questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The city's La Scala opera house will offer additional performances in 2015."
},
"options": [
"It is the largest city in Italy and has the longest history.",
"It is hosting the world's largest Fashion Week in 2015.",
"Football... | Food,football and fashion--Milan has it a11.The city is perhaps most famous for its annual Milan Fashion Week and its world-class soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.And May will see it host the six-month Milan Expo,the theme of which is food and nutrition.
Milan may not the first place tourists think of when they think of Italy.Rome is the most famous city in Italian history,Venice draws visitors who want to travel along its canals and Florence is popular with art lovers.Yet Milan can often be left off tourists'lists.But although some see Milan as the"ugly sister"of these cities,according to Lonely Planet,in 2015 the city is"suddenly back in fashion in a big way".
The Milan Expo will look at the future of food,trying to answer the question of how Earth's fast-growing population can be fed in the future.According to Lonely Planet website."144 countries will set up shop northwest of central Milan,forming a mini city-within-a-city".
Milan's famous opera house,La Scala,normally closed in the summer,will also host daily performances during the expo,reported Fox News.
Not interested in opera?Don't worry.Visitors who prefer sports may want to visit the San Siro stadium,home of the soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.Tile stadium is one of the most famous in Europe and has seen many important games over the years,both in Serie A and the European Champions League.
So even if all of its fashion and beautiful people can make Milan seem"soulless",as Lonely Planet said.it still has"a serious sense of history and place".Many people will be discovering it this year,and eating great food from all over the world to help solve world problems.Will you? | high10352.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To spread his love and encouragement."
},
"options": [
"To remind people to keep traffic rules.",
"To make himself famous and beloved.",
"To spread his love and encouragement.",
"To act in Matt Morris's documentary."
... | He has breakfast at 2 a.m.because Johnny Barnes, Mr.Happy Man, has work to do.From 4 to 10 a.m.,he greets commuters as they drive by on their way to work.
For years he worked as an electrician on the Bermuda railway and drove buses.When he retired, he still wanted to feel useful.So he positions himself on a patch of grass next to a roundabout that leads into Hamilton, Bermuda's largest city.He smiles and waves at every single person who passes by.He tells them he loves them - and means it.
In the Matt Morris's short documentary, he says:
I'm just little Johnny Barnes.I'm just a little , small instrument in the hand of God be used any way he feels fit.What I do every day , 2:00 in the morning I'm getting my break fast.You're still sleeping [he tells the interviewer] , I guess.
From 20 to four until ten I stand on the corner and just greet people, let them know that life is sweet and beautiful. No matter what happens in life, it's always sweet to be alive.
No matter what the weather is like , he is there from Monday to Friday , spreading love. On the rare occasion he is not there , people call the radio station to see if he is OK..
He was 88 when the film was posted in 2012.Every day he was spreading love, straight from his generous heart.
So well known and beloved is Barnes that the city of Hamilton built up a statue in his honour.The figure wears the same full beard and straw hat that are Barnes's trademarks.So even when the day comes for the real Johnny Barnes to pass from this life, his smile and his memory will still be at that corner, spreading love to every passer--by. | high23798.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Around 40"
},
"options": [
"Around 30000",
"Forty",
"Around 29960",
"Around 40"
],
"question": "How many diseases are known to attack wheat?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Plants, like animals, are subject to diseases of various kinds.It has been estimated that some 30,000 different diseases attack our economic plants; forty are known to attack corn, and about as many attack wheat.The results of unchecked plant disease are all too obvious in countries which have marginal food supplies.The problem will soon be more widespread as the population of the world increases at its frightening rate.Even in countries which are now amply fed by their agricultural products there could soon be the major crops; the resulting famines could kill millions of people, and the resulting hardship on other millions could cause political upheavals disastrous to the order of the world.
Some plants have relative immunity to a great many diseases, while others have a susceptibility to them.A blight may be but a local infection easily controlled; on the other hand it can attack particular plants in a whole region or nation.An example is the blight which killed virtually every chestnut tree in North America.Another is the famous potato blight in Ireland in the last century.As a result of that, it was estimated that one million people died of starvation and related ailments.
Plant pathologists have made remarkable strides in identifying the pathogens of the various diseases.Bacteria may invade a plant through an infestation of insect parasites carrying the pathogen.A plant can also be inoculated by man.Other diseases might be caused by fungus which attacks the plant in the form of a model or smut or rust.Frequently such a primary infection will weaken the plant so that a secondary infection may result form its lack of tolerance.The symptoms shown may cause an error in diagnosis, so that treatment may be directed toward bacteria which could be the result of a susceptibility caused by a primary virus infection. | high9740.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because success was a strong habit for him."
},
"options": [
"Because he didn't work hard enough.",
"Because he was not careful enough.",
"Because he was too tired.",
"Because success was a strong habit for him."
],... | Michael Jordon is the greatest basketball player of all time. Once he was making a television commercial . All Michael needed to do in the advertisement was to miss a shot.
For Michael, this was difficult. He had conditioned himself to succeed whenever he was throwing the ball. Every time he threw a basketball, it went in. Every time he tried to miss a shot, he failed. In total, it took him over 20 attempts before he missed a shot.
For Michael, success is a strong habit. He had formed a habit that was so strong that it took him a lot of time to break it and "fail".
Just like drinking, smoking and collecting things, success is also a habit. The only thing is, it is much more effective!
Like all habits, once it is established , it is difficult to break.
Many people think that success is difficult to maintain . They feel that it will be hard work and will need too much action and focus. The truth is that it is simply a habit, and as easy to maintain as any other habit.
Spend some time making success a habit in your life. Once you have developed it, it is not something you will want to change again. Then, the only thing you will fail at is failing. | high14134.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Tea reached Britain from Holland."
},
"options": [
"The Britons got expensive tea from India.",
"Tea reached Britain from Holland.",
"The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea.",
"It was not until the 17... | Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea.Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting "a sinking feeling" as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born. | high10.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Claire Danes"
},
"options": [
"Juliet",
"Hamlet",
"Claire Danes",
"Romeo"
],
"question": "Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright . Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet -- the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people's conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy Romeo and Juliet was reborn as the musical West Side Story and more recently as the movie Romeo and Juliet with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you've ever said, "Oh, for goodness sake!" you can thank Shakespeare for that. "To be, or not to be: that is the question," Hamlet says. "Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow," says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don't be surprised if you don't understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare's characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It's worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, "All the world is a stage." And in his plays you'll find that an entire world is waiting for you. | high850.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the places associated with celebrities"
},
"options": [
"the places associated with celebrities",
"the families of celebrities",
"the contributions of celebrities",
"the daily life of celebrities"
],
"question":... | Liverpool is famed for many things -- most especially The Beatles and its football team. But few would associate the city with one of the most famous political speeches in history. Yet tourism officials in the city have published the claim that Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" was written at a city centre hotel. The allegation has been made in a guide to a major art event named Liverpool Discovers.
A map in the guide shows more than 20 locations where famous people were born along with places associated with celebrities and events in their life. The guide claims, "Martin Luther King visited his supporters in Liverpool three times, and the first draft of his famous speech 'I Have a Dream' is claimed to have been written at Adelphi Hotel." The speech, delivered to civil rights campaigners on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in 1963, is one of the most quoted texts in history and was a definitive moment in the American Civil Rights Movement and in the fight for racial equality.
Dr. King's biographer, Godfrey Hodgson, said that the suggestion did not fit the facts. He said, "I don't believe it. If he had been to Liverpool, there would have been massive media reports, as he would have been a big figure by then. Dr. King did visit the UK on a number of occasions but he was not in the UK around the time of this famous speech in 1963."Prof. John Belcham, a history lecturer of University of Liverpool who wrote an 800year history of Liverpool in 2008, confirmed that he was unaware of any connection between Dr. King and the city. | high13883.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The Celts."
},
"options": [
"The Celts.",
"The Jutes",
"The Saxons.",
"The Vikings"
],
"question": "Which of the following tribes lived in the Iron Ages?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | England became England, the land of English-speaking people, at the beginning of the Middle Ages. Before that it had been the home of Iron Age tribes known as Celts, and for a time, part of the Roman Empire. Then beginning in the 400s AD, tribes from the north, known as the Engles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, moved in.
The most famous leader of this time period in England was Alfred the Great. Alfred lived in Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons, which was in the southern part of England. He was a good leader who made his kingdom stronger. He created a system of defenses , called burhs, across the country. He reorganized the army so that his men had time to fight and time to farm. Alfred's efforts protected his people from the Vikings and allowed Wessex to grow. Eventually the rulers of Wessex would rule all of England.
Alfred also made other improvements. He made laws for his people. He encouraged learning and translated several important books into his Saxon language. This was the beginning of the language we call English today.
Two important pieces of literature from that time period are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf, both written in Old English. Old English lasted through most of the Middle Ages. Middle English came in during the late Middle Ages, and Modern English began about the time of the Renaissance.
England and English got their names, not from the Saxons, but from one of the other tribes, and Angles. The original name of England must have been something like Angle-land(only in old English of course). | high23940.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "doesn't exactly reflect one's real life"
},
"options": [
"leads to misunderstandings",
"is used in memory of Shakespeare",
"doesn't exactly reflect one's real life",
"hasn't enough stages to clarify life changes"
],... | If you were given a chance to choose your favorite life metaphor , what would it be? Do you agree with Forrest Gump's mother that life is "a box of chocolates" because "you never know what you're going to get"? Or do you prefer the phrase from the 1930's song that "life is just a bowl of cherries "? Though simply stated, each conveys a very different view. A "box" implies mystery, because we don't know what is in a closed box. Meanwhile, a "bowl" of cherries is completely in view.
For many centuries, the metaphor of life that probably burst into most people's mind was the one suggested by Shakespeare: "All of life is a stage..." On that stage, we take seven roles. More recently, psychologist Erik Erikson took up the idea of life as a stage. Erikson regarded development as a "powerful unfolding" in which we are driven from one stage to the next as our bodies, minds, and social roles develop.
Stage metaphors fit with many of our common-sense ideas about change, but the problem with the stage metaphor is that it isn't particularly accurate. None of the studies that try to clarify the universality of adult life stages actually studied people as they developed over time. All of them were based on performances of their samples at one point in time. People's actual lives don't fit into these stage metaphors. They don't automatically transform when people reach a certain age. Instead, people's real lives are messy, unpredictable, and full of surprises.
Today, I'd like to focus on an even longer study, an 80-year study which is the subject of a recent book by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. Their final chapter summarizes the "many changes of healthy and unhealthy pathways" that their participants took over the course of their lives. As I too discovered in my research, the pathway provides a perfect metaphor of human development. We don't all go down the same road marked with the same signposts based on age. People travel through diverse routes as they track the years of adulthood. Friedman and Martin use health and long life as their measure; I've used sense of achievement. In both cases, we are in perfect agreement in evaluating development not according to age but "the key features of life".
The paths that Friedman and Martin describe seize the changes that characterize people as they age. Some examples are "The High Road" (reliable, full of plans); "Not Easy Street" (exposed to high stress throughout life), "Catastrophe Lane" (a downwardly twisty life); "Happy Trails to You" (cheerful, sociable), "The Road to Resilience" (able to handle stress with a strong will). Though I haven't yet been able to follow my participants for 80 years, I too saw some of these pathways among my samples: "The Minding Way" , "The Downward Slope" , "The Straight and Narrow Path" , and "The Successful Trail".
The pathway metaphor gives you hope for changing the direction of your life if you are unhappy with it so far. You can't stop the clock from ticking the minutes between one birthday and the next, but you can adjust the road that you're on by changing yourself, your situation, or both. | high9998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "get a new tooth"
},
"options": [
"get money",
"feed magpies",
"get candies",
"get a new tooth"
],
"question": "Koreans throw a tooth onto the roof of a house in order to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | Many countries follow special customs when a child's baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.
For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam.
Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children's teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children's fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.
In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money. | high12545.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it can make the most use of water"
},
"options": [
"it can make the most use of water",
"it can be used all around the world",
"it can provide plants with what is needed",
"it is more advanced than channel irrigation"
... | Daniel Hillel developed drip irrigation techniques. The techniques make farming possible in places where there is not enough water. Because of this, he won this year's World Food Prize.
Hillel is using the techniques in his orchards near his home in Israel.
Irrigating drop by drop -- called drip irrigation -- has changed agriculture by greatly reducing the amount of water needed.
Farmers now rely on it in places from Spain, to Africa, to America. "We in California grow about 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables of the continental United States," says Jan Hopmans from University of California at Davis. "And these drip irrigation techniques make it possible."
Hillel got his start in dry land farming in Israel's Negev Desert in the 1950s. "The key was making good use of water," he says. "There's much land. Water is limited." These farmers did not have the advantage of running irrigation water through channels to their crops. So Hillel and others gave plants just what they needed and just where they needed it.
"The idea is to use water little by little," Hillel says. It worked so well that Hillel was soon traveling around the world, showing others how to do it. Experts say drip irrigation's importance is growing, as climate change and rising population make water supplies become few in many parts of the world.
"This is where water use, climate change and crop production all meet at one point," Hillel says. "And this has been really the essence of my career."
A career whose importance can be measured drop by drop. | high8338.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the items of a culture should be taken for granted by people"
},
"options": [
"a culture should be accepted and maintained universally",
"a culture should be free from falsehood and evils",
"the items of a culture should be t... | The concept of culture has been defined many times, and although no definition has achieved universal acceptance, most of the definitions include three central ideas: that culture is passed on from generation to generation, that a culture represents a ready-made principle for living and for making day-to-day decisions, and, finally, that the components of a culture are accepted by those in the culture as good, and true, and not to be questioned. The eminent anthropologist George Murdock has listed seventy-three items that characterize every known culture, past and present.
The list begins with Age-grading and Athletic sports, runs to Weaning and Weather Control, and includes on the way such items as Calendar, Fire making, Property Rights, and Tool making. I would submit that even the most extreme advocate of a culture of poverty viewpoint would readily acknowledge that, with respect to almost all of these items, every American, beyond the first generation immigrant, regardless of race or class, is a member of a common culture. We all share pretty much the same sports. Maybe poor kids don't know how to play polo, and rich kids don't spend time with stickball, but we all know baseball, football, and basketball. Despite some misguided efforts to raise minor dialects to the status of separate tongues, we all, in fact, share the same language.
There may be differences in diction and usage, but it would be ridiculous to say that all Americans don't speak English. We have the calendar, the law, and large numbers of other cultural items in common. It may well be true that on a few of the seventy-three items there are minor variations between classes, but these kinds of things are really slight variations on a common theme.
There are other items that show variability, not in relation to class, but in relation to religion and ethnic background -- funeral customs and cooking, for example. But if there is one place in America where the melting pot is a reality, it is on the kitchen stove; in the course of one month, half the readers of this sentence have probably eaten pizza, hot pastrami, and chow mein. Specific differences that might be identified as signs of separate cultural identity are relatively insignificant within the general unity of American life; they are cultural commas and semicolons in the paragraphs and pages of American life. | high14652.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Jenny's pearl necklace can turn green when it is wet."
},
"options": [
"Jenny loves her father very much.",
"Jenny's pearl necklace can turn green when it is wet.",
"Jenny has other toys she loves very much besides the neckla... | Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl.
One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what. I'll buy you the necklace, and when we get home we can make up a list of housework that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don't forget that for your birthday Grandma just might give you a whole dollar bill, too. Okay?" Jenny agreed, and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her.
Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day, and sure enough, her grandma gave her a brand-new dollar bill for her birthday. Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls. How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere to kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands .
The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower. Her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!
Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny her favorite story.
One night when he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl said.
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!" Jenny said. "But you can have Rosy, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"
"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Good night, little one."
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it and everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the little girl said to her father.
"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling." Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box. Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing. | high10434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "On the mountain."
},
"options": [
"On the beach",
"On the mountain.",
"In the rice fields.",
"At his family home."
],
"question": "Where was Yuuki when the earthquake struck?",
"question_type": "factiod_ques... | For hundreds of years, Japan has been hit, from time to time, by enormous tsunamis. These awful sudden risings of the sea are caused by earthquakes or underwater volcanic action. The story of the boy Yuuki is the story of such a disaster.
Yuuki lived with his family in a sea-side village, below a small mountain. One day, as he played on top of the mountain, he felt an earthquake beneath his feet. It was not strong enough to frighten anybody and passed quickly. Soon after, however, Yuuki noticed the sea darken and begin running away from the shore very fast, leaving behind wide stretches of beach that had never been exposed before.
