questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Size"
},
"options": [
"Wi-Fi version",
"Operating system",
"Prices",
"Size"
],
"question": "What is the 7.9-inch iPad Mini's major contribution to the customers?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | The past week was possibly the most eventful in the history of customer technology markets,or to be precise, the 7-inch (17.8-cm) tablet market. Never before have three of thebiggest players in the industry scheduled what could be truly historic productlaunches so close together.
Despite its name, the 7.9-inch iPad Mini is one of the largest among the mini-tablets. It's gotall the aesthetics of its earlier 9.7-inch iPad and is unbelievably thin-just 7.2 mm, 23 percentthinner than the iPad.
Apple's iPad Mini
Release date: Nov 2,2012 (Wi-Fi version)
Operating system: iOS 6
Size: 19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7 cm
Prices: $329 (16GB Wi-Fi), $429 (32GB Wi-Fi), $519 (64GB Wi-Fi), or $459 (16GB Data)
$559 (32GB Data), $659 (64GB Data)
Google may have been forced to cancel its Android event in New York City on Oct 29 due to the threat of hurricane Sandy, but that isn't stopping it from making same big announcements. For starters, Google has confirmed that the Nexus 10 will be running Android 4.2 out of the box, so get excited. It will also come equipped with a 10-inch display running at an impressive 2560x1600 resolution. On the inside, it'll have a A15 dual-core processor running alongside 2GB of RAM ,so expect the Nexus 10 to be a speedy little tablet. Google's Nexus 10 Release date: Nov 13,2012 Operating system: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Size: 26.4 x 17.8x0.9 cm Prices: $399 (16GB), $449 (32GB)
Microsoft's Surface is a bold product with some great touches. It doesn't feature a camera and focuses on Office software, which suggests Microsoft is focusing this product on an executive toy. There's no 3G connection (only Wi-Fi) so owners won't have to worry about an extra contract.
The real delight, however, is Metro, the impressive navigation interface .It is beautifully designed with brightly colored squares for navigation. Pre-orders for Surface in the US sold out over the weekend, so it would seem customers are excited.
Microsoft's Surface
Release date: Oct 26,2012
Operating system: Windows 8 RT
Size: 27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9 cm
Prices: $499 (32GB M-Fi) | high4376.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "change their colours to protect themselves"
},
"options": [
"are small animals",
"are easily found by birds",
"are dangerous to their enemies",
"change their colours to protect themselves"
],
"question": "From t... | Do you know why different animals or pests have their special colours? Colours in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.
Some birds like eating locusts. but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colours together with the change of the colours of crops. When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown colour as crops have. Some other pests with different colours from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.
If you study the animal life, you'll find the main use of colouring is protecting themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be seen by hunters. This is because they have the colours much like the tree.
Have you ever noticed an even more strange act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger. While the liquid spread over, the enemies cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it isn't strong at all. | high16157.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "contribute to protecting endangered species"
},
"options": [
"contribute to protecting endangered species",
"enjoy a 10 % discount off the admission",
"become a volunteer for species at the zoo",
"be asked to donate ext... | At Bristol Zoo Gardens you can enjoy an amazing world of animals, all within our award-winning 12 acre gardens. With over 400 species and nine animals houses under cover, it's one of the best days out in Bristol whatever the weather. We suggest you allow 2-5 hours for your visit to really take in everything we have to offer.
By visiting Bristol Zoo you will be directly contributing to the conservation of endangered species and habitats. Admission prices at Bristol Zoo include a 10% voluntary donation to help support our conservation projects.
With so many things to do in Bristol Zoo, it really is one of the top attractions in Bristol and the South West.
Adopting an Animal
Help us look after your favorite animal by becoming an animal adopter; it makes a fantastic gift for any age!
Choose from 10 of our favorite animals to adopt, which costs just PS45. Adopt them in a matter of minutes online.
Opening hours
We're open every day from 9 am to 5:30 pm in peak season, and close at 5 pm during off peak. The Zoo is closed on Christmas Day. Last entry to the Zoo is an hour before closing time and animal houses close half an hour before closing time.
Traveling by bus
Our bus service is operating every 30 minutes on Sundays and public holidays only. The service will enable guests to travel to the Zoo or anywhere along the route. The service is FREE to Bristol Zoo members -- all you need to do is bring your membership card.
We encourage all of our guests to use public transport when coming to the Zoo. | high19264.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To help people enjoy walking in the street and enjoy life."
},
"options": [
"To let people keep away from vehicles.",
"To build safer walkways for pedestrians.",
"To help people enjoy walking in the street and enjoy life.",
... | Put your car keys away and forget about your travel pass --- it's time to do a bit of walking.
National Walking Month is organized every May by Living Streets, an organization that campaigns for the rights and the needs of pedestrians, so the organization is previously known as the Pedestrians' Association. The association's aim is to make streets safe, attractive and enjoyable spaces for people to live, work, shop and play. By putting people (rather than vehicles) first, Living Streets wants to create streets and spaces where people feel happier, healthier and more sociable.
The annual campaign gives participants a great opportunity to experience the many virtues of walking. These include the physical health benefits of becoming fitter; the environmental advantages of not using vehicles; the delight of local discoveries --- seeing more of your local areas on foot; the enjoyment of walking with other people, whether family, friends or work colleagues and finally the stress relief that comes from walking --- walking can clear your head.
Walk to School Week, 18 to 22 May, is part of the month's activities and its aim is to encourage parents to send children to school on foot, rather than take them in the car or let them use public transport. The movement was started in 1995 with only five participating schools and now two decades later, more than one million children take part.
Similarly, there is Walk to Work Week, 11 to 15 May, where grown-ups are encouraged to walk. In the morning, getting off the bus a stop early or parking a few streets away is a good way to add more steps to the daily total. And during the working day, after having lunch at the desks or in the canteen, take a walk and get some fresh air. Walk home with your workmates and chat away about everything under the sun but work! | high11638.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "escape the coldness outside"
},
"options": [
"taste the delicious coffee",
"escape the coldness outside",
"relax as a tourist",
"observe other people"
],
"question": "The author entered the nearest restaurant to... | The cold wind cut through my enthusiasm as a tourist in Washington D.C., so I entered the nearest restaurant for warmth. I ordered a hot cup of coffee, and began observing people.
Some people were having dinner in the great hall, which made me consider an early dinner. At that time, I observed a man seated nearby and, from his eager eyes, I realized that he noticed the delicious food. His tired body and worn clothes shouted, "Homeless, homeless!"
I wondered how long it had been since he had eaten. I expected him to approach me for a handout . He never did. A silent war broke out in my head --one side was telling me to mind my own business, and the other was urging me to offer him the food.
While my inner debate moved on, a well-dressed young couple walked up to him. "Excuse me, sir," the husband began. "We just finished eating, and our appetites weren't as big as we thought. We hate to waste good food. Can you help us out and put this to use?" He gave the man some food. "Thank you. Merry Christmas!" the man replied. The man carefully watched his new food, and was about to drink the soup and eat the food seriously.
Something that happened next shocked me. An old man, with pants, an old jacket and open shoes, entered the hall and walked to our direction. The man who was just offered the food saw the situation. Setting aside his meal, he stood up and guided the old man to the table. Then he put his worn jacket over the old man's shoulders.
"Hi, my name's Jack," he said, "and one kind person brought me this meal. I just finished eating and hate to waste good food. Can you help me out?" The old man answered gratefully, "Sure, but only if you go halfway with me on that sandwich."
I left the restaurant that day feeling warmer than I had ever thought possible. | high21923.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "is a proven good student who can learn a lot from other players."
},
"options": [
"enjoyed himself in the Houston Rockets",
"used to be a leader in the New York Knicks",
"is a proven good student who can learn a lot from othe... | Jeremy Shu-How Lin, who was born in California, 1988, world-famous now,is the first Chinese-American professional basketball player with the New York Knicks of NBA.
It hasn't been an easy road for Lin. After high school, Lin sent his resume and a DVD of highlights to all the Ivy League schools, and his dream schools Stanford and UCLA. Harvard and Brown were the only schools that guaranteed him a spot on their basketball teams, but Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.
After graduating from Harvard University, Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft . Lin spent his first season with his hometown the Golden State Warriors. He saw limited minutes with the Warriors, but was cheered in arenas around the country, particularly in cities with large Asian communities, as fans came out in crowds to cheer their homegrown star. In late 2011, Lin spent less than two weeks with the Houston Rockets, moving to the New York Knicks at the very end of the year.
He has made several trips to the NBA's Development League, a minor league for players who show promise but need seasoning before they can compete at the highest level. It appears to have paid off. In February 2012, after keying the Knicks victory over New Jersey, Lin was named the starter for the Utah game, a position he appears to have a hold on in the short term, as Baron Davis, who signed in December to play the position, stays on the disabled list. Lin will likely get stronger the more minutes he plays, and even if Davis returns, spelling the older, recovering player could be productive for Lin: a proven good student who can learn a lot from practicing against a veteran.
Without the services of All-Stars Carmelo and Amare, Lin led New York to a 4-0 record last week. He became the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts, which generated a global following known as Linsanity. The Associated Press called Lin "the most Surprising story in the NBA". | high2061.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Digging deep wells."
},
"options": [
"Less rainfall.",
"Insufficient water reserves.",
"Digging deep wells.",
"Environmental damage."
],
"question": "Which of the following is not the cause of the drought mentio... | A drink of water is just a matter of turning on a tap for most of us. However, water for those in drought-stricken northwestern China can't be taken for granted. Its present shortage is a matter of life and death to them.
The tragedy is the direct result of the drought that has hit a large area of northwestern China, and is affecting more than 50 million people.
The drought began last spring, ravaging Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi. Experts say the drought is a result of less rainfall, insufficient water reserves, high temperatures, dated irrigation projects, environmental damage and global climate change.
More than 15 million people are having difficulties getting safe drinking water. The drought is also affecting schoolchildren's studies. "I am worried that my family will get no harvest this year. In that case, my family will not be able to afford my living costs," an unnamed boarding schoolgirl at Naqing Primary School in Shandan, Zhangye, told Dazhong Daily.
But thanks to measures taken under the leadership of the central government, the drinking water problem has been greatly eased. Each person in the five worst-hit provinces is being supplied with drinking water and 20 liters of water for other purposes each day.
Local authorities are digging deep wells and creating artificial rain. Military personnel are helping to transport water from others province to Gansu and Qinghai, according to CCTV. In Shaanxi, locals are turning to drought resistant crops. Other parts of China are helping by giving water and donating other resources. | high17249.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "By making friends with others."
},
"options": [
"By joining specialinterest clubs.",
"By focusing on their studies.",
"By taking up parttime jobs.",
"By making friends with others."
],
"question": "In the writer... | You will go to college some day and college is one of the most exciting stages of one's life.If you wish to make the most of your campus experience and become a better person after those four years,then first you ought to make friends.Close friends contribute to your selfgrowth for they provide you with moral support that is so important to survive the stressful college life.Friends can lend a helping hand when necessary like collecting your homework when you're too sick to leave your dorm,and help you develop the right attitude by pointing out to you your weaknesses.
Being home most of your life and then suddenly finding yourself on your own in a large campus without your parents to hold your hand can be annoying.However,rather than thinking about your missing home too much,why not see this new stage in your life as an opportunity for selfgrowth and develop the right attitude that will prepare you for the rigors of postgraduation life,particularly when you join the workforce?
Specialinterest clubs or organizations are great for selfgrowth.Here,not only do you get the opportunity to meet with likeminded people,you can also discover more things about your field of interest.Club meetings usually include lively discussions,so go there with the right attitude.You should try to build a good name in the organization by being respectful,active and considerate to others.
You might not like all of your professors,but they are there to provide knowledge you need to be successful in your chosen field.Thus,show up for each class with the right attitude and determination to learn.Whether you get along well with your professors or not has a huge effect on your selfgrowth as it is a measure of how well you can respect authority and obey requirements.
Actively participating in a class debate or lecture contributes to your selfgrowth as it helps you build confidence in speaking up and improves your communication skills.It also helps you develop the right attitude by exercising diplomacy when you choose your words carefully especially when discussing a very politically sensitive issue and exercising patience when dealing with classmates who shoot down your ideas. | high6207.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they don't get enough exercise"
},
"options": [
"they lack confidence",
"they do exercise alone",
"they are under great pressure",
"they don't get enough exercise"
],
"question": "Many Americans fail to lose wei... | Look and feel better in 30 days, guaranteed!
Our proven workout system helps you reach your goals fast.
Many Americans are overweight for lack of physical activity. Many are struggling to lose weight, but most give up just within days. If you've struggled with diets and workout routines, only to feel like you aren't getting anywhere, our gym is for you! Take a moment to read this page to find out what we can do for you.
Let us help you
Reach your fitness goals quickly and safely
Work out in a comfortable environment
Look and feel great
Get the results you've been looking for
Have you tried dieting and working out, only to be let down? Do you have trouble pulling yourself to the gym every day? Our program is designed for the "average Joe or Jane" to be able to lose weight and keep it off, with a combination of nutrition, motivation, and fitness.
Our fitness method
Our workout system will ensure that you lose weight and build muscles quickly and safely. We have developed a workout that targets all the right muscle groups, while at the same time burning unwanted fat. Our experienced trainers can help you with nutrition in between workouts to allow you to reach your goals faster. Nutrition is a big part of getting fit; don't overlook it!
If working out on your own hasn't produced the type of results you want, that's why we're here. Join today! We charge $500 for each membership, but people who join our gym today can get a 20 percent discount. Those who join in the following week can get a 10 percent discount. For more information, please click here. | high9134.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Presently taken by people."
},
"options": [
"Worn out.",
"Lively and cheerful.",
"Fed on.",
"Presently taken by people."
],
"question": "What is the meaning of \"live-in\" in this passage?",
"question_type":... | What are some of the steps a person can take to prevent his house from being broken in while he or she is away? One step is to make sure that the house has a _ look. Living room shades could be pulled down only half-away. Bedrooms that usually have the shades pulled down at night should be left down. Another is to make sure that all outside looks are the dead-belt type. Still another is to leave several low-watt lights burning and make sure that one is in the kitchen. Lights that turn on and off automatically are the best. Then, too, it is a good idea to leave a radio turned into a talking station. Any type of conversation makes a burglar think twice before trying to enter. Finally, while away on vacation, make sure that nothing collected in the front or back of the house. Make certain that the newspaper is stopped and that a trusted neighbor has been asked to pick up the posts. | high14740.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "516-621-3939."
},
"options": [
"800-718-2787.",
"888-709-8324.",
"516-621-3939.",
"800-897-6677."
],
"question": "Which number will you dial if you want to become a businessman in future?",
"question_type": ... | School of Cinema and Performing Arts
It offers two two-week sessions and one three-week session during the summer. Your teen can participate in the filmmaking, acting, dance, photography programs. He will work with professionals who will teach him the latest technology through hands-on experience. Tuition includes day trips to amusement parks and other Los Angeles tourism sites. Housing and food can be arranged in dorms for an additional fee.
Address: 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles
Tel: 800-718-2787
iD Tech Camps at UCLA
It offers computer and gaming related camps at the UCLA campus. Teens can join in day camps, overnight camps or weekend gaming camps. Your teen will use the latest technology available to learn video game design, web design and computer programming. Overnight campers will stay in the college dorms.
Address: 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles
Tel: 888-709-8324
Summer Discovery at UCLA
It offers three or six week residential camps at the UCLA campus. Three-week courses can include academic or art classes for enrichment purposes. In this summer camp, your teen will get a taste of what to expect when she enters college. She can choose from sports management, business management, healthy lifestyle programs, ESL-TOEFL programs and more.
