. a small Spanish horse. | high7382.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Voice's influence on plant growing."
},
"options": [
"Plants enjoy men's voices than women's.",
"A botanical experiment in a museum.",
"Voice's influence on plant growing.",
"Strange phenomenon at Royal Horticultural S... | "If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you're a woman." Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most "inspiring" for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch and tone which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. " _ ,"said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.[:Z,xx,k.Com]
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that "listened" to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices.
Miss Darwin said, "I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London." | high6922.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "their training should not be wasted"
},
"options": [
"they are not allowed to give up their jobs",
"their training should not be wasted",
"they want to make a living by themselves",
"they must still improve themselves a... | Modern society cannot well do without the contribution that women can make in the professions and other kinds of work. There is a serious shortage of nurses and teachers, to mention only two of the occupations followed by women. It is a waste to give years of training at public expense only to have the qualified teacher or nurse marry after a year or two and be lost forever to her profession. The training, it is true, will help her in her duties as a mother, but if she continued to work, her service would be more widely useful. Many factories and shops, too, are largely staffed by women, many of them married. While here the question of training is not so important, industry and trade would be seriously short of staff if married women did not work.
We can see then that there are good reasons for regarding it as desirable that married women should have some occupation outside the home. However, there are serious objections. Schools do not keep children occupied the whole day and school holidays are long. The mother's working day will almost certainly end well after the school day and her holiday will not begin at the same time as her children's. There will be therefore a period when children are not taken care of unless a substitute for the mother can be found, or unless it becomes more generally possible for women to work part-time. There seem to be some grounds for believing that there is more bad behavior among the children of working mothers than among those of mothers who stay at home, but more evidence is required before we can be certain of this. What we can be certain of, however, is that many more will continue to do so. | high1095.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he was grateful for Jack's time with him."
},
"options": [
"Because he thought he had to keep his word.",
"Because he had no children or s.",
"Because he was grateful for Jack's time with him.",
"Because Jack h... | It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
One day, over the phone, his mother told him that Mr. Belser died the night before and the funeral would be on Wednesday.
"Oh, it's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd recall about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I love that old house he lived in. He's the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
Busy as he was, he kept his word. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his s had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Suddenly Jack stopped.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most'", Jack said.
"Now, I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said sadly.
Returning to his office the next day, he found a package from Mr. Harold Belser on his desk. Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. "Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.
Inside he found these words carved: "Jack, thanks for your time! Harold Belser."
"Oh, My God! This is the thing he valued most..."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. | high23411.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "offering prizes"
},
"options": [
"offering prizes",
"showing sample logos",
"explaining the rules",
"relating graphic details"
],
"question": "At the beginning, the advertisement tries to encourage readers to en... | We need a logo--a graphic image--that will be the perfect symbol of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design an appropriate logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. An appropriate, well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know:
Logo Requirements
* Design must be original .
* Design can include no more than two colors.
* The words "Wellsville Skate Park" must appear in the logo.
* Logo should be submitted on 8x11 papers in every shape. Do not fold.
Submission Details
* Name and address of the designer must appear on the back of the logo design.
* Contestants need to include a one-page written explanation describing the key features of the design.
Deadline
* Mail entries will be accepted between April 10 and May 15. Entries must be postmarked no later than May 15.
* Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatep. com on May 20.
Prizes
* First Prize: A digital camera
* Second Prize: One-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park
* Honorable Mention: A T-shirt with the prize-winning logo.
MAIL ENTRY FORMS AND DESIGNS TO:
Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest
Riverside Recreation Center
1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA23226 | high12814.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "painting displays universal qualities"
},
"options": [
"painting displays universal qualities",
"painting is thought to be artistic",
"painting is similar to music and dance",
"painting has been practiced for some 20,00... | Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment , has been continuously practiced by humans for some 20,000 years. Together with other activities that may have been ritualistic but have come to be considered as artistic (such as music or dance), painting was one of the earliest ways in which man sought to express his own personality and his emerging understanding of an existence beyond the material world. Unlike music and dance, however, examples of early forms of painting have survived to the present day. And painting, like other arts, exhibits universal qualities that make it easy for viewers of all nations and civilizations to understand and appreciate.
The major extant examples of early painting anywhere in the world are found in Western Europe and the Soviet Union. But some 5,000 years ago, the areas in which important paintings were executed shifted to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and neighboring regions. Therefore, Western shared a European cultural tradition ----the Middle East and Mediterranean Basin and, later, the countries of the New World.
Western painting is in general distinguished by its concentration on the representation of the human figure, whether in the heroic context of antiquity or the religious context of the early Christian and medieval world. The Renaissance extended this tradition through a close examination of the natural world and an investigation of balance, harmony, and perspective in the visible world, linking painting to the developing sciences of anatomy and optics . The first real break from figurative painting came with the growth of landscape painting in the 17th and 18th centuries. The landscape and figurative traditions developed together in the 19th century in an atmosphere that was increasingly concerned with "painterly" qualities of the interaction of light and color1 and the expressive qualities of paint handling. In the 20th century these interests contributed to the development of a third major tradition in Western painting, abstract painting, which sought to uncover and express the true nature of paint and painting through action and form. | high19941.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they are afraid it will be done further damage."
},
"options": [
"it is now in a poor chemical state",
"they don't know how to replace the wooden panel",
"they don't have the materials Da Vinci used",
"they are afraid i... | She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, _
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre museum where it is housed.
"The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago," the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world's most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. "It is very interesting that when you're not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops," said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. "It's because direct vision is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows."
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France's King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell. | high3682.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Karni's findings are based on comparisons between two groups of participants"
},
"options": [
"the new research has discovered the memory process during the sleep",
"taking a nap helps improve both long-term and short-term memories... | Naps--short sleeps during the day--may improve memory, experts said recently.
New research conducted by brain researcher Avi Karni of the University of Haifa in Israel explores the possibility that naps help lock in sometimes long-term memories. "We still don't know exactly how memory system works during sleep, but the results of this research suggest it is possible to speed up memory consolidation ," Karni said. Long-term memory refers to memories that stay with us for years, such as "what" memories -- a car accident that happened yesterday-- or "how to" memories, such as one's learned ability to play the pianos.
Karni, also one of the authors of the study published in a recent issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, instructed participants to learn a difficult set of finger games, then divided the study _ into two groups: one that napped for an hour, and one that didn't. The people who took an afternoon snooze showed obvious improvement in their performance by that evening.
"After a night's sleep the two groups were at the same level, but the group that slept in the afternoon improved much faster than the group that stayed awake," Karni said. And the study also showed just how much faster a 90-minute nap could help lock in long-term memories. "Daytime sleep can shorten the time 'how to' memory weakens and forgetting starts,"Karni said, "Instead of 6 to 8 hours, the brain consolidated the memory during the 90-minute nap." | high21206.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Dorms allow students in the U.S. choose to live in dorms"
},
"options": [
"Dorms allow students in the U.S. choose to live in dorms",
"Dorms are safer for students to live in most cases.",
"Dorms offer the chance to meet othe... | We continue our Foreign Student Series on higher education in the United States. Now we move on to college life once you are admitted to a school. The first thing you need to value is a place to live. Housing policies differ from school to school. Students might have to live in a dormitory, at least for the first year there.
Dorms come in all sizes. Some have suites. Six or more students may line in one suite. Other dorms have many rooms along a common hallway, usually with two students in each room . Many students say dormitories provide the best chance to get to know other students. Also, dorms generally cost less than apartments or other housing not owned by the school.
Most colleges and universities offer singe-sex dorms, but usually males and females live in the same building. They might live on the same floors and share the same common bathrooms. They may live in the same room only if they are married.
Edward Spencer is the associate vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He says it is important to understand the rules of the building in which you will live. He advises students to ask questions before they decide about their housing. For example, if a student requires a special diet, will the school provide it ?How much privacy can a student expect ? Will the school provide a single room if a student requests one ? And what about any other special needs that a student might have?
Virginia Tech, for example, had a ban against candles in dorms . But it changed that policy to let students light up candles for religious purposes. The university also has several dorms open all year so foreign students have a place to stay during vacation time. | high18493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Have fun with his brother.8"
},
"options": [
"Watch movies.W",
"Play video games.2",
"Have fun with his brother.8",
"Pack things up to amuse himself.e"
],
"question": "What did the author do when traveling to My... | The best family vacation that I ever had was going on a road trip to Myrtle Beach. The trip was for 2 weeks during the March break from school. This trip was probably about 20 years ago so it was before the time of things like portable video games and being able to watch movies in the back seat.2
So to pass the many hours of travel my brother and I had to entertain ourselves and each other. My mum would set the back seat up so that it was our own little playroom. She would pack everything up so that we had a big level area to play in. We would play cards and board games.C
When it got to the point where we were at each other's throats we would be sent back to our own side of the seat and would be forced to either nap or read by ourselves until we could be friendly to each other again. I can remember us playing for quite some time when we turned the back seat into a spaceship and traveled around the earth.f
Another time we turned it into a kitchen and had a bake-off . But the thing that I remember the most and that gave us many hours of enjoyment was using each other's faces as silly Plasticine and making funny faces. We would see how far we could stretch each other's mouths open, see how thin we could make the other's eye by pulling on it. We would keep going until one of us begged for mercy because we had to give our faces a rest.7
So while I can remember us having a great time on the beach, laughing a lot trying to put the tent up in the rain, what I remember the most of that trip and what always makes me smile the most is remembering the pain that our faces would be in after the trip.g | high19955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Michael's company was trapped in trouble"
},
"options": [
"Some trouble happened to the author",
"Michael didn't approve of going traveling",
"Michael's company was trapped in trouble",
"Michael was tired of planning th... | My husband, Michael, a co-owner of a development company, came home from work one day said , " it 's not looking good."At midnight, I'd wake up and see him sitting in a chair,with his hand on his forehead
As a family, we'd always talked about traveling more, but we'd been tied to routines. Now l saw no point in sitting around worrying when we could see the country. We'd take our kids, Aidan, 11, Charlie, 8, and Rosie ,6, out of school and teach them on the road. It was the perfect time, before they reached high school. Michael resisted at first but realized that with his cell phone and computer, he could work anywhere.
We listed our house for rent and got a great deal on an RV . I created a website for us familyofftrack. com--and secured five major sponsors, including Geico and Encore campgrounds. Their ads on our site would help bear the travel cost , and we'd promote their brands.
All spring and summer, we visited treasured lands, our first stop was Springfield, Illinois, home of Abraham Lincoln. In the south, we drove along the Natchez Trace, lined with Civil War history. At Bandelier national monument, we climbed ladders up to the ancient cliff dwellings of native Americans. And we took swims in Oregon' s rivers. we kept a video blog; Aidan added the music. Rosie made a slide show of photos, while Charlie put receipts in a folder.
By the end of August ,we were ready to return home. Michael's company continued to slide. But Michael and l spent so much time planning that we're now going to make the RV a permanent part of our lives. I've always felt that my husband and I make a great team. Now I feel it even more .Together we made our kids realize: Nobody ever made history by living 100 percent by the book. | high17978.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Supportive."
},
"options": [
"Worried.",
"Concerned.",
"Supportive.",
"Uninterested."
],
"question": "What is David Chadwell's attitude towards separating primary boys and girls while learning?",
"question_t... | At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Carneau and Lynne are convinced that separating primary boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders
David Chadwell, South Carolina's coordinator of single gender education says, " Boys and girls learn,hear and respond to their surroundings differently. We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know."
Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way,he explains. The composition of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction. " Boys interpret the world as objects moving through space," he says.
The male eye is also drawn to cooler color1s like silver and black. It's no accident that boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy color1ful family,as girls do in class.
The female eye,on the other hand,is drawn to warmer color1s like red, yellow and orange. To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn't need to move as much as in boys' class. Using descriptive phrases and lots of color1s in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention.
Boys and girls also hear differently. " When someone speaks in a loud tone,girls interpret it as yelling, " says Chadwell. " They think you're mad and can shut down. " Girls are more sensitive to sounds. He advises girls' teachers to watch the tone of their voices. Boys' teachers should sound more forceful, even excited.
A boy's nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 6.Stress in boys,he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused. Girls are more focused when they are seated in a warmer room around 75degF. Girls also respond to stress differently. When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts ,leaving them feeling nervous or anxious.
These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds. " Single gender programs are about maximizing the learning." | high21212.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The brief introduction of Ji Xianlin."
},
"options": [
"The brief introduction of Ji Xianlin.",
"Ji Xianlin's ideology.",
"Ji Xianlin's achievements.",
"Ji Xianlin's discussions on the cultural problems between the East... | Ji Xianlin, a famous paleographer , historian, and writer, was born in 1911. In 1930, Ji was admitted to Tsinghua University as a major in Western literature. In 1935, he went to Germany as an exchange student to study ancient languages, receiving his PhD degree in 1941. Ji returned to China in 1946, and in the autumn of the same year, became a professor in Peking University.