With a gasp, Yuuki remembered reading that just before a terrible tsunami, the sea suddenly and quickly rolls backward. He ran to the beach, warning the villagers who had gathered to admire the huge new stretch of beach.
"Get back!" shouted the boy. "There is terrible danger!"
But no one listened. They laughed at him and continued playing in the new sand and watching the sea roll backward even more.
Desperate, Yuuki could think of only one thing to do. He lit a tree branch, raced to the rice fields and began burning the stacks of harvested rice. Then he called out, "Fire! Fire! Everyone run to the mountain! Now!"
When everyone reached the mountain-top, a villager cried out, "Yuuki is mad! I saw him set the fire." Yuuki hung his head in shame, but said nothing as the villagers cursed him.
Just then, someone cried, "Look!"
In the distance what seemed to be a huge dark line was speeding towards the shore. As it got nearer the people realized the long thin line of darkness was the returning sea, towering like a mountain.
The villagers watched in terror as the water struck the shore, smashing over their homes then tearing out the land as it receded.
On the mountain everyone stared speechlessly at the destruction below.
"I'm sorry I burned the fields," said Yuuki, his voice trembling.
"Yuuki," village-chief answered. "You saved us all."
The villagers cheered and raised Yuuki into the air. "We were going to celebrate our rice harvest tonight," said one, "but now we'll celebrate that we're all still alive!"
,(A, B, CD),. | high21831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he wanted to be a writer"
},
"options": [
"he likes reading",
"he learned much at school",
"he wanted to be a writer",
"he wanted to help others"
],
"question": "Lao Yang wrote a lot of stories because _ .",
... | Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments but didn't receive any answers.
Now he works in a factory. He's busy at work. When he's free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn't eat anything. She said Miss GAO, her Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article "My Father" that evening. But she did not know what to write.
"That's easy," said Lao Yang. "Let me help you."
Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.
"My teacher said your article digressed from the subject," said the girl.
"I don't think so," Lao Yang shouted angrily. "I described just my father!" | high2173.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "meat production consumes too much water and land"
},
"options": [
"meat production consumes too much water and land",
"crop production is better than meat production",
"growing tomatoes has the highest production",
"far... | Is Your Diet Destroying the Environment?
A vegetarian diet is often praised for its health benefits. Studies have shown that vegetarians usually have lower levels of heart disease and a lower risk of diabetes than people who eat meat. What most people are less aware of, however, are the effects that a vegetarian diet can have on the environment.
Researchers from the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US recently studied how consumer behavior affects the environment. The study showed that meat consumption is one of the main ways that humans can damage the environment, second only to the use of motor vehicle.
Then, how can eating meat have a negative effect on the environment? For a start, all farm animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep give off methane gas by expelling wind from their bodies. One cow can produce up to 60 liters of methane each day. Methane gas is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Many environmental experts now believe that it is more responsible for global warming than carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 25% of all methane released into the atmosphere comes from farm animals.
Another way that meat production affects the environment is through the use of water and land. 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of beef, whereas 20 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. One acre of farmland used for crop production can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots, or 50,000 pounds of tomatoes.
Many people now see the benefits of switching to a vegetarian diet, not just for health reasons, but also because it plays a vital role in protecting the environment. However, some nutritionists advise against switching to a totally strict vegetarian, or vegan diet. They believe a vegan diet, which excludes all products from animal sources, such as cheese, eggs, and milk, can be short of many necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need."
Today, many people know it's important to take better care of their bodies and to use the earth's resources more efficiently. As this understanding spreads, more people may realize that to help the environment and for the human race to survive, more of us will need to become vegetarians. | high18068.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "couldn't be improved"
},
"options": [
"Doesn't need improving",
"couldn't be improved",
"will be better some day",
"Will be worse in the future"
],
"question": "According to the woman mentioned in Para.3, her li... | How to improve my life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my fate, my destiny. I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your destiny depends on you, not on any other external factors.
I know someone who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that God has intended for her to live; that her luck can only change if God wills it. Of course God wants us to be happy and live our life to the fullest, but we have to do our share of exerting the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you reap what you sow. You just don't sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky. You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone. Don't expect your luck to change unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; but use it as feedback. Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in the trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand (or sit ) there, do something to improve your life. | high4502.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "taking photos at the lake"
},
"options": [
"skating on the ice",
"taking photos at the lake",
"having a picnic",
"walking along the lake"
],
"question": "When the three students fell into water, the university s... | When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern times, two university students who lost their lives to rescue drowning children have shown that heroes still exist.
According to the Inner Mongolia Morning Post, the tragedy
on the afternoon of December 14, 2002 when three school students skating on a frozen lake in Qingcheng Park in Hohhot fell through the ice into the freezing water.
More than 20 university students who happened to be near the place where it happened immediately went to the rescue of the children.
Two children were quickly rescued, but the third died. The child's body was not found for three hours. Two of the rescuers, Liu Ye and Hao Longbiao, also died of cold and tiredness.
The body of Hao who took the lead in jumping into the lake was not found until the next day.
A student who was unwilling to tell his name said he and his classmates from the local college were taking photos at the lake. When they heard the children's cries for help, they went to the ice hole hand in hand to rescue the children. But the ice kept breaking, causing most of them to fall into the icy water.
Local people held mourning ceremonies at the lake.
Eight of the students were seriously affected by the freezing water and were being kept in hospital for further observation , but their lives were no longer in danger. | high16045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The user's eating speed."
},
"options": [
"A healthy rate of eating.",
"Too much food is left.",
"The user's eating speed.",
"The user is full."
],
"question": "What does the red line on the screen show?",
"... | Doctors have a new weapon in the battle against obesity -- a talking plate that tells people not to eat too quickly. The Mandometer monitors the amount of food leaving the plate, and tells users, "Please eat more slowly."
The PS1,500 Swedish device is to be used in a National Health Service plan to help hundreds of obese families lose weight. It comes in two parts -- a scale placed under the plate and a small computer screen showing a graphic of the food gradually disappearing as the user eats. A red line on the screen shows the user's eating speed, while a blue line shows a healthy rate. If the user eats too fast, the red line angles away from the blue one, warning him or her to _ . If the lines deviate too much, the computer voice comes on, and the screen flashes the message "Are you feeling full yet?" to remind users to think about whether they have had enough.
Britain has an increasingly serious obesity problem, with one in four adults and one in seven children classed as obese. After a recent trial using the device, experts believe teaching obese people to eat more slowly will help them know when they are full. Around 600 families with at least one obese parent and child (aged five or older) were targeted in the project by Bristol University, along with GPs and nurses.
Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, who is leading the plan, says obese children and adolescents using the Mandometer ate from 12 to 15 percent less per meal at the end of the 12-month trial. Six months after they stopped using the device they still ate less, and continued to lose weight. "It will be a powerful tool to help families retrain their eating habits," he says. | high10420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "show the importance of social experience, besides schooling, in education"
},
"options": [
"explain why it's difficult for college graduates to find jobs",
"show the importance of social experience, besides schooling, in education"... | With many college graduates struggling to find jobs, one of the most important for you to understand is that you're in school all your life. In fact, your real education is just beginning.
I'd like to pass on a few lessons that you didn't necessarily get in school. If you've been out of school for a few years or a lot of years, they could still teach you something.
*Develop relationships and keep networking. If I had to name a single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I've met, I'd say it is the ability to create and nurture networks of contacts. Start strengthening your relationships now, so that they'll be in place when you really need them later. In
the classroom it was mostly about individual performance. Success in real life requires relationships.
*Set goals. Ask any winner what the key to his or her success was, and you'll hear four consistent messages: vision, determination, persistence, and setting goals. If you don't set goals and determine where you're going, how will you know when you get there? Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day.
*Sense of humor. I'm a firm believer in using humor, though not necessarily jokes. A good sense of humor helps one understand the unconventional( ), tolerate the unpleasant, and overcome the unexpected. There are plenty of times to be serious, but I believe that keeping things light and comfortable encourages better teamwork.
*Volunteer. It might be hard to do a lot of volunteer work at first, but people who help others on a regular basis have a healthier outlook on life. | high21825.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because she didn't want to sit next to a black man."
},
"options": [
"Because she didn't want to sit in economy.",
"Because she would like a seat in first class.",
"Because she didn't want to sit next to a black man.",
... | On a flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged rich white South African lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seat. "What seems to be the problem, Madam?" asked the attendant.
"Can't you see?" She said, "You have seated me next to a black person! I can't possibly sit next to this kind of person. Find me another seat!"
"Please calm down, Madam," the stewardess replied. "The flight is very full today, but I will tell you what I will do---- I will go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class."
The woman glanced at the angry black man beside her. A few minutes later, the stewardess returned with the good news, which she delivered to the lady.
"Madam, unfortunately, as I expected, economy is full. I have spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class."
Before the lady had a chance to answer, the stewardess continued, "It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, learning this condition, the captain felt that it was shocking that someone should be forced to sit next to such a tiring person."
Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, "So if you'd like to get you things, sir, I have your seat ready for you..."
At this point, obviously the surrounding passengers stood and gave an applause while the black man walked up to the front of the plane. | high5608.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "before the writer's family moved away"
},
"options": [
"at the age of 13",
"before she got married",
"before the writer's family moved away",
"after they moved to new homes"
],
"question": "The writer went to pi... | Linda Evans was my best friend -like the sister I never had ,We did everything to-- gether :piano lessons ,movies, swimming , horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away , Linda and I kept in touch through letters ,and we saw each other on special times - like my wedding and Linda's. Soon we were busy with childern and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often , One day a card that I sent came back , stamped "Address Unknown", I had no idea about how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much, I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren , And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then moth-er died, There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day, I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman --Linda's married name."There must be thousands of Wagmans."I thought, but I still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter, "Mrs , Tobin!"she said excitedly, "Linda Ev-ans Wagman is my mother."
Minutes later I heard a voice that I recognized at once, even after 40 years ,We laughed and cried and caught up on each other's lives, Now the empty place in my heart is filled, And there's one thing that Linda and I know for sure; We won't lose each other again! | high4516.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the understanding of science"
},
"options": [
"the understanding of science",
"the security of his nation",
"the global competitiveness",
"the present social system"
],
"question": "The author believes that they... | We have a real crisis in this country in the basic understanding of science. It affects our global competitiveness as a country, our national security, and the effectiveness of our social system. The misunderstanding about science is blinding our eyes.
We know that an awful lot of teachers who are teaching science today have not been properly empowered to do so. School frequently isn't testing whether you understand something but whether you're familiar with it. What's Newton's second law? You say F=ma, and you get an A. That does not reflect a deep understanding of Newtonian mechanics. Science education is not just a body of facts; it's a process. To present it with appeal and excitement you need to picture it as a detective story--asking questions, making observations, and collecting evidence. You test and you fail but, you know, failure can lead to discovery.
Another challenge we face is that science is often viewed as too hard, for experts only. But I don't actually think it's that difficult. People see science every day. They look outside and see weather and nature. They push a button in their house and the lights go on. Everybody's dealing with science every day. They just don't call it that. And it's important they do. In fact, science is determining the quality and outcomes of their life.
Science needs creativity. And one of the best ways to be creative is to think "out of the box". However, we need more courage when we come to practice. Take me for example. Very early in my teens I decided to educate myself. I realized I would never be a very good student because I didn't like teachers judging me by what I thought were arbitrary standards. I decided I'd let the world judge me by whether I could do something of value--solve a problem or build something. That's why I quit school early and risked everything to start a company. I risked everything I had because I had nothing to lose. I'd rather fail at trying to do something really big than succeed at being medium.
"When's the right age to think creatively?" you may ask. I'd say in the womb ! Kids don't have anxieties about trying to avoid failure. They are full of imagination and much more willing to fail. Just watch a 3-year-old. They touch everything, and if it hurts they don't touch it again. They learn everything at a breathtaking rate. Start to think out of the box as early as you can, because it's more likely to take you to places that you can't predict, schedule and budget for. Do all that when you can bear the insecurity. | high19362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "not eat much food in high-fat"
},
"options": [
"drink much water and have vegetables only",
"not eat much food in high-fat",
"not accept invitations to feasts",
"turn away from delicious foods"
],
"question": "I... | Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? You are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods . Many people , however , are worried about the weight that comes along with the delicious foods . With proper planning , though , it is possible to control your weight . The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much . You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy . The following suggestions may be of some help to you .
Do not miss meals . Before you leave home for a feast ,have a small , low-fat snack . This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods .
Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables . A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full .
Use a small plate ; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough .
Better not have high-fat foods . Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them .
Choose lean meat . Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth , try mints and fruits .They don't have fat content as cream and chocolate.
Don't let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess calories . | high16051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Food and Health"
},
"options": [
"Drug and Food",
"Cancer and Health",
"Food and Health",
"Health and Drug"
],
"question": "What is the best possible title of the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | Nowadays, the food we eat seems to have great effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 68 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue. | high3279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Livescribe Echo Smartpen"
},
"options": [
"Livescribe Echo Smartpen",
"Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard",
"ILUV Syren Pro",
"Cobra JumPak"
],
"question": "Which device will a high school student choose to use in the ... | Livescribe Echo Smartpen, $79.99
This pen not only records audio, but also records whatever the user writes and even draws. This translates to almost two hours of full audio, or 32000 pages of written text. When using a Livescribe notebook, a college or high school student can easily edit notes without the disturbance of a laptop or tablet. This is perfect for the classrooms that don't allow the use of electronics. Best of all, it allows users to quickly deliver their notes to a computer or laptop.
Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard, $107.53
It is a great choice for those who own many different devices and want to use a keyboard over the ones that come with the device. It works on tablets, PCs and even smartphones. It offers four different settings for each device, so changing from one to the other is as easy as turning a knob . It even has a cradle to hold a tablet at the perfect angle, so typing is much easier and faster.
ILUV Syren Pro, $ 93.84
It is weather resistant and has a powerful sound engine that works in a full 360 degrees. This allows it to be used outdoors, next to pools and in other activities that are too risky to use other speakers. It offers Bluetooth support and works with iPhones, iPads and many other devices. With its top-mounted controls and wireless capabilities, it can be operated remotely.
Cobra JumPak $92.88
It can not only charge phones, but also do the same for most cars. It contains a built-in LED flashlight and a 7500mAh battery, as well as a USB port for charging phones. Best of all, it can be stored inside a backpack, so it is perfect for emergency situation and can even be stored in car console . | high14646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Three."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many companies are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"ans... | News that Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo resulted in heated discussions made by many Internet users. Here are some responses:
Diane Burke of Weeks bury, Kentucky
I think it would definitely be an interesting combination. Everyone recognizes the names Yahoo and Microsoft, but everyone also says, "Did you Google it?" Such a catchphrase is going to be hard to beat.
Shaun Carney of Laurelville, Ohio
I think the merger will provide more competitions for Google. I don't think the merger will allow Microsoft to develop faster than Google, though. I believe the increased competition this merger brings will force Google to stay on top of its game by offering more fresh and original Internet tools and expanding on the tools it already offers.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
I view the merger as a necessary element in preventing a monopolization . Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Rick R. of Edgewater, Florida
It sounds like a disaster to me. If this were to happen, I would stop using my Yahoo e-mail account because I don't like the feeling of Microsoft spying upon my business. I will sign up for Google.
Antonio Glosser of Kansas City, Missouri
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they'll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo's formerly non-priced features. Microsoft's greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is. | high6301.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "in homeroom classrooms"
},
"options": [
"in restaurants",
"in school cafeterias",
"at home",
"in homeroom classrooms"
],
"question": "Most Japanese high school students often have their lunch _ .",
"questi... | Japanese high school students either walk or ride bicycles if the distance is not too great. In other cases, students must take public buses and trains. After junior high school, students attend schools based on their high school entrance examination scores. So some students travel a great distance to attend the school.
At School
The school day begins at 8:30. Then students assemble in their homeroom classes for the day's studies. Each homeroom has an average of 40-45 students. Students stay in their homeroom classrooms for most of the school day. Only for physical education, laboratory classes, or other subjects requiring special facilities do students move to different parts of the school. Between classes and at lunchtime, classrooms can be noisy, lively places. Some schools may have a cafeteria , but most do not. In most schools, students bring a box lunch from home, prepared by the mother in the early morning hours.
Japanese students spend 240 days a year at school, 60 days more than American students. Students in high schools take three years' each of the following subjects mathematics, social studies, Japanese, science, and English. Other subjects include physical education, music, art, and moral studies. All the students in one grade level study the same subjects. Given the number of required subjects, electives are few.