Address: 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles
Tel: 516-621-3939
Power Chord Academy
It offers a seven-day course that caters to residential or day teens, as well as a three-day course. Teens will meet a touring band, learn technical aspects about the music industry and being a musician in current times, write songs, perform concerts, make a music video, record a CD and meet a touring band. No experience or musical background is necessary.
Address: 7336 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles
Tel: 800-897-6677 | high14998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He seemed to have deep emotional problems."
},
"options": [
"He seemed to have deep emotional problems.",
"He seemed not to be getting along well with his classmates.",
"He mainly had behavior problems at school.",
"He ... | As a first -year teacher at a Christian school ,I was expecting my fifth grade students to be prefect , perfect in behavior , in attitude , and I even expected the home-life of each student to be nearly perfect . I found , of course , that these students were not different from the children I taught in public school .These kids had behavior problems , bad attitudes ,and some even had strikingly difficult family lives .
One of my students in particular stands out in my mind .I'll call him Timothy for safety's sake. During the first day of class , I noticed that Timothy was different .Not only in physical appearance , but he also spoke strangely , as though a 35-year-old man were trapped inside his tiny , weak body .On many occasions , I heard Timothy speak of hate, how he hated his family .
I observed Timohy for several months and read up on his background and searched for any clue that would lead me closer to understanding this child's strange behavior .Finally I was directed to Timothy's older brother's cheating in an exam and had taken his anger out on Timothy at home .Timothy's parents , in turn , had contacted the school, blaming them for Timothy's problems.
I had written a letter to the administration asking that Timothy see a counselor . The school was in the process of contacting a counselor when Timothy was transferred to another school. His father hurried around my room collecting Timothy's things and left. That is the last we have seen or heard from Timothy. I was left with an empty desk and a broken heart. I cried for days afterwards. I felt as though I had done Timothy a _ ...I did not help him when he needed me. I still think about Timothy every day, and pray for him every morning. | high7119.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The ways of saving money on campus."
},
"options": [
"The ways of saving money on campus.",
"Online teambuying becomes popular.",
"How to recognize fake goods online.",
"How to choose a city to travel."
],
"ques... | With limited pocket money in hand,many Chinese college students are increasingly opting to live life "low cost".One way to save money is teambuying.Online teambuying offers huge discounts and becomes popular on campus.
Li Jing,a student at China Youth University for Political Sciences,for example,says she often buys movie tickets on teambuying websites.But while they offer a good opportunity to save money,Li said she would "think twice before buying them from online stores".Because many of them are "a bit chaotic ",and have fake goods mixed among them.Then why don't the students just earn more pocket money by taking up parttime jobs?Guo Na,a teacher at the Communication University of China,said most college students were unlikely to choose workstudy programs to earn pocket money because of their intensive study schedules.
A kind of card called "VELO" has become another ideal choice for many money savers.It provides allround discounts while dining out or shopping in general.Cao Zuyang,a student at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China,often searches for sales online and buys things together with friends to cut down on costs.Cao once wanted to buy an electromagnetic oven ,which was on sale at a shopping website.He then asked five dormitory roommates to pitch in for the oven.Each student only paid 25 yuan.
Most students find it difficult to deal with the expense of accommodation while traveling.So they choose to travel to cities where they have friends and live in their dorms.For instance,Ge Rui,a student at the Hebei University of Technology,has been to many cities where he has friends."Friends can act as free guides,offer me free accommodation,give me valuable tour information,and broaden my mind at the same time," he said.He also had friends from other cities coming over and living with him when they visited his city. | high6213.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "her aunt's neighbors"
},
"options": [
"her aunt's neighbors",
"her own neighbors",
"her own relatives",
"her family members"
],
"question": "To care for her aunt's cat the writer first thought of _ .",
"q... | I loved my aunt Suzy. She was such a kind old lady. I loved going to her house on holiday. She had been sick for the last few years and, though my job had taken me away across the town, I tried to visit her as much as possible. I helped with the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning and taking her pet cat Mazy to the vet.
Sad as her passing away was, what happened to Mazy was even more worrying. Because aunt Suzy had no children, there wasn't anyone who seemed to care for her beloved cat friend. I would have taken her in a short time, but my apartment doesn't allow pets. First, we talked with her neighbors. Mr. Jenkins, who was alone and lived across the street, wasn't interested. Joe and Sally who lived next door had a small child with serious skin allergies . My aunt's best friend Molly who had lived just down the road was unable to take care of herself as she had serious health problems.
Second, we thought about our family members. My brother Bobby and his wife Jill were _ at once as they aren't cat people. My cousin in California was a bit interested, but we weren't sure about the trip as Mazy was nearly as old as my aunt (in cat years!). Finally, we came to the local humane society to see whether they would be able to help her find a new home. The problem was that most people and families only welcomed a smart little cat into their home, not a dull old one.
In the end, we had to put Mazy to sleep. I had spoken with the vet and realized it was possible for the best. It was so hard to lose aunt Suzy and then have nowhere for Mazy to live. A few months went by and I had gone to my aunt's house to clear out some of her belongings. I happened to see her mailman. Jerry and we started to talk about my aunt when he asked about Mazy. I told him that we had to put Mazy to sleep because we couldn't find a home for her. Jerry got really quiet. "I promised Suzy that if anything ever happened to her, I'd take care of Mazy", he said sadly. "Suzy always said she'd told her lawyer the arrangement."
Hearing this, my heart sank to my feet and I almost cried. The saddest part, I realized, was this all could have been avoided. I guess we were just so busy in those final months that we didn't think about it. We could have called my aunt's lawyer to take care of it in less than 10 minutes. I'll never forgive myself for not thinking of it sooner. And I'll never forgive myself for losing Mazy. | high14754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People are free from exploitation and oppression."
},
"options": [
"People are free to develop their power of imagination.",
"People who are honest and work hard can succeed.",
"People are free from exploitation and oppressio... | Ask most people how they define the American Dream and chances are they'll say, "Success." The dream of individual opportunity has been home in American since Europeans discovered a "new world" in the Western Hemisphere. Early immigrants like Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur praised highly the freedom and opportunity to be found in this new land. His glowing descriptions of a classless society where anyone could attain success through honesty and hard work fired the imaginations of many European readers: in Letters from an American Farmer (1782) he wrote. "We are all excited at the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself ... We have no princes, for whom we toil ,starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now existing in the world." The promise of a land where "the rewards of a man's industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor" drew poor immigrants from Europe and fueled national expansion into the western territories.
Our national mythology is full of illustration of the American success story. There's Benjamin Franklin, the very model of the self-educated, self-made man, who rose from modest origins to become a well-known scientist, philosopher, and statesman. In the nineteenth century, Horatio Alger, a writer of fiction for young boys, became American's best-selling author with rags-to-riches tales. The notion of success haunts us: we spend million every year reading about the rich and famous, learning how to "make a fortune in real estate with no money down," and "dressing for success." The myth of success has even invaded our personal relationships: today it's as important to be "successful" in marriage or parenthoods as it is to come out on top in business.
But dreams easily turn into nightmares. Every American who hopes to "make it" also knows the fear of failure, because the myth of success inevitably implies comparison between the haves and the have-nots, the stars and the anonymous crowd. Under pressure of the myth, we become indulged in status symbols: we try to live in the "right" neighborhoods, wear the "right" clothes, eat the "right" foods. These symbols of distinction assure us and others that we believe strongly in the fundamental equality of all, yet strive as hard as we can to separate ourselves from our fellow citizens. | high9120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "suffer from monkey-pox"
},
"options": [
"come from Columbia",
"enjoy being with children",
"prevent us from being infected",
"suffer from monkey-pox"
],
"question": "We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold a... | We have met the enemy, and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest, suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it's hard not to wonder if the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. "Most of the infections we think of as human infections started in other animals, " says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It's not just that we're going to where the animals are, we're also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen's pets, and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea. "I don't think it's fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them," says Isaksen.
"Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing," says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be
Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug may be kind at first. But some strains may become harmful. Monkey-pox doesn't look a major infectious disease. But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person. | high16143.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "China Mobile isChina's largest mobile phone sellers."
},
"options": [
"China Mobile isChina's largest mobile phone sellers.",
"China Mobile isChina's largest mobile communications operator.",
"China Mobile has covered nearly ... | China Mobile, the country's largest mobile communications operator, has accounted for nearly 40 percent of revenues in the domestic telecoms market. That puts it at the top of the six major telecoms operators in the nation, according to the latest official statistics .
The other five are: China Telecom, 31.1 percent; China Netcom, 16.6 percent; and China Unicom, 13.4 percent; China Satellite Communications Corp and China Rilcom, 1.5 percent.
Mobile communications and the IP phone business have gradually replaced traditional long-distance calls. Mobile communications account for 28.5 percent of the total long-distance communications business. IP phones have 41.4 percent, while traditional long-distance calls are down to 30.1 percent.
In another ranking , Nokia, Motorola, Bird, TCL and Siemens came in as the top five mobile phone sellers in China in the first half of this year, according to South Daily. They report also says that during this period, prefix = st1 /Chinaproduced 82 million handsets (including GSM, GPRS and CDMA phones) and sold 80 million. Of the phones sold, 37 million were exported to other countries.
Analysts point out that China's lack of key technologies and its heavy dependence on overseas technologies have proved to be an obstacle for development of home-made phone makers. | high19270.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the cultural differences of the speakers"
},
"options": [
"the beauty of the language",
"how the language is spoken",
"the cultural differences of the speakers",
"the meeting of the day"
],
"question": "In Steph... | Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate the British accent of a BBC news reader?
Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex ! Let's listen to what they have to say.
Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK
A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it's Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy . A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. _ .
To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people.
Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US
From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men.Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style.
Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.
The English accent seems almost like art. | high2075.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "George Crookham."
},
"options": [
"His mother.",
"George Crookham.",
"His father.",
"The teachers in Harvard and Yale."
],
"question": "Who do you think had a major influence on John Wesley Powell'S life?",
... | John Wesley Powell(1834--1902)Was a famous explorer of the American West.When he Was young,his mother put him under the guidance of George Crookham,a self-taught scientist,from whom he received a wide,but informal,education.Young John learned many things about the natural sciences.But his father preferred him to study religion.The argument continued for three years.Then John decided to leave home to seek further education.He soon discovered that he knew more about science than any teacher he met.He realized that the only good scientific education in the country came from colleges in the east,like Harvard and Yale.But he Was too poor to go to them,SO he got work as a school teacher in Illinois.Whenever possible,he went on scientific trips of his own.
In 1861,civil war broke out in the United States.John joined the Union forces of the North.At the battle of Shiloh Powell lost his right arm.Despite his disability, he began his famous exploration of the Colorado River on May 24 1869.
It Was one of the greatest trips of discovery in the history of America.Never before had any white men traveled to that area.The trip Was far more dangerous than expected.The rivers were filled with rocky areas and waterfalls.Sometimes,the boats overturned or broke into pieces against big rocks.All along the way, Powell measured distances,temperatures,heights,depths and currents.He examined soils,rocks and plant life.Powell'S explorations led to the creation of US Geological Survey, which became responsible for all mapping and scientific programs of American lands.
Powell's scientific studies of western lands shaped his ideas of how those lands should be used.He suggested programs to control both crop farming and cattle raising.He Was especially concerned about water supplies.Many of his ideas were rejected at first and were not signed into law until years after his death because they were far ahead of his time. | high21937.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The sharp increase of tuition fees."
},
"options": [
"Poor quality of higher education.",
"The sharp increase of tuition fees.",
"The poor economic situation in EU.",
"Higher living cost in England."
],
"questio... | Britain's private schools are one of its most successful exports.The children of the well-off flock to them,whether from China,Nigeria or Russia :the number of foreign pupils rose by 1.4%in the last year alone.
Yet foreign students,whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere,are decreasingly likely to go to English universities.According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England,307,200 overseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-13,down from 312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years.Student numbers from the rest of the European Union(EU)fell--probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from PS6,000($10,000)a year to PS9,000.But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined most sharply.
In contrast to the visa system for private schools,which is extremely loose(the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors),student visas have been tightened.Foreign students used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating.They now have only four months to find a job paying up to PS20,600 if they want to stay in Britain.
This change was intended to deal with fake colleges offering two-year work visas.But it seems to have put off serious students too.Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigration it wants to restrict.Australia and America,which have more relaxed entry criteria for students,are becoming more favoured destinations.
Britain's student-visa system bas become more onerous overall.As a result,Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent.Its unwelcoming attitude will harm its long-term development.And the drift of foreign students from leading British private schools to American colleges may have another, somewhat happier,consequence:America might become rather better at cricket . | high18608.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "they are really proud of their present life"
},
"options": [
"they are really tired of their present situation",
"they are really proud of their present life",
"they are complaining about their current work",
"their lif... | If you live in America in the 21stcentury you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing:"Busy!""Crazy busy!".It is,pretty obviously,a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:"That's a good problem to have,"or"Better than the opposite."
Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are.What those people are is not busy but tired.Exhausted!Dead on their feet.It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed:work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily,classes and activities they've "encouraged" their kids to participate in.They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety,because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in _ absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work.It's something they have chosen.Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance ,a measure against emptiness,obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or tiny or meaningless if you are so busy,completely booked,in demand every hour of the day.
Idleness is not just a vacation.It is as necessary to the brain as vitamin D is to the body,and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as ugly as rickets.The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole,for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration."Idle dreaming is often the essence of what we do,"wrote Thomas Pynchon.Archimedes' "Eureka"in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments. | high2713.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Building snowmen was a way for people to express themselves."
},
"options": [
"People thought of snow as holy art supplies.",
"People longed to see masterpieces of snow.",
"Building snowmen was a way for people to express the... | Look to many of history's cultural symbols, and there you'll find an ancestor of Frosty, the snowman in the movie Frozen. It appeared on some of the first postcards, starred in some of the earliest silent movies, and was the subject of a couple of the earliest photos, dating all the way back to the 1800s. I discovered even more about one of humanity's earliest forms of life art during several years of research around the world.
For example, snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. It was a popular activity for couples to leisurely walk through town to view the temporary works of chilly art. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was appointed by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to build a snowman in his mansion's courtyard.
The Miracle of 1511 took place during six freezing works called the Winter of Death. The city of Brussels was covered in snowmen--an impressive scene that told stories on every street corner. Some were political in nature, criticizing the church and government. Some were a reflection of people's imagination. For the people of Brussels, this was a defining moment of defining freedom. At least until spring arrived, by which time they were dealing with damaging floods.
If you fear the heyday of the snowman has passed, don't worry: I've learned that some explosive snowman history is still being made today. Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechselauten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the Boogg is stuffed with explosive and paraded through town by bakers and other tradesmen who throw bread to the crowds. The parade ends with the Boogg being placed on a 40-foot pile of firewood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have rung six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over--the quicker it is burnt down, the longer summer is said to be. | high10254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "How we can improve the lives of the old."
},
"options": [
"The problem faced by the old in society.",
"Why we should take responsibility for the old.",
"How we can improve the lives of the old.",
"Where the old can go t... | One of the serious problems for today's society is who should be responsible for the old and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First,employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible,a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take lifelong responsibility for its employees,it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition,the government could take the responsibility for the care of the old. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore,some institutions should be created for senior citizens,which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately,as the present situation in our country shows,this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the old,particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some workplaces especially for the old where they are independent.