Ji Xianlin believes, "Cultural exchange is the main drive for humankind's progress. Only by learning from each other's strong points to make up for shortcomings can people constantly progress, the ultimate _ of which is to achieve a kind of Great Harmony. " Over the past ten years, Ji has actively participated in discussions on the cultural problems between the East and the West, based on the same ideology. According to him, human culture is divided into four parts: Chinese culture, Indian culture, Arabic-Islamic culture and European-American culture, with the former three making up the Eastern cultural system and the last the Western one.
With his achievements in the history of Sino-Indian cultural relations, Buddhism history, Indian literature, and comparative literature, Ji Xianlin is known as a master of Eastern studies both at home and abroad. | high6936.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam."
},
"options": [
"Companies rely on e-mail for communications.",
"More people in the world communicate by e-mail.",
"Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail.",
"Mo... | When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail,I have an endless series of advertisements and other _ that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products,individual e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passed on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate against spare. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience. | high1081.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a place where everything can be seen by others"
},
"options": [
"a prison cell",
"a house that is transparent",
"a tower that provides a broad view",
"a place where everything can be seen by others"
],
"question... | "Panopticon" is a place in which everything is in full view of others.
A recent New York Times " House and Home" article featured the story of a man who lives in a glass house.Every wall in his home is transparent; he has no walls to hide behind, not even in the bathroom.Of course, he lives in a remote area where he doesn't exactly have neighbors looking in and watching his every move.But he has chosen to live without any physical privacy in a home that allows every action to be seen.He has created his own panopticon of sorts.
The term panopticon was coined by Jeremy Bentham in the late eighteenth century when he was describing an idea for how prisons should be designed.The prisoners' cells would be placed in a circle with a guard tower in the middle.All walls facing the center of the circle would be glass.In that way, every prisoner's cell would be in full view of the guards.The prisoners could do nothing unobserved, but the prisoners would not be able to see the guard tower.They would know they were being watched - or rather, they would know that they could be being watched-but because they could not see the observer, they would never know when the guard was actually monitoring their actions.
Similarly, it is common that people behave differently when they know they are being watched.We act differently when we know someone is looking; we act differently when we think someone else might be looking.In these situations, we are less likely to be ourselves; instead, we will act the way we think we should act when we are being observed by others.
In our wired society, many talk of the panopticon as a metaphor for the future.But in many ways, the panopticon is already here.Monitoring cameras are everywhere, and we often don't even know our actions are being recorded.In addition, we leave a record of everything we do online.And most of us have no idea just how much information about us has been recorded and how much data is available to various sources.We can do little to stop the information gathering and exchange and can only hope to be able to control the damage if something goes wrong. | high23405.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the cost of riding bikes is much cheaper than that of taking trains or buses"
},
"options": [
"trains and buses are too crowded",
"the cost of riding bikes is much cheaper than that of taking trains or buses",
"there are a lo... | In 1974, the price of petrol in Britain rose by 120 percent; cars became expensive to run and train and bus fares increased. People who hadn't used a bicycle since they were children decided that they would buy bicycles.They discovered that cycling could be enjoyable and cheap.
Bicycle sales had been falling for many years but suddenly everything changed.In 1975, British people spent more than one million on bicycles. Bicycle traffic increased by 11 percent.
Bicycle fans compare the cost of running a car with the cost of running a bicycle.They also say bicycle-riding is a good form of exercise.In towns bicycles can often be faster than cars or buses.The bicyclists can ride through traffic jams and at the end of his journey he doesn't have to look for a parking space.Cycling through the countryside is a real pleasure; the cyclist has time to see things that the motorist, driving at over 100 kilometers an hour, never sees.
But in the cities, cycling can be dangerous.You need good concentration and strong nerves, especially when a truck or a bus is trying to pass you.Since cycling became popular again, there has been an increase in the number of accidents.
Cyclists say the answer to the problem is to separate bicycles from other traffic.Stevenage, a new town near London, has a system of "bikeways", where only bicycles are allowed to travel.However, in most towns, cyclists say, the needs of the bicycle riders are overlooked.Cyclists have formed into "action groups" in many towns in Britain.They want to persuade local councils-who are in charge of the roads and traffic in their areas-to make sure there are safe facilities for cyclists.Or, they say, interest in cycling will die. | high12800.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "control the ropes for the jumpers"
},
"options": [
"stand outside of the rope",
"jump over both ropes from one side",
"control the ropes for the jumpers",
"jump from the beginning after making a mistake"
],
"que... | Chinese Jump Rope is a challenging game played by anyone anywhere. The simple rules test the skill and coordination of all players.
RULES
A jumper jumps until a jumping mistake is made.
* A mistake can be made if a jumper jumps "out" instead of "in".
* A mistake is also made if a jumper touches the rope incorrectly in the game.
* After making a mistake, the jumper trades positions with an ender. The jumper starts from the very beginning of the game on the next turn. Every Chinese Jump Rope game begins with the rope held in basic position.
ENDERS
* Face each other and step inside the rope.
* Place the rope around the ankles.
* Step back until the rope is _
* Two parallel jumping lines, about 12 inches (30 cm) apart, are stretched between the enders.
* The jumper stands outside the rope, ready to play.
"IN"
* Jump both feet inside the rope.
"ON"
Jump both feet on top of the rope. The left foot lands on the left rope;, the right foot lands on the
right rope.
"OUT"
*Jump both feet from the middle to the outside of the rope. Feet land together on one side.
"SIDE OUT"
*Jump over both ropes from one side. Both feet land together on the other side of the rope.
"SIDE-TO-SIDE"
Jump quickly side-to-side. Both feet start "out" from one side of the ropes.
*Jump side: The left foot lands outside the left rope. The right foot lands inside the rope.
*Jump side again quickly: The left foot lands inside the rope. The right foot lands outside the right rope.
Jumpers call the steps out loud while jumping. Calling helps the jumpers remember the "pattern" of the jumps!
Practice "jumping steps" with these simple jumping games! | high23363.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "digital tools bring about benefits and problems"
},
"options": [
"all the students use digital tools",
"the Internet is playing a key role",
"teachers encourage using digital tools",
"digital tools bring about benefits ... | Teachers say the digital age has had a good influence - and a not-so-good influence - on this generation of American teenagers.More than 2,000 teachers took an online survey.Three-quarters of the teachers said the Internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly positive" effect on their students' research habits and skills.But 64 percent said the technologies "do more to distract( - - - ---) students than to help them academically." And 87 percent agreed that these technologies are creating an "easily distracted generation with short attention spans."
The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the National Writing Project.Judy Buchanan is the vice director of the National Writing Project and a co-author of the report.Ms.Buchanan says digital research tools are helping students learn more and faster."Teachers really favor these tools because they are ways to make some of the learning exciting and engaging.Young people favor these tools.The goal is to really help them become creators of meaningful content, and not just sort of consumers."
But one problem the survey found is that many students lack digital literacy.They trust too muck of the information they find on the Internet.Judy says these students haven't developed the skills to determine the quality of online information."It's something that really has to be taught and paid attention to.Because in a world in which things happen quickly, you do need to step back, reflect and analyze the information you have."
Another problem is blamed on something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able to quickly find information online.Teachers say the result is a reduction in the desire and ability of their students to work hard to find answers.They say students are overly dependent on search engines and do not make enough use of printed books or research libraries.
Many teachers are also concerned that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities. | high6088.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to stop his son crying"
},
"options": [
"to stop his son crying",
"to let him learn something",
"to make him frightened",
"to let his son spend a good night"
],
"question": "Father brought a TV set into his son'... | One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn't or couldn't sleep, I tried everything I could think of : a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him down. Guessing that I would have a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill off the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right now, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then walked out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.
My wife and I heard no more of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself. I found in my baby's a metaphor for the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read , that they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watching TV.
After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: "Let them watch it!" If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight it? Let them watch it all they want! | high15809.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "raise production of a key blood cell"
},
"options": [
"raise production of a key blood cell",
"make people joyful",
"aid digestion",
"make break away from the bad habits"
],
"question": "Playing bridge can help ... | New findings suggest that brainy card games such as contract bridge may temporarily raise production of a key blood cell including in fighting off illness. After 90 minutes of play, bridge players had increased levels of immune cells, according to the research reported last week.
A researcher, Diamond, studied bridge players from a women's bridge club. She chose bridge players because the game includes skills stimulating a part of the brain called the dorsolateral cortex. Earlier animal research suggests that this part of the brain may play a role in the immune system.
The findings are based on blood samples drawn from 12 women players. Their blood samples showed a rise in levels of white blood cells called T cells after they played bridge for 90 minutes. T cells are produced by the thymus gland and used by the immune system against diseases.
The T cell count jumped significantly in eight of the bridge players, and slightly in the other four. The findings contribute to the field of neuroimmunology , whose name reflects the fact that the nervous system and the immune system are not considered separate and isolated systems. What isn't clear is whether the help to the immune system from an activity like contract bridge is lasting or temporary. It is also not clear whether the increase in T cells could finally be targeted against special illnesses. | high273.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She is cheerful and humorous."
},
"options": [
"She is miserable and unhappy.",
"She is cheerful and humorous.",
"She would like to live much longer.",
"She feels she is going to die very soon."
],
"question": "... | Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people's home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips . She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glassed of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I'm still alive! | high7396.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he wrote himself as a loser in cartoons"
},
"options": [
"gave up his dream finally",
"wrote some articles in magazines",
"he turned to others for help",
"he wrote himself as a loser in cartoons"
],
"question": ... | This is a true story about a boy who, the world might say, was a terrible underachiever. While in the eighth grade, he failed subjects repeatedly. High school wasn't much better; he _ Latin, algebra, English, and received a grade of zero in physics. The boy managed to make the school golf team, but he lost the most important golf match of the season.
It's not that his peers disliked this boy; it's just that they never really seemed to notice him much. Even "Hellos" in the hall were a rarity. Out of all the failures in his life, there was something that did hold great importance to this boy, his love of drawing. Although in high school, the cartoons he submitted to the yearbook were rejected, once out of school, the boy was so sure of his artistic talent that he approached Walt Disney Studios with drawing works. I wish I could say the studios loved his work and immediately hired him, but such was not the case; another huge rejection.
Despite his lack of successes, this boy did not give up. He then decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons, about a little boy who was regarded as a loser and a nobody.
The name of this boy was Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous Charlie Brown and comic dog Snoopy.
In life, it is sometimes easy to feel like a nobody. We pass hundreds of people on the street on our way to work, or walk through a faceless crowd in a mall, and no one seems to notice or care. Deep inside, we may know we are special and unique and have lots to offer, but unless someone takes the time to look our way and give us a chance, we may feel worthless, just like Charlie Brown who couldn't even manage to fly a kite or kick a football properly.
Just as Charles Schulz had faith in his artistic talent, so too, we must realize that nobody is a nobody. We all have special gifts and talents, and every human being is deserving and capable of being loved and appreciated. | high10971.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Her car was stuck in the train tracks."
},
"options": [
"She was seriously injured.",
"Her car was stuck in the train tracks.",
"Her car crashed into a train.",
"Her car knocked over a passerby."
],
"question": ... | One evening,June Griffith was on her way to pick up her son.Almost immediately,she realized that she had gone the wrong way.She'd driven onto railroad tracks and the underside of her car was caught.
As Griffith tried to remove the car,its headlights attracted the attention of a passerby,Jordan Ricks,a college student.He ran over.
Ricks,22,tried to appear calm as he instructed Gdmth to remove the car.Both of them could now see the wheel between the rails and the uneven track bed.Ricks put his hands under the front fender and gave it a push.It didn't move.
He pushed it again with all his strength,Still,no movement.
From about 50 feet away,a group of students from the nearby university watched the scene.Ricks signaled to them,and five of the guys came over.
He directed them to different sides of the car,and they all put their hands under the flame.
"One,two,three" Ricks yelled.They all pushed.
"One,two,three!" he yelled again.The car didn't move.
At that moment,they felt the ground begin to shake.Then four dings signaled an on coming train,apd the railroad gates dropped down.In the distance,an unclear line of light appeared,followed by the loud noise of a horn .
The guys started yelling,"Get out of the car!Get out of the car!"But Griffith felt _ .
When Griffith glanced in the mirror,she saw the train lights approaching.But she worried that the Arthritis in her feet would prevent her from escaping in time and that her car would bedamaged.One of the students,Tommy Stackhouse,20,saw her shocked face and knew he had to act.He reached for the car door and forced it open.
The train was just a few hundred feet away.In the last few seconds,Stackhouse grasped Griffith's arm and pulled her from the car.His friend,Frank DiPietrapaul,18,grasped her other arm,and the pair pulled Griffith aside.
They watched as the train,crashed into the car,cutting it into half its original size and sending metal pieces flying.Griffith sat crying as the police arrived and sorted through the ruins--and wrote her a ticket for no attention to driving.Eventually,the students went home.
A few days later,a reporter asked the young men and Griffith to reunite at a local coffee shop.There a tearful Griffith hugged her rescuers."These boys are heroes,"she would later tell anyone who would listen."They saved my life."
Ricks feels only grateful for the outcone."It was one of those moments," he says,"when we could have been gone together.It makes you think how precious life is." | high21574.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Tips for handling complaints from customers."