Afterschool Activities
Club activities take place after school every day. Students can join only one club, and they _ change clubs from year to year, so the clubs are relatively stable. Clubs are made up of sports clubs (baseball, soccer, judo, kendo, etc.) and culture clubs(English, broadcasting, science, etc.). New students usually are encouraged to select a club shortly after the school year begins in April. Clubs meet for two hours after school each day and many clubs continue to meet during school vacations. | high13129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To call for action to protect circus animals."
},
"options": [
"To show pity for the performing animals.",
"To express worries about animal trainers' safety.",
"To deal with the difficult situations of the circus.",
"To... | Tragedy at the Circus
In yesterday's circus show, a tiger suddenly attacked its trainer and had to be shot dead. As the circus packed up and left, circus officials said the show would go on, even without tigers.
However, the officials cann't simply turn a blind eye to the ethical problems left behind. Even before this tragedy , animal rights activists protested against keeping wild animals in unnatural conditions and forcing them to suffer for the profit of circus organizers.
It is now time for us to take effective steps to make sure that circus animals are treated properly.
*******************************
Circus Safe for Animals
Our circus recently suffered a most tragic event in its history. While we are thankful for the pity from the public, we are also astonished by the opinion expressed in "Tragedy at the Circus. "
First, our performing animals are not taken from the wild. As to the ethical problems. we always believe humans and animals can--and should--live together nicely. To us, the performing animals are representatives of their species , and our circus is one of the only places left willing to support this special role of performing animals in the existence of the species. Those who argue that circus life is harmful to animals show little knowledge of these facts. Life in the "wild" is unsafe, but a continuous struggle for existence. To overlook these realities is the greatest fault against the animal kingdom.
This circus has proven that animals are stronger and smarter than we could imagine. Within the circus is a joyful atmosphere for both animals and humans: people are educated, and species saved. | high1308.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "flowers"
},
"options": [
"money",
"flowers",
"seeds",
"beans"
],
"question": "The program has been supported by many farmers, journalists and people in different fields for many years. They usually donate many t... | It was a cold night in Washington, D. C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if l would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I'd read the signs "Don't give money to beggars." So I shook my head and kept walking.
I wasn't prepared for a reply, but he said, "I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!" But I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn't have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn't help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize my failure to help by thinking government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you're not supposed to give money to beggars.
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. _ , I came up with an idea. Bean's Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean's? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean's. Clean and simple.
The idea began to take off. Readers would fax or call me when they got something in their garden. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit.
In 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage's program, Plant a Row for Bean's became Plant a Row for the Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
As more and more people started working with the Plant a Row idea, new changes appeared unexpectedly. Many companies gave free seed to customers and displayed the logo, which also appeared in national gardening publications. Row markers with the Plant a Row logo were delivered to gardeners to set apart their "Row for the Hungry."
Garden editor Joan Jackson, supported by The San Jose Mercury News and California's nearly year-round growing season, raised more than 30,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables her first year, and showed GWAA how the program could really work. Texas fruit farms donated food to their local food bank after being inspired by Plant a Row. Today the program continues to thrive and grow.
I am surprised that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in America--and we're seventy million strong--plants one row for the hungry, we can make quite a decrease in the number of neighbors who don't have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty about abandoning a hungry man I could have helped. | high14120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Many countries in the world actively applied to seek membership."
},
"options": [
"The bank proposed by China aims to finance needed infrastructureprojects in the world.",
"There is no time limit for joining as a founding member.",... | More than 40 countries, including Russia and Taiwan, have agreed to be founding members of China's proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. However, two of the world's largest economies, the United States and Japan, have _ at this time.
China proposed the bank last October as a way to finance roads, bridges, ports and other needed infrastructureprojects in Asia. The time limit for joining as a founding member was March 31. In only a few months, the number of countries seeking membership nearly doubled. They came from Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and the Pacific. Some European powers added themselves to the list. They include Britain, Germany, France and Italy. Other important economies include South Korea, Australia and Russia.
Taiwan also sought to become a founding member. But it is not clear how China will react. Taiwan and China do not have diplomatic ties. But, relations have improved since the election of President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008. The two sides also are working on details of a trade agreement. However, popular opposition in Taiwan to mainland China's increased influenceon the island remains very strong.
The U.S. and Japan have said they are concerned about the governance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB. The United States has urged countries to consider details about the bank's governance and standards -- itssocialand environmental policy -- before joining. Critics say the AIIB threatens the work of existing development banks such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
Yet, the Asian Development Bank itself noted in a recent report that the need for infrastructure projects in Asia is great. The institution, led by the U.S. and Japan, estimated last May that the Asia Pacific area needed $800 billion each year in infrastructure development.
Experts are watching to see how China will take its leadership role in the new bank. The AIIB is expected to start with $100 billion in capital, mostly from China. Some experts point to the high interest in membership. Shi Yinhong is a political scientist at Renmin University in Beijing. He says China's leading part in the bank comes withbenefitsand costs.
In other words, while China has gained from the effort to develop the AIIB, it will also have to satisfy other bank members and multi-national institutions. Officials at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank say they are looking for ways to cooperate with the AIIB. | high9754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Advice on fashion."
},
"options": [
"Teen gossip.",
"Advice on fashion.",
"Sports and friendship.",
"Self-respect building."
],
"question": "According to the passage, what content do J-14, Twist and Discovery Gi... | Below is an introduction to Top 5 Teen Magazines from the US and the UK.
J-14
Marked to preteen and teenage girls ages 11-19, J-14 --a shortened name of "Just For Teens" --is packed with features like teen gossip, quizzes, fashion advice, posters, and celebrity interviews in every issue.
Some of the magazine's most popular features include: "Hot Topic", "Life's Big Questions" and "Real Life". Throughout the year, J-14 publishes several editions, such as "Summer Entertainment Guide", "Back-to-School Special" and the annual "Best of Year Special and J-13 Teen Icon Awards" issue.
Teens who have a passion for pop culture would love a subscription to J-14 magazine!
Twist
Twist covers the latest fashion and stytles with lots of photos and easy-to-follow how-tos, giving teens both instruction and inspiration to experiment with what works for them. Body image and relationships are popular topics of interest to teens, and the magazine offers tips on building strong self-esteem.
Additional content in every monthly issue inculdes reader polls, teen celebrity gossip, news and interviews. During the yaer, Twist publishes several special editions about seasonal fashion and major teen events, like prom and back-to-school. The magazine publishes a "Best of Year" issue every December.
Teens who love fashion and celebrity news would love a subscription to Twist magazine!
Discovery Girls
First published in 2000, the magazine often addresses the topics of school, sports, and friendship.
Content in the magazine is created by girls, which gives it the authentic opinions of its target audience. Each bimonthly issus features quizzes, fashion advice, and games in addition to some regular sections that appear in each magazine. Mant of the following sections that appear in every issue also feature content submitted by readers: "The Worst Day", "Embarrassing Moments", "The Great Debate" and "Mailbag".
Young girls and teens would find a friendly, identifiable voice in each issue of Discovery Girls, and parents would approve of giving a gift subscription to this award-winning magazine!
Boy's Life
First published in 1911, Boy's Life is written for young males ages 6 to 18 and is distributed in two editions. One edition is printed for the youngest members 6-to-10-year-old Tiger Cubs and first-year Webelos Scouts. The other is for ages 11-18 and is aimed at second-year Webelos Scouts through 18-year-old Boy Scouts.
A central focus of Boy's Life is encouraging physical activity among boys, like camping, hiking, swimming, and kayaking. Each month, the magazine features articles on history, the outdoors, science, and much more. Fitness, technology, and video game and biik reviews are other common topics Boy's Life often addresses.
A subscription to Boy's Life magazine would make a great gift for active young boys!
Seventeen
Seventeen magazine celebrates teens where they are in life while also providing age-appropriate advice to the complex issues young women face every day.
The magazine organizes its content into five sections, such as "Your Body", a range of fitness motivation and encouragement about positive body image, "Love & Guys", advice columns and tips on understanding relationships with the opposite sex, and "Your Awesome Life", personal development tips about hot topics like building confidence and selecting a college, plus inspirational stories about teens.
Special editions include the "Back-to-school Issue" in August and "The Freebie Issue" in May.
Teens who want to look good, feel great, and be their best would enjoy a subscription to Seventeen magazine! | high6467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Clapp was not sure that he had found Ubar"
},
"options": [
"Clapp made this discovery with the help of caravan routes on the maps",
"Clapp made this discovery with the help of some high technology",
"Clapp was not sure that h... | Before Nicholas Clapp got there, he had half hoped that he might run into some of Ubar's ruins sticking out of the sand. But finding the city wasn't that easy. During the summer, he and his 40 helpers dug at 35 different spots. The only things they found were ground spiders, giant ticks, and deadly snakes.
Just before Thanksgiving says Clapp, _
But then Clapp's team looked at the high-tech maps again and saw something surprising. Many of the caravan routes on the high-tech maps came together on the same spot marked "Omani Marketplace" on Ptolomy's map. Two maps, made almost 2000 years apart, pointed the team toward the same area!
In December 1991, Clapp arrived at the spot where, according to the maps, the caravans met. Clapp had a handheld instrument that could detect objects below the ground. It showed ruins under the sand! He and his team started digging. And then they found it! A tower buried in the sand. They slowly unearthed a giant, eight-sided fortress . It had nine towers and many rooms. People had lived in this fortress 2000 years ago. Outside its walls, they had found buried remains of nearly 40 campsites. They seemed to be camping areas for traders .
More digging found shards, or pieces of pottery from ancient Rome, Greece, China, Egypt, and Syria. Diggers and scientists agree that people were here for about 5000 years. Clapp and his team were excited as they continued to discover more pieces of the past that seemed to prove that it was the lost city of Ubar.
"We started with this hopeless myth ," says Clapp, "and then finally found the truth behind the myth." But is this unearthed site really the once-great Ubar? Experts aren't totally persuaded.
Donald Whitcomb is an archeologist at the University of Chicago. He doubts that Clapp really discovered Ubar. "There's probably some truth to this myth," he says. "But Ubar is described as a place with walls all made of gold, and the rubies and emeralds ." No gold or precious stones have been found by Clapp.
"I'm not sure whether they discovered Ubar because I'm not sure if Ubar really existed," Whitcomb says. | high844.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in different environments"
},
"options": [
"of different age groups",
"with different habits",
"in different environments",
"from different areas"
],
"question": "The scientists at California University studied ... | The high noise of modern life may affect speech and language development in the very young, according to a study that found the auditory parts of the brains of young mice are slower to organize properly in the presence of continuous sounds.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reared a group of rats in an environment of continuous background noise and found that their brain circuits that receive and interpret sound did not develop at the same rate as animals that were raised in a quieter environment.
Edward F. Chang and Michael Merzenich, co-authors of the study appearing in the journal Science, said that the continuous noise delayed the organization of auditory neurons during a critical two-to-three-week period after the rat pups were born.
For rats not exposed to the noise, the auditory cortex neurons during this period gathered into a smaller area and began developing a selective response to sounds.
But for the noiseexposed rats, this organization was slowed, causing a delay in the development of the ability to discriminate specific sound tones. The researchers said it took three or four times longer for the rats raised in a noisy environment to reach the basic bench marks of auditory development seen in the rat pups not exposed to noises.
Although the rat is not a perfect model for what happens in humans, the authors note, the study does suggest that high levels of noise might possibly affect some language learning in babies.
"These findings suggest that environmental noise, which is commonly present in contemporary child-rearing environments, can potentially contribute to auditory and language-related development delays,"the authors wrote in Science.
The authors noted that although the brain development was delayed in rats exposed to the noise, their brains did eventually mature normally. | high7779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "considered it a good chance to escape cellphone"
},
"options": [
"didn't really want to go",
"wanted to take his cellphone",
"didn't think life would be any different",
"considered it a good chance to escape cellphone"
... | I was living a life in my screen and hardly noticed what was around me. So when my friends invited me to go camping for a long weekend without the cell service, I thought this was exactly what I needed. Here's how keeping away from my phone for 48 hours changed me.
I realized my bedtime routine was usually centered on one thing: my phone. Right before I went to sleep, I browsed through news websites and checked my emails. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I did the same thing. The problem with this was I felt anxious every night. I felt free without my phone at that weekend camp. I felt asleep listening to the sound of crickets.
When I had my phone, I was always checking the time and thinking of future plans. My thought was: "Who's going to text me now? What will I do next?" Without my phone, I truly _ what I was doing in the moment, sitting by the river, riding a bike, or singing the old songs. There was no need to rush through any of it. I listened to what my body wanted instead of what my phone was telling me to do.
You know that moment when you're hanging out with a group of people and no one has anything to say? The typical response: Everyone immediately pulls out their phones. So what did we do without a phone to avoid embarrassing silences? We actually talked to each other. Instead of burying our faces in our screens, we looked one another in the eye, had a moment of pure human connection and then continued talking. And you know what? People actually listened.
So, now what? Now I'm back to the real world. | high13897.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a quarter of the Italians have a wrong posture."
},
"options": [
"back pain can be removed easily.",
"25% of the Romans suffer from back pain.",
"all of the children have sight problems.",
"a quarter of the Italians hav... | Do you have back pain or difficulty with your eyesight? If you do, you are likely to have a problem of posture, which can be solved if you ask a help from a doctor promptly. The conference on posture held in Rome this year has brought out the fact that an Italian out of four have posture problems. Back pain is certainly the typical disease deriving from a wrong posture, which can also cause other problems: sight problems, for example, which affect above all children.
You might think that women are most affected by these problems, as they are more used to following the trends of fashion, which imposes the use of heavy bags, flat pumps or high-heeled shoes, but the latest conference of the Italian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology has brought out the fact that men also have bad behavior. About two millions Italian men suffer from backache. Besides wrong shoes and the habits of keeping the wallet in the back pocket for a long time, hi-tech products can cause some serious problems: laptops, iPads, smartphones...all these electronic products together can weigh up to 5 kilos, while the maximum weigh to carry on shoulders should be 3 kilos. The handiness of modern netbooks can have negative consequences, as you can use them when you are lying down. However, it would be better to use them while seated, keeping your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.
If you do not disregard the problem and you intervene in it in time, you can start having a right posture, perhaps doing posture correction exercises and more sport. A global posture re-education , a healthier lifestyle and a series of little devices might solve your back problems. | high23954.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "After he played Mr Darcy."
},
"options": [
"In the early 1990s.",
"After he played Mr Darcy.",
"When he was 54 years old.",
"During his childhood."
],
"question": "When did Firth come to be famous?",
"questi... | When asked to list typical English gentlemen,for many,Colin Firth immediately comes to mind.
In his recent film,Kingsman:The Secret Service,the 54-year-old actor appears as elegant and violent super spy Harry Hart.One minute he's calm and polite,and then in the next he's skillfully violent and aggressive.For example,in one scene he says,"Manners maketh a man",before severely beating up a group of villains .Firth brings out the perfect mix of typical British style and humor through this performance.
Firth began appearing on English TV in the early 1990s,but it wasn't until he played Mr Darcy,a charming upper class character from Jane Austen's famous novel"Pride and Prejudice",that Firth's career really took off.His portrayal of the perfect fictional gentleman conquered millions of hearts,especially females'.
In many fans and critics'eyes,Firth has British good looks,British charm,and a gift for characters with a British sense of being reserved .Movie reviewer Jason O'Bryan described Firth as"always befitting the calm and stiff-upper-lip British gentlemen character".
However Firth doesn't consider himself the authority on gentlemen."I don't necessarily approach every challenge like a perfect English gentleman spy.There are many aspects in my personality that are not consistent with someone like Harry Hart,"he said to Dialogue,an English--language show on CCTV News.
But let's just take his words as another gentlemanly quality-modesty.After all,who might expect an Oscar-winning actor over 50 years old to learn to fight for his first action movie?
To prepare for Kingsman,Firth trained for three hours every day over six months.He broke a tooth and got bruised everywhere,but took the damage as a symbol of his accomplishments.
In Dialogue,Firth said he had many other sides-he's passionate about literature and literary research.However,to many of his movie fans, he is indeed a gentleman and excellent actor above a11 else. | high11058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "What we wear could help shape who we are inside."
},
"options": [
"We should not judge people by their appearance.",
"Life is full of possibilities when we are young.",
"It's beneficial to try different things in our lives.",... | My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time in a second-hand clothing store. It stood out among big and old coats. It had beautiful tailoring and an unbelievable price: $28. I looked at my son and we both said nothing, but John's eyes shone. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular with teenage boys, but they could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better. John tried it on and turned from side to side, eyeing himself in the mirror. The fit was perfect.
John wore the coat to school the next day and came home with a big _ "Did the kids like your coat?" I asked. "They loved it," he said.