To sum up,all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore,it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to the old generations. | high16625.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a reward"
},
"options": [
"a reward",
"a punishment",
"business",
"a gift"
],
"question": "Mr Tamang treated the legacy as _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | Until a few months ago, he was a butler in one of the more expensive residential buildings in Manhattan. But now, Nepal-born Indra Tamang is the owner of two multi-million dollar apartments in the same building.
The former owner - his former employer, Ruth Ford - died last year and left the apartments to Mr Tamang in her will.
Mr Tamang is happy but quickly points out that his good fortune did not come easily. "I am happy and have been touched by the generosity of the Ford family," he says. "I never expected that I will be given the ownership of these apartments. But I have been working for the family for the last 36 years, devotedly, with honesty and dedication . So my hard work has been rewarded."
Mr Tamang was 21 when he was brought from Nepal by Charles Ford, a writer and a photographer. Mr Ford died in 2002; his sister, actress Ruth Ford, then took charge and told Mr Tamang that he was like a brother to her after Charles's death.
Mrs Ford died aged 98. During the last five years of her life, she lost her eyesight and also developed speech problems. Mr Tamang looked after her most of the time and took care of her medicines and food.
He also worked with Charles Ford on various photography projects, which he now wants to keep as the photographer's legacy . He hopes to organize exhibitions of Mr Ford's photographs and edit a book of his works.
Mr Tamang plans to sell the bigger, three-bedroom apartment to pay the taxes he owes to the government on his legacy. He says: "The rules of the building might be a problem, as they require a minimum monthly income to qualify to live as owner of apartments. I have my small house here but I am happy with it,"
Mr Tamang has learnt his lesson from the life of his employers and plans to use his money with great caution. "I think one should save money for old age. That's when you need it the most to get care," he says. | high4362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To express thanks for the blessings of the past year."
},
"options": [
"To celebrate the foundation of the country.",
"To enjoy a big feast and memorize their ancestors.",
"To express thanks for the blessings of the past year... | Americans have always been hungry for the holidays. After all, a big Thanksgiving feast is one of our country's oldest traditions, older than America itself. Thankfully, the spirit behind Thanksgiving has never changed, either. It has always been a special time to be thankful for the blessings of the past year.
The feast that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That's when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a harsh winter in their new country. Guests at outdoor tables gobbled up ducks, geese turkeys, clams, eels, fish, wild plums, corn bread and other goodies. About 90 Native Americans also came and brought five deer to add to the feast. The festival lasted for three days.
Thanksgiving customs spread and expanded along with the rest of America. After the American Revolution, George Washington proclaimed that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrate Thanksgiving locally and with no official date.
A women's magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale wanted to change this. After years of trying hard to get support, she finally persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to proclaim the last Thursday in November 1863 as a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way for 75 years afterward until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt set it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and help businesses. So Congress ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling each year on the fourth Thursday of November. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26. | high19516.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The invention was not so convenient."
},
"options": [
"Clothes couldn't be washed well.",
"The invention was not so convenient.",
"The bag couldn't contain enough water.",
"The cost of the invention was very high."
... | The biggest challenge faced by travelers especially those who like to have a backpacking trip is how to ensure a steady supply of clean clothes. Now, thanks to a great invention called Scrubba Wash Pack, that worry may be a thing of the past.
The portable washing machine was invented by Ash Newland in 2010, while planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Struck by the limited packing space, he got inspiration from traditional washboards to create a bag that could be used to clean clothes. Then he quitted his career as a lawyer and focused on perfecting the bag's design. By 2012, the bag was ready for the public. It weighed only 180 grams and required very little storage space, making it perfect for anyone wishing to travel light.
Not surprisingly, the bag worth 55 dollars was an instant hit with travelers, university students and even passengers. However, Newland was not satisfied. He still saw a flaw with his invention - dirty clothes had to be carried around in a separate bag! The recently introduced Scrubba Wash Pack solves that problem.
In order to make the pack active, dirty clothes are placed inside the bag along with two to three liters of water. The bag is then shut tightly to ensure all air is squeezed out and the clothes are massaged for a few minutes. After a quick wash, they are clean and ready to be dried. According to Newland, the pack can clean anything from jeans to smelly socks! What's even more amazing is that with a capacity to hold 13-liters of water, it can be used to wash more clothes at a time.
The best part is that the 99-dollar pack that will be available for sale later this year, only weighs 300 grams and is completely foldable, making it easy to store when it's not in use. With the Scrubba Wash Pack, wandering through foreign cities searching for a washing shop, or paying for washing machines may soon be a thing of the past! | high13985.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It is not easy to gain money"
},
"options": [
"Observation is the best teacher.",
"Seeing is believing.",
"The outsider sees the most of the game.",
"It is not easy to gain money"
],
"question": "By saying \"Do ... | For years I wanted a flower garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.
I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, _ budget.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."
Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis , a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.
That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does! | high8558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "stammerers should be understood and can contribute to the world"
},
"options": [
"stammerers face bullying in school but not in the workplace",
"Edward VIII gave up his crown because he was a stammerer",
"stammerers should be... | Imagine that you are in school, giving a speech to your class. Now think what it feels like when stammering makes it a struggle to communicate your thoughts and feelings to other people.
The King's Speech, which won the best picture at the Academy Awards in March, 2011, focuses on stammering along with other speech-related problems. The movie tells the story of Britain's King George VI, who became king after his brother Edward VIII gave up the crown to marry an American woman.
As a result of British actor Colin Firth's performance, people are starting to realize that stammering can damage a person's self-confidence and cause him or her to escape from life.
"The serious problem is unseen and unheard," said Norbert Lieckfeldt, an expert at the British Stammering Association, in an interview with a news reporter.
"Stammering masks your ability," he said. "It's a serious disability."
Most stammerers face bullying in school, something that is "usually carried over into the workplace".
George VI's stammer took away his confidence as a speaker. But Samantha Mesango, a speech coach based in the UK, believes that speech problems are more common than most people realize. "Some simply don't like the sound of their own voice; others are scared of speaking in public," she said.
Travis Treats from St.Louis University praisedThe King's Speech. He said it shows that "how one's speech does not mean what one is inside". He also added that people who stammer need to be heard and our society should recognize that they have a lot to give to the world. | high956.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "do good to the health of consumers"
},
"options": [
"lower the costs of the products",
"maker its food taste hatter than ever before",
"cure the heart disease",
"do good to the health of consumers"
],
"questio... | Beginning in October, more than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants in America will use a new variety of cooking oil. McDonald' s aims to make its French fries and other fried foods healthier.
The change will not affect the taste or the number of calories in the food. But by changing the cooking oil, McDonald's says, it hopes to cut by nearly half the amount of _ in French fries and reduce the amount of saturated fats by 16 percent. Scientists believe that trans fatty acids and saturated fats raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.
McDonald's new step is important because McDonald's is an industry leader and other fast-food chains and food processors may follow the lead.
For McDonald's ,the action comes at a time when Americans are becoming more and more concerned about; obesity and are increasing pressure on food companies to offer healthy and nutritious food to consumers.
After three years of study, McDonald's officials say they are _ oil that is lower in saturated fats and trans fatty acids. McDonald's says the change will not cause higher price for consumers.
Though there is some change, scientists say that the amount of trans fat in foods at McDonald's and at other fast-food companies is still important. | high12443.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to find solutions to the problem of poverty"
},
"options": [
"to define what the poverty line is",
"to explain why some people live the poverty line",
"to find solutions to the problem of poverty",
"to show sympathy fo... | The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.
As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today's ly high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.
For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old the normal retirement age.
Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation, they have family problems, or they do not believe that they can find a job.
Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.
At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways.
First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer be below the poverty line.
Second, if society invests in the poor, the poor will become more productive. If the government spends money on social programs, education, and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more likely that they can find jobs.
Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare. Since 1975 over 18 million people in the United States have received welfare per year.
Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living. | high23846.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A little confidence may help you achieve what might be impossible."
},
"options": [
"A little confidence may help you achieve what might be impossible.",
"Mrs. Goff is the best math teacher.",
"A teacher determines the fate o... | Mrs. Goff is a math teacher at Lincoln High School. Mrs. Goff and I met my freshman year. Zach Howe and I were on our way to a baseball game when he said he needed to get his stuff from Mrs. Goff's room. I had no idea who she was then, but he said she was great. Well, he was definitely right.
Last year, I had a college math class that required me to be in the computer lab, which was located directly behind Mrs. Goff's room. When I struggled in the section, I would go to Mrs. Goff's and ask for assistance. She told me that I was a little too dependent and not confident enough in my ability.
A little confidence, combined with effort, will do wonders for anyone in anything. If you go into something thinking negative thoughts, negative things will happen. Mrs. Goff taught me that it was OK to make a few mistakes. Mistakes are a part of everyone's life. She told me that it is how you learn from them that defines your character. A person that learns from his or her mistakes is more likely to be a successful person in life.
This year, I have spent a lot of time with Mrs. Goff. She really helps me instill confidence in myself and others around me. The encouragement that she has given me made me realize that I can do the same thing for people. Therefore, she has helped my leadership skills and increased my confidence in being outgoing.
Mrs. Goff is a great role model in my life, and I appreciate everything she has done for me. I will never forget the things that she has done for me and the things she has helped me learn and accomplish throughout high school. I hope to be as good a teacher as she and give encouragement that she has for me and all of her students. | high6575.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "On her own, but not alone"
},
"options": [
"On her own, but not alone",
"A friend in need is a friend indeed",
"A new practice of American government",
"An impressive advantage of the Internet"
],
"question": "T... | Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans. She wasn't married and had no kids, but she didn't intend to be alone--she and all her single friends would move into a fictional home she called Casa de Biddies. Instead, Baer developed terminal brain cancer when she was 52. But just as she'd hoped, her friends and family provided her with love and care to the end.
Ballance was only the first of Baer's friends who became her unofficial caregivers. With her brother Phil Baer from Los Angeles, they worked out a system to watch over their friend and allow her to keep some of the privacy and independence she cherished.
Baer's good friend Ruth Henrich took Baer to doctors' appointments and helped her deal with all the aspects of life --answering machines, TV controls, and even phone numbers. After Henrich sent out an e-mail request, a group of volunteers signed up to ferry Baer back and forth to radiation therapy . Others in Baer's circle offered up particular talents: A nurse friend helped Baer figure out how to get what she was due from Social Security and her disability insurance; a lawyer pal helped Baer with her will; a partner who was an accountant took over her bills when she could no longer manage them. "There was this odd sense that the right person always showed up," says Ballance. Their arrangement worked remarkably well.
Unmarried women are one of the fastest-growing groups in America; experts are concerned about how care-giving will be managed for them as they age. If the experience of Baer's friends is a guide, _ . It's already making it possible to create communities of caregivers who may have only one thing in common: the person who needs their help. On personal "care pages" set up through services such as Lotsa Helping Hands, friends and family members can post a list of tasks that need to be done, volunteer to do them, and keep updated on the person's condition. As Baer's cancer progressed, for example, her friends set up a page on Yahoo! where people could sign up to deliver meals or do errands .
Catherine Fox, one of the friends who were present when Baer died, was deeply affected. "It was so comforting to know that if you're willing to ask for help, the generosity of family and friends can be phenomenal . It makes me feel secure and hopeful to know that help is there when you need it. " | high9646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "medical records before June 25 won't be received"
},
"options": [
"all Michael Jackson's medical records can be accessed",
"Mitchell Beckloff will not go over the record first",
"Joe Jackson's lawyer will not get any records"... | LOS ANGELES, the US
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled Michael Jackson's father can receive some medical records related to his superstar son's death.The judge will review the records first before making them accessible to Joe Jackson's lawyer,Brian Oxman.Beckloff said the man can only receive records on or after June 25the day Michael Jackson died.
VANCOUVER,CANADA
World number one Zhou Yang overcame three South Korean players to win the women's short track speed skating 1,500 meters final at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.The l8-year-old made perfect debut as she set an Olympic record of a winning time of 2 minutes and l6,993 seconds among other seven skaters.
China has never won the women's l,500 meters in the Olympics before,and this time Zhou's performance gave China its third gold medal in Vancouver.
BElJING,CHINA
China's first compulsory, safety regulation on primary school buses,which requires every seat to have a seat belt,will take effect on July l to help ensure safer transportation for the country's 100 million students.
Each primary school bus must also be equipped with a "black box",0r a recording monitor,to record speed,travel time and distance.Also,the bus must be staffed by teachers who will ensure student safety.In addition,the new rule states that the color of the school buses should be yellow,and each bus must have at least two emergency exits.
Texas,the US
A software engineer who crashed his plane into a Texas building housing a United States tax agency office,killing himself and at least one worker,apparently left behind an angry anti-government manifesto detailing his financial difficulties and tax problems.The pilot took off from an airport in Georgetown.about 48 km from Austin.He flew low over the Austin skyline before plowing into the building. | high765.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "improve their education at home to get better jobs"
},
"options": [
"attend full-time universities",
"work part time to further their education",
"improve their education at home to get better jobs",
"earn their degrees... | Have you ever wondered what a Degree in your job or career? It means a lot of Americans with an Associate Degree average nearly $10,000 more in yearly earnings than those with just a High School Diploma .
Harcourt Learning Direct offers you a way to get a Specialized Associate Degree in 11 of today's growing fields--without having to go to college full-time. With Harcourt, you study at home, in your spare time, so you don't have to give up your present job while you train for a better one. Choose from exciting majors like Business Management, Accounting, Dressmaking&Design, Bookkeeping, Photography, Computer Science, Engineering, and more!
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Books, lessons, learning aids-even professional-quality tools and equipment--everything you need to master your training and more ahead to a new career is included in the low tuition price you pay.
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Nearly 2, 000 American companies-including General Electric, IBM, Mobile, General Motors, Ford, and many others--have used our training for their employees. If companies like these recognize the value of our training, you can be sure that employees in your area will, too!
Earn your degree in as little as two years! Get a career diploma in just six months!
The career of your dreams is closer than you think! Even if you have no experience before, you can get valuable job skills in today's hottest fields! Step-by-step lessons make learning easy. Prepare for promotions , pay raises, even start a business of your own!
Send today for FREE information about Harcourt at home training!
Simply fill in your name and address on the coupon above. Then write in the name and number of the one program you're most interested in, and mail it today. We'll rush your free information about how you can take advantage of the opportunities. In the field you've chosen. Act today!
Mail coupon today! Or call the number below
1-800-372-1589.
Call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
www. Harcourt-learning.com
E-mail: Harcourt@learning.com. | high7858.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": ". Their families"
},
"options": [
". Friends",
". Their families",
". Their parents",
". Other s"
],
"question": "With whom do Polish people have Christmas Eve supper?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"... | People in Poland tend to spend Christmas with their families, and the most important part of Christmas is Christmas Eve supper. The whole family just sits around the table, and there are twelve traditional dishes on the table, and you are supposed to taste them all, because if you don't try them all you may have bad luck in the coming year. Before everybody sits down to supper, they just break wafers with each other, wishing each ot her good luck. As soon as the supper is over, the children go to the other room, where the big Christmas tree stands and they find Christmas presents under the Christmas tree. After that, the whole family just sits around the table singing Christmas songs, and waiting for midnight to come, when they go to church. | high23675.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Mother asked Peter to hold Kate's hand all the way."
},
"options": [
"Kate didn't know their destination at all.",
"Peter and Kate missed their stop in the end.",
"Peter is thought to take Kate to the North Pole.",
"Mot... | Peter and his seven-year-old sister ,Kate , were at the same school. Not long after his tenth birthday Peter was entrusted to take her to school.