},
"options": [
"Importance of dealing with customer complaints.",
"Effects of customer complaints on business.",
"Tips for handling complaints from customers.",
"Several fa... | No matter what type of business you run, it has to deal with situations in which things go wrong from your customer's point of view. Complaints can be a great source of information for the organizations. So it's important to learn to deal with customer complaints efficiently.
Firstly, listen actively to what the customer has to say by keeping comfortable eye contact and giving full attention with no interrupting. You should also show your customer that you do understand him.
Secondly, when receiving a complaint you should apologize for the failure the customer has identified. It's important for you to know that your apology must appear _ to the customer, and not an empty exercise. And also you should show the customer you've accepted the responsibility and provide him with choices if you have some in hand or otherwise assure the customer you'll do something about his complaint.
Thirdly, talk with the consumer and discover the best means to resolve his problem. There will be times when, after gathering the facts of a situation, you'll be unable to resolve the problem immediately. In this case it's important to let your customer know how long it'll take to take action on his complaint.
Fourthly, a simple "Thank you" is one way to let the customer know you appreciate the time and effort he has taken to inform you about a problem with your company's service or product you need to know about.
Lastly, give your customer something that shows your appreciation for him giving the feedback to you. And let him know you're sorry for the mistake that was made. It isn't necessary to give something that is costly; but a coupon for a free drink or movie is fine.
Your professional and well-organized method of dealing with your customer complaints is one more way that will make you stay ahead of your competitors. | high4847.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "take a language test"
},
"options": [
"take a language test",
"visit da Vinci's home",
"hear lectures on French history",
"go to see the castle built by Charles VIII"
],
"question": "When a student gets to Amboi... | Summer Cultural Exploration in France
The Summer Cultural Exploration program in Amboise, France, provides students with the opportunity to study French in a friendly historic atmosphere while experiencing a taste of French culture.
Amboise
Amboise is a charming small town on the Loire River in central France. The royal Amboise castle was the preferred residence of Charles VIII, who built it in the 15thcentury. With a rich history and beautiful natural scenes, Amboise is the ideal environment for students to study French.
Learn
French courses take place every morning, Monday through Friday, for four hours per day in a historic 19th-century building in the center of Amboise. Students will be given an exam upon arrival to make sure that they attend a language class of the appropriate level. An interactive teaching approach is stressed.
Experience
There is a good balance between planned activities and free time throughout the four-week program. Two to three days per week, organized activities are offered such as: lecture on topics in French history, literature, art and cinema, showing of French films, and a visit to Leonardo da Vinci's home at the Clos Luce.
Travel
Also, students will explore France through the following guided trips.
*Chambord, Cheverny and Blois --Explore two of the area's famous castles. Chambord, the largest of the Loire castle, was built by the great Renaissance king, France I. Chevernby castle was built in 1630. Visit the old town of Blois, a favorite residence of French royalty.
*Villandry and Sache -- One of the last Renaissance castles to be built along the Loire, Villandry, is also known for its flower and vegetable gardens. The lovely old castle of Sache was a best-loved house of the great 19th-century writer Honore de Balzac.
*Paris -- Discover the City of Light, famous for its fashion, food and art during a journey to Paris! Walk along the banks of the Seine River, visit Notre Dame Cathedral and discover some of the city's famous museums and including the Louvre.
Housing
Students stay with carefully-selected host families. Ability to remain open-minded and tolerance of cultural differences are required. There is an 11 pm curfew for this program. | high5581.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The mother was disabled and unable to move around without a wheelchair."
},
"options": [
"The mother made the payment for the wedding gown for her daughter on the spot.",
"The mother was disabled and unable to move around without a... | My trip with my sister and my daughter to Manhattan wedding gown(,) shop, cannot be understood without further focusing on Marina, my 14-year-old daughter Ive asked to try on dresses.
This was the girl I took to Kleinfeld, the fancy store featured on the television program Say Yes to the Dress. As the trip approached, I asked Marina if she was excited. Sure, Mom. shed say, shrugging. Marina was more excited about getting a tattoo on her ankle to represent my fight with ALS than trying on $ 10,000 wedding gowns.
My sister, Stephanie, had arranged for a car with a wheelchair lift to drive us from the hotel to Kleinfeld. The car driver wheeled me in.
At Kleinfeld with flower arrangements ten feet high, I felt like rolling into a dream. "Wow!" I said. I was wearing a new black outfit. Marina wore jean shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and sneakers. _ . The kind Kleinfeld ladies pointed out rooms like tour guides, naming the designers one by one on display: Alita Grham, Pnina Tornai... With Marina walking beside me, Stephanie pushed my chair up and down rows and rows of dresses that made Princess Diana's dress look modest.
Marina didn't say a word. We turned a corner into the storage room, where hundreds of dresses hung in plastic protector sleeves. Marina and I were overwhelmed.
"Want to try one on ?" I said, touching Marina's hand.
"OK," Marina said in her sharp, unsure voice.
"Tell them the style you'd like."
Marina stood silent. I felt bad for bringing her, for forcing such an adult experience on a child.
Marina picked an A-line dress. Or, more precisely, the ladies of Kleinfeld picked it for her. Marina was too shocked to do more than nod. As she took the gown into the dressing room, I tried not to think of my little girl on her wedding day or of her as a baby in my arms. I tried not to think of her with her own baby in her arms one day.
I tried not to think of Marina right now, embarrassed by her mother's plans, by things she could not and should not yet understand.
I am leaving money in my will for Marina's wedding dress. Stephanie has promised to bring her back to Kleinfeld to purchase it.
"No pure white!" I said to Stephanie. "Ivory. Not too much tulle . Think lace."
"Think royalty when picking a dress," I advised Steph as we waited outside the dressing room. "Think Princes Kate. Elegant. Think long sleeves. They make dresses more formal."
Marina came out, sleeveless, flared . She looked like a 14-year-old girl in the middle of a giant cupcake.
"I don't like the loose gown." she said.
That's my girl!
"How about trying on one with long sleeves?" I asked her.
The ladies brought out a dress with long lace sleeves, an Empire collar, a ruched fitted waist, and a long, smooth silk skirt.
Marina disappeared into the dressing room. When the door opened, she looked a foot taller and a decade older. I could clearly see the beautiful woman she will be one day. I simply stared.
What do you do when you glimpse a moment you will not live to see?
I dipped my head. Breathe, I told myself. I looked up. I smiled. Marina smiled back.
I worked my tongue into position to speak. "I like it," I said.
In that dress, Marina stood straight, shining brightly, and tall.
"You are beautiful," I whispered, my tongue barely cooperating. I don't know if she heard me. We took some photos. And moved on. A memory made. | high10226.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a shopkeeper"
},
"options": [
"a driver",
"a doctor",
"a policeman",
"a shopkeeper"
],
"question": "What was Mr. King?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,... | Henry found work in a bookstore after he finished middle school. He wouldn't do anything but wanted to get rich. Mr. King thought he was too lazy and was going to send him away. Henry was afraid and had to work hard.
It was a cold morning. It was snowing and there was thin ice on the streets. Few people went to buy the books and the young man had nothing to do. He hated to read, so he watched the traffic. Suddenly he saw a bag fall off a truck and it landed by the other side of the street.
"It must be full of expensive things," Henry said to himself. "I have to get it, or others will take it away. "
He went out of the shop and ran across the street. A driver saw him and began to whistle , but he didn't hear it and went on running. The man drove aside, hit a big tree and was hurt in the accident. Two weeks later Henry was taken to court . A judge asked if he heard the whistle when he was running across the street. He said that something was wrong with his ears and he could hear nothing.
"But you've heard me this time." said the judge.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Now I can hear with one ear."
"Cover the ear with your hand and listen to me with your deaf one. Well, can you hear me? "
"No, I can't, Sir." | high2761.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To express her deep love to Hong Kong. ks5u"
},
"options": [
"To describe her sad memories in Hong Kong.",
"To attract more tourists to visit Hong Kong.",
"To express her deep love to Hong Kong. ks5u",
"To give readers ... | What can you say about a vibrant city that I once called home? Is she beautiful or brilliant? Do these lines sound familiar to you? If you have read the book or seen the movie 'Love Story' you would know that my opening lines are 'inspired' from it. And it fits!
I fell in love with Hong Kong at first sight! It's the city where I set up our first home, raised our son, and studied my MBA. Our first encounter was in October 2010, when my husband and I were there for a week to visit the city we would be calling home for the next few years. Once we entered the city, what impressed us was its vibrancy and almost immediately I was convinced to make that city our home. A few months later, we settled down and I loved everything about Hong Kong! The wet markets, the modern shopping malls, the bargaining at Mongkok, the fine foods...there is so much to experience.
Then came the MBA, which took the entire experience to a different level. I was so nervous about returning to books after almost a decade. I thought I would struggle a lot with the academic requirements. But, I made it. I am so happy to have so many good memories to write in this blog. One thing for which I will always be grateful is the opportunity to travel. And Hong Kong gave me plenty of that. I feel enriched just having visited some of the neighboring countries.
I am living in another city that I love----London now. However, Hong Kong, for all its sights and smells, was once home to me and my family. I WILL MISS YOU! | high17549.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the development of the word bug"
},
"options": [
"the misunderstanding of the word bug",
"the development of the word bug",
"the public views of the word bug",
"the special characteristics of the word bug"
],
"q... | "Indeed," George Washington wrote in his diary in 1985, "some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home." But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lighining-bug . But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Althoug fan became the usual term. sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseballbugs, and the like.
Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, "to install an alarm". Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others' conversation. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant "to cheat", and since the 1940s it has been annoying.
We also know the bug as a _ in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as "little problems and difficulties" that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison "had been up the two previous nights discovering 'a bug' in his invented record player." | high4310.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Welcome to the Van Gogh Gallery"
},
"options": [
"Welcome to the Van Gogh Gallery",
"Welcome to an Incredible Collection of Artwork",
"Welcome to the Van Gogh's life",
"Welcome to a Major Influence on Young Artists"
... | Welcome to the Van Gogh Gallery--the definitive reference for information about the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh. As a post impressionist painter and one of the most famous artists of all time, Vincent Van Gogh has become an icon . From growing up in Holland and pursuing a life as a pastor, to moving to France and creating an incredible collection of artwork, this site takes an in-depth look at Van Gogh's life, his work and the impact he has had on our culture.
Van Gogh had many influences on his life including his family and friends, as well as other artists such as Paul Gauguin and Edgar Degas. In addition, Van Gogh's health also had a major influence on his life. To see how each of these affected his life please visit the Important Figures, Artistic Influences and Health sections. For information about how Van Gogh's has impacted our society today view the Impact on Art, Cultural References, or News section.
If you are interested in adding more Van Gogh to your life, the Van Gogh Gallery has plenty to offer. Download Van Gogh images of some of his most famous paintings as wallpaper for your computer, shop for Van Gogh posters or prints, or check out some of the additional resources available including links to Van Gogh museums and shows. There are even lesson plans from multidiscipline areas for those interested in educating others about Van Gogh's art and life.
Van Gogh has influenced generations of young artists worldwide since his time. Today we can see his impact in painting, in poetry and in video. We are happy to display new examples of art that were influenced by Van Gogh in our Van Gogh Community Art section.
Tragically , Van Gogh died not knowing the acclaim his art would receive. Today his legacy is immortal and he will be forever known as one of the greatest artists of the modern era. Through this website The Van Gogh Gallery aims to share his life and legacy with the world. | high19564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Lack of sleep raises your risk of stroke or heart disease."
},
"options": [
"Lack of sleep raises your risk of stroke or heart disease.",
"It raises the levels of ghrelin, thus making us feel hungrier.",
"Sleeping for longer ... | Sleeping for less than six hours a night greatly increases the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke , a study has found. It is the stuff of nightmares for those whose busy work schedule or busy family life means getting up early and staying up late. Scientists claim that the modern tendency to delay going to bed in order to get through more of the items on the 'to do' list has serious health consequences. But take care. Those who have too much sleep are also more likely to suffer a heart attack. While the extra sleeping is unlikely to be the cause, long-term illnesses such as heart disease often make sufferers feel tired, so sleeping for longer than nine hours a night may be an early warning sign.
Researchers found that those who slept for less than six hours were almost 50 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack and 15 per cent more at risk of strokes. They believe that not having enough sleep disrupts the balance of two key hormones , ghrelin and leptin , which control the appetite. Poor sleepers tend to eat more and are more likely to be fatter, so are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, which lead to heart attacks and strokes. Experts recommend adults get at least six or seven hours' shut-eye a night to stay healthy.
But as many as 60 per cent of us do not think we are sleeping enough, with a third suffering from sleeplessness. The researchers, from the University of Warwick, warned that trying to push too much into one day by going to bed late and getting up early could lead to serious illnesses later in life. They looked at the sleeping habits of almost 475,000 participants from 15 previous studies across eight countries, including the UK, the U.S., Japan, Sweden and Germany. Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal, show that those who slept for less than six hours were 48 per cent more likely to develop or die from heart disease and 15 per cent more likely to develop or die from a stroke. Not having enough sleep decreases the levels of leptin in our blood, which means we do not feel as satisfied after eating. At the same time, it raises the levels of ghrelin, responsible for triggering our appetite, thus making us feel hungrier.