Over the next few weeks, John changed. He was polite, less argumentative, more thoughtful, and on the whole much happier. "Good dinner, mom," he would say every evening. Without a word of objection he would carry in wood for the stove. One day when I suggested that he might start on his homework before dinner, John, who always put things off, said: "You're right. I guess I will." When I mentioned this incident to one of his teachers, she joked that the coat must have changed him.
John and I both know we should never mistake a person's clothes for the real person within them. But there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practicing standards of excellence in thought, speech, and behavior, and for matching what is on the inside to what is on the outside. | high4270.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "remember her and share her story"
},
"options": [
"bring her mother what she wanted",
"show she would be loved till the end",
"celebrate her last Mother's Day",
"remember her and share her story"
],
"question": ... | Mother's Day is coming up. Maybe your gift is wrapped and your dinner plans booked for mom, step-mom, grandmother - whoever the person is who fed, cared for, taught and loved you.
But there are other people who said their most special Mother's Day memories rarely dealt with beautifully wrapped objects, but rather, the ways people showed they cared.
Mother's Day 2012 was the last one Jannet Walsh was able to celebrate with her mother, Margaret, who had a stroke in 2009. In her last few years, Walsh always shot photos and videos of their visits together, and with Walsh's West Highland White Terrier, Andrew.
"My mother had a dog just like him, so I would tell her it was her dog, and she would hold onto his leash, even in bed up to the last few weeks before she passed away," Walsh said.
As Mother's Day approached, Walsh wanted a way to remember her mother and "best friend". She decided to build the memories she captured during those last few years into a video memorial - images of her mother with Andrew or quiet moments at her gravesite.
"I thought it good to tell the story with few words, just show my mother as she was - happy, and loved till the end," Walsh said.
Mother's Day was not a light-hearted subject for Wendy Bowers in the past. Her mom had walked out when she was 18, and Bowers had tried for years to become pregnant without success. She had almost convinced herself she wasn't meant to be a parent.
But three years after she gave up on having a baby, Bowers discovered that she was pregnant. Six weeks earlier than expected, little Nathan arrived.
That first year, Nathan, only 10 months old, was sick with a stomach bug. Bowers said she spent the day holding him between loads of laundry. "I would not have been anywhere else in the world that day," she said. "I wouldn't trade that first Mother's Day for anything, and I'm pretty sure Mother's Day will always be a reminder to me of just how lucky I am to even be a mom." | high19404.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He worked as a deliveryman."
},
"options": [
"He worked as a deliveryman.",
"He was as a cashier.",
"He was the boss of the shop.",
"He was a local reporter."
],
"question": "What did Steve Flaig do in the Lowe'... | Steve Flaig of Grand Rapids, Michigan, knew he'd been adopted as a baby, and when he turned 18, in 2003, he decided he'd try to track down his birth mother. The agency from which he'd been adopted gave him his mother's name: Christine Tallady. But online searches didn't turn up any results, and Flaig let it go.
In 2007, though, he searched for the name again online. This time, the search results included a home address near the Lowe's store where Flaig, then 22, worked as a deliveryman.When he mentioned the coincidence to his boss, his boss said, " You mean Chris Tallady, who works here?"
Flaig and Tallady, 45, a cashier, had said hi to each other a few times at thestore, but they'd never really talked. He hadn't even known her name. Flaig thought, " There's no possible way she's my mother."
For a few months, Flaig avoided Tallady. " I wasn't sure how to approach her," he told a local reporter. Finally, an adoption agency employee volunteered to call Tallady for him.
When Tallady realized that the nice guy she'd been waving at was her son, she _ . " I wasn't ready to be a mother at that time." She'd given him up for adoption in 1985, when she was 23. However, she'd always hoped to meet her birth son one day. Later that day, mother and son talked for almost three hours at a nearbybar.
Married with two other children, Tallady said, "I have a complete family now." | high10346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "maps"
},
"options": [
"geography",
"maps",
"Chinese names",
"the opening of the country"
],
"question": "The writer is mainly talking about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | It helps us understand the world better if we know a little geography and have some maps at hand. But with maps in Chinese only, misunderstanding is possible in studying world events. Chinese names are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning to a foreigner. For the opening of the country maps are important and helpful and needed badly.
I wish maps various languages, such as those used in the United Nations, would come out and be sold in all bookstores open to Chinese. | high2601.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is a trend that formed recently"
},
"options": [
"has attracted a large number of talents",
"is a trend that formed recently",
"has existed for scores of years",
"is well received by employees"
],
"question": "U... | As the labor market becomes more attractive, more companies are sending their employees to school. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is the latest company to use tuition assistance for employees - which for decades has been a part of many business' benefits packages - as part of a renewed effort to bring in and cultivate talent. And while the impact of such programs has yet to be fully assessed, many see it as a positive - although gradual - movement.
"For workers, it gives them a better opportunity for development," says Colleen Flaherty Manchester, a professor. "For firms, they are able to recruit the type of employees who have value education and are less likely to turn over, and thus have a higher level of retention ."
In all, 56 percent of US organizations offer undergraduate educational assistance while 52 percent offer graduate assistance.
Largely driving the trend are Millennials, who happen to be the fastest-growing people in the US workforce today and to whom the idea of tuition support from employers is especially appealing. Nearly 60 percent of Millennials surveyed said they would choose a job with strong professional-development potential over one with regular pay raises. Employers are absolutely adapting to Millennials in the workplace. They recognize that they need more experience, more knowledge, more mentoring to be successful. And they're asking for _ .
Of more than 140,000 Starbucks employees, only about 4,000 have signed up for the company's College Achievement Plan. What the long-term effects such programs might have for companies' retention and turnover rates remain unclear. But, the pluses of these programs are more important than the minuses. We're going to see a lot more of this in the future. | high13667.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "mend their relations"
},
"options": [
"win their hearts",
"offer them advice",
"tell them her news",
"mend their relations"
],
"question": "The mother gave her daughters incomplete letters mainly to _ .",
... | A mother had two daughters. She loved them very much, but two girls would fight with each other from their earliest years. As they grew older, they became total strangers. They had no contact with each other when they were adults.
This caused the mother great pain. Then, later, she had an idea. She decided to write a letter to them. In this letter, she told them how much she loved them, and how she wanted them to love each other in this way. She also gave them news of herself and some guidance on how to live happier lives.
When the letter was ready, she wrote out one copy for each daughter, but these copies were special. Each copy contained only every second sentence of the original letter: the copy for one daughter had only the even sentences, and the other daughter's copy contained only the odd sentences. Neither contained the fullness of the mother's message.
When the two daughters received their letters, they were puzzled. To understand the half-letter, they would have to put the two letters together and read them as one, which meant they must approach one another again in love and respect. But they each blamed the other for not helping them when trying to read the half-letter.
For a long time, the mother waited in vain. Then one day, when the mother had almost given up hope, there was a knock at the door. There they stood, together. "We've come home," they said at the same time. "We've finally put our letters together, and we've come to say how much we love you, Mum." Then she hugged them both, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, and welcomed them back home. | high7989.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To discover new things and different ways of life."
},
"options": [
"To find the advantages and the disadvantages of travelling.",
"To listen to different music and take pictures.",
"To discover new things and different ways ... | Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. They travel to visit other countries, modern cities and ancient towns. They travel to enjoy these special places, or just to relax. It is always interesting to discover new things and different ways of life, such as by meeting different people, trying different food, and listening to different music.
People who live in the country like to go to big cities. They like to spend their time visiting museums and art galleries, looking at shop windows and dining at restaurants. People who live in the city usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or in the mountains, with nothing to do but walk and bathe in the sun.
Most travellers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interests them. Then, perhaps years later, they can look at the photos and be reminded of the happy time they once had.
People often travel by train, by boat or by car. All means of travelling have their advantages and disadvantages and people choose one according to their plans and the places they are going.
If we travel a lot, we will see and discover a lot of things that we could never see or experience at home, though we may read about them in books and newspapers. The best way to study geography is to travel, and the best way to get to know and understand people is to meet them in their own homes. | high14108.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Handwriting should not be ignored at present."
},
"options": [
"Handwriting is not very important to children.",
"Handwriting has nothing to do with education.",
"Handwriting should not be ignored at present.",
"Handwri... | Does handwriting matter? Not very much, according to many educators. However, scientists say it is far too soon to declare handwriting is not important. New evidence suggests that the link between handwriting and educational development is deep.
Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they are also better able to create ideas and remember information. In other words, it's not only what we write that matters -- but how.
A study led by Karin James, a psychologist at Indiana University, gave support to _ . A group of children, who had not learned to read and write, were offered a letter or a shape on a card and asked to copy it in one of three ways: draw the image on a page but with a dotted outline , draw it on a piece of blank white paper, or type it on a computer. Then the researchers put the children in a brain scanner and showed them the image again.
It was found that when children had drawn a letter freehand without a dotted outline or a computer, the activity in three areas of the brain were increased. These three areas work actively in adults when they read and write. By contrast, children who chose the other two ways showed no such effect. Dr. James attributes the differences to the process of free handwriting: Not only must we first plan and take action in a way but we are also likely to produce a result that is variable. Those are not necessary when we have an outline.
It's time for educators to change their mind and pay more attention to children's handwriting. | high7751.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In a hole"
},
"options": [
"On the bank of a pond",
"In a hole",
"In a tall tree",
"Behind a room"
],
"question": "Where is Peter Rabbit hiding?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | "As sure as you're alive now, Peter Rabbit, some day I will catch you," shouted Reddy Fox, as he put his black nose in the hole between the roots of the Big Hickory-tree which grows close to the Smiling Pool. "It is lucky for you that you were not one jump farther away from this hole."
Peter, safe inside that hole, didn't have a word to say, or, if he did, he didn't have breath enough to say it. It was quite true that if he had been one jump farther from that hole, Reddy Fox would have caught him. As it was, the hairs on Peter's funny white tail actually had tickled Reddy's back as Peter ran wildly through the root-bound entrance to that hole. It had been the narrowest escape Peter had had for a long, long time. You see, Reddy Fox had surprised Peter eating sweet clover on the bank of the Smiling Pond, and it had been a lucky thing for Peter that hole, dug long ago by Johnny Chuck's grandfather, had been right where it was. Also, it was a lucky thing that old Mr. Chuck had been wise enough to make the entrance between the roots of that tree in such a way that it could not be dug any larger.
Reddy Fox was too shrewd to waste any time trying to dig it larger. He knew there wasn't room enough for him to get between those roots. So, after trying to make Peter as uncomfortable as possible by telling him what he, Reddy, would do to him when he did catch him, Reddy walked across the Green Meadows. Peter remained where he was for a long time. When he was quite sure that it was safe to do so, he crawled out and hurried to the Old Orchard. He felt that that would be the safest place for him, because there were ever so many hiding places in the old stone wall along the edge of it. | high15216.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She is helping preserve Chinese ethnic music."
},
"options": [
"She teaches music in a conservatory.",
"She is helping preserve Chinese ethnic music.",
"She works as an official in the United Nations.",
"She's created a... | In Shanghai's Grand Theater, a fashionable, mainly young audience applauds enthusiastically as Guo Yong takes center stage.He holds a large bushy tree branch with leaves.Blowing on one of the leaves, he produces a sound like the singing of birds as he plays a traditional Buyi folk song.Some other musicians are also playing the traditional instruments from various ethnic groups in China.
It's the first time such music has ever been performed in the Grand Theater.But all this is the efforts of Zhu Zheqin, a Cantoneseborn singer, who has made it her mission to help preserve China's traditional ethnic music.
In 2009, after being appointed a United Nations Development Program ambassador, Zhu traveled through some of China's remotest regions in an attempt to document the traditional music of various minority groups.In the course of the fourmonth trip, she recorded more than a thousand songs.But she noticed that many of the best musicians were old, and some of the music was at risk of dying out.
"I was shocked by the beauty of what I heard--it was so good," she says."But it needed support.I hope to let people see the beauty of these things in the contemporary times."
So Zhu decided to introduce some of the musicians to a wider audience.By doing this, she hopes to rekindle the interest of the younger generation."Young people don't like this music much; they prefer pop music and love songs.They think these songs are something their grandma sings.This kind of repackaging gives young people a new door into their heritage."
Zhu believes China needs to look again at its own roots."China today is basically all Western art; in our conservatories Western classical music is the top," she says."For China to really contribute to the world, we need to go on our own path.So what can represent China today?" The answer, she suggests, is to move from "made in China" to "created in China". | high12579.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area"
},
"options": [
"he had decided never to leave his hometown",
"the economy of Utah depended on the copper smelter",
"he had determined to stop the copper smelte... | When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter , and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was "No."
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. He was told everyone knew that even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn't get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids. But, his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against _ . Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child. | high3537.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "120."
},
"options": [
"1872.",
"1875.",
"120.",
"210."
],
"question": "How many exchange children did Qing government send to America?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Many thousands of Chinese are studying at schools in the United States. And writer Liel Leibovitz says the students are following an example that began in the eighteen seventies.
Mr. Leibovitz and writer Matthew Miller joined forces to tell the story of the students in their book, "Fortunate Sons." The book says China sent one hundred twenty boys from 1872 to 1875 to America to learn about developments that could help modernize their country.
Mr. Leibovitz got the idea for the book about the boys a few years ago when he was traveling with his wife in China.
Mr. Leibovitz learned that Qing government sent a whole delegation of boys to learn the ways of the West. The goal was for them to return to China and help their country.
The book says the boys received their American training in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It must have been a very good education. Mr. Leibovitz says the first prime minister of the Chinese Republic completed this program. And so did the first engineer to build a large-scale railroad without foreign help. The same was true of the fathers of Chinese education, diplomacy and the Navy.
The book-writers had only to open some boxes containing the writings of these men to learn about them. Their notebooks, journals, letters and postcards were in English. Mr. Leibovitz said he was lucky to have so much information from events that took place long ago.
The students returned to China after about nine years. They no longer spoke Mandarin well enough to answer questions. Police welcomed them home by putting them in jail. The young men were released after about a week. But they were given low-level jobs.
Mr Leibovitz says it took about ten years for them to rise to higher positions. He said their story continues today with large numbers of Chinese studying in the United States. | high11070.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it is our duty to change for the better"
},
"options": [
"it is our duty to change for the better",
"we complain a lot about our past choices",
"sometimes we have to face the fate",
"we should believe in ourselves in ... | Any day we wish;we can discipline ourselves to change it a11.Any day we wish;we can open
the book that will open our mind to new knowledge.Any day we wish;we can start a new activity.Any day we wish;we can start the process of life change.We can do it immediately,or next week,or next month,or next year.
We can also do nothing.We can pretend rather than perform.And if the idea of having to
change ourselves makes us uncomfortable,we can remain as we are.We can choose rest over labor,entertainment over education,delusion over truth,and doubt over confidence.The choices are ours to make.But while we complain about the effect,we continue to nourish the cause.
As Shakespeare uniquely observed,"The fault is not in the stars,but in ourselves.''We created our circumstances by our past choices.We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today.
Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth .They need the whole truth .And the responsibility to ks5unothing but the truth.
We cannot allow our errors in judgment,repeated every day,to lead us down the wrong path.
We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works
out.And then we must make the very choices that will bring life,happiness and joy into our daily
lives .
And if I may be so to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to
make changes in their life--If you don't like how things are,change it !You're not a tree.
You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life -- and it all begins with your
very own power of choice. | high17401.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the deaths of his parents"
},
"options": [
"his early education from school",
"the deaths of his parents",
"Edmund Spenser's poetry",
"the criticism of a magazine"
],
"question": "John Keats' attitude towards li... | Regarded as one of the English language's most gifted poets, John Keats wrote poetry that concentrated on imagery, human nature, and philosophy. Although Keats didn't receive much formal literary education, his own studies and passion brought him much success. Additionally, his own life situation influenced his poetry greatly.
Growing up as a young boy in London in a lower middle-class family, the young John didn't attend a private school, but went to a public one. His teachers and his family's friends regarded him as an optimistic boy who favored playing and fighting much more than minding his studies. After his father's death in the early 1800s, followed by his mother's passing due to tuberculosis , he began viewing life differently. He wanted to escape the world and did so by reading anything he could get his hands on.
At around the age of 16, the teenage John Keats began studying under a surgeon so that he too might become a doctor. However, his literary appetite had taken too much of his fancy, especially with his addiction to the poetry of Ehmund Spenser. He was able to have his first full poem published in the Examiner in 1816, entitled O Solitude! If I Must With Thee Dwell. Within two months in 1817, Keats had written an entire volume of poetry, but was sharply criticized by a magazine. However, the negative response didn't stop his pursuit of rhythm .