It was only two stops down the road , but the way his parents kept going on about it , you might have thought Peter was taking Kate to the North Pole . He was given instructions the night before. When he woke up , he had to listen to them over and over again. He was to keep hold of Kate's hand at all times , sit close to the front nearest the window , and tell the bus driver the name of his stop.
Peter repeated all this back to his mother and set out for the bus stop with his sister. They held hands all the way. Actually he didn't mind this but simply hoped that none of his friends would see him holding a girl's hand. The bus came. They got on and sat close to the front. It was ridiculous sitting there holding hands and there were some boys from school there, so they let go of each other.
Peter was feeling proud of himself. He could take care of his sister anywhere. If they were alone tighter on a mountain pass and came face to face with a pack of hungry wolves, he could know exactly what to do. Taking care and not to make sudden movement, he would move away with Kate until they had their backs to a large rock. That way the wolves would not be able to surround them.
Then he takes from his pocket two important things--his hunting knife and a box of matches. He takes the knife from its sheath and sets it down on the grass, ready in case the wolves attack. They're coming close now. They're so hungry and are watering and growling . Kate is crying, but he cannot comfort her. He knows he has to concentrate on his plan. Right at their feet are some dry leaves and twigs. Quickly and skillfully, Peter gathers them into a small pile. The wolves are edging closer. He has to get this right. There's only one match left in the box. He bends down, cups his hand and lights the match. There's strong rush of wind. The flame flickers, but Peter holds it close to the pile and then first one leaf, then another, then the end of a twig catch fire, and soon the little pile is burning. He piles on more leaves and twigs and larger sticks. The wolves are backing off. Wild animals are terrified of fire. The flames are leaping higher and the wind is carrying the smoke right into their jaws. Now Peter takes holds of the hunting knife and ...
Ridiculous! A daydream like this could make him miss his stop if he wasn't careful. The bus had come to a halt. The kids from his school were already getting off. Peter leaped to his feet and just managed to jump to the pavement as the bus was starting off again. It was more than fifty yards down the road when he realized he had forgotten something. Was it his backpack ? No. It was his sister. He had saved her from the wolves and left her sitting there. For a moment, he couldn't move. He stood watching the bus pull away up the road. "Come back," he murmured, "Come back." | high2920.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "her kindness to others"
},
"options": [
"her kindness to others",
"her excellent teaching",
"her quality of honesty",
"her positive attitude to life"
],
"question": "The author admired her mom for _ .",
"... | Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. She was kind. People always seemed to feel comfortable in her presence. For years, she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home with her where she taught a ceramic class.
On one summer day, Mama told me to get changed and meet her at the car.
I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? I imagined the cool lake water. Irritated, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. We sat in silence. I was too upset to make conversation.
"Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?" Mama asked calmly.
"No," I said.
"We are going to volunteer at a children's shelter today. I have been there before and I think it would benefit you," she explained.
When we reached the shelter, Mama rang the doorbell. Moments later, we were greeted by a woman. She led us to the front room where all of the children were playing. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with iron marks. I was told it was because she wouldn't stop crying. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars. Others hid their emotional wounds.
As I took in my surroundings, I felt a gentle tug on my shirt. I looked down to see a little girl looking up at me. "Hi. You want to play dolls with me?" she asked. I looked over at Mama for _ . She smiled and nodded. I turned back and said, "Sure." Her tiny hand reached up and held mine, as if to comfort me.
My mom taught me a valuable lesson that summer. I returned to the shelter with her several times. During those visits, some of the children shared their troubled pasts with me and I learned to be grateful for what I had. Today as I strive to instill these values in my own child, I reflect back to that experience. It was a time that I will never forget. | high5097.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They should take it as a reference."
},
"options": [
"They should take it as a reference.",
"They should make their kids' sleep hours different from it.",
"They should follow it regularly and strictly.",
"They should no... | Sleep -- or a lack of it -- is probably the most-discussed part of baby care. New parents discover its importance in those first few weeks and months after their babies were born. Actually, the quality and quantity of a baby's sleep affects the well-being of everyone in the family. So how do new parents get their children to bed through the cries? And how much sleep is enough for their children? It all depends on their children' s age.
Sleeping charts that list the hours of sleep likely to be required by a baby or a two-year-old may cause concern if individual differences aren't considered. These numbers are simply averages reported by large groups of children of a particular age. There's no satisfactory number of hours required by all kids in a certain age group. Two-year-old Sarah might sleep from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am, while two-year-old Johnny is just as alert the next day after sleeping from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am.
Still, sleep is very important to a child's well-being. The link between a child's lack of sleep and his or her behavior isn't always obvious. When adults are tired, they can have low energy, but kids can become overexcited, disagreeable and have extremes in behavior. Most children's sleep requirements fall within a predictable range of hours based on their age, but each child is a unique individual with different sleep needs.
Here's a summary of a few ways that may help your child ease into a good night's sleep:
Stick to bedtime.
Consider playing soft music.
Don't give your baby a bottle of milk or any sugar-containing drink to aid sleep.
There isn't one sure way to raise a good sleeper, but every parent should be encouraged to know that most children have the ability to sleep well. The key is to try, from early on, to establish healthy sleep habits that may last a lifetime. | high16816.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Jane Addams' work for social reform and world peace."
},
"options": [
"The early development of social work in America.",
"Contributions of educated women to American society.",
"Jane Addams' work for social reform and world ... | The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually and the first woman to win this prize was Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner in 1905. In fact, her work inspired the creation of the Prize. The first American woman to win this prize was Jane Addams, in 1931. However, Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House.
Jane Addams was born in I860, into a wealthy family. She was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her dedication to improving the lives of those around her led her to work for social reform and world peace. In the 1880s Jane Addams travelled to Europe. While she was in London, she visited a "settlement house" called Toynbee Hall. Inspired by Toynbee Hall, Addams and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, opened Hull House in a neighborhood of slums in Chicago in 1899. Hull House provided a day care center for children of working mothers, a community kitchen, and visiting nurses. Addams and her staff gave classes in English literacy, art, and other subjects. Hull House also became a meeting place for clubs and labor unions. Most of the people who worked with Addams in Hull House were well educated, middle-class women. Hull House gave them an opportunity to use their education and it provided a training ground for careers in social work.
Before World War I, Addams was probably the most beloved woman in America. In a newspaper poll that asked, "Who among our contemporaries are of the most value to the community?",Jane Addams was rated second, after Thomas Edison. When she opposed America's involvement in World War I, however, newspaper editors called .her a traitor and a fool, but she never changed her mind. Jane Addams was a strong champion of several other causes. Until 1920, American women could not vote. Addams joined in the movement for women's suffrage and was a vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Her reputation was gradually restored during the last years of her life. She died of cancer in 1935. | high18185.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Friday"
},
"options": [
"Monday",
"Saturday",
"Friday",
"the first day of the month"
],
"question": "From the passage we know that the virus attacked thousands of computers on .",
"question_type": null
},
... | Email systems at thousands of companies' offices around the world were attacked by a virus called "Mellissa" that _ itself as "an important message" from a friend.
"Even though there was a weekend warning, more than 50,000 companies at about 100 places around the world have been attacked by the virus," computer experts said on Monday.
The virus began to show up last Friday and spread rapidly the next first workday by making computers send off dozens of email containing the virus. Although the virus had no long-lasting damage to a computer, its effects were far-reaching.
Michael Vatis, a senior US official said military and government computers were damaged, along with thousands of the other instructions' systems.
The body of email message says "Here is what you ask for..." Once the user opens it, the virus digs into the user's address book and sends out messages to the first 50 addresses. The reason the virus spreads so rapidly is that you're getting it from people you know and trust. So anyone who gets an unexpected email with the "Important Message" subject line is advised not to open it and to delete it immediately. | high21704.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He's gaining weight and feeling bad."
},
"options": [
"He wants to take better care of others.",
"He's gaining weight and feeling bad.",
"He did not take any exercise in the past.",
"He got the idea from his son."
]... | Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words for a new year. Many others and I have followed his lead for the past three or four years. They helped me a lot. My words for last year were"passion", "focus"and"delegate"and I stayed true to them. This year, 2013, my goals are more personal and less professional.
FOCUS
Focus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because I'm too much of a _ . The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling me. When I was working as a writer, all my projects were handled via a schedule, I'm putting a fitness and housekeeping routine into my schedule.
HEALTH
I get so busy taking care of everyone else, and I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check, not only for me but because I promised my 9-year-old son. I'll make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, and it's time to get it back.
CELEBRATE
What good is having it if I'm not taking time to enjoy it? I have a wonderful job, a happy family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summer my family took our first vacation in four years, the best thing I've done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, I'm making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings.
Do you have any words for 2013? | high5929.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Desire to drive on the road declines among American teens."
},
"options": [
"Desire to drive on the road declines among American teens.",
"Getting a license costs much more than ever before.",
"Social networking sites are cha... | When I was growing up, 16 was always a magical age, a symbol of maturity, responsibility and of course more independence and freedom. I sat through the hours of Driver's Ed classes eager to get out on the road. I couldn't wait to get my driver's license.
But it's a different story for today's teens. In January, the U.S. Department Transportation released 2012 data that showed only 30.7 percent of U.S. teens got their license at age 16, Twenty years before, that number was almost 45 percent.
There are numbers of reasons for the fall - off. The growing responsibilities like paying for insurance and high gas prices discourage teens from getting behind the wheel. Plus, many teens today are so busy with homework, endless hours of activities and part-time jobs, that finding the time for Driver's Ed classes may be more difficult that ever.
In addition, many states have raised the driving age, or restricted when teens can drive and who they can have in the car. Parents may also be making their own personal restrictions until they feel their teens are responsible enough to drive safely.
Driving is part of the American culture, but it's not the central focus like it was 25 years ago. They have so many other things to do now. One of the more interesting factors delaying teens driving might be the change of their social life. Today, teens need to look no further than Face book or other social networking sites to connect with their friends. There is simply less need, maybe less desire, to be able to grab the keys and go.
Michelle Wei got her license as a senior in high school because her digital social life made it easy no to drive. "If I couldn't get a ride to see my friend who lives a town over," the 19-year-old said, "I could talk on IM or Skype."
Research has shown that these online relationships can lead to higher quality friendships, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, it's important to find a balance. If old face-to-face friendships are good, why not drive to find them? | high3380.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "You really worn me out."
},
"options": [
"I was greatly astonished.",
"You really worn me out.",
"I felt much appreciated.",
"You left me impressed."
],
"question": "Which of the following is closest in meaning ... | A college student has turned the act of telling someone off into an art form. Lama Ali, who attend school in Virginia, had three final assignments due on the same day for her fashion drawing class. Exhausted after working on painting for seven hours straight, the 20-year-old decided to include a message in American Sign Language to her professor:
When your drawing teacher assigns 3 finals so you secretly write "you got me fucked up" in sign language on your final piece.
----Shawty Arabia(@LemAli23) December 7,2016
"You got me fucked up," a bunch of hands in the painting spell out in ASL, in a form of sign known as finger spelling , which uses signs for each letter, rather than for the words themselves.
"Honestly the idea just came to me while I was finishing up the piece," Ali toldThe Huffington Post." I was looking at it and thought, 'This could really use something else'. And then the idea struck me: Why not secretly express how I was feeling while struggling at the library at 4 a. m.?"
Once the fashion design major had finished her masterpiece, she posted it to Twitter on Dec. 7, where it has received over 113,000likes and 48,000 retweets .
Ali, who does not know ASL, toldHuffPostshe taught herself a little bit just for this particular assignment.
"You know it's bad when you have to learn a whole other language to express how done you are," she said. "I remembered seeing a post on Tumblr long ago with a similar phrase by the post, she decided to look up the letters in ASL to spell out the message. Someone on Twitter even did the good work of circling them in the painting.
Ali toldHuffPostthat when she finally presented the piece to her professor in her class, he absolutely loved it.
"Most of my friends in class actually knew about the secret message, so I was really surprised when no one laughed or blew my cover during critique ." She also admits that her professor still doesn't know about the message, despite her post getting so much attention. | high14967.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Users can find the best possible route by the system."
},
"options": [
"It can decide destination for users.",
"It sends back information every 30 minutes.",
"Users can earn much money by the system.",
"Users can find t... | More than 700 business leaders, government officials and investors gathered in Mountain View, California in December,2012 to attend the Social Innovation Summit. It is an invitation-only conference aimed at finding new ways to deal with old problems.
Traffic jam is a problem that Bruggemann hopes to solve."Traffic is really bad in most countries and we thought there must be some way of doing something about it."Last week, his team, winning the prize for its"nunav"traffic management system, received a Microsoft Imagine Cup Grant of $100,000."Everyone that's using our system sends his present position as well as the destination to our servers every 30 seconds. And with that information our central system can reroute all of the cars in a way that everyone gets his individual best possible route."
Bruggemann says early research with the system has been promising."We found out that it could be possible to save up to 20 percent of the fuel consumption. Even more interesting, it can save up to 50 percent of the time you spend in traffic so you could get to your destination twice as fast."
Team Cypher256 from Uganda also was invited to the Social Innovation Summit. They developed a device ,called WinSenga, aimed at improving health care for pregnant women in Africa. It measures the early baby's heart sounds to help test the heart rate, age and position of the baby in the mother. The device is similar in operation to an ultrasound test, but is far less costly and very practical in Africa.
This is the third year for the Social Innovation Summit. The event is held twice a year, once in New York and once in California. The first one in 2012 was held in May. The United Nations'Office for Partnerships helped to organize the event. | high23113.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "her son Paul needed an examination"
},
"options": [
"one of her children liked to play there",
"her son Paul needed an examination",
"she was tired and needed to see her doctor",
"she wanted to have all her children exa... | Sitting in the play area of the doctor's office, my children, Paul, four, and Bailey, three, built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul's examination.
"Good job, you guys,"I said, trying not to sound too tired. My husband was away on business, and it was difficult being alone with the kids. At times I felt like I was living in the jungle rather than the suburbs.
"Don't put the Lego in your mouth, Bailey,"I said. Paul grabbed it from him."That's not nice, Paul,"I said. He gave back the Lego. I looked around the waiting room. A woman was eating something, a couple were talking, and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine. I wished I could sit quietly for a while. I wanted to be able to take a rest, or go shopping alone. At once, I was ashamed of myself. What kind of mother was I? "God,"I thought, "help me to be the very best mom I can be."
The nurse came into the waiting room to get us. Just at that moment, the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me. With a smile on his face, he said, "Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.""Thank you,"I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat. We followed the nurse into the examination room. While she weighed Paul, I told her how that man had made my day.
Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes, but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman. | high1597.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Other patients in the hospital didn't get the same kindness as her."
},
"options": [
"She was given less care in the hospital.",
"Patients were only given physical care in the hospital.",
"She didn't get treatment immediately... | Two years ago I fell off the steps of a bus while climbing down and twisted my ankle. What followed was the usual way that is common in the US. A few hours later I was treated and discharged. What was uncommon was that I received extra care while going to ER(emergency room) and while I was in the hospital.
People were kind to me, men and women alike. They wheeled me into a private room instead of making me wait in the crowded waiting room. Someone came and asked me if the temperature is OK. When I said I was cold, he brought me a blanket and some magazines, in case I got bored. The nurses stopped by, making pleasant chats with me. People always came to ask me if I was in too much pain and if I needed anything...