The scientists believe that our 'work hard, play hard' society encourages us to sacrifice sleep and ignore our health. The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions. | high16657.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People are increasingly concerned about food security."
},
"options": [
"Agriculture is very important to a country.",
"People are increasingly concerned about food security.",
"Many colleges are offering agriculture courses.... | The popularity of farmers' markets combined with concerns over food security is making the number of school leavers taking agriculture courses increase rapidly, according to a study.
Large numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds are going to study subjects such as agriculture, food and gamekeeping despite having no background in farming. Jeanette Dawson, principal of Bishop Burton College, said women were also taking up courses at an increasing rate.
She said it was related to a series of food scandals such as the discovery of horsemeat in frozen meals stocked by major supermarkets.
But the movement was also promoted by an increased awareness of the importance of local food and produce, she said. The number of students taking courses in "land-based subjects" has increased by a quarter in the last 12 months alone - from 5,138 to 6,482.
Mrs. Dawson said there were a lot of young people who weren't from farming backgrounds. But there had been a growth in the number of them accessing agriculture programes with a view to a career in the industry. She said agriculture was an "applied science, with the great outdoors as its laboratory". And it was increasingly seen as an attractive job for school leavers.
"I never underestimate the ability of teenagers to pick up on it. The more it is in the media, the more it interests young people. Whenever I go in my local pub, it has on the blackboard where the sausages are from. Everyone is interested in buying local food and knowing where their food is from.
The comments were made as Bishop Burton prepares to expand, with a PSI3 million project to build a new campus in Lincolnshire. The site - due to open in September 20l5 - will be the college's second in the county, in addition to one at nearby Riseholme. | high11138.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "People demand more and better goods."
},
"options": [
"There are always shortages of goods.",
"The workers are getting lower and lower pay.",
"The government makes no difference.",
"People demand more and better goods."... | Many families in the prefix = st1 /United Stateshave a larger income now than ever before, but people are finding it difficult to make ends meet anyway. Almost everyone is wondering, "What happens to all my money? I never seem to have anything left to put away."
Why isn't a dollar worth as much as it used to be? One dollar is always worth the same amount, that is, 100 cents. But the value of a dollar is how much it can buy. The value of money depends on the cost of living. Economists say that the cost of living is the money that a family must pay for the necessities of life such as food, housing or rent, clothes and medical expenses. For many years now the cost of living has increased greatly, so the value of the dollar has decreased. When a dollar has a low value, you cannot buy as many things with it.
No one fully understands why the cost of living keeps increasing, but economists believe that workers and producers can make prices go up. As workers earn more money, they have more money to spend, so they demand more goods. If there is a great demand for certain goods, the prices of these goods go up. At the same time, if there's a shortage of goods, the price also goes up. For example, if everyone wants to buy more and more gas, the price of gas goes up. When companies withhold gas from buyers, they can also make the price of gas go up.
Families need to know what happens to their money. They need to make their income meet the cost of living, so many people plan a family budget. A budget is a list of monthly expenses. If your expenses add up to more than your income, you must find ways to save money. Maybe you're spending too much on entertainment. Or if you're spending too much on clothes, you may want to sew your own clothes. Budgeting helps you spend your money wisely as the cost of living increases. | high23834.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To introduce a new film to the reader."
},
"options": [
"To tell the reader about the American government.",
"To discus the Americans' ideas about the President.",
"To make a comparison between Dave and other films.",
"... | The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States. In a recent Hollywood comedy , that is exactly what happens.
Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs. He leads a typical American way of life, except for one thing-he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell. In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice!
The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances. Dave is offered a chance to "serve his country" by becoming _ . However, things go wrong. The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever.
Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government. Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations. Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady. The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic .
The film is 100% American. However, if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you'll enjoy Dave! | high12431.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it offers chances for visitors to enlarge their knowledge of sea life."
},
"options": [
"it offers chances for visitors to enlarge their knowledge of sea life.",
"it provides chances for people to broaden their knowledge of science... | Ocean Park
If you love the sea, Ocean Park is the place for you! Situated on the south side of Hong Kong Island, this 870,000 square metre educational theme park provides many opportunities to learn about marine life.
To start with, the park boasts the Atoll Reef, one of the world's largest aquariums, with about 2,500 fish from nearly 300 different species. What makes this aquarium special, however, is not just its size, but also its design. The Atoll Reef is built with an observation passageway that circles the aquarium on four different levels. This lets visitors view sea life from a variety of depths and angles.
Then there's the Shark Aquarium, a tank with more than 200 sharks from more than 30 species. Like the Atoll Reef, this unique aquarium is designed to make sure guests get the most out of their visit. Shaped like an underwater tunnel, guests can watch as sharks swim overhead and dive at them from every side.
There's also the Sea Jelly Spectacular, an aquarium that houses more than 1,000 jellyfish of all shapes, colours and sizes. And at the park's Dolphin University, visitors can go on educational tours and watch the training of dolphins up close.
The park's most popular attraction is the Ocean Theatre, a huge outdoor pool where dolphins and sea lions entertain the visitors. Sometimes a killer whale even takes part in the performance!
Although Ocean Parks focus is on the water, the theme park has plenty of other activities, too. For people seeking excitement, there are rides like the Abyss Turbo Drop, a roller coaster ride that takes passengers on a 20-storey drop straight down. There are also exhibits like the Dinosaur Discovery Trail and Bird Paradise. Finally, no trip to Ocean Park would be complete without visiting the park's most popular animals--four giant pandas that were given as a gift from China's central government. | high7619.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it is unfair to other people"
},
"options": [
"it does harm to their heath",
"it is unfair to other people",
"teachers should punish them",
"teachers shouldn't stop them at once"
],
"question": "The author think... | Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways. When people cheat, it's not fair to other people, like the kids who studiedfor the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Many people like the action of cheating. It makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test --- unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And, if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they can't pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a "good reason" for cheating, cheating isn't a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn't study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don't have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.
A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together. Talking about these problems and working them out will be better than cheating. | high6507.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in the way of his own rule"
},
"options": [
"very well",
"in the way of western rule",
"in the way of his own rule",
"all of the above"
],
"question": "A friend of the writer's drew the horses _ .",
"ques... | A friend of mine was fond of drawing horse. He drew the horses very well, but he always began the tail. Now it is the Western rule to begin at the head of the horse, that is why I was surprised. It struck me that it could not really make any difference whether the artist begins at the head or the tail or the belly or the foot of the horse, if he really knows his business. And most great artists who really know their business do not follow other people's rule. They make their own rules. Every one of them does his work in a way peculiar( ) to himself; and the peculiarity means only that he finds it more easy to work in that way.
Now the very same thing is true to literature. And the question, "How shall I begin?" only means that you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail or somewhere else. That is, you are not yet experienced enough to trust to your own powers. When you become more experienced you will never ask the question, and I think that you will often begin at the tail -- that is to say, you will write the end of the story before you have even thought of the beginning. | high1268.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "those who made great contributions to the science of meteorology"
},
"options": [
"world-famous glaciologists doing research in the South Pole",
"those who made great contributions to the science of meteorology",
"those who h... | Chinese scientist Qin Dahe was awarded the International Meteorological Organization Prize,the top prize of the world Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday.
Qin,born in 1947,is a glaciologist .As a member of the 1989 International Trans-Antarctic Pole Expedition he became the first Chinese ever to cross the South Pole.Qin has published numerous ground-breaking articles using evidence gathered from that trip.
"Inspired by the honor,I will continue my efforts to promote China's meteorological researches with our brilliant team members."Qin said at the ceremony.
"Meteorological and climatic conditions frequently go to extremes nowadays,against the background of global climate change.It poses a great challenge to human beings."Qin said."The undertakings shouldered by meteorological sciences will become more and more important."
Chinese Vice Premier Hui liangyu said the prize not only reflected Qin's remarkable contributions,but also should be considered an honor for all China's meteorological scientists and researchers.He also spoke highly of China's meteorological contributions during the May 12 quake-relief work,the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics,as well as the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft's flight mission.
Each year,WMO members nominate candidates for the prize for outstanding work in meteorology and contributions to international cooperation in meteorology.It is also regarded as the"Nobel Prize in Meteorology".
The Executive Council of the WMO decided to recognize Qin this June.He was the second Chinese scientist to win the prize.The academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,Ye Duzheng,received it in 2003. | high24183.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "lost his sight completely"
},
"options": [
"was full of confidence",
"found a job in the city",
"lost his sight completely",
"lay in bed sleeplessly"
],
"question": "After the second operation, the writer _ .... | I spent my childhood walking a fine line between being an energetic young boy and avoiding contact sports to protect my eyesight. I had lost the sight in one eye at the age of five, so instead of football, I put my energy into rowing and sailing. By the time I was 22, I was working towards rowing for my country.
Then, during a training session, I noticed my vision was unclear in my remaining eye. I had an operation and spent two weeks with bandages over my eyes. Sadly, it didn't work, and the second operation two months later was also a failure. My world came crashing down. I had been flying high---- as well as my shining rowing career, I had been about to take my finals and get a job in the city. Now, as my fellow graduates celebrated their results, I lay in my childhood bedroom, angry. I would wake up in the morning and convince myself I could see a shadow, but I felt bitterly angry when I realized I couldn't.
Previously, I had lots of assumptions about blind people, but now I joined their ranks. I had no choice but to change my attitude. I started to realize that my challenge was not about seeing but about creating a new life for myself. The simple pleasure of just sitting in a cafe and watching the world go by or even making eye contact with anyone is no longer possible. I had to rethink how to engage with the world. As much as I disliked the things of blindness---- white sticks, talking computers and guide dogs---- I welcomed these as the tools that would enable me to regain my independence. I moved out of my mum's house and got a job in entertainment. I also started seeking out projects that would help me get out and mix with people. A big part of my identity has always been about the thrill of competing---- success and failure. I am excited when I am giving it my all, so I started to compete again, first in rowing and then in extreme physical challenges such as completing six marathons in seven days in Gobi desert. Filling my life with experiences helped to sweep the blindness to one side.
It took me 10 years really to deal with losing my sight. When I walked to the South Pole in 2009, the first blind person ever to go there, standing shoulder to shoulder with sighted people, I felt "normal" again.
But two years ago, my sense of "being normal" was challenged again. I was staying at a friend's house when I fell out of a second-floor window onto the ground below. I have no idea how it happened---- I was just going to bed but ended up waking up in hospital. I hurt my brain, and my back in three places. I discovered that I couldn't feel my legs. Doctors said that there was a 12-week period for sensation to return, and when this came and went with no change in my legs, I began to despair.
I was due to get married, but on the day of our wedding my fiancee was sitting by my bedside as I prepared for another operation to put metalwork in my back.
I'm still in a wheelchair, but I refuse to accept that my story ends here. I have got involved with a training program, which aims to redirect the nerve pathways in my legs through training. I'm now teaching myself to use sit-skis and a hand-powered bike. I'm sure how I'd manage emotionally without a sporting goal to drive myself forward. It has saved my life in a way. I may never win a gold medal, but that doesn't stop me trying. | high13049.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "has difficulty adapting to a new habitat"
},
"options": [
"is particular about its food",
"has difficulty adapting to a new habitat",
"seems dangerous and aggressive",
"is a common bird in the USA"
],
"question"... | In the Pacific Northwest there is a kind of owl that serves as a unique piece to the Northwest habitat -- the northern spotted owl.
Northern spotted owls are known to be curious. When seeing you, these owls will come down close and check you out.
The northern spotted owl has been a savior of old-growth forests. Old-growth forests are forests that have been around for a long time without significant disturbances. One way the spotted owl has become a protector of old-growth forests is simply by being there. The northern spotted owl has become endangered, and so to protect them from dying out, the government has to protect their habitat. So now any destruction of old-growth forests is illegal. Another way the owls help their habitat is by eating small animals. This helps create a balance in the forest.
So, if the northern spotted owl is in a habitat that is protected by laws, why are they still endangered?
Unfortunately, a cousin of the northern spotted owl has moved into its neighborhood. The bigger, more aggressive "barred owl" has grown in population and due to loss of the forests they lived in on the East Coast of the United States, they have begun to move to the west coast.
These owls are taking the food source and pushing northern spotted owls out of their own home. Although the barred owl is able to live in different habitats, the northern spotted owl can only live in old-growth forests.
Many government officials have been at a loss to find an answer to the difficult question, "What do we do with the non-native barred owls?" Some methods include shooting them. It is a difficult problem to deal with. Can you think of any possible solutions? | high14726.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "10-25"
},
"options": [
"10-20",
"10-25",
"20-25",
"20-30"
],
"question": "According to the passage, we care about our appearance most in the age period of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends of fashion.
Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be able to meet new people with confidence and deal with every situation confidently and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress. A barber today does not cut a boy's hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull.
What causes fashions to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats for example. In cold climates, early buildings were cold inside, so people wore hats indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats, and more American men followed his example.