John Keats' next work was Endymion, which was published in May 1818. The story involves a shepherd who falls in love with the moon goddess and leads him on an adventure of one boy's hope to overcome the limitations of being human. Following Engymion, however, he tried something more narrative-based and wrote Isabella. During this time, John Keats began seeing his limitations in poetry due to his own limit in life experiences. He would have to have the "knowledge" associated with his poems. His next work was Hyperion that would attempt to combine all that he learned. However, a bout with tuberculosis while visiting Italy would keep him from his work and eventually take his life in 1821. | high5146.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To offer advice on giving complaints in English."
},
"options": [
"To give an introduction of life abroad.",
"To offer advice on giving complaints in English.",
"To give suggestions on how to learn English.",
"To offer ... | The airline lost your baggage. The hotel laundry ruined your favorite shirt. The taxi driver asked for more money. When you're abroad, sometimes things go wrong. Now you can do something about it! Use these tips when you want to express an effective complaint in English.
No matter how unfair the situation is, it's best to express your complaint politely. In English, you'll sound more polite if you use indirect language. Here are some examples:
"I'm sorry to bother you..." Starting a complaint like this puts the listener who may have heard many complaints that day at ease. Use this phrase if the situation isn't that serious. For example, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted a baked potato, not fried."
"Can you help me with this?" Everyone would rather be asked to do something than told! So try expressing your complaint as a request for help: "Can you help me with this? My shirt came back from the laundry without buttons."
"I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding." This is a polite way of saying, "Your information is wrong. Please fix it now." You'll most likely use this phrase if you made reservations for a flight, hotel or restaurant, and when you arrive, it's not what you expected. For example, "I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding. I requested a non-smoking room."
"I understand it's not your fault..." Often when you make a complaint, you deal with a person who was not directly responsible for the problem. But the problem isn't your fault, either! This phrase is helpful when you need swift action. Tell the person you're dealing with that you understand they're not at fault and then directly state the problem: "I understand it's not your fault, but the airline promised they would deliver my baggage yesterday."
"Excuse me, but I understood that..." Using this phrase lets the person know you're well-informed and doubt they might be trying to take advantage of you. Don't say, "Hey! You're trying to cheat me!" Instead, start indirectly by stating what you know to be true: "I understood that the taxi ride to the airport was only 25 dollars." Then give them a chance to do the right thing. | high18732.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the increased tuition fees"
},
"options": [
"the increased tuition fees",
"the approaching deadline",
"the concern from applicants",
"the difficulties with applications"
],
"question": "A drop of more than 6% fo... | The organization representing British universities has expressed concern about the potential effect of tuition fees after figures showed a drop of more than 6% in student applications with less than a month to go before the deadline for 2013 applications.
Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candiates up to 17 Decemeber, 6.3% down on the parallel period in the admissions cycle the year before. While this is less than the 8.4% year-on-uear fall seen in earlier Ucas figures, released in mid-November, the coming January deadline makes it ever more likely that the total 2013 applicant figure will see a second sizeable fall following the introduction of annual fees of up to PS9,000.
Nicola Dandridge, the chairman of Universities UK, said : "However, we must be concerned about any drops in the numbers applying to university and in particular, we must look closely at how the increase in graduate contributions in England may be affecting the decisions of promising students. However ,the December figures show a drop in numbers across the UK, suggesting that it is not only a question of tuition fees in England putting off from applying."
A report of the Uncas figures to mid-December shows a 6.5% fall for applicants in England and 11.7% for those in Wales, with smaller drops of 3.9% for Scotland and 0.5% for Nortern Ireland. Scotiish students at home insitiutions pay on fees, while those from Nothern Ireland have fees capped to PS3,575 for Northern Irish universities.
Dandridge added: "No one should be put off applying to university because of worries about finance."
"It is important that no one is put off applying to university because they do not have information about the student support available to them. Most new students don't need to pay directly. There will be more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone will make lower loan repayments thatn they do now once they are in well paid jobs." | high2629.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was set up by the Treaty of Rome ."
},
"options": [
"included 132 languages",
"was set up by the Treaty of Rome .",
"started with three countries .",
"was started by France and Germany ."
],
"question": "The org... | Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU) . The Treaty of Rome ,which created the organization that finally became the EU, stated that each country's language must be treated equally. The original six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.
All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming. It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches and nearly half of the EU's administrative costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.
The problem is just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible "translation situations" that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from, for example, Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.
In practice the problem has been less serious by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials , since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany . | high10408.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "some think that celebrating foreign festivals is a sign of foreign goodness chasing"
},
"options": [
"most think celebrating foreign festivals is ridiculous",
"many fear that traditional Chinese festivals will disappear soon",
... | Nowadays,people in China are increasingly interested in celebrating foreign festivals,especially those western festivals.
A survey conducted recently by sina.com showed that among the 18,222 people surveyed 63.90%said celebrating Christmas is just another way of recreation,nothing serious while 17.85%surveyed considered the festival as a fashion act.showing they were not "out".These two parts clearly indicate the general opinion of the young.10.45%people involved said the celebration of a religious western festival with so much enthusiasm is ly ridiculous pursuit of foreign goodness.Only 7.80%of people define Christmas as a kind of festival colonization
The arising of celebrating foreign festivals clearly has something to do, with the advancement of China's economy.In my point of view.Christmas and other festivals celebrated in China have difference from the origin.They have lost their religious background and turned into a big occasion to have fun and enjoy life.Shop owners' pockets are filled,the public's hunger for happiness is filled,and that is enough.Foreign festivals in China are more like carnivals giving people pleasure and enjoyment.
The crisis of traditional Chinese festivals that are losing their attraction may be linked to the culture tradition and background of the festivals.Most Chinese festival culture is related more or less to real life "The country is based on its people while the people are relied on their food".
But the western culture shows much of romance.Some festivals have their religious background while others have much to do with culture and people.At this point,food seems to be too plain.Flowers and chocolates are more welcomed.
Foreign festivals in China today are celebrated for fun.They give people opportunities to relax mad celebrate,to show appreciation and gratefulness.The acceptance of foreign festivals generally depends on the openness of the public,the familiarity with the western culture,and most importantly,on people's economic status. | high17367.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "naughty"
},
"options": [
"stupid",
"clever",
"naughty",
"brave"
],
"question": "Which of the following words can be best used to describe Tom?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | "Tom!"
There was no answer.
"Tom!"
Still no answer.
"Where's that boy gone? Tom!"
The old lady looked all around the room. She looked under the bed, but found only the cat.
"If I catch that boy, ..." she murmured to herself.
She opened the door and looked out into the garden.
"Tom!" she shouted.
Then she heard a slight noise behind her. She turned round just in time to catch the boy as he came out of a cupboard.
"And what have you been doing in there?"
"Nothing," said the boy.
"Nothing! Look at your hands and your mouth! What is that stuff?"
"I don't know, Aunt."
"Well, I know. It's a jam. I've told you forty times that if you touched that jam, I'd _ you.
Give me that stick."
"Look out, Aunt! Look behind you!"
The old lady turned round and Tom was out of the door in a flash, over the garden fence and away.
"Damn that boy! Will I never learn? He's always playing tricks on me. And he seems to know just now how far he can go, too. But I can't take a stick to him. I really can't. After all, he's my dead sister's boy. Ah well, he'll play truant today and I'll have to make him work tomorrow."
At supper Aunt Polly tried to trick Tom into admitting that he hadn't gone to school.
"It was rather hot today, wasn't it, Tom?"
"Yes," answered Tom.
"You didn't have to open your shirt collar where I sewed it, then."
Tom was confident, now. He opened his jacket. His collar was securely sewed.
"Oh Tom," said Aunt Polly. "You're a good boy really."
She was sorry that she had been wrong about him.
"But Aunt," came a voice. It was Sidney, Tom's younger brother. "Didn' t you sew Tom's collar with white cotton? Look! Now it's black.
Tom was already running out of the door.
---The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain | high5620.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Clothes for winter."
},
"options": [
"Last summer's clothes,",
"Clothes not in perfect condition.",
"Clothes bought in specially for the sales.",
"Clothes for winter."
],
"question": "What kind of clothes is lik... | I needed to get some money so, after Christmas, I took a job in the clothes department at Graham's for the first fortnight of the January sale.I can't say that I enjoyed it, but it was an experience I'll never forget.
I could never understand why there were so many things in the sales, where did they all come from? Now I know the secret! Firstly, there is the special winter stock and the stock that people buy all the year round; some of these things are slightly reduced.Secondly, there are the summer clothes they couldn't sell last year; these are heavily reduced to clear them.Thirdly, there are cheap clothes bought in specially for the sales; these are put out at high prices ten days before the sale begins and then are reduced by 60% in the sale.Clever! Lastly, they buy in "seconds"(clothes not in perfect condition) for the sale and they are sold very cheaply.
When I arrived half an hour before opening on the first day of the sale, there was already a queue around three sides of the building.This made me very nervous.
When the big moment arrived to open the doors, the security guards looking less confident than usual, came up to them, keys in hand.The moment they had unlocked the doors, they hid behind the doors for protection as the noisy crowd charged in.I couldn't believe my eyes; this wasn't shopping, it was a battlefield! One poor lady couldn't keep her feet and was knocked over by people pushing from behind.
Clothes were flying in all directions as people searched for the sizes, colours and styles they wanted.Quarrels broke out.Mothers were using their small children to crawl through people's legs and get hold of things they couldn't get near themselves.
Within minutes I had half a dozen people pushing clothes under my nose; each wanting to be the first served.Where had the famous English queue gone? The whole day continued like that, but I kept my temper81 was taking money hand over fist and began to realize why twice a year, Graham's were happy to turn their expensive store into a battlefield like this.
In the sale fever; people were spending money like water without thinking whether they needed what they were buying.As long as it was a bargain it was OK.You won't believe this.But as soon as I got home I crashed out for four hours.Then I had dinner and went back to bed, fearing the sound of the alarm which would tell me to get ready for the second day of the sale. | high16079.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they can't afford a house of their own until then"
},
"options": [
"They are allowed to get married at 30",
"they can't find jobs to support themselves",
"they can't afford a house of their own until then",
"they enjoy ... | The British aren't having as many children as they used to. One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer years in which they can have them. After years at university, they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want. They might then get married, but it's incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.
The above explains why young British people now don't move out of their parents' home until they are around 30 years old on average. It is not until they are 30 that they can afford their own home. Increasingly, it is not until that age that they can afford to get married and start a new life in a new home. It's only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child.
So a British person manages to get a job, get a home and get married. Why isn't he or she then having at least two children on average? The main reason is that it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK. Why is it expensive? Well, these days, both parents need to work just to pay for their home and living expenses. Because both parents are at work, that means they then need to pay someone to look after their child during the day. Paying for this childcare is nearly always expensive.
The recent financial crisis is making things even harder for families, since unemployment is rising and even fewer people can afford to have children. With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?
So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children. For example, there have been increases in money families can claim from the state each month. Also, there are increasing government _ for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to pay so much for child care.
The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills. If parents didn't have to work so many hours, they'd have more time to spend with their children and wouldn't need to spend so much on childcare. On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week, which is the most in Europe. The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees' work-life balance. Let's hope they're not too late to save the British family. Otherwise, the British will always be too tired, and won't have enough time and money, to have children. | high3251.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The increase in brain cancer in the young adults may have something to do with cell phone"
},
"options": [
"Cell phone may do harm to our health if we hold it against our ear or store in our pocket",
"Devra Davis thinks that there ... | Holding a cell phone against your ear or stalling it in your pocket may be hazardous to your health.
This paraphrases a warning that cell phone; manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased.Apple, for example, doesn't want iP hones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, Blackberry's manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters.
If health issues arise from cell phone use, the implications are huge.Voice calls - Americans chat on cell phones 2.26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers.
Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.
Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
"Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children, she says.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen. | high11716.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "finding a place to park his car"
},
"options": [
"borrowing $5,000",
"meeting the loan officer",
"finding a place to park his car",
"showing how rich he is"
],
"question": "The businessman walks into the bank wi... | A businessman walks into a bank in San Francisco and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan. So the businessman hands over the keys to a Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checks out, and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the businessman returns, and repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.
The loan officer says, "We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is that why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"
Laughing, the businessman replies, "Where else in San Francisco can I park my car for two weeks for $15?" | high8304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "earn an amount of money to cover her medical expenses"
},
"options": [
"earn an amount of money to cover her medical expenses",
"help her mother support their family and keep more lambs",
"show her lamb was a famous one and r... | Jayne Fisher watched anxiously as her 17-year-old daughter Katie pulled her lamb into the Madison County Junior Livestock for sale.
Katie was battling cancer. This was her first chance in months to be outdoors having fun, away from hospitals and treatments, and she had come with high hopes for earning some money for her treatment. She had _ a little on her decision to part with the lamb, but with lamb averaging two dollars a pound, Katie was looking forward to it. So the bidding(began.
That's when Roger Wilson, the auctioneer , had a sudden inspiration that brought some unexpected results. "We sort of let everybody here know that Katie had a situation that wasn't too pleasant," is how he tells it. He hoped that his introduction would push the bidding up, at least a little bit.
Well, the lamb sold for $11.50 a pound, but things didn't stop there. The buyer paid up, then decided to give the lamb back so that it could be sold again.
That started a chain reaction, with families buying the animal and giving it back, over and over again. When local businesses started buying and returning, the earnings really began to pile up. The first sale is the only one Katie's mom remembers. After that, she was crying too hard as the crowd kept shouting, "Resell! Resell! "
Katie's lamb was sold 36 times that day, and the last buyer gave it back for good. Katie ended up with more than $16,000 to pay her medical expenses----and she still got to keep her famous lamb. | high6329.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He got lost."
},
"options": [
"He hurt his eyes",
"He caught a cold.",
"He got lost.",
"He broke his skis."
],
"question": "What happened to Gavin one Sunday afternoon?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"... | He Made It!
One Sunday, Gavin, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Gavin was lost, all alone! He didn't have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.
Gavin had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.
He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn't, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.
Using his skis, Gavin built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.
By that evening, Gavin was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn't lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Gavin did the only thing he could -- he huddled in his cave and slept.
The next day, Gavin went out to look for help, but he couldn't find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Gavin went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Gavin was saved.
Gavin might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls' survival show Man vs. Wild. That's where he learned the tips that saved his life. In each episode of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.
When Grylls heard about Gavin's amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Gavin had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Gavin had to work to stay alive. | high13101.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the Internet"
},
"options": [
"a science fiction",
"a TV programme",
"the Internet",
"a magazine"
],
"question": "According to the passage, we know the article probably comes from _ .",
"question_type": "... | Over 500 dogs being delivered to a butcher house were saved by a Chinese animal protection organization. The incident then resulted in a debate among Chinese netizens about the necessity of pouring so much money and efforts into saving dogs.
On Friday, a truck loaded with over 500 dogs was stopped by volunteers from animal protection organization on Beijing section of Jingha expressway.
Beijing Times reported these dogs were being delivered to slaughter houses in the city of Changchun, northeast one in Jilin Province and would be eventually served on dinner tables.
After negotiations with the truck driver and a philanthropic founda tion, Shangshan Foundation purchased these dogs with much money. Dogs were then delivered to the headquarter of China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA) , being taken care of and waiting for adoption.
After the dog saving mission was reported, Chinese net users debate over whether saving dogs worth so much efforts and money while there are still many poor and needy people in China lacking assistance.
Some net users argue the dog saving mission is placing too much attention to animals while lots of needy people are still left unattended.
A microblogger "Xiaowulaitajie" said on China's twitter-like website, weibo. com, "Dogs are saved, adopted and they attracted media attention. We'd better spend such money and take such efforts in helping the needy people. "
Another microblogger, Liluping, said "We poured such huge sum of money into saving dogs. I would rather the money be spent on disaster relief. "
Some applaud volunteers' actions and show eagerness of offering their helping hands to those saved dogs.
Still many disapprove those "saving dogs" critics. They argue that such act nevertheless _ social progress.
A microblogger named "broken bridge" said, saving dogs does not go against taking care of people. Such enthusiasm in public affairs will help raise social awareness in helping the needy.
I think people and animals are created equal. Attention should be paid to people as well as animals. | high7023.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Feed your Mind by reading"
},
"options": [
"Hunger of the mind",
"Stomach and Mind",
"Feed your Mind by reading",
"Reading or Watching TV"
],
"question": "What's the best title of the passage?",
"question_ty... | If you are hungry, what will you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that? Just like stomach, even your mind will be hungry. But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such absurd things. So it silently begins to hide your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets its full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?", "Why am I always given the difficult problems?" Well, this is the after-effect of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.
Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through extensive reading. But why is it reading but not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educational tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to turn to reading for help. You have a number of books in the world which will answer all your "how-to" questions. Once you read a book, you just don't run your eyes through the lines, but your mind decodes it and explains it to you. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed, if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, which you would never thought of in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity. The more books you read, the wider your mind will become. Also this improves your oratorical (speech-making) skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary. When you start speaking English or any other language fluently with your friends or other people, you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.
Actually, I had a problem in speaking English fluently, but as I read, I could improve significantly. So guys, do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading. Now what are you waiting for? Go, grab a book and let me know! | high8310.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She waited for a special occasion to wear it on."
},
"options": [
"She waited for a special occasion to wear it on.",
"She wanted to keep it for someone else.",
"She saved it till she grew up.",
"She would give it to he... | Everybody has had at least one experience from which he knows the meaning of life.This time, which took place several years ago, but seems as if it just happened.
On an afternoon several years ago, my brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's dress and picked out a beautiful skirt."Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago.She never wore it.She was saving it for a special occasion." he said.I guess this was the occasion: it was the funeral of my sister, after her unexpected death.
He took the shirt and put it on bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the funeral.Then he closed the drawer and turned to me, "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion.Every day you're alive is a special occasion."
I'm thinking about his words, and they've changed the way I live my life.I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.Whenever possible, life should be a kind of experience to enjoy, not to suffer."Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their importance on my vocabulary.If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing,I want to see and hear and do it now.
Ever since that day, I have been trying very hard not to put off, hold hack or save anything that would add laughter and color to our lives.Every morning when I open my eyes.I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath, truly is a gift.So
every day and find the true meaning of your life. | high15564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "The writer tells us _ factors that influence happiness.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | Happiness is a feeling that lights up your eyes, makes your steps light and makes you want to sing for no reason. Everyone wants to be happy. But sometimes, a guest comes in without invitation. It's unhappiness. Don't let it get you down. Send it away!
When you are happy, the world feels like a better place. As the saying goes: When you smile, the world smiles with you; when you cry, you cry alone. Wearing a smile will make you more charming and help you to win lots of friends. A good mood always gives you hope, which makes troubles and problems easier to handle.
No matte how happy you are, it's normal to feel angry, sad or gloomy once in a while. Life is full of ups and downs. We can't change the way life is, but we can do our best to change a bad situation into a good one. To help us do this, it's good to know some of the factors that influence happiness.
One of the biggest factors is social relationships. People who are close to family and friends are happier than people who don't have those relationships. Talking and sharing is a good way to relax and build confidence . Knowing someone is there for you will make you braver and more outgoing.
Another factor is work or school. If you enjoy school, even if you have lots of homework or extra classes, you will still feel that your school life is meaningful and happy. But if you hate school, your negative attitude may cause you to feel bored and upset that you have to do so much work.
A third factor is your attitude towards life. How do you feel if you fail in an exam? Maybe you think it's unfair because you always study hard and should get a good mark. You can't stop blaming yourself. Or, maybe you accept it. You go through the paper carefully, find our why you made stupid mistakes, and tell yourself, "Take it easy! I'll do better next time!" Your attitude makes a big difference. | high13115.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Talking about weather with strangers"
},
"options": [
"Chatting with strangers",
"The importance of small talk",
"An interesting topic",
"Talking about weather with strangers"
],
"question": "What would be the b... | It's what people who don't know each other talk about on elevators. And not about the weather at all. Chatting about the weather with strangers is about emotional comfort (,).
When someone says "Beautiful day today, isn't it?" as you settle into that narrow elevator space, or at the bus stop, or waiting in line at the supermarket, the conversation is about feelings. The person is speaking to feel more comfortable with you and offering you a chance to feel more comfortable with him or her.
Being in close proximity with strangers creates interpersonal tension. We can't help it. Tension automatically seeks resolution. What will you do? Do you notice the person now only a short distance away, or pretend not to notice? Avoidance is one strategy: never make eye contact and act as if nobody is there, even when your feelings tell you. In a supermarket checkout line you might leaf through a magazine. On elevators, we often avoid others by looking up at the floor numbers.
The other strategy is to break the tension by noticing the other person. It starts with eye contact. Then we have a choice: smile, nod, make a remark or strike up a conversation. If we choose to talk, the most non-controversial subject to talk about is the weather. A remark about the weather evokes agreement and feelings of sympathy. "What a nice day!" shares a tiny sliver of happiness. "I wonder if this rain will ever end." shares the bad feelings with each other. Both ends of the mini-conversation feel a tiny bit more connected by experiencing this emotion of liking or disliking the weather at the same moment. | high17373.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a newspaper report"
},
"options": [
"a business story",
"a scientific artcle",
"a newspaper report",
"an official document"
],
"question": "The passage is probably _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Two Chinese living in South Africa were killed in a robbery on February 5, bringing the total number of Chinese killed in the country to four in less than a month.
Chen Jianqing, 35, from Southeast China's Fujian Province who ran a shop with her husband in a small town 45 kilometers away from South African capital prefix = st1 /Johannesburgwas shot dead.
"One of her business partners died later in the hospital, "the Chinese consulate officials in Johannesburg said yesterday."Local police are trying to find more information about the case.And we have told the victims' s and are helping them come to Johannnesburg," consul Wu Gang told China Daily. Chen's husband was injured during the robbery but did not suffer seriously ,said Wu.
The robbery happened at about 5:45pm local time and the armed robbers ran away after taking more than 50,000 South Afican rand (US$8,200)and some jewellery,Xinhua News Agncy reported.
The killing happened just three days after Chen Jingmin, a 23-year-old man from Qingdao, Shandong province, was shot dead north outside Johannesburg by armed robbers .On January 10, a Hong Kong businessman was attacked and robbed at his home in Johannesburg and died the next day in the hospital.All these happened just in less than a month.
According to records, there were more than 40 robberies attacking Chinese in South Africalast year ,in which eight were killed .More than 100,000 Chinese are doing various kinds of businesses inSouth Africa,according to a Chinese official in the country. An increasing number of them are becoming targers of robbers after buying big houses or expensive cars, the official said. | high18040.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "inform people of exchanging a lid"
},
"options": [
"warn against the danger of using the mugs",
"inform people of exchanging a lid",
"persuade people to buy a new lid",
"introduce a new type of mugs"
],
"questio... | Attention STARBUCKS
Owners of Stainless Steel Travel Mug
Mug lid Recall---16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug
We've recognized a fault at the cup. The fault might cause some lids to lift slightly from the body of the mug, and could possibly result in injury from hot liquid leaking. So, we have given a lid recall notice immediately. The notice is only related to STARBUCKS 16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mugs which were sold between November 2012 and February 2013. The bottom of the mug is stamped with "ThermoSServ", the distributor's name. There is not any printing on the mug handle.
At STARBUCKS, customers' safety is valued above anything else. Therefore, no matter whether your lid is leaking , in the interest of your safety, we request you bring your mug to your nearest STARBUCKS (excluding Esso STARBUCKS), where they are sure exchange the lid for a new lid that fits well and safely. The new lids are going to be available March 1, 2013.
Don't use your mug until you exchange the lid, please.
Here's what you do:
* Please do not use your mug until you have exchanged the lid for a new one.
* New lids will be available March 1, 2013.
* Return your travel mug to a STARBUCKS store.
* Your lid will be exchanged for a new lid.
If you'd like to return the entire mug, bring it back at any time for a full repayment.
If you have any questions regarding this recall, please don't hesitate to us at:
Toll Free Number: 1-999-701-1717
9:30 am - 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time STARBUCKS | high5634.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They are similar."
},
"options": [
"They are alive.",
"They are hopeless.",
"They are similar.",
"They are different."
],
"question": "What does the author think of cities all over the world?",
"question_typ... | American cities are similar to other cities around the world. In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.
After World War II, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents became wealthier. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs .
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s , many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying . Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again. | high3245.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People should use new technologies and clean fuels."
},
"options": [
"People should use an effective air cleaner.",
"People should use new technologies and clean fuels.",
"People should open a window or door to let out the ha... | The way we cook is important. In many countries, the two sources of heat used for cooking are natural gas or electric stoves. The World Health Organization(WHO) warns that millions of people are dying every year from indoor air pollution. The WHO finds that poor cooking, heating and lighting technologies are killing millions of people each year.
Indoor air pollution results from the use of dangerous fuels and cook stoves in the home. WHO officials say nearly three billion people are unable to use clean fuels and technologies for cooking, heating and lighting. And they say more than seven million people die from exposure to indoor or outdoor air pollution each year. Of that number, the WHO says about 4.3 million people die from household air pollution given off by simple biomass and coal stoves.
These findings show that the home use of poisonous fuels is to blame for many of these deaths. These fuels include wood, coal, animal waste and so on. Carlos Dora is Coordinator in the WHO' s Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. He says people should not use unprocessed coal and kerosene fuel indoors. He says opening a window or door to let out the harmful air will not correct the situation. It will only pollute the outdoors. "New technologies and clean fuels can rid people of this problem."
The United Nations found that more than 95 percent of families in sub-Saharan Africa depend on solid fuels for cooking. It says huge populations in India, China and Latin American countries, such as Guatemala and Peru, are also at risk.
Nigel Bruce is a professor of Public Health at the University of Liverpool. He says researchers are developing good stoves and other equipment to burn fuels in a more efficient way."There are already many technologies for clean fuels available now. An effective and reasonably low-cost ethanol stove that is made by Dometic (a Sweden-based company)is now being tested out. Another interesting development is electric induction stoves." In India, you can buy an induction stove for about $8. And in Africa you can buy a solar lamp for less than $1. | high11702.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "total personality"
},
"options": [
"total personality",
"intellectual ability",
"personal qualities",
"communicative skills"
],
"question": "The author argues that a teacher's chief concern should be the develop... | We find that bright children are rarely _ by mix-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
Besides, it is rather unusual to grade pupils just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is proper. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. And advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn't matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to obtain this goal. | high3523.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The iris scan"
},
"options": [
"The voice scan",
"The fingerprint scan",
"The iris scan",
"The facial scan"
],
"question": "Which is the most accurate form of biometrics?",
"question_type": "factiod_question... | "Iris scan , please," the bank's computer voice tells you. You step up and the computer reads your eye, comparing it to the stored file it has of your iris. The images had better match---otherwise, you won't be able to get your money.
Iris scanning and other technologies, such as fingerprint and voice scanning, have appeared in many science fiction movies in the past. Today, these advanced technologies are part of the real world. They are common at work, the bank, the airport, and your local prison. The iris scan, fingerprint scan, and voice scan are all examples of biometrics , a fast developing area of automatic personal identification technology. Basically, biometrics uses various ways to verify a person's identity, based on the individual's unique characteristics, including fingerprints, signature, and so on.
Biometrics identification systems have a number of advantages over password systems. The primary advantage is that an individual has to be physically present in order to be identified. Another important advantage is that there are no passwords to remember, forget, lose, or steal.
The voice scan is the simplest and most affordable form of biometrics. It only requires a computer, a microphone, and the correct software. The software records a subject's voice and then compares it to a stored voice sample for identification purpose.
For additional safety, fingerprint and handprint scans can also be employed. Fingerprint scans take the image of a fingerprint and compare it to a stored file of prints. Handprint scans identify the unique features of a hand. | high11064.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because the pollution is too serious."
},
"options": [
"Because the weather in Beijing is very hot.",
"Because they think air corridors are a good idea.",
"Because Beijing is surrounded by mountains.",
"Because the poll... | When Beijing is hit by smog, residents often joke that the Chinese capital needs to build giant fans to clear out the polluted air.Mountains to the north and west help trap smog in the city, and a strong wind from Mongolia is the surest way to ensure cleaner air.
Beijing officials are now considering ways to help that process.Though giant fans are not on the menu, at least not yet, city planners are looking at ways to create corridors that encourage wind flow through the capital.The plan is inspired by research on urban heat islands, which shows that large buildings that block the wind are one of the causes of higher average temperatures in cities as opposed to those in the countryside.
"This isn't controlling pollution.It's shifting the problem." Wang Bing, a Beijing-based author, wrote on Sina Weibo.But the plan has received some interest from residents who have grown tired of repeated periods of heavy pollution.
Peng Yingdeng, an air pollution expert at the Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, told the newspaper that the plan was more likely to require an adjustment of related laws to limit building heights and numbers in some areas.Similar proposals are under consideration in other major Chinese cities including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang and Wuhan.
"This kind of work to search for ways to reduce pollution is really worth applauding," the state-run news agency Xinhua said in a commentary."If scientists confirm it is effective, then we should promote it on a much larger scale."
Some experts have expressed doubts whether the plan would make a significant difference.Serious pollution is usually associated with periods of little or no wind, and air corridors do little good if the wind isn't blowing, Song Guojun, an environmental science professor told The Beijing News.Solving the air pollution problem mainly requires controlling pollution sources. | high19438.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Getting teens hard to take others into consideration."
},
"options": [
"Making teens easy to get along with.",
"Helping teens make more good friends.",
"Causing teens easier to tell right from wrong.",
"Getting teens ha... | Spending hours playing violent video games prevents teenagers from their moral growth,
a study has found.It is thought that regular touch to violence and lack of contact with the
outside world makes it harder for them to tell right from wrong.They also struggle to trust
other people,and see the world from their viewpoints.
Researchers from Brock University in Ontario found that those who spend more than three
hours each day in front of the screen are particularly unlikely to have developed the ability to
empathise .
The Canadian researchers surveyed 109 boys and girls,aged 13 and 14,about whether
they played video games,which games they liked,and how long they spent playing them.Their
findings found that 88 percent of teens said they played games,and more than half admitted to
playing games everyday.Violent games were among the most popular.
The teenagers also filled in a questionnaire designed to measure their moral development.For example,they were asked how important it is to save the life of a friend.
Previous studies have suggested that a person's moral judgement goes through four phases
as they grow from children and enter adulthood.By the age of 13 or 14,scientists claim young
people should be entering the third stage,and be able to empathise with others and take their
viewpoints into account.The research found that this stage appeared to be delayed in teenagers
who regularly played violent video games.
It is also thought that teenagers who play games regularly did not spend enough time in
the real world to learn to take other's thoughts into consideration.Researcher Mirjana Bajovic
said:"The present results indicate that some teenagers;who spent three or more hours a day
playing violent video games,are deprived of such opportnnities."Writing in the journal
Educational Media International.the researchers added:"Touch to violence in video games
may influence the development of moral reasoning because violence is not only presented as
acceptable but is also justified and rewarded."
They concluded that rather than trying to enforce an'unrealistic'ban on the games,
parents and teachers should encourage teenagers to do charity work and take up after-school
activities. | high17415.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It is more comfortable and convenient."
},
"options": [
"It saves them a lot of money and time.",
"It is more comfortable and convenient.",
"It offers them a lot more options and bargains.",
"It gives them more time to ... | Recently, many shoppers chose to avoid the crazy crowds and do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their computer.Sales at online stores gained by more than 15%, making it the biggest season ever.But people are also returning those purchases at record rates, up 8% from last year.
What went wrong? Is the shadow of the global financial crisis making it harder to accept excessive addiction? Or that people shop more impulsively --and therefore make bad decisions --when online? Both arguments are seemingly reasonable.However, there is a third factor: a question of touch.We can love (lie look but, in an online environment, we cannot feel the quality of a texture , the shape of the fit, the fall of a fold or, for that matter, the weight of an earring.And physically interacting with an object makes you more committed to your purchase.
When my most recent book Brandwashed was released, I joined up with a local bookstore to conduct an experiment about the difference between the online and offline shopping experience.I carefully instructed a group of volunteers to promote my book in two different ways.The first was a fairly hands-off approach.Whenever a customer would ask about my book, the volunteer would take them over to the shelf and point to it.Out of 20 such requests, six customers made the purchase.
The second option also involved going over to the shelf but, this time, removing the book and then holding onto it for just an extra moment before placing it in the customer's hands.Of the 20 people who were handed the book, 13 ended up buying it.Just physically passing the book showed a big difference in sales.Why? We feel something similar to a sense of ownership when we hold things in our hand.That's why we establish connection by greeting strangers and friends with a handshake.In this case, having to then let go of the book after holding it might produce a sense of loss, and motivate us to make the purchase even more.
A recent study also showed the power of touch, in this case when it came to traditional mail.A deeper and longer-lasting impression of a message was formed when delivered ill a letter, as opposed to receiving the same message online.Brain images showed that, on touching the paper, the emotional center of the brain was activated, thus forming a stronger bond.The study also indicated that once touch becomes part of the process, it could translate into a sense of possession.