There were other people who were brought in while I was waiting. Patients groaning in pain were given the care they needed and then ignored. My injury was not the priority, so while I was not pushed to the front of the line, my several hours' stay in the hospital was made as pleasant as possible. Why would people do that? They gave others care, while I got kindness.
Like any other good looking, healthy, independent person, man or woman,it looks as if the world isnicer to rich people, and the world is nicer to attractive people. I'm not in the dating world. It's not about free drinks and gifts. It's about people being nice.
I'm grateful for any positive behavior because I know this is temporary. Eventually I will join the groups of the elderly, the weak and the seemingly unattractive. One thing I refuse to do is to make excuses for being attractive. I know it's temporary. I know it's the luck of the draw and I know that I'm just one of the many. Does it matter to my husband, my mother and my kids what I look like? No. And I wouldn't have it any other way. | high14973.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "an eye-scanning camera on computer"
},
"options": [
"a computer screen with eye-scanning sensors",
"an eye-scanning camera on computer",
"a color1ed box attached to the computer",
"a regular keyboard with sensors"
]... | A report on a new software that enables eyes to do the typing appears in Wednesday's edition of the journal Nature. Replacing a keyboard or mouse, eye-scanning-cameras mounted on computers have become necessary tools for people without limbs or those affected with paralysis. The camera tracks the movement of the eye, allowing users to "type" on a virtual keyboard as they look at the screen. And now, researchers from the Cavendish Laboratory at prefix = st1 /CambridgeUniversitysay they have developed software that replaces the standard QWERTY keyboard layout with one that is nearly twice as efficient, more accurate and easier on the eyes. Called Dasher, the prototype program looks into the natural gaze of the eye and makes predictable words and phrases simpler to write. Any off-the-shelf camera capable of scanning eye movement can be used with Dasher, though the person must sit fairly still during the interaction.
The letters of the alphabet appear in a single column on the right of the screen, with an underline symbol to represent a space. Each letter is framed by a color1ed box. As the user looks at a particular letter on the right side of the screen and drags it to the left with their eye, another sub-alphabet column begins to emerge inside the box on the right-hand side, along with more letters framed in color1ed boxes. Dasher is designed to anticipate which letter will be needed, so although the successive sub-alphabet columns are initially very small, the letters or combination of letters that appear are most likely to be used next in that sequence. For example, if a person starts with the letter "h", the language models in Dasher will bring up "a" "e" "i" "o" and "u" in the sub-alphabet box, along with a few other possible combinations like "ello" to form the word "hello". Each box has a complete alphabet within it, though the first letters to appear have the highest probability of usage. The letters are then placed together to form a sentence on the left side of the screen.
Researchers say people will be able to write up to 25 words per minute with Dasher compared to on-screen keyboards, which they say average about 15 words per minute. With a bit of practice, MacKay said, Dasher offers an easier and more satisfying way for disabled people to communicate, providing them with better tools to write e-mail or create word processor files. Mackay said Dasher could work in most languages. | high22219.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "opposed."
},
"options": [
"supportive.",
"understanding.",
"indifferent.",
"opposed."
],
"question": "What was Callier's mother's attitude towards his dream of becoming a star?",
"question_type": null
},
... | The New Folk Sound Of Terry Collier attracted little interest when first released , and by the time it was championed on a music chart, Callier had long abandoned music for a career in computer programming.As a result, he returned to music to make many recordings with some leading young artists in Britain, making it the most successful period of his life.
Terry Callier was born into a poor family on May 24, 1945 and grew up in Chicago.He learned to practice the piano and began singing in groups in his teens.He released his first single, Look At Me Now in 1962.When offered a tour, he seemed to be a shining star soon.But then his mother stepped in, insisting that, at 17 , his place was not on the road but at home studying.
While attending college, he began performing in folk clubs and coffee houses.It was also when he started his songwriting.Callier continued to record and give live concerts through the 1970s touring with some famous popular singers.His combination of fierce guitar, wise lyrics and sweet voices created a distinctive style known as jazz-folk.However, he had more success as a songwriter than as a singer when he sang his hit song The Love We Had Stays on My Mind in 1971.
In 1983 he abandoned music completely to attend his 12-year-old daughter after splitting up with his wife.He got a steady job at the University of Chicago and did not touch a guitar for years.Many years later, some DJs discovered his old recordings and began to play his songs in clubs.Though Callier was unwilling to get involved in music again, Callier was eventually persuaded to come back, which brought him more applauses than he had ever experienced. | high23107.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "newspaper"
},
"options": [
"book",
"newspaper",
"poster",
"advertisement"
],
"question": "The letters are from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Dear Editor,
I'm a Senior I study in a middle school. This term, my favorite teacher, Miss Mao, no longer teaches us. I want to see her, but I'm afraid that she no longer likes me and I don't want to trouble her. I really miss her. What should I do?
Tian Yan
Dear Tian Yan,
It's bad luck that you have lost your favorite teacher, But if she is still in your school , nothing can stop you going to see her. When she isn't busy, ask her if she minds having a quick chat. You can then tell her she was your favorite teacher------ everyone is happy to know that they are liked!
If she has left the school, it will be more difficult to meet her. It will be hard, but remember people always come and go in their lives. We can't rely on them to be with us all the time.
You may be sad to say goodbye to her, but we can remember and learn from her. Think of her best qualities.
You could also try looking for similar qualities in your other teachers. Study hard and give your new teacher a chance. In time, you might start to see that he or she has different qualities to learn from.
Finally, you can not completely rely on other people to get you through your studies , or even your life.
Editor | high1583.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "hearts and long life"
},
"options": [
"men's heart cells",
"women's aging process,",
"the gender difference",
"hearts and long life"
],
"question": "The text mainly talks about _ .",
"question_type": "clo... | Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men's hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of aging on the heart has found that women's _ may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
"We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age," said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
"Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men," said Goldspink. "This is part of the aging process."
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman's heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one's.
"This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men," said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. "The team has yet to find why aging takes a greater loss on the male heart," said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age. | high18191.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she was badly treated by him everyday"
},
"options": [
"he was too poor to support the family",
"she was badly treated by him everyday",
"he owed a lot of money to other people",
"her mother had warned her about him"
... | When I was 23 years old I was in a dangerous relationship with the man who was my fiance at the time. I was being physically and verbally abused on a daily basis. I was financially tied to him after he spent all my savings to pay his debts but I wanted to be free!
For the longest time I was too embarrassed to tell my mother about the situation. She had warned me about him. But, eventually, I worked up the courage to tell her and she sent me the money I needed to leave. Before the money arrived, he found out what I planned to do. I was so scared of what he might do that I decided to leave without taking all my belongings and just get out of there.
Then, on my way to safety, my car died! I had automobile insurance (thanks to my mom) so I called the AAA and had them pull the car to a garage. It turned out the repair was going to cost $800 and the money my mom sent hadn't arrived by that point.
The owner of the garage must have known something was up because he asked what was wrong. I told him a brief version of my story and promised him I could pay him in two days. He never told me his name but I will never forget him or what he did for me that day! He fixed the car immediately and told me he would not accept any payment ---- ever! He said he had a daughter almost my age and hoped that if she ever needed help in the future then some stranger might do the same for her.
Since then I have tried to help people in my own way. Now I have a beautiful 12-year-old daughter and I hope throughout her life she can help others and be helped when she needs it, like I was! | high21710.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He was proud of his skills."
},
"options": [
"He was equipped with the best repairing tools.",
"He was the only cobbler in the Marais.",
"He was proud of his skills.",
"He was a native Parisian."
],
"question": ... | He's an old cobbler with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me, "I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street. He'll fix them for you right away."
But I had my eyes on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman . "No." I replied, "The other fellow can't do it well."
"The other fellow" was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap , you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped hands on his blue apron , looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, "Come back in a week."
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
"See what I can do?" he said with pride. "Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work."
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange dusty felt hat, his funny accent and his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it "pays", when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption rather than a way to realize their abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done. | high3394.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "choose English as their primary school language"
},
"options": [
"speak English both at home and at school",
"are required to learn two languages at school",
"choose English as their primary school language",
"are expec... | Over 60%of pupils in South African schools choose English for learning and teaching, but only 7%of pupils speak English as their home language, a recent South Africa survey shows.
Out of the country's 12.2 million pupils only 851,536 speak English at home, yet 7.6 million pupils choose English as their favorite language of learning and teaching. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language, spoken by over 3.1 million pupils. However, less than a third of them choose to be taught in Zulu. The same thing is true of Pedi-speaking pupils, only a third of such pupils choosing to be taught in their home language. Besides English,
Afrikaans is the only language that has more pupils choosing it as their language of instruction than it has pupils who speak it at home. In primary schools, most pupils will choose African languages. As early as grade four, many would choose English or Afrikaans in their lessons.
The rising number of English-learning pupils is mainly caused by social and cultural reasons. English is the most common spoken language in official and public life in South Africa, the survey reports. In April 2011, the leaders of higher education and training said that they would take some steps to improve the university teaching and prevent the continuing _ of African languages. They suggested that in future every South African university student could be required to learn at least one African language in order to complete their studies at school. | high5083.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Three"
},
"options": [
"One",
"Two",
"Three",
"Four"
],
"question": "How many means of transportation are suggested in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | "San Francisco, open your Golden Gate," sang the girl in the theatre. She never finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906.
The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years.
You leave the palm trees in Union Square -- the heart of San-Francisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations -- Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda , it is easy to feel you are in China itself.
Fisherman's Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may decide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the famous, now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito -- a little like London's Chelsea or New York's Greenwich Village--to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs. | high20368.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Humor enables us to cope with difficult situation effectively."
},
"options": [
"Humor is the key to success in our work and our lives.",
"Humor enables us to cope with difficult situation effectively.",
"Humor is the only be... | Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected, means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying "no," criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face. For some jobs, it's the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialogue may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum.
Humor is often the best way to keep a small misunderstanding from escalating into a big deal. Recently a neighbor of mine had a squabble with his wife as she drove him to the airport. Airborne, he felt miserable, and he knew she did, too. Two hours after she returned home, she received a long-distance phone call. "Person-to-person for Mrs. I. A. Pologize," intoned the operator. "That's spelled 'P' as in..." In a twinkling, the whole day changed from grim to lovely at both ends of the wire.
An English hostess with a quick wit was giving a formal dinner for eight distinguished guests whom she hoped to enlist in a major charity drive. Austerity was a fashion in England at the time, and she had asked her children to serve the meal. She knew that anything could happen--and it did, just as her son, with the studied concentration of a tightrope walker, brought in a large roast turkey. He successfully elbowed the swinging dining-room door, but the backswing threw the bird onto the dining-room floor.
The boy stood rooted: guests stared at their plates. Moving only her head the hostess smiled at her son," No harm, Daniel," she said. "Just pick him up and take him back to the kitchen"... she enunciated clearly so he would think about what she was saying... "and bring in the other one."
A wink and a one-liner instantly changed the dinner from a red-faced embarrassment to a conspiracy of fun. | high771.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "color1 preference has its historical origins"
},
"options": [
"the ancient Africa was a a beautiful place",
"human beings lived in Africa at first",
"women and men have different color1 preference",
"color1 preference h... | Girls really prefer pink and boys prefer blue, recent research shows.
The reasons could have its origins in the hunt for food on the African savannah thousands of years ago. Evolution may have developed women's preference for pink, perhaps because it helped to find ripe fruit and healthy men with reddish faces, while both men and women have a natural desire for blue, according to scientists at prefix = st1 /NewcastleUniversity.
" Everyone in today's western culture, from parents to toy manufactures, seems to assume that little girls like pink." Said Prof. Anya Hulbert, who wanted to find out whether the reason was cultural or to do with biology.
A love of salmon, _ and coral does seem to be rooted into females, rather than picked up from their mothers.
The participants in the study were Chinese and British. The Chinese students showed a marked preference for red, " Culture may contribute to this natural female preference," said Pro. Hulbert.
In her experience, 208 young adult men and women were asked to select, as rapidly as possible, their preferred color1. Hulbert and her colleague Dr. Yazhu Ling marked the results and found that while men preferred blue, women tended to choose pink.
Hulbert said she could only prefer about the preference for blue: " Here again, I would favor evolutionary arguments. Going back to our savannah days, we would have a natural preference for a clear blue sky, because it signaled good weather. Clear blue also signals a good water source." | high23661.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "If they put stricter controls on industry, fewer companies would build new plants in developing countries."
},
"options": [
"The new industries they want to introduce do not cause much pollution.",
"Pollution is not a serious probl... | Industrial pollution is not only a problem for the countries of Europe and North America but also an extremely serious problem in some developing countries. For these countries, economic growth is a very important aim. They want to introduce industries, and so they put few controls on the industries which cause pollution.
Cubatao, an industrial town of 85 000 people in Brazil, is an example of the connection between industrial development and pollution. In 1954, Cubatao had no industry. Today it has more than twenty large factories, which produce many pollutants . The people of the town are suffering from the poisonous matter in their environment and the bad effects can be clearly seen. Birth shortcomings are extremely common. Among children and adults, lung problems are sometimes twelve times more common in Cubatao than in other places.
It is true that Brazil, like many other countries, has laws against pollution, but these laws are not enforced strictly enough. It is cheaper for companies to take no notice of the laws and pay the fines than to buy the expensive equipment that will reduce the pollution. It is clear, therefore, that economic growth is more important to the government than to the health of the workers. However, the responsibility does not completely lie with the Brazilian government. The example of Cubatao shows that international companies are not acting in a responsible way either. A number of the factories in the town are owned by large companies from France, Italy, and the U. S. They are doing things in Brazil that they would not be able to do at home. If they caused the same amount of pollution at home, they would be severely punished or even put out of business. | high7694.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They are improving mobile security in a way."
},
"options": [
"They are improving mobile security in a way.",
"Users will have to make use of simple gestures.",
"They will never be copied by others.",
"Users must move t... | As more people use smart phones to pay bills and store personal information, strict password security has become more important than ever. A new study shows that free - form gestures - sweeping fingers in shapes across the screen of a smart phone--can be used to unlock phones. These gestures are less likely to be observed and reproduced by others than traditional typed passwords.
"All that it takes to steal a password is a quick eye," said one of the researchers of the study. "With all the personal information we have on our phones today, improving their security is becoming increasingly necessary." In developing a secure solution to this problem, the researchers studied the practicality of using free - form gestures. With the ability to create any shape in any size and location on the screen, the gestures were popular as passwords. Since users create them without following a template, the researchers predicted these gestures would allow for greater complexity.
The researchers carried out a create - test - retest experiment where 63 people were asked to create a gesture, recall it, and recall it again 10 days later. The gestures were captured on a recognizer system designed by the team. Using this data, they tested the complexity and accuracy of each gesture using information theory. The result of their analysis is that people are favorable to use free - form gestures as passwords.
To put their analysis into practice, the researchers then had seven students in computer science and engineering, each with considerable experience with touchscreens , attempt to steal a free - form gesture password by observing a phone user secretly. None of them were able to copy the gestures with enough accuracy. The gestures appear to be extremely powerful against attacks.
Though the testing is in its early stage and widespread adaptation of this technology is not yet clear, the research team plans to continue to analyze the security and management of free - form passwords in the future. They believe this is the first study to explore free - form gestures as passwords. They will soon publish their findings. | high9861.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "to tell the result of a research on sleepy gene"
},
"options": [
"to tell us the importance of plenty of sleep",
"to tell the result of a research on sleepy gene",
"to inform the harm of lacking sleep",
"to announce the... | Wake Up,Sleep Gene
Some people can stay up all night and still get work done the next day.I'm not one of them.After a night without enough sleep,I feel bad-tempered.I have trouble remembering things.And all I want to do is crawl back into bed and sleep.