There is also a cyclical pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America, short skirts became fashionable. After World War II, they dropped to ankle length. Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. After a few more years, skirts became longer again.
Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to dress like everyone else. Within reason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity of jeans and the "untidy" look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashion of the top fashion houses.
At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for a job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater, and it would be discourteous to visit some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a night club. However, you need never feel depressed if you don't look like the latest fashion photo. Look around you and you'll see that no one else does either! | high9152.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "get a general idea of the LoB"
},
"options": [
"get a general idea of the LoB",
"meet many world-famous experts",
"learn how to put up a library building",
"understand how the specialists work on the project"
],
... | The pound new Library of Birmingham(LoB)will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the PS188 m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media is important to _ . the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning, "The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively."
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls "enlarge reality" project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says: "Technology will enable us to make the library's content and services open to citizens as sever before." | high6261.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "we are not clear what it is"
},
"options": [
"we are in a very bad feeling",
"we do not want to tell anyone about it",
"we are not clear what it is",
"we have just get rid of a discomfort"
],
"question": "From t... | Either out of confusion or discomfort we sometimes express our feelings in an unclear way. One key to making your feelings clear is to realize that you most often can shorten them in a few words: hurt, glad, confused, excited, angry, and so on. In the same way, with a little thought you can probably describe very briefly any reasons you have for feeling a certain way.
In addition to avoiding too long expressions, a second way to prevent confusion is to avoid _ your feelings by saying "I'm a little unhappy" or "I'm pretty excited". Of course, not all feelings are strong ones. We do feel degrees of sadness and joy, for example, but some communicators have a tendency to downplay almost every feeling. Do you?
A third danger to avoid is expressing feelings in an indirect or coded manner. This happened most often when the sender is uncomfortable about showing his or her feeling in question. Some codes are verbal ones, as when the sender hints more or less subtly at the message. For example, an indirect way to say "I'm feeling lonely" might be "I guess there isn't much happening this weekend, so if you're not busy, why don't you drop by?" Such a message is so indirect that chances are small that your real feeling will be recognized. For this reason, people who send coded messages stand less of a chance of having their feeling understood and their need met.
Finally, you can express yourself clearly by making sure that both you and your partner understand that your feeling is centered in a specific set of environments rather than being indicative of the whole relationship. Instead of saying "I hate you", say "I hate you when you don't keep your promises"'. Rather than "I'm bored with you", say "I'm bored when you talk about your money." | high22294.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures"
},
"options": [
"Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures",
"The History and Development of Muslim Cultures",
"The Exhibition of \"Beyond the Palace Walls\"",
"New Way... | Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative , high quality cultural activities.
We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.
The program launched with a visit by the Festival's patron , the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition "Palace and Mosque" in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition"Beyond the Palace Walls" at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story "The Animals' Lawsuit against Humanity".
For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who's Who. | high12357.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Making friends"
},
"options": [
"Friendship",
"Making friends",
"Meeting New People",
"Facing the Unknown"
],
"question": "The best topic of the passage may be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | Making friends is a skill like most skills. It improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends, you must be willing to take some action. You must first go where there are people. You won't make friends staying home alone.
Joining a club or a group, talking with those who like the same things as you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activity.
Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it's human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about unknown. Most of our fears about dealing with new people comes from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are judging us, finding us too tall or too short, too this or too that. But don't forget that they must be feeling the same way. Try to accept yourself as you are, and try to put the other person at ease. You'll both feel more comfortable.
Try to act self-confident even if you don't feel that way. When you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk tall and straight, look directly at other people and smile.
If you see someone you'd like to speak to, say something. Don't wait for the other person to start a conversation.
Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that person--friendship is based on mutual liking and "give and take". It takes time and effort to develop. | high3319.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Our interpersonal skills."
},
"options": [
"The education we receive.",
"The skills of making a decision.",
"The nationality of our friends.",
"Our interpersonal skills."
],
"question": "Which of the following c... | Our interpersonal skills have a great effect on success in our daily lives. This appears not only in the workplace where we can make more money or enjoy our job more, but also shows itself in marriage, raising a family and the ability to reach goals in almost every area of life. Interpersonal skills come into play when our flight is cancelled and we need to make other arrangements. _ come into play when a marriage is threatened by financial challenges or infidelity .
Our communication skills even matter when we are in traffic and we need to make a decision about how to respond to other drivers. Communicating with others becomes inseparable from having a good day, or a bad day not only in how we begin communication, but in how we react to the communications of others who are having a difficult time.
It can make a difference in saving a marriage or getting a divorce, celebrating a rise or getting fired, and even having your eggs cooked as the way you like at the local restaurant. Many wise men and women have stressed the importance of dealing with others in a skillful manner.
Getting feedback from others can be of great value in improving our interpersonal communication skills. Often, however, others are not skilled at giving feedback. When we get negative results, they rarely include the details we need in order to improve our interpersonal skills.
Since life improves so much with greater communication skills, getting feedback and an opportunity to improve would be not only life-saving for pilots, but labor-saving for the rest of us. Contact Alice Aspen March for a free consultation today and see how you might improve your communication skills, or learn more about The Attention Factor. | high4476.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Huawei."
},
"options": [
"Huawei.",
"Apple.",
"Samsung.",
"Xiaomi."
],
"question": "Which of the following cellphone brands is NOT mentioned in the text?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Fans are desperate to lay their hands on the larger-screen iPhone 6, thanks to Apple's "hunger marketing". Analysts are busy debating which of the phones giants --Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi -- leads the Chinese market. But too few people spare a thought to environmental damage caused by cell phones.
Indeed, smartphones are great innovative tools, but they also make people change phones that are as good as new, and thus worsen the already serious environmental pollution. Theoretically, a cell phone can be used for eight years, but in practice one lasts 15 months on average in China, according to D. Phone.
From production to disposal, cell phones, even those made by big brands like Apple and Samsung, pollute the environment. A study by the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and ifixit.com showed that each of the 36 dissected phone models contained at least one of the following poisonous elements: lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury and cadmium. And these poisonous elements are linked to birth defects, impaired learning and other serious health problems.
China, the largest phone-making country and smartphone market, should be alarmed by the environment damage caused by cell phones. So there is no reason to celebrate the "good news" that last year China produced about 1.46 billion cell phones, about 81.1 percent of the total global output, and 340 million smartphones were sold in the country -- a figure that is expected to cross 400 million this year.
In fact, Apple's production chain best shows the urgency for China's manufacturing sector to climb up the global value chain. Apple products are designed in the US, assembled in China and sold across the world. And while Apple takes away the lion's share of the profits, Chinese workers can barely manage to keep their pots boiling and the environment ends up paying the heaviest price. | high19202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Just older and wiser people can have wisdom teeth."
},
"options": [
"Just older and wiser people can have wisdom teeth.",
"Wisdom teeth can cause problems if not in their right place.",
"Impacted wisdom teeth can't grow out o... | Wisdom teeth are normally the last teeth to appear.This usually happens when people are in their late teen years or early twenties,in other words,when they are older and wiser.
Wisdom teeth can grow into place normally and never cause a problem.But often there is not enough room for them in the mouth;they might crowd other teeth.Sometimes they even push sideways through the gums .
An impacted wisdom tooth is one that fails to completely rise through the gums.Wisdom teeth that only partly break through can leave space for bacteria to enter around the teeth.Infection is a risk in these cases.
Wisdom teeth that are not well lined and become impacted are often removed.The American Dental Association says removal is generally advised when wisdom teeth only partly break through the gums.Removal is also advised if there is a chance that wisdom teeth ate poorly lined.The best time to remove is before the teeth cause any problems or pain.Young adults are the best candidates for wisdom teeth removal.
But why do we have wisdom teeth if we often need to get them removed?One theory has to do with our diets.Scientists say the diet of ancient humans probably required more chewing teeth.Life was probably a little rougher on the teeth back then,too.So it was good to have extras. | high16131.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He made his kid take a long distance race."
},
"options": [
"He employed some college students to teach his son.",
"He made his kid take a long distance race.",
"He exposed his 4-year-old to cold showers.",
"He forced h... | A father in Wuhan, nicknamed "Eagle Dad" for his controversial parenting style, has dismissed critics' claims that he pushes his 4-year-old son too hard.
Police officer Wang Shaoyan came under the spotlight this month after his child took part in an 18-kilometer race in the Hubei provincial capital.
Some parents attacked his methods of extreme physical training, while others reacted strongly to his admission that he regularly exposes the youngster to cold showers. "I just want my son to reach his full potential," Wang said, adding that 4-year-old son not only runs 3 km every day he also takes cold showers from time to time to strengthen his body's resistance and willpower.
"He has never taken any sick leave from kindergarten," he said proudly. However, some parents find his methods too extreme.
"I'm not sure a 4-year-old is prepared for such intense training," said Zhang Ruxia a woman who gave birth to two boys in October in Tianjin. "You can have good intentions to train your child at an early age but you also have to consider whether he can take it." Wang responded by saying children are too young to make decisions, and it is up to parents to lead them on the right path.
"I read many materials before and the whole process is step-by-step without pushing or imposing on my son," Wang said. The father said he was not acting rashly but following a scientific way of education. He said the doubts about his methods reflect the declining standards of modern education.
"Many people in Japan give their children cold showers too ,and no one is fussing about it," he said. The traditional way of education applied by most of his peers might not necessarily help bring the best out of a child he said.
Wang said in addition to the physical training, he has also laid out a detailed and particular program to strengthen the intelligence of the child. "I have hired some university students to expand his knowledge in natural sciences, while playing the video for English-language teaching as well," he said. | high5768.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The father thought the baby was abnormal"
},
"options": [
"The baby was probably born with the eye problem",
"The father thought the baby was abnormal",
"The baby could recognize nothing except her father",
"The father ... | "Babies are supposed to instinctually know who they daddy is," Gerald, Dooriya's daddy, said, holding Dooriya before him."But she don't recognize nothing."
Everybody had something to say about raising my baby, but none of them actually did any raising.Taking Dooriya to see the ocean had become the only thing that kept me from feeling like my life was an everlasting losing race, this vision of what could be for my little girl.When I told Momma about my plans to visit the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras, she just spun her broken record.
"That baby'11 never understand a thing of what she's seeing."
"My baby book says I should treat her just like any other child.It's good to show her beautiful things even if she don't know what she's seeing.It helps her brain develop.How's her brain gonna develop if all she ever sees is the walls inside this crummy house?"
"That child's brain ain't never gonna develop.We love her, but it's not like she's ever gonna not be a Mongoloid ."
I had read a half-dozen books about Down Syndrome that said stimulation might improve a child's chances of developing to her fullest potential.And what's more stimulating than a trip to see the ocean?
Guidebooks described the area as the land of beginnings, which I liked the sound of.But before I could map out a plan, I woke up one night when Dooriya hiccupped .Then she just stopped breathing.The ER doctor gave me a pamphlet on SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and said, children with Down Syndrome are much more likely to be affected by this sort of thing.
I didn't remember much about driving to Cape Hatteras, especially taking Dooriya from the hospital. But up on that lighthouse, with its broad spiral running up and around it like a black and white barber's pole, I saw my life twist into the air.
As I climbed the winding stairs, I counted the steps, 268 in all, stopping on 77, Dooriya's very number of days on this planet.At the top, I held Dooriya up to the Atlantic, its cold air raising the thin soft hair on her head.With her eyes closed and her arms spread out, it looked like she was bathing in the warmth of the sun. | high20483.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "one of its babies fell out of the nest"
},
"options": [
"there was a rain",
"the lawyers were under its tree",
"one of its babies fell out of the nest",
"it could not fly"
],
"question": "The reason why the moth... | One day,four lawyers were riding their horses along a country road. There had been a rain. Water was dripping from the trees,and the grass was wet. They rode slowly,talking and laughing. Suddenly they heard some noises from the tree above them. "What is the matter?" asked the first lawyer. "Oh, it's only some old birds!" said the second lawyer. "The storm made one of the babies fall out of the nest. It is too young to fly, and the mother bird is very worried." "What a pity! It'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer. "It doesn't matter. It's only a bird," said the second lawyer. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and took the little one in his big warm hands.
"Never mind, my _ ," said Mr. Lincoln. "I will put you back in your little nest." He climbed up the tree and put the bird softly into their warm little home. A few minutes later, Mr. Lincoln joined them again. His shoes were covered with mud and he was wet. Then the other three laughed at him. They thought it was foolish for a strong man to do so much just for a young bird. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "I could not sleep tonight if I had left the helpless bird in the grass." Later Abraham Lincoln became very famous as a lawyer. He also became the president of America. He was one of the greatest American presidents. | high2007.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Grateful."
},
"options": [
"Grateful.",
"Critical.",
"Negative.",
"Unconcerned."
],
"question": "What is the author's attitude towards the extremes in life?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | I can't remember a winter being as cold as this in Pennsylvania, but I'm sure there were colder days.
Even though the daylight hours are growing longer minute by minute, it's easy to find an excuse not to go out unless you ly must, but then again I often have to push myself to accomplish things.