This sense of ownership is simply not part of the situation in the online shopping experience. | high18726.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "her parents and children are still alive"
},
"options": [
"her sons don't live far away from her home",
"her parents and children are still alive",
"her parents are coming to her house to spend Mother's Day",
"her sons ... | Every year, I tell my sons what I'd like for Mother's Day: a letter. Something written from the heart and offered freely rather than bought from a store and wrapped neatly. I don't always get my wish, nor do I always take the time to write to my own mother.
This year, my boys will be in two different states on Mother's Day. My mom and dad will be away together, and I'11 be driving home from a writer's workshop in Massachusetts. Thinking of the fact that many friends have already lost their mothers and that a few have lost children, I am deeply grateful that what separates us, for now at least, is merely distance. It won't always be so, and there is no way to prepare for that fact other than to appreciate the moment that is. My sons know that they can please me on Sunday with a phone call or an e-mail, and that is enough as I love their words. The very best gift they can possibly give me is their own happiness, the very fact of their busy. full and well-lived lives.
Still, knowing that my years of staying with my sons are over, I do Feel _ . The truth is, I miss being the center of the universe to two little boys. And this holiday can be a bit painful.
I wonder if my own mother ever felt nostalgic ('VTIH WJ) for the passing of my childhood. I wonder if she realizes that she is still at the center of my universe and always has been. I don't often pause to think about it. but of course she is the one who has been right there, at my side from the moment I drew my very first breath. How to ever fully appreciate the woman whose presence and 1ove and example have shaped me into the adult I am? How to describe even a small part of the sharing. sacrificing. and support she has given me over the years? | high5152.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she loved it and went all out for it"
},
"options": [
"she was sure to be promoted",
"she loved it and went all out for it",
"she tried her best to convince her husband",
"she received immediate recognition from colleag... | Climbing the corporate ladder during my 32 years at Southern Bell (now AT&T) never appealed much to me. But climbing telephone poles? Now that's a whole different story.
In 1978, I became the first female lineman in Columbus, Georgia. I really enjoyed the work, and most of the men accepted me because I worked hard at it. I think that at first, they didn't think I could do it. But I got right in there and proved myself.
I was a lineman for about three years. Then l went on to work at other outdoor jobs at the company before l retired in 1997.
I decided to become a lineman because I wanted to work outdoors. I was a tomboy as a child and even built my own tree house, so you could say I had a little experience. My husband, William, encouraged me to give the job a try. After work, I liked to drive around town and show him the wires I'd spliced that day.
People were surprised to see a female lineman. They'd say, "Look, that's a woman up that pole." One day I heard a man say, "Oh, look, there's a telephone man-woman!" Safety belts and hooks minimized the risk of falling, but concentration was essential. Sometimes I felt a little nervous, but the guys told me I was less likely to fall if I wasn't too confident. It helped that I was strong, because the cables and equipment are heavy. I'm not sure every woman could've done what I did. 1 took a lot of pride in it. | high13673.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a good command of computer skills"
},
"options": [
"positions available",
"working duties",
"a good command of computer skills",
"the degrees needed of the applicants"
],
"question": "Both of the recruiting ads ... | Beijing City International School
Position: IT manager
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
Prepares and carries out the annual budget of the department.
Builds and develops the whole school IT system
Provides excellent IT services with IT team for teaching and business.
Requirements/Qualifications:
Bachelor or above, majoring in Information Technology or Finance.
Good command of both Chinese and English
Minimum 5 years working experience, 3 years in a managerial level
Able to work in a collaborative style
KAI CABLE INC.
Position: Sales Internship
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
Builds and develops good relationship with new customers
Maintains strong relationship with the existing customers
Explores potential customers further
Conducts market ~ competitors analysis to improve customer satisfaction.
Requirements/Qualifications:
Graduates with Bachelor degree.
Major in Finance, Economics, International Trade.
Fluent English (in both written ~ spoken) and Mandarin .
Familiar with MS office, especially Excel and PowerPoint and Internet application
Willingness to accept challenges and work under pressure.
Strong sense of responsibility.
Prepare for business trainee. | high38.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "What pets bring to their owners."
},
"options": [
"What pets bring to their owners.",
"How pets help people calm down.",
"People's opinions of keeping pets.",
"Pet's value in medical research."
],
"question": "W... | Science can't explain the power of pets,but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack,reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings.For some.an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife.A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress 1evels and blood pressure in people-half of them pet owners-while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic or held a hand in ice water.Subjects completed the tasks alone,with a husband/wife,a close friend or with a pet.People with pets did it best.Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates.With pets in the room,people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions.It seems people feel more relaxed around pets,says Allen,who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits.Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs;a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program.On average,people lost about 11 pounds,or 5% of their body weight.Their dogs did even better,losing an average of 12 pounds,more than 15%of their body weight.Dog owners didn't lose any more weight than those without dogs but,say researchers,got more exercise overall-mostly with their dogs--and found it worth doing. | high878.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "their misunderstanding of facial emotions of others"
},
"options": [
"their misunderstanding of facial emotions of others",
"their lack in knowledge of emotion recognition",
"their inborn tendency toward violence or aggressio... | Studies have documented that smiling is a universal and effective way to lift mood. But in the latest research on the power of the smile, researchers led by Marcus Munafo of the University of Bristol in England found that even seeing smiles on the faces of others can have a profound effect on a person's tendency toward violence or aggression -- that is, as long as that person recognizes the smile as one of happiness, and not as a sneer .
Munafo and his colleagues conducted a series of experiments involving normal adults and highly aggressive teens referred to a youth program, either by educational authorities or the courts. About 70% of the teens already had a criminal record.
In the first experiment, 40 healthy adults, aged 1830, looked at facial expressions on the computer ranging from happy to angry with increasingly difficult ones to _ in between. Participants were asked how angry they felt and then had to rate the images as displaying either happiness or anger -- there was no option for "unclear" or "unable to tell". From these ratings, the scientists could generate a score of their preference toward happiness or anger.
Previous research found that aggressive people -- including violent offenders -- tend to consider even a common expression as an unfriendly one. "You looking at me?" can easily turn a simple question into a tragic fight.
Based on their original scores, half of the participants were then told by the computer that some of the unclear faces that they had rated as angry should have been scored as happy. This was intended to guide them toward judging the inbetween faces more positively. The other 20 received feedback that simply proved their first choices, creating a control group.
After this training, both groups were tested again and the group that received the biased feedback shifted its ratings of unclear faces toward the happy side. Participants were also asked to rate their level of angry feelings again after completing the second round of testing. Those who were trained to consider unclear faces as happier reported feeling less angry afterward.
The researchers next focused on the 46 adolescents from the high risk youth program. These teens completed the same testing, but both the youth and the staff reported on the teens' levels of aggressive behavior before the testing started and for two weeks afterward. The teens trained to interpret unclear facial expressions more positively were significantly less aggressive two weeks later.
"The results of our experiments strongly suggest that the understanding of emotional facial expressions plays a causal role in subjective anger and aggressive behavior,"the authors conclude.
That doesn't mean that smiles alone are the answer to violence among adolescents -- previous research in which antisocial youth were trained to better recognize emotions, for example, did not have any effect on their level of aggressive behavior. But this earlier study focused on improving teens' understanding of clear facial signals, not unclear ones. Since unclear signals are more likely to be misunderstood, it may be that violent behavior in some youth exists with their constant misunderstanding of angry expressions where they don't exist, which push them to aggressive responses. The findings suggest that helping young people, particularly those easy to be violent, to learn to give others the benefit of the doubt when they see what they think is a threatening face could help end the vicious cycle of violence. | high8476.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They needed a bell tower."
},
"options": [
"They needed a new church",
"They wanted to build the tallest tower in Tower",
"They needed a bell tower.",
"They wanted to build a leaning tower."
],
"question": "why ... | Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy lean? It leans because of a mistake. It has leaned almost since the day the tower was built.
In 1173, the people of Pisa, Italy, wanted to build a bell tower. They wanted the tower to be the most beautiful bell tower in all of Italy. The city also needed a bell tower because the church did not have one.
However, there was a problem. As soon as the first floor of the building was finished, the tower started to lean. Builders tried to make the building straight again as they added more floors, but they couldn't figure out how to make it stop leaning.
It took almost 180 years to finish the tower. Since then, the tower has leaned by another millimeter every year. Today, the Leaning Tower has eight floors and is 54.5 meters tall. By 1990, it was leaning by about 4 meters to one side. It was also slowly sinking into the ground. Many people became worried that it would soon fall apart.
In 1998, repair works began on the tower, and by the end of 2001, it had been moved back by 45 centimeters. The tower will still lean, however, so it will need to be repaired again---in another 200 years. | high15202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it was easier for his wife to find a job"
},
"options": [
"it was easier for his wife to find a job",
"he thought he was the better father",
"their son liked him a little bit better",
"he was earning more than his wife ... | Mother Knows Best?
Once while being prepared for a television interview, I was chatting with the host about stay-at-home fathers. I made the point that one reason we're seeing more stay-at-home dads may be that it's no longer a given (a known fact) that a man makes more money than his wife. Many families now take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home.
At that point, one of the male crew members commented, almost to himself but loud enough for my benefits, "It should be the better parent who stays at home". A lot of guys say things like that.
I was a stay-at-home father for eight years, so what he said made me excited. It implied that our family's choice could only have been correct if I was a "better" parent than my wife.
I think men shoot themselves in the foot with this kind of thinking. I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the "better" parent: she had spent more time with our son, could read him better and calm him more quickly. And given a choice, he'd have picked her over me. But as she was the more employable one, my wife went out to work and I looked after our son.
Know what? I caught up. Because of the increased time I spent with him, I soon knew him well, understood what he needed and could look after him more or less as my wife could. Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world's great secrets: Women are good at looking after the children because they do it. It's not because of any born female gift or a mother's instinct-which I think is mostly learned anyway. It's because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job.
Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing, but over the long term experience is more important. When I got the experience myself, I was good, too. As good? I don't know. Who cares? Children are not made of glass. Other people are capable of looking after them besides Mom. | high23968.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The inclusion of cultural content."
},
"options": [
"The combination of two dictionaries into one.",
"The new approach to defining words.",
"The inclusion of cultural content.",
"The increase in the number of entries."
... | Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a "new" feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on 1,000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: Encyclopedic Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LDOCE plus cultural information.
The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly "cultural" as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.
While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic/cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.
In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries. | high22445.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "show any understanding of consumers' feelings"
},
"options": [
"change women's opinions of themselves",
"show any understanding of consumers' feelings",
"persuade the public to buy certain products",
"meet the needs of ... | Until recently, women in advertisements wore one of three things -- an apron, an attractive dress or a frown. Although that is now changing, many women still feel angry about offending advertisements. "This ad degrades women." they protested .Why does this sort of advertising exist? How can advertisers and ad agencies still produce, sometimes, after months of research, advertising that offends the consumer?
The ASA, the body which deals with complaints about print media, is carrying out research into how women feel about the way they are pictured in advertisements. Its conclusions are likely to be what the advertising industry already knows: although women are often annoyed by the ads, few feel strong enough to complain.
Women are not the only victims of poor and boring stereotypes -- in many TV commercials men are seen either as useless, childish fools who are unable to perform the simplest household tasks, or as inconsiderate fellows, always on the lookout for an escape to the pub. But it is women who seem to suffer more from the industry's inability to put people into an authentic present-day situation. Yet according to Emma Bennett, director of a London advertising agency, women are not aggressive or extremely angry about those stereotypes and sexist advertising. "They just find it annoying or tiresome."
She says that it is not advertising's use of the housewife role that bothers women, but the way in which it is handled. "The most important thing is the advertisement's tone of voice. Women hate being insincerely praised or given desperately down-to-earth common-sense advice."
In the end, the responsibility for good advertising must be shared between the advertiser, the advertising agency and the consumer. Advertising does not set trends but it reflects them. It is up to the consumer to tell advertisers where they fail, and the process of change will remain slow until people on the receiving end take the business seriously and make their -feelings known. | high893.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The culture and tradition of the company."
},
"options": [
"Unfair treatment by the senior executives.",
"The culture and tradition of the company.",
"The strict rules in the company.",
"Her low position in the company.... | My friend BJ Gallagher told me a great story recently, about her own experience with resentment . She once worked as the training manager for a large newspaper, where she found the corporate culture extremely frustrating. The company was a hundred years old and their past success had blinded them to the need for change. Finally, after _ several senior executives many times, she left the company. But she found that she hadn't left her resentment, frustration, and anger behind when she resigned.
"I finally decided to write about my experiences and my feelings at the newspaper. I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and I wrote. It wasn't just a story that poured out; it was a whole book! We called it A peacock in the Land of Penguins. I was the peacock and those newspaper executives were the penguins."
"It took me several more years to finally get over my negative emotions. Through a lot of soul-searching and reflection, I finally was able to let go of my resentment. I came to see that there was nothing personal in the way they treated me, and they were good people doing what they thought best for the company. I was the one who had made it personal. I thought they were making my life miserable on purpose."[:Z#xx#k.Com]
"Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends for the sharp, angry things I had said about the company. I invited my former boss to dinner and made my apology. It was a great healing process for me. I finally felt free of the resentment that had been eating me up."
"What was the final outcome?" I asked her.
"Gratitude," she replied. "Not only wasn't I resentful any more, I was grateful to the company. If I hadn't had those painful experiences, I would never have written a book. And the book became hugely successful - now published in 21 languages; it transformed my business." | high13840.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "moving one's body nervously"
},
"options": [
"scratching and twitching",
"squirming and wigging",
"slow running",
"moving one's body nervously"
],
"question": "Which of the following can be used to explain the m... | Have you eaten too much over the holidays? You should try fidgeting for a while. Those around you might not like it, but scratching (moving your nails against a part of your body) and twitching (moving suddenly and quickly when you don't want to) is an important way of burning up calories .
American researchers have found that some people's squirming (continuously turn your body when nervous) and wigging (move in small movements, especially from side to side) equals several miles of slow running each day.
The scientists, based at the National Institute of Health's laboratory in Phenix, Arizona, are studying why some people get fat and other stay slim.
In one study 177 people each spent 24 hours in a room in the institute where the amount of energy is measured by their oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. By the end of the day, some people had burned up 800 calories in toe-tapping, (moving the front part of your foot up and down) finger-drumming (hitting your fingers continuously and lightly against something hard) and other nervous habits. However, others had burned up only 100 calories.
The researchers found that slim women fidget more than fat women, but there was no significant difference in men. Heavy people burn up more energy when they fidget than thin people do. | high23983.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "pays close attention to her children's experiences"
},
"options": [
"helps her children realize their dreams",
"speaks her children's everyday language",
"places reasonable expectations on her children",
"pays close att... | Being Authoritative Parents
Phrases like "tiger mom" and ''helicopter parent" have made their way into everyday language.Many of us find ourselves drawn to the idea that with just a bit more parental hard work and effort, we might turn out children with bright futures.But is there anything wrong with a kind of "overparenting style"?
Parental involvement has a long history of being studied. Many of the studies, conducted by Diana Baumrind, a famous psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that a good parent is the one who is involved and reacts to her child in a positive way, who sets high expectations but gives her child independence.These "authoritative parents" appear to hit the sweet spot of parental involvement and generally raise children who do better academically, psychologically and socially than children whose parents are not strict and less involved, or controlling and more involved. Why is this parenting style so successful?
Authoritative parents actually help improve motivation in their children.Carol Dweck, a social psychologist at Stanford University, has done research that indicates why authoritative parents raise more motivated children.In a typical experiment, Dr.Dweck takes young children into a room and asks them to solve a simple puzzle.Most do so with little difficulty.But then Dr.Dweck tells some, but not all, of the kids how clever they are.As it turns out, the children who are not told they're smart are more motivated to solve increasingly difficult puzzles.They also show higher levels of confidence and show greater progress in puzzle-solving.
As the experiment suggests, praising children's talents and abilities seems to shake their confidence.Dealing with more difficult puzzles carries the risk of losing one's status as "smart".Dr.Dweck's work strongly supports that of Dr.Baumrind, who also found that reasonably supporting a child's independence and limiting interference causes better academic and emotional results.