How do you feel after you've stayed up late to finish schoolwork? Or the day after an overnight party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.
New research suggests that a gene called period 3 affects how well you function without sleep.The period 3 gene comes in two forms: short and long.Everyone has two copies of the gene.So,you may have two longs,two shorts,or one of each.Your particular combination depends on what your parents passed on to you.
Scientists from the University of Surrey in England studied 24 people who had either two short or two long copies of period 3.Study participants had to stay awake for 40 hours straight.Then,they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when number flashed on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.
Results showed that the people with the short form of period 3 performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did.In both groups,people performed worst in the early morning.That's the time when truck drivers and other night-shift workers say they have the most trouble concentrating.
After the first round of experiments,participants were finally allowed to sleep.People in the group that performed well on the tests took about 18 minutes to nod off.
People with the long period 3 genes,by contrast,fell asleep in just 8 minutes.They also spent more time in dip sleep.That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form.
I think I must have the long form of period 3.What about you? | high18807.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It is the first planet in outer space where life may survive"
},
"options": [
"Water must have existed on it.",
"It takes humans about 600 years to get there.",
"It is made of gases, rocks and plenty of liquids.",
"It i... | On a clear night, the sky is a wonderful thing. Is there life out there somewhere? Is there another place like Earth where life might exist? If so, where is it? And how far away is it?
Recently, the Kepler spacecraft found "22b", a planet about six hundred light years away. It is the first planet in a "habitable zone" outside the solar system. That means the planet orbits a star like our sun, but it is not too close to it, nor too far away. Because of this position, Kepler-22b might have water, one of the main things needed for life. The newly-discovered planet is about two and a half times larger than the Earth. It is closer to its star than we are to the Sun, but 22b's sun is smaller than ours, and doesnt produce as much heat. Scientific instruments show the new planet could be made of gases, rocks or some kinds of liquids.
The Kepler spacecraft was named in honor of Johannes Kepler, the seventeenth century German astronomer. It was designed to examine a small part of the Milky Way galaxy and search for places like the Earth. It was made to inspect over 150,000 stars and measure how bright they are. It looks to see if a star's brightness gets less over a short time.
If a planet passes between Kepler and the star, it blocks out part of the light. That is what suggested to scientists that there is at least one planet orbiting the star. The instruments on Kepler show the new planet as a small, black dot moving across its sun. An important part of the Kepler experiment is on the Earth. After the spacecraft gathers information, scientists use the telescopes on the ground.
Scientists have found over 2,300 new planets since Kepler was launched. Most are much larger, but it is the new planet's distance from its star that is important. For life to possibly exist there, the planet's temperature must not be too hot or too cold. | high10283.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "help people in small companies join the medical insurance system"
},
"options": [
"provide everyone in the country with basic healthcare",
"control the population",
"help people in small companies join the medical insurance s... | The central government has announced its goal of providing everyone in the country with basic healthcare by 2020. It's an ambitious goal for a nation that will have a population of 1.5 billion by then.
Making healthcare affordable and easily available is the most important thing for many countries. But the task is much harder in China, the world's most populous nation. Gao Qiang, Vice Minister of Health, said, "I think the goal of offering every Chinese basic healthcare is extremely large. It will be an arduous task. We have to make sure every citizen, including the huge rural population, will be covered."
But the size of the population is only one of many difficulties. Gao Qiang said, "The most obvious problem right now is that many people have no easy access to medical care. We still have a considerable number of city and rural residents who have not joined any medical insurance system. Moreover, medical services are public welfare services. We need to stop those hospitals that make profit by selling medicine."
China started to reform its healthcare system in the early 1990s. Today, it has extended medical insurance to 170 million city residents.
A rural cooperative medical insurance system was launched in 2003 to offer farmers basic healthcare. So far, more than eighty percent of the rural population have participated in the insurance scheme. And this year, unemployed city residents and children will also be covered by the system.
Healthcare officials say their key work now is to help employees in small firms join the medical insurance system. | high24126.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the local government"
},
"options": [
"the community",
"the local government",
"The citizens",
"a travel agency"
],
"question": "The public notice is from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{... | Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Silver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities in 2004. This chart shows how we have tried to make your life better.
Transport Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January. 50 percent of city bus-stops have been upgraded . Buses to the eastern suburbs will run every15 minutes.
Communication Broadband cable is now available to all parts of the city. All of the new Government buildings are ' smart'-wired for better computer service!
Medical Facilities The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June. To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.
Education Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2004 ! Rent for private schools has been reduced. Teachers report that the 'no hat - no play' rule has been successful.
Protection and Security Extra police now patrol ( ) the tourist areas. 50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.
Entertainment / Recreation The John Street basketball courts have been re-surfaced ! The new Central Community Building opened in May. 5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library. | high759.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Good interpersonal skills play a key role in making people effective leaders."
},
"options": [
"There is a positive relationship between introversion and leadership.",
"The more introverted leaders in a team are,the more admired th... | Are extraverts really better leaders? Can an introvert be a good leader?
Research has shown a consistent positive relationship between extraversion and leadership. In groups of strangers,such as a jury , extraversion predicts who will be selected foreperson of the jury. It's actually likely to be the person who talks the most,and that person is probably an extravert. So, extraverts are more likely to be chosen for leadership positions (what we call leader "emergence").
There is also a positive relationship (although a weaker one) between extraversion and leader effectiveness, particularly evaluated effectiveness of leaders. So it appears that extraverts have _ an _ edge, _ but does this mean that introverts can't be good leaders? Of course not !
Many successful leaders are introverted, for example Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, and in business, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. One of the best company presidents that I've known was easily the most introverted person among his executive team, but he was very successful and his colleagues admired his "quiet reserve and confidence". So what is the critical factor that both extraverts and introverts need to emerge as a leader and to be effective?
Our research has suggested that the key element is good interpersonal, or social, skills. In one study,we looked at the relationship of extraversion to leadership emergence and effectiveness and found that the advantage that extraverts had disappeared when we put social skills into the equation . In other words,only extraverts who possessed social skills were effective leaders. Good interpersonal skills are critical whether the leader is an extravert or an introvert.
In addition,we know that we are more likely to choose leaders who look like their prototypes of leaders--they speak well, interact well with others, and just look "leader-like". Extraverts just naturally look more like a prototypical leader, particularly political leaders, than do introverts. Think of the U.S. presidential campaign where presidential hopefuls were evaluated for how much each looked like he or she could be the Commander-in-Chief.
The key to leadership success then is to develop the people skills needed to look like a leader, but to also develop the good leader-follower relationships that are necessary for success. If you possess these skills,introversion and extraversion don't matter very much. | high23649.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Approving."
},
"options": [
"Uncaring.",
"Approving.",
"Ambiguous.",
"Cautious."
],
"question": "What's the author's attitude towards eating meat?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Whenever someone begins to talk to me about how horrible it is to eat meat and suggests that a nice piece of tofu would be just as good, I just smile and show them those nice pointy teeth we all have in the corners of our mouths. They are called canines , and they are there only for the purpose of eating meat.
When it comes to satisfying this kind of desire, soy food can never match a well-prepared tri-tip (also know as triangle beef steak ). Just the thought of the beef, burning on the grill with the smell of wood smoke gets the mouth watering and brings back memories of summer barbecues. When the knife cuts through the tri- tip, exposing the red meat bursting with juices, it's more than just cooking. It's a cultural event, showing we are at the top of the food chain, like no other food can.
Nutritionally speaking, the tri-tip is one of the better cuts of beef. It is lower in fat than many other cuts, and the proteins you get from eating meat are more complete than those that come from vegetables, making meat a better choice for building and keeping up your muscle tissue healthy.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one thing to be aware of with soy products in general is that while they are high in iron, a necessary mineral for the body, they also contain something that blocks the body's absorption of iron. We can cook them in various ways to make them tasty. Anyway, the tri-tip goes a lot better with ice-cold beer than a large piece of bean-curd cheese would, no matter how you cook it.
I guess I should say at least
e good thing about tofu. If you cook it just right, you can make it taste a little like the tri-tip, but only a little. | high9691.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because they avoid the need for students to pay extra for facilities in the room."
},
"options": [
"Because they offer all kinds of student accommodation.",
"Because they allow students to pay the rent weekly.",
"Because th... | The companies below offer student accommodation all around London, no matter what university you are attending. And they limit the complications that other rental companies can have (such as paying for heat and hot water, paying your rent yearly and so on).
CRM Students has 12 different properties to choose from in London with various size choices depending on your budget and requirements. Prices start from PS 140 per week.
International Students House is unique because they offer twin, triple and quad rooms, which means they are cheaper per week than others. Of course, you will be sharing your bedroom with up to three other people. Prices start from PS 78.4 per week.
Prodigy Living has several properties in London (most of which have just been decorated) and offers en-suite rooms in flats and one-bedroom flats. Prices start from PS 209 per week.
Scape Living has properties in Greenwich, Surrey and Shoreditch, with the latter two being new apartments as of 2015, which means they will be in pretty good condition. Prices start from PS 185 per week.
Unite Students offers student accommodation in various areas of London, from en-suite rooms to two-bedroom flats, with lots of sharing choices available. Prices start from PS169 per week.
These student housing associations are the best I found on the Internet for cheap student accommodation in London; however, I am aware that new ones are appearing every day. For a full list of associations like these (but most are more expensive than those listed above), I recommend checking out UCL's alternative accommodation page.
Note: Most rooms require a small deposit , which is typically the same value as your weekly rental price ( for example, PS 200 per week =PS 200 deposit before you move in). | high13952.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "More and more peasants are moving to cities to earn money."
},
"options": [
"children can get better care at home .",
"peasants give birth to too many children.",
"Peasants don,t want to take their children along with them."... | "How about your study now?""Fine. ""Is your grandma OK?""Yes. ""How is everybody in the family?""They are fine. ""Ok, then I'll hang up. "
The phone call was made by a peasant worker far away from his hometown to his child. The total call lasted only 30 seconds. However, even this short conversation was a luxury to the family.
In prefix = st1 /China, with one or both parents going out to earn money , many children are left in their hometowns in the countryside. These children are called "leftover children". Some people say that the leftover children phenomenon is largely caused by poverty. More and more peasants are moving to big cities and as a result, a large number of leftover children have appeared. Statistics showed that in 2004, China had a total of 22 million leftover children in the countryside.
Usually, the children,s grandparents or their parents,friends or s look after these children. To them, making sure that the children are healthy and fed well is the most important task. If the children are safe and sound, they are considered to have done a good job. They seldom care about the children,s study, their psychological needs, or mental demands. Neither do they spend some time teaching kids how to develop good habits.
Experts said that children need emotional support. The younger they are , the more emotional support they need. Most of the emotional support comes from their parents. For most of the time, problems of the leftover children largely arise from a lack of emotional care from their parents. If kids can go out with their parents together, many problems will disappear. | high23891.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "By using sign language."
},
"options": [
"By speaking.",
"By using sign language.",
"By reading lips.",
"By making loud noises."
],
"question": "How did Adrian communicate with other children in the special scho... | Adrian's "Amazing Race" started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn't hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a special school for the hearing-impaired, he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother. She wanted him to lead a normal life. So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.
Later on, Adrian's parents decided to send him to a regular school. But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular school couldn't take care of a special needs students. His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work everyday because they wanted to prove that, given the opportunity, he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got accepted. It was a big challenge. The pace was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn't always easy. But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school.
The efforts made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life outside school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains. He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06--- being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.
But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother." "If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results." she often said. | high9849.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "teachers are no longer regarded as knowledgeable and necessary"
},
"options": [
"it becomes much more relaxed than before",
"students are more at ease to comment",
"students have the say in choosing teachers to welcome into t... | "Hi Dave,how are you today?Just thought I'd let you know what I'm doing,"they would read.Or "Sorry you're going.I've had a good time and that would probably have had something to do with you,so thanks."
In some ways,the relaxed attitude was shocking,says Melville.But it was a sign of how students' understanding of their role has changed. "They have a more independent view of the university,and they feel free to comment,"said Melville.
A committee,led by Melville,was set up earlier this year to explore the change in students' attitudes towards teachers.
"This is something being driven by young people,"said Melville. "They live surrounded by different kinds of electronic resources.They use social networking tools and things like Wikipedia.The first group of these students is now at university."
Students don't regard teaching staff in the same way as previous students did. "Because Web2.0, Google,Wikipedia are all about being able to change things yourself,students expect to be able to do this as well,"said Melville.
There have been other changes in the student--teacher relationship.If students choose to study through a social networking group,they are in control.They don't always make staff welcome,and they are free to decide which staff members they allow in.
"Almost everybody who gets into using these kinds of technologies,it appears,becomes much shallower in their research,"said Melville. | high22231.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "wait for Lochi to come back"
},
"options": [
"attend his owner's funeral",
"wait for Lochi to come back",
"stay together with Lochi",
"celebrate Mass with Father Panna"
],
"question": "The dog Tommy still goes t... | A heartbroken dog whose owner died two months ago is missing her so much that he attends services every day at the Italian church where her funeral was held, patiently waiting for her to return.
Tommy, a seven-year-old dog, belonged to Maria Lochi, 57, and had been her faithful partner after she adopted him when she found him in fields close to her home. Mrs. Lochi adopted several dogs she found but friends said she developed a close friendship with Tommy and would walk to church with him every day, where he would be allowed to sit patiently by her feet.
Father Panna said, "He's there every time I celebrate Mass and is very well behaved. He doesn't make a sound, and I've not heard one bark from him in all the time he has been in. He used to come with Maria and he was obviously devoted to her. I let him stay inside as he was always so well behaved and none of the other people ever complained to me. He's still coming to Mass even after Maria's funeral, he just sat there quietly. I didn't have the heart to throw him out. I've just recently lost my own dog so I leave him there until Mass finishes and then I let him out."
Tommy's been adopted by everyone in the village now and he is everybody's friend. Everyone looks out for him and leaves food for him, although it would be nice to find a proper home for him.
The story of Tommy is similar to the 2009 Hollywood filmHachiwhich told of how a faithful Akita dog waits patiently for his master after he also dies. It was based on the true story of a Japanese Akita called Hachi, whose owner died in 1925 but for the next nine years he waited patiently at the railway station for his owner from where they regularly caught a train. | high14783.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "A Darwin's rhea"
},
"options": [
"A sea horse",
"A Darwin's rhea",
"A marmoset",
"A san grouse"
],
"question": "According to the passage, which animal is the most protective?",
"question_type": null
}
] | Sure, human dads can play games with their kids and help with homework, but can they give birth? Daddy sea horses can! This Father's Day, while you're praising your daddy, you may also remember that some of the best dads in the world can be found in the animal kingdom:
Sea horses: The "Mr. Moms" in the sea, male sea horses, carry up to 2,000 fertilized eggs in small bags in their stomachs until _ hatch. Even after the babies are born, they stay inside the bag until they are ready to live by themselves.
Darwin's rheas: Thought your dad was overprotective? Darwin's rheas, also known as South American ostriches , are so protective of their children that they have even been known to attack small airplanes on the ground if they get too close to their home!
Marmosets: These little monkeys do everything but give lectures on how to give birth! Devoted dads assist during their babies' birth. They also let Mom get some rest by taking care of the kids when she's not nursing them.
Sand grouse: These pigeon-like birds live in areas where water is rare, so fathers fly as many as 50 miles to get water for their kids. After they dip their breast feathers in the water, they fly home and let their chicks suck the water from their bodies.