People I speak to have been in all kinds of _ moods. They say they're "under the weather," not feeling good about this time of year.
As I stood outside with my two dogs yesterday, it was so cold that my nose and face felt frozen and my ears were stinging.
Of course, that doesn't matter to Ricky and Lucy. They have a routine they must go through to find just the fighting spot no matter how cold or hot it is.
So I wait.
But this time it was different. As cold as it was, I suddenly was excited thinking about how wonderful this extreme cold really was.
Then the sun broke through the clouds and memories of summer's extremely hot days flashed through my mind. I could remember standing in the heat of the afternoon, with sweat pouring down my brow and the hot, burning sun against my face. I reminded myself then and there that in the cold of the winter I would wish I had this heat.
I was grateful for the extremes. Without the extremes in my life, I would never appreciate the days when things were just right. Without the extremes, life would be boring.
It's being pushed to one of the extremes that makes us appreciate the middle more. Health challenges remind us that we need to pay more attention to how we live. Financial extremes remind us that when things go smoothly it's also time to save for raining days. ks5u
I've come to the conclusion that all too often I find a reason not to be happy with where I am at that moment.
Whether it's hot or cold, good health or bad, in the money or out of it, I always
want it to be different.
I'm tired of being "Under the Weather!" | high21945.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "get parents involved in their children's education"
},
"options": [
"bridge cultural gaps existing between parents and teachers",
"get students know that their teachers care about their parents",
"get parents involved in thei... | Many schools have established successful home visit programs. Home visits by teachers let parents and children know how much teachers care. Also, it is a way for teachers to learn more about their students , get the parents to pay more attention to their children's education and bridge cultural gaps that might exist between students and teachers. Most teachers report that their home visits have a lasting effect on the child, the parents and on parent--teacher communication.
The Head Start program has used home visits for many years. Head Start teachers are required to make at least two home visits for each student, regardless of their ability, during each school year in addition to regular parent-teacher conferences at school. Many U.S. kindergartens also require home visits by teachers before school starts.
The visit approach varies from school to school and usually depends on the funding the source. In some schools, teachers prefer to visit in pairs. They feel more comfortable that way and sometimes need a translator in order to communicate with a child's parents. Other teachers visit one-on-one with parents. Some interact with both the child and the parent. Many teachers may bring along learning activities for the child that also involve the parents participation. Normally, visits can last from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the teacher and the activities.
When teachers get to know their students and their students' families, the parents become more active in their children's education. Home visits, not unnecessary as some people think, can give teachers the ideas they need to help all students succeed. | high19216.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to persuade the Dean to purchase more advanced computers"
},
"options": [
"to describe the problems caused by lack of computers",
"to explain why students are in great need of computers",
"to tell us what benefits students ca... | Dear College Dean
It is my understanding that this college has received a large donation to be used to enhance (improve) the quality of life for students: expand the bookstore or add computers to the computer lab. It is the tradition of this school to promote education and to be at the vanguard of new technology. That is why I strongly argue in favor of the addition of more computers to the computer lab.
Although expanding the campus bookstore to include CDs, gifts, and a snack bar will give a nicer look to the college, we have to think about a greater goal and a more practical way to enhance the quality of life for students. What do we want for our students and our college? Do we want our college to be known as a place with a great bookstore where you can find CDs and gifts, or as a place where the students can explore and research in their field using the best tools provided by technology? In addition, there are already several snack bars on campus, and there are music stores nearby, so students do not depend on the college bookstore for these things.
We live in a highly technological world and computers play an increasingly important role in how we live. As a learning institution, this college has the responsibility to offer its students the best technology to help them prepare for their future. Many students will be expected to be familiar with the latest software and other tools when they go on to work or to graduate school.
While they are in college, students find they are expected to use computers. Many professors expect students to use computers to do homework or to complete projects. Students are asked to create PowerPoint presentations and use spreadsheets and database programs, as well as to research many topics on the Internet. Since students are competing for good grades, those who have limited access to computers are at a great disadvantage. Furthermore, being able to do projects using the computer enhances the process of learning, giving students the opportunity to find information that without a computer would be much more difficult to find.
If there are more computers, students will also be able to complete their work more efficiently. No more will they have to wait in line, paper and disk in hand, while scanning the room for an empty chair and computer. No longer will they have to sit and wait while an outdated computer struggles to follow their commands. Having more new and faster computers available will enable students to finish their work more quickly.
The more computers are used in society the more colleges will depend on them as a tool of teaching and learning. Making computers more available to students facilitates their learning process by making the process easier, more interesting, more engaging, and in the process enhancing their quality of life | high4462.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "about 0.6 million people"
},
"options": [
"about 0.6 million people",
"250,000 people",
"1ess than half of the population",
"one million people"
],
"question": "Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _"... | They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation's unemployed. A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies.
"We study for jobs that don't exist," Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said.
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12.3 million people, and the number is climbing.
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent. The title of a rock song "No Future" can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France.
One form of protest tends to put the responsibility for a country's economic troubles on the large numbers of "guest workers" from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity.
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents. Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them.
"And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the cafe, and sit and stare," said Isabella Cault. "There is usually not much conversation. You look for happiness. Sometimes you even find
." | high16125.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "could get the personal lucky number."
},
"options": [
"are sure to win a prize.",
"are sure to be among the 500,000 winners.",
"could get $500,000.",
"could get the personal lucky number."
],
"question": "Those ... | Cars!!! Holidays! Thousands of prizes! Hurry! Free with every packet of splash! Your personal lucky number! Will be among the 500,000 winners! Use splash for the softest...quickest... whitest wash! Don't delay... buy a packet today! | high11892.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the nature of schools"
},
"options": [
"mismanagement",
"too few students",
"too many students",
"the nature of schools"
],
"question": "According to the author's opinion schools are bad businesses because of ... | Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger. Not all will be saved, and perhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are low-quality schools just as there are low-quality businesses. We have no duty to save them simply because they exist.
But many promising institutions that deserve to continue are threatened. They are doing a fine job educationally, but they are caught in a financial squeeze, with no way to reduce rising cost or increase income significantly. Raising tuition doesn't bring in more income, for each time tuition goes up, the enrollment goes down, or the amount that must be given away in student aid goes up. Schools are bad businesses, whether public or private, not usually because of mismanagement but because of the nature of the enterprise. They lose money on every customer, and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students. Even a very good college is a very bad business.
It is such colleges, promising but threatened, that I worry about. Low enrollment is not their chief problem. Even with full enrollment, they may _ . Efforts to save them, and preferably to keep them private, are a national necessity. There is no basis for arguing that private schools are inherently better than public schools. There are many examples to the contrary. Anyone can name state universities and colleges that rank as the finest in the nation and the world. It is now inevitable that public institutions will be dominant, and therefore diversity is a national necessity. Diversity in the way we support schools tends to give us a healthy diversity in the forms of education. In an imperfect society such as ours, uniformity of education throughout the nation could be dangerous, In an imperfect society, diversity is a positive good. Supporters of public higher education know the importance of sustaining private higher education. | high20497.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he wants it to go into the newspaper quickly"
},
"options": [
"he wants it to go into the newspaper quickly",
"people prefer to buy today's newspaper",
"he wants to have a rest",
"he is good at writing it"
],
"q... | It would be very exciting to be a reporter on a newspaper. As soon as a reporter's boss gives him a story to write, the reporter is on the job. He keeps his mind on what he is going to do. He does not begin writing the story until he knows what he should find out. He must know why he should write the story.
At times a reporter must search hard to find all of the facts he needs for a story. The facts may not be right under his nose. To find the facts, he has to recognize important details. While gathering information for a story, he asks himself questions:Should I use this information? Is this an important fact?
A reporter writes the story as fast as he can, so it can go right away into the newspaper. The story also needs a headline, which tells very quickly what the news story is about and is printed bigger and blacker than the rest of the news story.
Every big newspaper has many reporters,because many stories are needed in the newspaper. Would you like to be one? | high10554.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Two."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many cities which led a boycott of the goods are listed in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | Some Chinese shops have stopped selling Japanese goods in protest against Tokyo's approval of a school history book they say _ Japan's militaristic past.
It was not clear how many Chinese stores had stopped selling Japanese products, but one association official told Renters that the boycott had begun in Shanghai, the country's business center, and the northeast city of Shenyang.
Chinese protests against Japan's bid for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council. Millions of Chinese have already signed an online demand against giving Japan a permanent seat.
South Korea also has criticized the Japanese text book decision. The Korean English-language newspaper Korea Times ran an article on Monday criticizing that action.
It said: "A civic education text even has a picture of Tokto( ) as Japanese district on its cover. We cannot help but wonder how many countries in the world would be teaching their children in such wrong words."
It went on to say: "The country is already a global power and should show regional leadership, not by force but by moral superiority. Tokyo doesn't appear to be reaching forward in this direction." | high21951.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Drivers, GPS systems and passengers should unite to improve GPS systems."
},
"options": [
"GPS units are to blame for the most GPS service failures.",
"We should introduce higher standard for the driving license.",
"Cameras a... | Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.
We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay. Barry Brown: "And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn't until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'."
Mister Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. Barry Brown: "One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it's going to the wrong place."
Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people's cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called "The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS." It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together. | high2013.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Dreamers can exercise conscious control over them."
},
"options": [
"Dreamers can exercise conscious control over them.",
"They are shadows of our unconscious desires and fears.",
"People with more emotional changes dream mor... | 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. | high9146.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "test the driver's driving skills"
},
"options": [
"rank the restaurant nearby",
"recommend a song to passenger",
"have a conversation with drivers",
"test the driver's driving skills"
],
"question": "According t... | A new concept vehicle, Pod was introduced by Toyota and Sony at the Tokyo motor show. The car is intended as a four-wheeled friend. It aims to provide affection, sympathy and encouragement. Like a dog welcoming its master, the car sits up, wags its tail and acknowledges its owner's presence using hydraulics and a multi-coloured LED display panel across the front.
While on the road, the car constantly monitors the driver's mood with pulse and sweat sensors on the joystick . Cameras focused on the eyes keep watch for any sigh of _ . If a driver appears to be losing his or her cool, Pod will display warnings, play soft music and blow cold air at the face. Drivers are shaken awake with loud music and a shaking chair.
To improve driving skills, Pod uses a comparison to score drivers, offer advice and rank all Pod owners. Toyota claims that the car will eventually be able to learn its owner's likes and dislikes by monitoring passenger conversations. If the car hears a favorite song being discussed, it will download the track from the Internet and play it without being asked. It will also recommend restaurants that might suit the driver's taste and take photographs of passengers when they sound particularly happy.
In keeping with the moodiness that is the car's main selling point, Pod expresses a form of road anger. If a driver brakes or swerves suddenly, the LED panel shows an angry red and the tail rises at the back.
Anger is one of the car's ten "emotional states". Another is sadness --- a blue front with tear-shaped lights seemingly dropping from headlights --- which appears after a flat tire or when gas is low.
"We wanted to show that the cars can be cheerful and entertaining," said Yasunori Sakamoto, part of the Toyota design team. Mr Sakamoto said Toyota has no plans to put Pod on the market. Sad, really. | high14732.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Seven."
},
"options": [
"Six.",
"Five.",
"Three.",
"Seven."
],
"question": "How many countries are mentioned in the pieces of news?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is likely to visit China at an "appropriate" time this year, a senior Chinese military official said on Monday. Colonel Tu Qiming, director of the American and Oceania Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Office at the National Defense Ministry, made the remark during Sino-US defense talks this week. This is the first ever "special defense policy dialogue" between the two defense ministries, according to the Chinese military.
***
FRANCES Agriculture Ministry has confirmed the first case of mad cow disease detected in a goat last Friday. The goat killed in 2002 tested positive for mad cow disease. It is the first case in the world of the fatal disease being found in an animal other than a bovine. The human form of mad cow disease causes brain-wasting, personality change, loss of body function, and ends in death. The European Commission has not advised any change in farming and consuming goats, said the French Ministry in a statement published last Friday.
***
MOBILE phone sales hit a new record in 2010, with some 684 million units sold around the world, the US research institute Strategy Analytics said on Thursday. The number represents an increase of 32 per cent over 2003, when 571 million units were sold. Strategy Analytics predicts a more modest rise of 8 per cent for this year, to 735 million. Finnish cell phone provider Nokia stayed out in front in 2010, with sales of 207.6 million units, giving it a market share of 30.4 per cent. Motorola moved to No 2, just ahead of the South Korean company Samsung.
***
SIX male penguins at a German zoo are proving stubbornly resistant to females brought in from Sweden to make them into breeding .Of the ten male penguins at the zoo, six have formed into "homosexual" couples and have shown no interest in the females, making breeding an impossibility. So the zoo imported the four female penguins from Sweden last month, full of hope that the new arrivals could "turn" the males. But so far, the boys are remaining strictly with the boys. | high6275.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "film review"
},
"options": [
"film review",
"commercial advertisement",
"movie poster",
"1iterary essay"
],
"question": "This piece of writing is a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Here's a movie-a sharp, sugar-rush of fun that's guaranteed to entertain the entire family.