The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is independent and confident.If you treat your young child who is just learning to walk as if she can't walk, you reduce her confidence.Allowing children to make mistakes is one of the greatest challenges of parenting.It is easier when they are young.The potential mistakes carry greater risks, and part of being a parent is reducing risk for our children. | high12586.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "4:00 pm to 6:00 pm"
},
"options": [
"9:00 am to 11:00 am",
"11:30 am to 1:30 pm",
"2:30 pm to 4:30 pm",
"4:00 pm to 6:00 pm"
],
"question": "If it is 2: 45pm now and Mike's plane is going to take off at 8:35pm, ... | Singapore is a dynamic city-state where you will find a harmonious mixture of culture, cuisine, arts, people and architecture. If you have at least 5 hours to spare in transit before your next flight, join us in one of our free two-hour guided tours, which runs daily at regular times. Registration for the tour must be made at least one hour before the start of the tour.
*HERITAGE TOUR
Tour Timings:
9:00 am to 11:00 am 11:30 am to 1:30 pm 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
The heritage tour has a short stopover at the Merlion Park before going to the Colonial District, Central Business District and Chinatown or Little India. The journey to the Merlion Park offers you a entire view of Singapore's landmarks like Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay. The tour will bring you through a discovery journey where you will have a glimpse of a unique mixture of East and West, tradition and modernity. It will be a splendid way for you to explore the history, culture and lifestyle of multi-racial Singapore while in your transit.
*CITY LIGHT TOUR
Tour Timings: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
As night falls, Singapore takes another look to offer an entertainment choice. The City Light Tour brings you to various attractions in Singapore. As the journey begins from Changi Airport towards Benjamin Sheares Bridge, you will get a wide view of Singapore's famous symbols- the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and Esplanade. Next, you will see the Helix Bridge which is inspired by the double helix of our DNA structure. | high7976.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The woman made most of decisions."
},
"options": [
"Men worked at a job to earn money for the family.",
"The woman made most of decisions.",
"The woman stayed at home to care the children.",
"The man paid the bills."
... | In the traditional marriage, the man worked at a job to earn money for the family. Most men worked in an office, a factory, or some other place away from the home. Since the man earned the money, they paid the bills. The money was used for food, -clothes, the house, and other family needs, the man made most of the decisions. He was the boss.
In the traditional marriage, the woman seldom worked away from the house. She stayed at home to care for the children and her husband. She cooked meals, cleaned the house, washed the clothes, and did other housework. Her job at home was very important.
In recent years, many couples continues to have a traditional relationship of the kind. The man has a job and earns the money for the family. The woman stays at home and cared for the children and the house. Many Americans are happy with the kind of marriage. But some other Americans have a different impression of marriage and family responsibilities.
There are two important differences in male and female roles now. One is that both men and women have many more choices. They may choose to marry or to stay single. They may choose to work or stay at home. Both men and women may choose roles that are comfortable for them.
A second difference in male and female roles is that within marriage many decisions and responsibilities are shared. The husband and wife may choose to have children, or they may not. If they have children, the man takes care of them some of the time, all of the time or not at all. The woman may want to stay at home and take care of the children, or she may vant to go to work. Men and women now decide these things together in a marriage. Many married people now share these decisions and responsibilities of their families. | high24034.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "where people's chief concern is how to make money"
},
"options": [
"which encourages free trade at home and abroad",
"where people's chief concern is how to make money",
"where all businesses are managed scientifically",
... | Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.
Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as"the entertainment industry"or"show business."
The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business--referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing--the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high--creates feelings of insecurity for many. | high13698.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she thought it made real!world life less interesting"
},
"options": [
"she thought it wasted too much time",
"she was afraid of the strangers on her account",
"she was tired of exposing her life to co!workers",
"she tho... | One of those big social networking sites, Facebook, has attracted over 58 million members. Commentator Melody Cramer is no longer one of them. Here is what she shares with us about her story.
I deleted all 1,281 of my co!workers, second!grade classmates and people who I don't know at all. I shut down my account, completely. I'm 30, and I've been on Facebook since March of 2004, which makes me one of the website's earliest users.
At first, I used it obsessively. If I had a free moment, I'd log on to see whether my friends had updated their profiles. I'd sit alone scrolling through these updates and then run into someone at a coffee shop and have nothing to say because I already knew everything about them, and they knew everything about me.
In November, I went to my ten!year high school reunion and was not pleasantly surprised. Lauren became a model, Josh went to law school, Dina was a teacher. I hadn't talked to any of them since graduation, but I knew exactly what they were doing, both now and last week. But lately, I'm overwhelmed . Facebook opened up to everyone, not just college students, and my co!workers started to join, which meant they now knew what I was doing when I wasn't at work.
And as a rule: you can NOT make friends with your coworkers because then they'll ask you the next day. But I thought we were friends. And you are friends but not the kind of friends who tell each other what they do outside of work. So now the people you work with can see what you did last night, and you're constantlyworrying what people might say about what you did last night instead of actually doing anything tonight.So I quit. I became a 30!year!old Luddite, a person who is strongly against technology development. I've returned to how the world worked when I was 20, before I knew when my friends and co!workers were counting down the seconds to vacation or entering a complicated relationship. I'm hoping life will be a lot simpler now. People
will be more mysterious now that I actually have to talk to them to find out their favorite books or hobbies orneurosis . I don't know when my college roommate goes to the supermarket, and I think I'm a better person for not knowing. In fact, you could say getting off a social network was the best thing I've done this week. | high9783.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because it is lower in cost."
},
"options": [
"Because it is lower in cost.",
"Because it is required by their teachers.",
"Because it can help them gain the latest knowledge.",
"Because it can do less harm to the envir... | The cost of college textbooks has risen sharply from 2002 to 2014. As a result, students have to look for other less expensive options , such as renting books. Now, they find another way, that is, using textbooks on the Internet, uploaded by other students. It is hard to know how popular this practice will be, but many college students around the country are uploading their expensive college textbooks onto the Internet, so that other students can download them for free and avoid the big fees.
A year ago, a student wrote a blog called Children of the Stars about a professor who insisted that students buy the newest edition of a specific sociology book for more than $200 and didn't allow them to purchase an older paperback edition of the same book for $5. The student wrote, "The newest edition of the book is so expensive. Fortunately, we found the electronic one online, which is very cheap. This is why we downloaded. " The blog is followed by a list of websites where people can download books.
Curious about how varied the selection of books was and how easy it was to download them, Vocativ.com decided to do an experiment. The workers of it picked five typical and important courses of freshmen and tried downloading all these textbooks on the websites offered by the student who wrote Children of the Stars. They typed the titles of these textbooks into a computer, and found them immediately. Within minutes, they had four textbooks on their hard drive.
It is illegal to upload or download copyrighted materials without permission, but students still do it due to its advantages. Besides, schools haven't taken action to stop it. | high10391.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "have no jobs without accepting education and work training"
},
"options": [
"often miss classes from school",
"refuse to take any kind of part-time jobs after school",
"depend on their parents to find jobs after they graduate... | Thousands of teenagers will be able to transfer to a new wave of "studio schools" at the age of 14 to improve their chances of finding a job in UK. A dozen new-style schools are designed to act as a bridge to the workplace and cut the number of NEETs--young people not in education, employment or training.
Under plans, schools will operate longer days and work outside standard academic terms.
Each pupil will be expected to spend between four hours and two days a week on work placements with businesses linked to the school and teenagers will be assigned a personal coach to act as an academic "line manager".
The reforms are put forward due to the fears that too many teenagers are now finishing full-time education lacking the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. According to a recent report, more than two-thirds of employers believe school and college leavers lack important "employability skills" such as customer awareness, while 55 per cent say they are unable to manage their time or daily tasks. And the number of NEETs has hit a record high, with almost one-in-five young people being left without a job or training place.
The Department for Education will announce the establishment of 12 studio schools -- meeting the need of around 3,600 teenagers -- in areas such as Liverpool, Stevenage, Stoke-on-Trent and Fulham, west London. Each one, opening in 2012, will be linked to a series of local employers. Under plans, pupils will be able to transfer out of ordinary schools to attend them between the age of 14 and 19.
The Government said all subjects would be taught "through projects, often designed with employers" -- with disciplines such as science being linked directly to local engineering firms or hospitals. Schools will operate a longer day to give pupils a better understanding of the demands of the workplace. Along with their studies, pupils will carry out work placements for four hours a week, rising to two days a week of paid work for those aged 16 to 19. They will also get the chance to take professional qualifications linked directly to the needs of local employers. | high16938.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It is a kind of solar energy-saving light."
},
"options": [
"Its battery has a longer life than any other battery.",
"It is the most affordable light for the poor.",
"It is a kind of solar energy-saving light.",
"It has... | WASHINGTON (October 10, 2014) -- This year's Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to inventors of LEDs, now being used around the world. However, according to the International Energy Agency and the World Bank, more than a billion people in the world still do not have access to electricity. After sunset, most of them use candles or oil lamps. A company in the Netherlands is trying to change that with its products based on LEDs.
When darkness falls, many kids in rural parts of Haiti, Rwanda, or refugee camps in Syria read or do their homework by candlelight or a kerosene -burning lamp. The open flames sometimes cause fires, while poisonous gases lead to respiratory problems.
Portable electric light is safer, healthier and now, even cheaper. "This is the first time that artificial light or solar LED is now less expensive than kerosene," said Camille van Gestel, head of a Dutch company called WakaWaka, over Skype. He added WakaWaka, which means "Shine Bright" in Swahili, is the most efficient solar-powered light and phone charger in the world today. When fully charged, it shines for up to 16 hours. It is affordable, sustainable, and its battery lasts for a long time. It can be set up on any flat surface, hung from a ceiling or set on top of a glass bottle.
Van Gestel said his company operates like any other business, but some of the money made from selling its products is used to make WakaWaka lights affordable to poor people. He said the plan is supported by international non-government organizations.
"The International Rescue Committee was one of the first to actually take the WakaWaka power into Syria, to provide light and power for Syrian refugees, and now the WakaWaka is the most valued non-food item in Syria," said Van Gestel. In the past 24 months, the company has distributed around 300,000 units in places such as Syria, Hati, Rwanda, Indonesia and the Philippines. Its goal is to reach 1.2 billion people by 2030. | high18915.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "3."
},
"options": [
"1.",
"2.",
"3.",
"4."
],
"question": "How many factors which may influence one's career are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | Being able to call on the old boy's network helps you get your foot in the door,but has little impact on your later success.Having good connections does change your possibility of being offered a higher wage when you start working,but has no impact on your eventual wage.Coming from a wealthy background has little impact on lifetime earnings.Over time,brain power soon overtakes ,and intelligence is the factor,which will determine your earnings and success.The speed of your rise through the ranks is determined largely by your own intelligence.
The study monitored earnings and promotions over the course of 25 years.Scores were used to assess the SocioEconomic Background(SEB)-wealth and connections-and standard Army intelligence tests used to assess intelligence.The study is sure to infuriate those angered by wealthy groups such as Oxford's upper-crust Bullingdon Club,of which both David Cameron and Borris Johnson were members.
Professor Yoav Ganzach says that these findings have a positive message for those,who can't rely on nepotism for their first job."Your family can help you start your career and you do get an advantage,but it doesn't help you progress.And once you start working,you can go wherever your abilities take you," he says.When intelligence and SEB are pitted directly against once another ,intelligence is a more accurate predictor of future career success,he say. | high5807.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Nanjing Road E. Station"
},
"options": [
"Nanjing Road E. Station",
"Shandong Road N. Station",
"Fuzhou Road E. Station",
"Nanjing Road N. Station"
],
"question": "If you want to buy CDs of computer games, you c... | Fuzhou Road is famous for its book stores.
Shanghai's City of Books (Nandong)
Address: No. 345, Nanjing Road. E. near Shandong Road N.
Tel: 6322-1557
Opening Hour: 9:30--21:30
It is a branch of Shanghai's City of Books. It doesn't sell any foreign language books, but you can buy CDs of computer games and software.
Traffic: Metro Line No. 2 (Nanjing Road E. Station)
Shanghai's City of Books
Address: No. 465, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 6391-4848
Opening Hour: 9:30--20:30
This is the biggest book store in Shanghai with six floors. Each floor has different kinds of books, but most English books are for Chinese students preparing for exams.
Foreign Language Bookstore
Address: No. 390, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 6322-3200
Opening Hour: 9:00--18:00
You can find many English novels on the ground floor, as well as dictionaries. There is a corner on the ground floor for foreigners who want to learn Chinese.
On the higher floors, you can find some professional books in English. Of course, many of the books are for Chinese students.
Shanghai Culture Commercial Building
Address: No. 355, Fuzhou Road
Opening Hour: 9:00--17:30
This store has a variety of stationery and painting materials. If you major in painting or art, this is a good place to find professional materials. | high11931.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Each walk should start with the pace of doing shopping."
},
"options": [
"Walking five days a week, 30 minutes altogether, is the goal.",
"Increase at least 10% of the amount of each previous week.",
"Each walk should start w... | Walking is so simple and convenient that it couldn't possibly count as exercise, right? Wrong. Study after study shows that regular walking can help you lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease.
The study published in Diabetes Research in Clinical Practice shows that the blood pressure of the overweight men being tested improved and the amount of body fat greatly decreased.
That's good news, because walking has now become the most popular fitness activity in the United States. Convenient, simple, and gentle on the joints, walking is perhaps the easiest form of exercise to maintain. According to a survey, four out of five women who start a walking program continue to walk, while half of women who attempt other types of aerobic exercise , such as swimming, drop out during the first few months.
Here are some basics for walking exercise.
Walk at a pace that makes you breathe heavily, but still able to talk.
Your goal, first and foremost, is to walk five days a week, 30 minutes a walk. Do that, and you are getting the base-level amount of exercise that research says should maintain your health and vigor .
Walk for as long as you are comfortable the first week, even if it is just to your mailbox and back. Each following week, increase that amount by no more than 10 percent.
Start every walk with five minutes of easy-paced walking, about the same pace at which you do shopping, to get your body warmed up. Then, cool down at the end of each walk with another five minutes of easy-paced walking. This allows your heart rate to gradually speed up and slow down. | high20534.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "British people's preference for personal space."
},
"options": [
"How to make friends with British people.",
"Some tips on British table manners.",
"Ways in which British people show affection.",
"British people's prefe... | You get on an almost-empty bus, but the next passenger decides to ignore all the empty seats to sit right next to you. While you are waiting in line at the supermarket, the next
customer stands just behind you shouting into his phone.
These are attacks of the personal space invaders . Though preferences for personal space differ from culture to culture, we Britons do love our independence and personal space.
As the British customs website Debrett has said, as a British person, somebody standing too close may make you "focus less on what somebody is saying than on how close they are to you". Simple acts like putting an arm around someone you don't know that well may seem friendly in China, but they can make us very uncomfortable. The ediplomat.com website explains: "The British are not back slappers or touchers and generally do not show affection in public."
Being a British person around people from other countries can therefore be full of problems. People from many European countries such as France and Spain kiss each other on the cheek when they meet, yet to us this seems too friendly and "touchy-feely".
Simple matters like how close others stand can be problems to Britons who want to keep their own personal space. Giving advice on how to behave around a British person, Debrett's says that "if you can feel the warmth of their worried breath upon your face, then you're standing too close".
So, are British people unfriendly? No. The ediplomat.com website explains that we are not as _ as we may seem, but "very friendly and helpful to foreigners". However, we do have different ideas about our own space to many people from other countries. Just let us know if you're going to come any closer than arm's length, and you'll be fine! | high14691.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He hoped to learn Spanish better."
},
"options": [
"He was there on a business trip.",
"He hoped to learn Spanish better.",
"He liked to visit places of interest in Spain.",
"He was visiting friends there"
],
"q... | Andy was still traveling in Spain when he realized he had to confirm his flight home with the airline company . He was visiting Spain in order to improve his Spanish. When he was speaking to people face to face, he had no difficulty understanding what they said. However, when he was speaking on the phone, he still had a problem. Andy called the airline. And the clerk confirmed that his plane was leaving at nine o'clock three days from that day. She also told Andy to be at the airport two hours earlier in order to check in his luggage and get a seat.
Since he was leaving in three days, Andy didn't lose any time. He visited as many places as he could. He thought that it would probably be a while before he had enough money again. He wished he could come back and spend a year in Spain.
Too quickly, the final day arrived. Andy left early for the airport to arrive two hours before take-off. He hated to rush. He went to the clerk to show his ticket. The clerk looked at the ticket in surprise. "Why, sir, but your flight was at nine o'clock in the morning, and now it is eight in the evening." "But I confirmed my flight," insisted Andy. "Will I have to pay for another ticket?"
"No, sir. However, the next flight out will be three days from now."
Andy's look of shock turned to pleasure as he realized that now he could continue his vacation. | high14849.txt |
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