Fathers in the animal kingdom are not that different from our own beloved dads. This Father's Day, when you are honoring your dad, honor animal dads, too, by practicing kindness toward all animals. | high20426.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space,which can be changed to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth."
},
"options": [
"It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite.",
"Besides ... | Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories,but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?
On Nov.19,a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.
The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record setting.28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia,CNN reported.It took the students seven years to build.
The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat,which is named after their school.It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms,according to Orbital Sciences,a company which developed the rocket and supported the students' project.It can be controlled with a smartphone.
Like most satellites,TJ3Sat can send and receive data.The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer ,which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves,said Orbital officials.In this case,anyone can give it a try via the project's website (school website) by submitting a text.The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite,changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.
"I can say 'Go Colonials'on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world,in India,someone can hear'Go Colonials'over the radio,"the team explains on the website.
The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.
School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time.Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.
At a time when American students are busy with SATs,the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities,Glazer said.
"It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut," Andrew Petro,program executive for small spacecraft technology at NASA,said in a statement."I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft.The idea here is that they really can do that." | high11823.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "kids who love to write news"
},
"options": [
"professional reporters and editors",
"student reporters and editors",
"kids who are interested in politics",
"kids who love to write news"
],
"question": "This ad is... | Do you dream of being a reporter or an editor? Are you a good writer who loves the news? If so, then you may have what it takes to be a winner in the TFK Kid Reporter Talent Search.
We're looking for 12 students from around the nation to be members of the TFK Kid Reporter Team for the 2008-2009 school year. Next year's team will continue the tradition of reporting local and regional news stories for TIME FOR KIDS magazine and TIME FOR KIDS online.
Professional journalists from TIME magazine and TIME FOR KIDS will select this exclusive team. In the past, TFK kid Reporters have
Interviewed national leaders, celebrities and other newsmakers.
Written news stories, reviews and opinion pieces for TIME FOR KIDS.
Appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Today and The Tonight Show with another famous kid Jay Leno to talk about their work.
How to Enter
Get the official rules at time for
.
Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 20, 2008. Good luck! | high16194.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "likes taking chances in the competitions."
},
"options": [
"likes taking chances in the competitions.",
"won three gold medals at the Olympics.",
"is not a gentle but a fleece girl",
"is a hard working and strong minded... | This is the VOA Special English News Report.
Single - handed
Zhou Yang, 18, China
Against three strong Republic of Korea competitors, Zhou single - handed took the 1,500 - meter short speed skating gold to become Chinas' youngest winter Olympics gold medallist. According to coach Li Yan, Zhou, who is usually a gentle girl, took some risks and skated fiercely to take the gold. This is the third gold the Chinese have won at the Vancouver Olympics.
Unobtrusive
Liu Xiang, 26, China
The Olympic gold medallist said on Friday that he's not the same old him, after setting his worst record in years - 8.08 seconds for 60 - meter hurdles. Liu said he still had some way to go before he's back to his best. Many fans have been expecting his taking - off in the 2010 Doha, but Liu said unobtrusively "Robles is still the best in the 60 - meter and 110 - meter hurdles. I'm no match now". He added the performances of Terrence Trammell (US) and Robles would be the highlight of the Doha meet.
Coveted
Michael Jackson, 1958 - 2009, US
Thanks to a whopping $ 350,000 bid, Michael Jackson's rhinestone - encrusted glove has gone to a Macao company. Jackson wore the sparking glove when he did his first "moonwalk" dance in 1983, so it was a really coveted piece of equipment. The pre - auction estimate put its value at $ 40, 000 - 60,000 , _ . The glove and nine other items from the auction will be on display in a Macao hotel. | high20432.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the work of a British physicist"
},
"options": [
"the film Harry Potter",
"the work of a British physicist",
"a paper published by a Scottish physicist",
"the book of J.R.R. Tolkein"
],
"question": "Cummer and o... | Imagine what you could do with a machine that could make things disappear.
For inspiration, you could read some books. In the books of J.R.R. Tolkein, Bilbo Baggins finds a ring that can make him disappear. Of course, there's also poor Harry Potter, who used his invisibility cloak to hide from danger.
Now that you've got some ideas, it's time for the hard part: building the cloak. To do that, you have to give up science fiction and turn to real science. An invisibility cloak has to cheat anything or anyone who might be watching. In order to understand how something can be seen, it's important to understand how we see.
Human beings can only see objects that reflect light waves. These waves enter the eye and are then processed by the brain. However, if an object doesn't reflect light, then the waves don't enter the eye, and the brain doesn't process. So building an invisibility cloak is building something that doesn't reflect light.
Cummer was part of a team of scientists from Duke University, including David Smith and David Schurig, who built the world's first version of an invisibility cloak. They had been inspired by the work of a British physicist, John Pendry. He in May said that an invisibility cloak was possible and Pendry was not the only one thinking about a disappearing act. At the same time, a Scottish physicist, UIf Leonhardt published a paper on building invisibility equipment.
"It wasn't easy," says Cummer. "As often happens in science and research, it didn't work very well the first time. That first cloak didn't work like Harry Potter's --- the scientists didn't actually see anything disappear. So the research is still under way. " | high11837.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It refers to the sidewalks on either side of this section of the San Antonio River."
},
"options": [
"People hold parties to celebrate festivals here every day.",
"It refers to the sidewalks on either side of this section of the Sa... | My destination is the River Walk, one of the most popular places in all of Texas. In the first half of 20
century, to control flooding, the city fathers began redirecting the San Antonio River. They built a network of canals that pass through the downtown area. At nearly every street corner, stairs lead down to walkways on both sides of the canals.
The River Walk is linked with cafes, bars, shops --- and, of course, plenty of bridges. You can easily cross over to the other side without having to return to the street. It's a constant party along the River Walk, with music and festivals throughout the year. The Mud Festival, for example, takes place each January, when the city empties this section of the river to clean it out. That's when the Mud King and Mud Queen are crowned.
No visit to Texas would be complete without seeing a
--- another aspect of this part of the country that is completely foreign to someone from New England. The announcer walks on stage and gets the crowd excited with talk about the courageous cowboys who'll be performing. While he's talking, a band plays sad songs about love gone wrong.
Suddenly the announcer calls for silence. He takes off his tall hat and asks us to join him in prayer. We pray for the cowboys who are, we are told, risking their lives to entertain us, as well as for the bulls and other animals taking part in the shows. We pray for the tourists who are visiting. The rodeo gets going and the fun begins.
Our prayers for the cowboys and animals are answered, and nobody gets hurt. But as we walk over to the cowboy dance hall after the show to enjoy a Texas-size barbecue, it's clear that not enough prayers were said for the bulls' less athletic relatives --- the ones not chosen for rodeo work. They'll be our meal. It seems that moving too slowly has its disadvantages, too. | high16180.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "take a short rest"
},
"options": [
"buy a newspaper",
"meet a boy with dark glasses",
"put her heavy bag",
"take a short rest"
],
"question": "The writer went into the station coffee shop to _ .",
"questio... | Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in town I wanted a rest before catching the train, so I bought a newspaper and some chocolate and went into the station coffee shop. It was a cheap self-service place with long table to keep a place and went to get a cup of coffee.
When I came back with the coffee, there was someone in the next seat. It was one of those wild-looking boys, with dark glasses and old clothes, and his hair was colored bright red at the front. What did surprise me was that he'd started to eat my chocolate.
I was rather uneasy about him, but I didn't want to make more trouble. I just looked down at the front page of the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me closely. Then he took a second piece of chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn't say anything to him. When he took a third piece, I felt angrier. I thought, well, I shall have the last piece. "And I got it."
The boy gave me a strange look, and then stood up. As he left he shouted out, "There is something wrong with the woman," Everybody looked at me, but it was worse then I finished my coffee and got ready to leave. My face turned red when I knew I'd made a mistake. I wasn't my chocolate that I had eaten. There was mine, just under my newspaper. | high5901.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Unhappy."
},
"options": [
"Unhappy.",
"Interested.",
"Surprised.",
"Excited."
],
"question": "What did the writer feel when he watched the boy walking towards him?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},... | It was a hot afternoon. I had a quarrel with the airport staff and then was asked to have a drug test .I missed the flight home later because of bad weather. Now my flight home was full and running late. I felt sorry and unlucky.
At that moment,I noticed a 5-year-old boy standing by his mother watching me. He left his mother and slowly walked towards me."Great!"I thought sadly,"Now I have to take care of a 5-year-old child. My day is now complete."
As he came closer,I found it was my hat that he was after. I wanted to tell him not to touch my things,but I was curious to know what he would do with my hat. With wide eyes,he gently touched my hat. He looked up at me,smiling,but saying nothing. I asked him if he wanted to wear my hat,he excitedly nodded,still smiling. I placed my hat on his head,but it fell down around his ears. He didn't mind and held it up with both hands. He ran to show his mother,then back to me,still smiling. With much respect,he slowly took off my hat with both hands and gave it to me.
I put my hat on and gave him an airplane card. Holding the card carefully with both hands,he looked up at me and said,"Mister,you sure are lucky.""Yes,I sure am,"I said. I admired the wisdom of a 5-year-old boy,as I got the last seat on that flight home. | high22225.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They offer service for people of different ages."
},
"options": [
"They offer service for people of different ages.",
"The offerings in Plato's Closet are more expensive.",
"Plato's Closet only offers high-end brands for wome... | The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market. Plato's Closet in Charlotte, NC is a private company which mainly buys and sells used clothes. While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and sophisticated brands for women, most of their stock applies to adults. Plato's Closet targets teens and those in their 20s.Plato's Closet, with stores in Matthews and the university area, sells clothes and accessories that are currently popular at up to 70 percent off retail prices .
The two hottest brands, for buying and selling, are Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people, there are a variety of shoppers at Plato's Closet of varying ages. Women in their 30s; 40s and older could easily find a purse, jacket or piece of jewelry they like.
Customer Beth Gibbs, 52, who has three teenage daughters, said she used to shop at name-brand stores, but "this year I'm shopping more in secondhand stores", because of the economy.
If you're selling
Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment , Plato's Closet buys on the spot.
Items can be gently used, but must be in very good condition.
Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center.
There is no negotiation; prices are set company-wide. If what you sell amounts to $30 or less, they'll give you cash. More than that, you'll get a Visa cash card.
Secondhand success
Don't get discouraged if you can't find something on your first trip. Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season.
Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying.
Price comparison
Jackets: New York & Company black blazer, $12; retail: $37.
Pants: Express Editor-style pants, $12; retail: $69.90.
Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps, $12; retail: $89.
Jewelry: Necklaces, $3-$5; retail: $18-$30. (365) | high15489.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because the manager asked him to sing at the request of a customer."
},
"options": [
"Because he wanted to make more money.",
"Because the bar manager said he liked his song.",
"Because the manager asked him to sing at the re... | There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn't want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.
The man said, "I don't sing."
But the customer was persistent . He told the bar manager, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing!"
The manager shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing!"
So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song "Mona Lisa". He got lots of applause that night.
He had such a talent for singing, but _ for the past years! If without such a chance, he may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. However, now he has become one of the best-known singers in America.
You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your "talent" is not as great as the singer above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have! | high14797.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "be more careful in bad weather"
},
"options": [
"wear a helmet",
"go alone every day",
"walk as fast as possible",
"be more careful in bad weather"
],
"question": "If your kid walks to school, tell him or her to... | When parents talk about school safety these days, they're usually referring to the increase in violence at schools. But research shows that school-age children are actually nine times more likely to suffer an injury while doing sports than to be the victim of violence while at school. Accidents can be prevented if parents are on the lookout for potential dangers. To help you keep your kids free from harm, here are some safety tips:
a. Teach your child never to talk to strangers or accept rides or gifts from strangers. Remember, a stranger is anyone you or your child doesn't know well or trust.
b. Be sure that your child walks to and from school with a _ , friend or neighbor.
c. Teach your kid, whether walking, biking or riding a bus to school, to obey all traffic signals, signs and traffic officers. Remind him to be extra careful in bad weather.
d. When driving your kid, deliver and pick them up as close to the school as possible. Don't leave until they are in the schoolyard or building.
e. If your child rides a bike to school, make sure he wears a standard helmet . Research shows that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85%.
f. Teach your kid to arrive at the bus stop earlier, stay off the street, and wait for the bus to come to a complete stop.
g. Be sure that your kid knows his or her home phone number and address, your work number, the number of another trusted adult and how to call 911 for emergencies . | high7870.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "An Amazing Gift"
},
"options": [
"My Two Sons",
"An Amazing Gift",
"My Favorite, Reading",
"Let's Read Together"
],
"question": "The best title for this passage is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"... | Last night I had the best gift ever.
My older son was reading a detective novel while my younger son was reading fairy tales. They were each in different rooms, _ their books with no TV, music or anything else distracting their attention.
I read a lot during my childhood, curling up in sofa or lying in bed. Like anyone else, I had lots of other interests, but once I discovered reading, I really enjoyed it. I read everything -- books, magazines, newspapers, even the back of food packages if there was nothing else to read at the moment. I must thank my parents for their love of reading. Longing for more information and knowledge, my parents were always reading a lot.
Today's children are provided with a variety of choices. It is so easy for them to become uninterested in reading and to view it as boring, uncool and unnecessary. There are TVs with astonishing choices of programs; there are MP3 players with thousands of songs at their fingertips; there are the Internet and mobile phones.
I've told my sons that reading comes with information, understanding and connection, each of which will help them at every stage in their lives now and forever. So when my sons were reading their books last night, I watched them, noticing them put a bookmark into their books. That's the most amazing gift that I have ever received. | high995.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Doubtful"
},
"options": [
"Confident",
"Foolish",
"Doubtful",
"Childish"
],
"question": "How did the author feel when he was on the plane?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | I'll be a photographer. I'm going to bring bits of Australia back home with me. I told myself this before, yet I feel so doubtful on this plane that's flying me thousands of miles away. I was so confident yesterday .But today I don't belong to this plane where men sit with briefcases reading newspapers. They're all adults.
I've never been out of the US. And now ,I'm traveling into Australia alone, a world I know nothing about. A part of me recognizes it as home.
I remember little about my mother, but I remember she had an Australian accent and golden hair. She wan fun and she would often take us to New Jersey beaches, where we would spend the whole day taking walks along the shore. My mom told me that in Australia, Christmas was always spent on the beach with friends and family, and everyone wore Santa hat with their bathing suits. It never got cold and bitter there. My mom was different and I was proud of her.
I don't know how she met my father. but after they met several years, they got married and moved into an apartment in New Jersey. Then I was born and we were a perfect family of three who went out to dinner and watched movies in the dark and loved each other.
I know things have been hard on my father since my Mom died years ago. It's hard for me, too, and I have to experience the wonderful place my mom grew up in and loved. My mom talked about Australia so much and now I have to see this place.
This is an adventure. | high12480.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "getting and using responses is important"
},
"options": [
"making mistakes about rules can always be avoided",
"speaking is the only way to correct mistakes",
"getting and using responses is important",
"errors can be e... | Here is a passage about learning a foreign language.
Outside of class, the most natural way of finding out if you are making mistakes is from other people's responses. If the mistakes are too serious, your listeners will be asking you all the time what you mean. If they are not so serious, then people may be asking you whether you said such and such. That will tell you how close you are to speaking "cogently".
Of course, there are other times when it is important to have errors pointed out. Your class assignments are probably marked in this way, in which case you need to spend time going over them to take advantage of the individual feedback. In some classes the teacher gets better and better at grammar because she does all the corrections, but the students make slow progress if, when an assignment is returned, they quickly stuff it into their folders without looking.