With some terrific computer-generated effects, a great cast and a fun-packed storyline, Robots is the best animated film since The Incredibles. Yep, it really is that good.
Set in a world populated by robots, Ewan McGregor plays Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot who leaves his small-town home to pursue his dream of becoming an inventor.
But after arriving in Robot City, his hopes of getting a job at Bigweld Industries are destroyed when he learns the firm has been taken over by the evil Ratchet (Greg Kinnear).
Egged on by his controlling mum, Madame Gasket (Jim Broadbent), Ratchet plans to reduce half on Robot City's citizens to scrap metal by refusing to sell the spare Pans they need to survive.
Instead, he wants to make a fortune selling expensive upgrades that few can afford. As he says, "Why be you when you can be new?"
Aided by a few misfit robots known as the Rustles-including Robin Williams as the cowardly Fender ("I'm made of a metal called Afraidium")-Rodney must track down the firm's founder, Bigweld (Mel Brooks), and convince him to save the city from Ratchet's plans.
The first thing that'll strike you about the movie is the thought that's gone into creating Robot City. It's a wondrous world full of mechanical marvels including wind-up cars and walking streetlamps.
Also terrific are the special effects. This might be animated movie but at times you'll catch yourself thinking it's really a live-action film.
Of course, there have been plenty of animated movies that looked the part but were let down by a weak storyline(see Shark Tale, for example).
But Robots grips right from the start thanks to a heart-warming and thoroughly engaging plot that never bores.
My only complaints are with Williams who, as usual, has a one-in-10 success rate with his jokes. Also a letdown is a romantic subplot between Rodney and a shapely robot called Cappy (Halle Berry) that doesn't go anywhere.
Complains aside, this is a mechanical marvel that'll have you bolted firmly to your seat.
BEST QUOTE :Fender:"Even though you had a discouraging day, just remember there's another one coming tomorrow.
BEST BIT:Check out those amazing images.
WORST BIT:Robin Williams' character does an unfunny Britney Spears dance routine.
IF YOU LIKED...Ice Age, The Incredibles, Toy Story...YOU'LL LIKE THIS. | high8258.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "King Kong rules"
},
"options": [
"King Kong rules",
"A Film Named \"King Kong\"",
"An Ape Called King Kong on an Island",
"Why King Kong is so popular inAmericanow ?"
],
"question": "What is the best title for t... | THIS movie is about an adventure on an island called Skull, where an oversize gorilla named Kong falls in love with a blonde beauty. Nothing much to expect, you might say .
But you might be wrong.
It has been 72 years since the story was first brought to the screen. But the latest movie version, "King Kong", is a box office hit in the prefix = st1 /US. The film opens inChinaon January 14.
Kong himself resonates through American culture: his name known to every 10-year-old boy, his image used to sell everything from insurance to snacks.
So what is it that makes the story attractive to generations of Americans?
Set in the Great Depression of the 1930s, the film follows New Yorkactress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), who is kidnapped by movie makers. She was taken to theSkullIsland, where she was caught by the aboriginals, who want to sacrifice her to King Kong, a gorilla.
But instead of eating Ann, King Kong saves her. He is captured and dragged back to New York. There he bursts free and climbs theEmpireStateBuildingin search of Ann.
Why did King Kong appear in 1933? And why is he back now, in 2005?
In 1933 a worldwide economic depression threw the future into doubt. "The monster represents American workers' feelings at being caged by forces beyond their control," says Gerald Molyneaux, La SalleUniversityfilm professor and biographer of Charlie Chaplin.
Now, once again, Americans worry about their future in an age of terror, threatened by the presence of "the other" this time by al-Qaida.
But some people, on the other hand, see the movie just as what it is.
"I am confident the story is not any type of social or political allegory," says artist Dave Dorman, creator of the cover illustrations for the new King Kong comic books. "Sometimes an ape is just an ape." | high22280.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Mercury and PCBs--particles -- organisms-- fish -- food supply"
},
"options": [
"Mercury and PCBs--water --fish -- particles --food supply",
"Mercury and PCBs--particles -- organisms-- fish -- food supply",
"Mercury and PCBs-... | Many kids turn up their noses at the thought of eating fish because, well, it can smell "fishy". While it is usually a healthy source of protein in the diet, there may be several reasons to avoid biting into a forkful of fish. Before you break out the tartar sauce, learn some facts about fish to keep yourself and the environment healthy.
Some fish may contain harmful chemicals, which can be the result of both natural causes and water pollution. Mercury is a poisonous chemical, which occurs naturally in oceans and the Earth's crust, but also comes from man-made sources, such as pesticides, burning garbage, and the releasing of fossil fuels.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a group of chemicals, can also be found in some fish. These dangerous man-made chemicals were used in many industries until 1977, when they were banned. PCBs were released or leaked into the air and water and have been transported around the globe.
How do mercury and PCBs end up in fish and the food supply? When they are released into the air, they attach themselves to particles. These particles settle on the ground and in the water and are eventually eaten by microscopic organisms. Small fish eat the micro-organisms, and large fish eat the small fish and on up the food chain.
Because they can negatively affect your health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises that kids younger than 15 years old avoid fish that contain high levels of mercury and PCBs. These include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish.
There are also many types of fish that are good for you, but because of overfishing are in danger of being wiped out. Some are being fished in the wild so much that they cannot reproduce fast enough to survive. Others are being farmed in ways that are not environmentally friendly. These fish include red snapper, Atlantic salmon, blue-fin tuna, and king crab.
Despite these problems, there are several fish that are both healthy and sustainable, such as Alaskan salmon, American catfish, Pacific cod, and several farm-raised fish and shellfish. | high23820.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Many languages are quickly disappearing."
},
"options": [
"Many languages are quickly disappearing.",
"Some languages are disappearing because they are hard to remember.",
"Chinese is one of the languages that are disappearin... | Of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists say, nearly half are likely to disappear this century. In fact, one falls out of use about every two weeks.
Some languages die out in an instant, at the death of the only surviving speaker. Others are lost gradually in bilingual cultures, as local tongues are edged out by the dominant language at school, in the marketplace and on television.
New research, supported by the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, has found the five regions where languages are disappearing most rapidly. They are northern Australia, central South America, North America's upper Pacific coastal zone, eastern Siberia, and Oklahoma and the southwestern United States.
K. David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College, US, said that more than half the languages had no written form and were _ to loss and being forgotten." Their loss leaves no dictionary, no text, or no record of the accumulated knowledge and history of a disappeared culture.
Harrison and other researchers started their rescue project last year. They have been trying to identify and record endangered languages. They interviewed and made recordings of the few remaining speakers of a language and collected basic word lists. The individual projects, some lasting three to four years, involve hundreds of hours of recording speech, developing grammar and preparing children's readers in the obscure language. The research has concentrated on preserving entire language families.
"These are probably languages that cannot be brought back, but at least we made records of them," said Gregory Anderson, director of the Living Tongues Institute, in Oregon, US. | high12425.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was preparing herself to be bored"
},
"options": [
"was excited",
"knew it would be hot in the theatre",
"was nervous",
"was preparing herself to be bored"
],
"question": "The writer took a deep breath before en... | Not being the greatest fan in the world of live performance, I took a deep breath before I en tered the building, the castle theatre, and prepared myself to be bored, expecting to find it more interesting to watch the audience than the show. Then I got the shock of my life.
Wadaiko Inchiro are a group of ten young Japanese men and women using traditional drums with a history going back more than 1500 years. The drums were once used for festivals and religious ceremonies and also as a means of communication during wars. Today they give an ear-blasting performance which punches out rhythms with the power to wind you. They're a welcome relief from the Scottish pipers.
Unlike other performances, the best seats are at the back of the house. Not only will your ears be protected from full blast, but you will get a fantastic view of the whole set. On stage are some of the biggest drums you will ever see and a cast wearing red, white and black headscarf.
There had been almost no publicity for the show, but the house was full of people desperate, one could only assume, for something a bit different from the unrelenting performances appearing at this world-famous festival. The solid 60-minutes show starts as it means to go on. The drums rumble into fever-pitch action as the ten-strong company strike their sticks with startling control. Their rhythmic frenzy almost immediately drugs you into submission. Trapped inside the beating of the drums, you carried swiftly through warrior war cries to emotional rhapsodies . Not only is this display musically impressive, but the dance is strikingly beautiful. Moving between the enormity of the drums, the slight Japanese characters have complete synchronicity with the flying of their sticks, which they ceremonially cross and use to command.
The biggest drum is played only by Inchiro, the leader of the group. When I ask why this is so, he refuses to admit that he is being precious about this monster of an instrument and says, "When someone else can play it as I do, I will happily move aside." Dressed all in red, he stands before it as thought he is worshipping at an altar; as he raises his sticks to the drum, he touches it sometimes tenderly and sometimes murderously. Inchiro and his drum produce a range of sounds from thunder to the trickle of rain. | high9620.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Smith 's department didn't earn money that year"
},
"options": [
"Smith would take over a new job in another department",
"Smith had his son study in Riverside School",
"Smith 's son knocked a boy down who hit Herbie",
... | Smith entered Mr.Watson's office.The boss was a hard man.He fired people who didn't do well without giving them a second chance.
"Smith," said Mr.Watson,"this past year your department hasn't earned money.We're going to drop that department.It's finished.I'm sorry,--but you'll have to go." "But,sir--if I just had a little more time.For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School."
"What's that!" said the boss."Riverside!I didn't know you had a boy there.That's an expensive school for a man with your salary."
"I know,sir.But he likes it there so much!He's a star athlete and the best boxer in the school.The boys call him Champ there."
The boss sat perfectly still for a long time--a faraway look in his eyes.Then,suddenly,he said,"We've got to close your department,Smith. But you'll take over a new job in another department.It means longer hours--maybe more pay.Now get out.You're here for life."
Smith got out,with surprise on his face.Then the boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk.It was Herbie's last letter from Riverside School--written a few days before he died.He had read it over and over again with sick pain.The letter read:
I can't say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were.I guess it's the same everywhere when you're a cripple .But don't worry about me,Dad.They've got a good chemistry department here.And there's one boy here who is really great.He's a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry.The boys call him Champ.He made them stop throwing my books around.And he knocked a boy down who hit me.He is the best friend I ever had.Dad,when I grow up,I want to do something for Champ.Something big--that he won't even know about. | high14054.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "pollution-warmer weather-glaciers melt-water expand"
},
"options": [
"warmer weather-glaciers melt-water expand-pollution",
"pollution-warmer weather-glaciers melt-water expand",
"pollution-water expand-warmer weather-glacier... | The average global temperature has increased by almost 0.5 centigrade degree over the past century; scientists expect it to rise by an extra 1~3 degree over the next 100 years.
Warmer weather makes glaciers melt, adding more water to the ocean. The warmer temperature also make water expand, so it takes up more space, causing the sea level to rise. The sea level has risen about 10~25 cm in the last 100 years.
The main cause of global warming is human pollution. Through burning coal, oil and gas, people have been increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as CO2. This adds to the power of the greenhouse effect, making the planet even warmer.
Many scientists believe that, if the warming is not stopped, there will be huge climate changes. The sea level could rise to one metre this century.
Should this come true, millions of homes will be swallowed up by the sea and the world will be flooded with "climate refugees" looking for somewhere to live? | high24197.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Don't be stuck with a\"next-step mind\"."
},
"options": [
"How to study as efficiently as you can.",
"Don't be stuck with a\"next-step mind\".",
"Realize your dreams with reasonable plans.",
"How to choose an ideal coll... | If you're locking into your career plans, college counselor Nancy Donehower has three words for you: Don't do it.
Huh? A college counselor tells you not to lock into plans? What's that all about? Actually, Nancy isn't the only counselor advising students to take their time in discovering who they are and what they want to do when they get out of college.
"Preparing broadly makes sense to me,"she explains,"that the best preparation for a future that's still unfolding is a broad preparation. It shouldn't prevent you from following areas that light you up, but a broad preparation will prepare you for multiple careers. That's important because jobs change more frequently due to changes in technology and business competition. Some jobs that are available today may be on their way out in 10 years. The best thing about preparing broadly is that you get to live in a big world. You avoid getting typecast in a job or business area, and if your job becomes out of date, you can move on."
Students let the"next-step mind"interfere with their learning as well. Many students don't take courses outside their comfort zone for fear it will ruin their GPA (grade point average) and their chances of getting into a certain college."You may be reluctant to go outside your areas of strength for fear you'll get a low grade,"says Nancy."But if you think one grade in one class will ruin your chances of admission, you're doing yourself a disservice. Colleges look at a number of factors in addition to grades. Students often think of requirements for colleges as much tighter and narrower than they really are."
Since colleges work to admit a diverse group of students, the best thing to do is be yourself and explore your options."I know of many people in their late 20s who are unhappy in their careers and who regret that they didn't pursue a wider range of interests while in college."
Her advice to students:"Think about who you are right now. You have certain preferences. You have areas you like to study. You have certain skills."She suggests using interest surveys to help you gain a sense of where your interests and skills can lead you.
"Follow your nose and find a college that will support and encourage you academically and socially. Have faith in yourself and the things you like to do,"she adds. | high19570.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Climate change and its effects."
},
"options": [
"Ways to protect our planet.",
"Solutions to climate change.",
"Be prepared for climate change.",
"Climate change and its effects."
],
"question": "Which of the f... | Based on new analysis, we are rapidly approaching major climate change and the effects on society and the environment could be quite severe. Geographers predict that within the next eighty years, current world climate zones could shift and some could completely disappear. Polar regions will get colder while tropical regions will get even hotter, forcing animals to migrate north.
Climate changes like these could lead to the spread of diseases. Tropical storms and hurricanes will not only increase but may also become more intense. If the changes come too quickly, animal and plant species may not be able to adapt fast enough and could disappear.
According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that by the year 2100, many of today's familiar climates will be replaced by climates unknown in today's world. It is urgent that we reduce the risks of these far-reaching consequences for the whole world. The planet itself has been showing signs of change. In 2004, a serious tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands died in China because of another severe earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was _ in 2010 by yet another massive earthquake.
Within just the last few months, new reports from around the world have been coming in and most agree that our climate situation is much worse than previously thought. At this point, it doesn't matter what is causing it, but rather, what can be done about it. What's more, our world is getting more and more unstable every year. There is war and threat of war everywhere. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and serious.
However, other planets are experiencing global warming as well as our own and some scientists believe there may be some connection between this. No one knows anything for sure at this point because there is simply not enough data. | high4304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time"
},
"options": [
"he couldn't stand a clean appearance",
"he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt",
"he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time",
"he didn't want... | Five years ago ,David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict ," he joked . "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes--khaki pants and a sports shirt--to the office. He hardly even wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel fortable."
More and more panies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many panies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" or "casual Friday" . "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really bee an everyday thing." Said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many panies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a pany to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code . "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software pany, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing fortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and pany ,85% of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4% of employers said that casual dress code has a negative impact on productivity .Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money . "Suits are expensive ,if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money ,you can buy a lot more casual clothes." | high16643.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "appear on VOA"
},
"options": [
"be an advertisement",
"appear on VOA",
"make a comment on radar",
"appear on SKYPE"
],
"question": "The passage is likely to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | We know more about the surface of the planet Mars than we know about what is at the bottom of Earth's oceans.
Until recently, scientists had mapped only about 20 percent of the sea floor. But our knowledge of the deep seas is changing because of information from satellites. Scientists have produced a new map that provides a detailed picture of the oceans. The map is expected to help oceanographers, industry and governments.
The new map is twice as detailed as the map made 20 years ago. David Sandwell is a geophysics professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California. He and other scientists worked on the mapping project. He says they turned to space to look deeper into the ocean. He spoke to VOA on SKYPE.
"The way we're doing that is to use a satellite altimeter , a radar to map the topography of the ocean surface. Now that seems sort of strange that you'd map the topography of the ocean surface when you really want to get at the sea floor. But, the ocean surface topography has these bumps and dips due to gravitational effects that mimic what's on the sea floor."
The scientists collected and studied information from two satellites. Some of the data came from the European Space Agency's Cryo-2 satellite. It was placed in Earth's orbit to watch sea ice. The other satellite is the American space agency's Jason-1. It is studying the surface of the oceans. Scientists combined the satellite data with images gathered by sonar equipment on ships. Sonar works by sending sound waves through the water. When the sound waves hit an object, its presence is confirmed.
"That enables us to look at smaller-scale features and also features that are buried by sediments in the ocean basins."
The new map shows the sea floor as it has never been seen before. It shows thousands of underwater mountains and places where continents pulled apart. It shows where earthquakes were active many years ago. They all are buried deep underneath the ocean floor.
In one place, three mountain ridges join at the same area. Huge tectonic plates can be seen clearly there. | high7625.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "self-respect"
},
"options": [
"self-respect",
"financial rewards",
"advertising ability",
"friendly relationship"
],
"question": "According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ... | Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness. | high918.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "offered him an opportunity that changed his life"
},
"options": [
"invited him to join in their game",
"liked the book that he was reading",
"broke the long silence of that summer evening",
"offered him an opportunity t... | A city child's summer is spent in the street in front of his home,and all through the long summer vacations I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing--not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted that I would be no good at it. They were right,of course.
I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to retire to a little stoop that stuck out from the candy store on the corner and that somehow had become theirs. No grownup ever sat there or attempted to. There the boys would sit, mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question;but whoever he was,I nod to him gratefully now. " What's in those books you're always reading?" he asked casually. "Stories," I answered. "What kind?"asked somebody else without much interest.
Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did,for usually I just sat there in silence,glad enough to be allowed to remain among them;but instead of answering his question,I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bugeyed and breathless. I must have told it well,but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them so keen an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man's entertainments,but I was offering them as well,without being aware of doing it,a new and exciting experience.
The books they themselves read were the Rover Boys or Tom Swift or G.A. Henry. I had read them too,but at thirteen I had long since left them behind. Since I was much alone I had become an enthusiastic reader and I had gone through the booksforboys series. In those days there was no reading material between children's and grownups' books,or I could find none. I had gone right from Tom Swift and His Flying Machine to Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie. Dreiser had hit my young mind,and they listened to me tell the story with some of the wonder that I had had in reading it.
The next night and many nights thereafter,a kind of unspoken ritual took place. As it grew dark,I would take my place in the center of the stoop and begin the evening's tale. Some nights,in order to taste my victory more completely,I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte,and without warning tell them that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true,of course;but I had to make certain of my newlyfound power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall. Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences,but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store,I have an unreasoning love that will last forever. | high8516.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Nobel was a man of strong will"
},
"options": [
"Nobel was a man of strong will",
"Nobel was a man of gift",
"Nobel seldom got on well with his work",
"Nobel had his heart in his work"
],
"question": "Through hi... | Nobel, who was born in Stockholm, is a great scientist famous for his dangerous experiments.
Nobel studied in the USA and then Russia between 1850 and 1859. After his return, he started researching into bombs. As is known, bomb is dangerous to life, but Nobel was working under that condition. Once a big explosion in his lab completely destroyed the lab and caused some deaths. After that he had to experiment on a boat in a lake. He received criticism and satire , but he proceeded with the work rather than losing heart. From 1860s to 1880s, Nobel made many achievements and his inventions were first used in building roads and digging tunnels. Most of the bombs were safer and more possible to be controlled. Even at the end of the 20th century, we still used his methods.
Nobel had many patents in Britain and other European countries. He was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific inventions and built up over 80 companies in 20 different countries. Indeed his greatness lay in his outstanding ability to combine the qualities of an original scientist with those of a forwardlooking industrialist.
But Nobel's main concern was never with making money or even with making scientific discoveries. Seldom happy, he was always searching for a meaning to life, and from his youth, he had taken a serious interest in literature and philosophy. His greatest wish, however, was to see an end to wars, and thus peace between nations, and he spent much time and money working for this cause. To follow his will, a fund was set up to encourage people to make great progress in physics, chemistry, physiology , medicine, literature and peace. That's the Nobel Prize which means great honor to a scientist. | high15362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "damaging his immune cells"
},
"options": [
"attacking him with high fever",
"regulating his immune system",
"damaging his immune cells",
"harming all his organs directly"
],
"question": "Ebola causes the death o... | The current Ebola outbreak in western and central Africa has infected at least 3,069 people, including 1,552 dead, making it the largest outbreak in history. Ebola is a deadly virus --about 60 percent of people infected with it have died.
How is Ebola doing its harm?
When a person becomes infected with Ebola, the virus damages the body's immune cells, which defend against infection, said a researcher at Lancaster University. But if a person's immune system can stand up to this attack, then he is more likely to survive the disease.
The patients that survive it best are those who don't get such a bad disadvantage in immune system. But if the body isn't able to get rid of this attack, then the immune system becomes less able to regulate itself. This means the immune system is more likely to run out of control, leading to a drop in blood pressure, multi-organ failure and eventually death.
What are the common symptoms of the disease?
Fever. Headache. Joint and muscle aches. Weakness. Diarrhea. Vomiting. Stomach pain. Lack of appetite. Chills. Rash. Redness in the eyes. Hiccups. Cough. Sore throat. Chest pain. Difficult breathing or swallowing. Bleeding inside and outside of the body.
How to prevent the spread of Ebola?
Ebola can be spread primarily via direct contact with patients, specifically the blood and fluids of an infected patient.
We should avoid contact with infected patients and objects such as clothing, bedding, and needles used by them. Avoid areas where infections have been reported. For now, the disease has only been confirmed in central and West Africa, four cases in America and Europe. Avoid eating wild-caught bush meat. Researchers have suspected that the disease came to humans via animals, probably through the meat of primates . If you're in an area where the disease has been reported, avoid purchasing, eating, or handling wild game to stay on the safe side.
Wear protective medical clothing if you're around infected patients. Extreme caution is necessary. Hospital workers must use masks, gloves, goggles, and gowns, which needed to be worn at all times if you're around infected patients.
How Do People Survive Ebola?
Doctors don't know for certain who will survive Ebola, and there is no specific treatment or cure for the disease. Although in the minority, some people do recover from infection.
Our suggestions include:
Maintain your electrolytes and body liquid. Sports drinks can be used. Monitor your blood pressure and control it if necessary. Dropping blood pressure may be a serious sign of infection. Breathe in an oxygen-rich environment. Quickly address any symptoms of infection. Be honest about when and where you're feeling pain. | high9608.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Her social work."
},
"options": [
"Her social work.",
"Her lack of proper training in law.",
"Her efforts to win a prize.",
"Her community background."
],
"question": "What is jane Addams noted for in history?",... | You probably know who Marie Curie was,but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson.Of the outstanding ladies listed below,who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams(1860-1935)
Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank.Addans helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need In 1931,Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson(1907-1964)
If it weren't for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today.Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world's lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O'Connor(1930-present)
When Sandra Day O'Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952,she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator and ,in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. O'Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks(1913-2005)
On December 1,1955,in Montgomery,Alabama,Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison.But it also set lff the Montgmery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. "The only tired I was, was tired lr giving in,"said Parks. | high13713.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "her friends had something in common with her"
},
"options": [
"there was a friendly girl of her age living next door",
"she could travel around in her father's jet",
"her friends had something in common with her",
"her ... | "It's really cool to have a dad who flies fighter jets,"thought 11-year-old Casey as she was watching him fly overhead.
Living on an Air Force base was not as bad as some people might think. Casey rather enjoyed being around friends who had something in common with each other. They had their own school, bowling area, and movie theatre. She especially loved it when her dad would come home each day and greet her with a new joke and tickles.
Today was different, though. When her dad walked into the room, he looked sad for some reason. He just kissed her on the forehead and told her mum that he needed to talk to her. Casey knew something was wrong.
When her mum and dad came out of the other room, mum was crying. Dad sat down and began to explain that he has been called to go to Iraq to help with the war effort. Casey was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a moment. She began to feel tears in her eyes. How could she live without her dad for a whole year?
Soon, the day came. Her dad was leaving. As Casey and her mom watched him climb up the steps to his cockpit, the tears began to flow and it felt like _ would never end. It was hard for Casey to believe that she wouldn't be seeing her dad for so long. They depended on him for so many things. Who would fix the broken window? Who would greet her with jokes and tickles at the end of the day? And then the thought hit her, " What if he doesn't make it home?" Casey began to sob more than ever. | high1254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To become someone important."
},
"options": [
"To improve his gardening",
"To further his education.",
"To become someone important.",
"To help immigrants succeed."
],
"question": "Why did Tabia come to America?... | A mansion may symbolize the American dream. But the fact is, for most immigrants, the closest one they ever get to is the neighboring bushes.
Such is the case with 63-year-old Catalino Tabia, Calif. He's a gardener with a 6'h grade education. He came to America to make his dreams come true, but ended up fulfilling everyone else's."I always wanted to be somebody," Tabia said."But now I just want the opportunity to help others."
That is why, not long ago, Tabia started the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation. It's a charity aiming at helping smart kids like Noel Chavez, whose dream was to become the first in his family to graduate from college.Unfortunately, since Noel is still waiting for his citizenship, he's not qualified for financial aid.And after just a few months of going to school full-time and working full-time, he was ready to give in.
"I'm working too much. I'm not going to do it. It's impossible. But then you get some help, and that's my break. " The break was a $ 1,500 scholarship from the Gardeners Foundation. In the last two years, the foundation has awarded 13 such prizes to low-income kids, regardless of citizenship. And Tabia plans to give out hundreds more.
How does a gardener come up with that kind of cash? "I was thinking and thinking and suddenly, the clients V " he said."That's where the money is coming from. We work for clients with a lot of money. " Tabia and his gardener friends just started knocking on those mansion doors-and the checks have been rolling in ever since. "There might be some gardeners at your graduation," someone said to Noel."I'm sure there will and I'm going to invite them," he replied.
Tabia is now hoping this idea catches on with the gardeners around the country. And whether that happens or not, and whether he realizes it or not, Tabia has already finished what he came to America to do-become somebody. | high17575.txt |
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