You are the person who should be connecting your error, even if the marker has signaled them, when you look at them; there are some steps to work through. One distinction that has been made about learners' language is this. You make mistakes about rules that you already know but you make errors about points you haven't learned yet. In other words, you can find your own mistakes, but not your errors. First, make sure you understand what you have written or said, or your correction will simply be another stab at the right answer. Next, decide on the best way of practicing the correct form. Would it help you to write out the sentence once more? Can you make up another similar sentence? Then you could test yourself in a few days time to see whether you have remembered the right form, anyone can get it right immediately after being told. He challenge is to remember it and apply it later. | high23885.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "charity"
},
"options": [
"charity",
"paperwork",
"accounting",
"education"
],
"question": "What kind of work did Myra probably take?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | The old lady got up early to be ready for the post.Although she seldom received letters or parcels,today she was sure there would be something.Myra wouldn't forget her mother's birthday, even if she seldom wrote at other times.Of course Myra was busy.Her husband had been made Mayor, and Myra herself had got a medal for her work for the aged.
The old lady was eighty today.She had put on her best dress.Perhaps Myra might come.The old lady was sure of that.Two spots of color brightened her cheeks.She was excited--like a child.She would enjoy her day.
Mrs. Morrison,a social worker,had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast.Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake.The little boy from the ground floor,Johnnie,had been up with a packet of candies,and offered to help her fetch the post.
"I guess you'll get lots and lots of presents,"he said,I did last week when l was six."
What would she like ? A pair of slippers,a table lamp,a book or a little clock.So many lovely things.
She stood by the window,watching.The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle.Her heart beat fast.Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.And then he gave her four envelopes.Three were unsealed cards from old friends.The fourth was sealed,in Myra's writing.
"No parcel,Johnnie?"
"No,granny."
Maybe the parcel was too large to come by letter post.That was _ .It would come later by parcel post.She must be patient.
But disappointment flooded her.She tore the envelope open unwillingly.A cheque fell to the floor like a bird with a broken, wing.Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up.With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits. | high11189.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She helped someone to learn to read"
},
"options": [
"She worked in the supermarket",
"She helped someone to learn to read",
"She gave single mothers the help they needed",
"She went to a training program to help a lite... | I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer last surnmen The training
I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket,because she couldn't always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie's self-confidence,which encouraged her to continue her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarketelt. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son,Tony, a shy first grader with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did. | high2908.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "jazz"
},
"options": [
"blues",
"rock-n-roll",
"jazz",
"folk-rock"
],
"question": "All of the following forms belong to pop music EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Pop music is the name for different forms of popular, commercial music. It had its beginning in the USA and spread throughout the whole world during the 1950s and 1960s. It is widely liked by the young people. The best known early form of pop music was "rock-n-roll"; another was "blues". A more recent development is "folk-rock". Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world; it has caused the number of people for jazz to become much smaller than it was in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now begun to rule musical stage productions. It's a big industry. Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers, e.g. the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the groups like Floyd and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is on a higher musical level. And there is still a great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world. *ks*5u | high20354.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To prove a good sleep helps solve problems."
},
"options": [
"To test problem-solving ability in sleep.",
"To discover people's insight during sleep.",
"To prove a good sleep helps solve problems.",
"To discuss how to i... | Advice to "sleep on it" could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night's sleep a problem that couldn't be solved the night before can often appear more manageable. Researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night's sleep can improve insight and problem-solving ability.
"If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight increases," said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the University. To test the discovery, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake. Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. "Sleep helped," Born said in a telephone interview . The important thing is that you have to have a memory description of the problem you want to solve in your brain and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem."
But Born admitted that he and his team don't know how restructuring of memories occurs or what controls it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the suggestion that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reasons to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added. | high11016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He left the house quietly."
},
"options": [
"He put a sweater in his schoolbag.",
"He left the house quietly.",
"He had breakfast at home.",
"He left a note on the freezer."
],
"question": "What did Tim do at th... | It was only 5 o'clock in the morning. The house was quiet and Tim' s mother was still asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He'd dreamt of the cave last night. The purring of the freezer had been the sea.
Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He' d eat after he' d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.
He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches-but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she'd want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:
Gone to Michael's. Back tonight, Tim.
The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn't up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.
The sand hills still breathed heat from yesterday's sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.
The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched across the sea. The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.
Over the first rocks, along to the point, Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.
He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn't go in all the way... | high3551.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "taking photos at the lake"
},
"options": [
"skating on the ice",
"taking photos at the lake",
"holding mourning ceremonies at the lake",
"being kept in hospital for further observation"
],
"question": "When the ... | When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern era,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 occurred 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 spot 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 exhaustion .
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 residents 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. | high18754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Shadow is a small and healthy dog"
},
"options": [
"The Browns have never had a pet before",
"The Browns knew about Shadow from the newspaper",
"Shadow is a small and healthy dog",
"Mr. Brown didn't quite agree with his... | "Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to go along with it," Mrs. Brown said to her husband.
"That sounds like a very good idea," he answered. "Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper?"
"Let's go to the animal _ . Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go." she said.
The next morning the Browns met Mr. Snow at the animal shelter. "We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes," Mr. Snow said, "So I need to ask you some questions."
After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr. Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't examined her yet. So Mr. Snow told them to return on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, "Shadow has had all of her shots . She will be healthy." The Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home. | high5120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "as a thief"
},
"options": [
"by mistake",
"to see another thief",
"as a thief",
"on business"
],
"question": "Tom was taken to the police station _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Tom was taken to the police station and put in a room with another thief, an older man.
The man looked at Tom and said, "Why have they brought you here, boy?" "I stole a small radio one day after lessons," Tom said. The man laughed rudely at him, "you should steal something which is worth a lot if you want to be a thief. You ought to steal something really expensive, so that your name is put in the newspaper. Go and steal a lot of money from a bank next time!"
Tom thought for a few seconds and then said, "I can't do that!" "Why can't you?" said the older man. "Are you afraid?" "No," said Tom, "I'm not afraid at all, but the banks are all closed at three o'clock, and my lessons don't finish until four." | high1346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Young people should learn first aid to help the injured."
},
"options": [
"Learning first aid can help young people win an award.",
"Young people should learn first aid to help the injured.",
"The injured are encouraged to ac... | Do you know a child who has used first aid to save a life or help an injured person?
St. John Ambulance is seeking young people who have acted quickly, calmly and effectively at a real emergency for its annual Young First Aider of the Year awards.
The awards are open to all those under 18, and the closing date for nomination is April 30, 2016. The winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in June, 2016.
"St. John Ambulance believes it is essential for young people to learn first aid so that they can help anyone who is injured," said Sandra Stocker, director of St. John Ambulance Awards Committee. "The Young First Aider of the Year is a wonderful way to celebrate their bravery and quick-thinking."
Nomination for the Young First Aider of the Year is now open. Please complete and return the nomination forms as soon as possible and certainly no later than April 30, 2016. The committee will decide which of the nominees will receive the Young First Aider of the Year awards by considering the actions of the nominees along with their ages and other factors. You should send any evidence you have with the nomination form, showing the nominees' actions.
Examples of evidence could include:
* Newspaper clippings of the incident.
* Police incident record numbers.
Once a nomination form is received, the nominee or nominator may be approached for further details of the incident. For further information please get in touch with Sandra Stocker by email or on 020-73244082 or 020-73244083.
Find out who our winners will be for 2016. | high13601.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "computers bring advantages as well as disadvantages"
},
"options": [
"computer technology is hard for people to master",
"computers have more disadvantages than expected",
"computers have more advantages than expected",
... | As digital technology increasingly controls the lives of young people, scientists have begun to wonder: Is the Internet good or bad for kids?
"It's impossible to answer that question because the Internet is so many things," says psychologist Patricia Greenfield. "It's networked computer games and news about politics and instant messaging and e-mails to your grandmother. It can be both an educational resource and a hiding place for kidnappers."
Adults have many reasons to worry about kids' Internet use. In chat rooms, for instance, it is easy to lie and kids can get trapped in dangerous situations. In searching for and visiting websites, kids can come across words and pictures that they may not be prepared for. To help prevent that situation, in 2000, the US Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires schools to block offensive and obscene websites.
Researches have pointed out how confusing the Internet can be for children, even when they think they know how it works. To find out how much kids know about the technology, Zheng Yan, an educational professor in New York, interviews over 300 students in grades four to eight. Most of the youngest students think the Internet is simply an icon on the screen. It often isn't until 10 that kids realize that the Internet is a network of millions of computers. It takes another 2 or 3 years for them to understand that a stranger can see what they've posted.
Understanding the technology helps kids understand how dangerous the web can be. It's not simply enough to block harmful websites or to limit the number of hours kids spend online. Learning about the Internet can also give young people the power to use it in beneficial ways. | high7737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She died before she was born"
},
"options": [
"She died six months after birth",
"She died in a medical accident.",
"She died before she was born",
"She died from lack of equipment."
],
"question": "What happene... | Over thousands of years, human beings have been learning about more and more about this world, and have figured out many ways to avoid risks and make our lives easier. Even in ancient times, we used fire to frighten away animals, built simple boats to cross waters, and armed ourselves with sharpening stones and sticks. Nowadays, with advanced technology and instrument, people know the world better than ever. It's surprising how much people already know about this world and how much we've changed our lives by using the knowledge we have.
But if you think we know everything, that's wrong. I guess sometimes we have to accept the limitation on our understanding of the world. No matter how much we're already known about the world, there are things that remain mysterious. I learned this from my pregnancy which ended in the 6th month, due to a placental abruption . I started to see my OB/GYN every month, taking vitamins regularly, doing all the lab tests to make sure we were expecting a healthy baby. All the results looked promising, and we thought we would have a healthy baby girl in January next year. Even in the week before placental abruption, when I was in hospital because of a sudden bleeding, doctors didn't believe there were any bad possibilities after reading my blood tests. Unfortunately it still happened. Later, I asked my doctor "So what caused this?" She said, "I don't know. We probably will never know."
After leaving the hospital, I sometimes do feel frustrated for what happened. But I already accept the fact that there are simply things that we do not know. No matter how well you plan and monitor your life there are uncertainties that can not be predicted and thus can not be avoided. _
Her name was Janet. She came to the world in April, and left us 6 months later. Though we never had the chance of meeting her, she is always our beloved daughter.
In the late May 2013, during our first OB visit, we saw a little heart beating happily inside its mother. We couldn't even tell that was a baby, but we knew the magic was happening.
The first three months was a disaster, Janet showed her power by making her mama throw up every day. Daddy became the cook of the family, and spent hours learning new dishes to please his picky wife.
In the 12th week, we saw her again during an OB screening. When the doctor tried to measure her, she suddenly waved her hand to us, as if saying "I know you are spying on me again."
Every regular OB check became our favorite experience, when we could hear her heart beating and knew she was enjoying herself. In the 18th week, one day when daddy was singing, she suddenly kicked her mama. We never felt so happy. Since then, she became more and more naughty, doing all sorts of exercise in her warm little house. We started to think about names, decorate her pink room, and shared the news with our friends. For young parents, there are always a lot to learn!
Then it was the end of 25th week. A sudden bleeding terrified mama and daddy. After staying in the hospital for three days, things looked all right again, and Janet did not seem to be affected. However, the night after we went out of the hospital, a much worse contraction started which caused placental abruption. When we went back to the hospital, mama survived from an emergency operation, but Janet's heart was no longer beating.
Janet, thank you for all the joy you brought to us. We love you and we will miss you forever. Rest in peace! | high8362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Too much screen time leads to obesity."
},
"options": [
"A new study on screens.",
"TVs do harm to children.",
"The less TV time, the fatter.",
"Too much screen time leads to obesity."
],
"question": "Which of t... | Children and teenagers who spend lots of time in front of screens---especially TVs---are easier to get more weight as they grow, according to a new study.
The findings agree with the research suggesting all that inactive sitting and always watching advertisements may lead to poor eating habits.
Researchers used results from a long-term study of children who took part in the surveys every two years. Children were between ages 9 and 16 when the study started. Out of 4,300 girls in the study, 17 percent were overweight or obese . Twenty-four percent of the 3,500 boys were also above a healthy weight.
The surveys included questions about their height and weight as well as how much time they spent watching TV and DVDs and playing computer and video games.
From one survey to the next, each one-hour increase in children's daily TV watching was in connection with an increase of about 0.1 points on a body mass index (BMI) , which measures weight in connection with height. There's an increase of about half a pound in weight per extra hour of TV.
"The weight of the evidence is so strong that television watching is connected with unhealthy changes in weight among youth," says Jennifer Falbe, who led the study while at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
"It's important for parents to know that all the obesity-causing screens really should be limited in their children's lives." Falbe says. "When children watch TV, there are many food advertisements on TV that might lead them to eat a cookie or drink a soft drink." What's more, she says, "they can get into a hibernating state on the sofa, even if children are sitting down while playing a computer game." | high7051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a story book"
},
"options": [
"a story book",
"a newspaper",
"a magazine",
"a guide book"
],
"question": "This passage may most probably be found in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | One of the greatest warriors of history, Genghis Kahn, came from the Mongolian people. He controlled many countries in Asia and Europe because of his bravery and leadership in battle. This time period was known as the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Genghis decided to go hunting one day and many of his warriors went with him. Genghis had his favorite hawk on his wrist. The hawk was trained to fly high in the air to look for game like deer, rabbits or wild birds. When his bird flew to the ground, Genghis would follow it and shoot the wild game with his arrows. It was his favorite hobby.
This particular day, game was hard to find. Toward evening, Genghis sent all the men home and decided to go another way by himself. He even let his hawk go, thinking it would fly home as well. He became thirsty so he stopped by some rocks where he noticed water was dripping. He took a cup from his pack and filled it slowly. When he put it to his mouth, he was surprised for his hawk came and spilled all the water in his cup.
He thought this was very unusual so he filled the cup again. The hawk rushed down and knocked the cup free from his hand. Genghis was now thirsty and angry. As he filled the cup a fourth time, he drew his sword to stop the bird interrupting him. As the bird flew down, Genghis killed it but his cup fell deep into the rocks in the scuffle .
He decided to crawl up the rock of the mountain to find the source of the water. He found a pool and noticed a huge poisonous snake was dead in the water. He realized the hawk had saved his life. His anger had caused him to kill his favorite bird. In his despair , he promised to make sure of everything before he would become angry again. | high12279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Green plants can increase job satisfaction."
},
"options": [
"Green plants can increase job satisfaction.",
"An easier way to increase job satisfaction.",
"What the best working environment is.",
"Who are happy with the... | -American office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks, according to a statistic survey. Some might argue that not all that time is spent working,but still all those hours in windowless offices with artificial light can have an influence.
A few green additions could have a large effect on worker happiness,according to the survey led by Tina Cade from Texas State University.
"We pretty much found out that if you had windows and plants or even if you just had plants in your office, you were more satisfied with your job," Cade told LiveScience. "We thought it was important for offices because a lot of times people are looking for ways to keep employees happy and do all these expensive things like building a gym. Maybe for less investment they could put in a few plants in important places."
The team surveyed 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest,asking questions about job satisfaction and the work environments. When asked about their overall life quality,82 said they felt "content" or "very happy". Only 69 percent of those who work with plants but without windows,and 60 percent of those who have windows but no plants, said they felt this way.
The group of people who work without plants or windows were the most dissatisfied,with only 58 percent of them saying that overall they were "content" or "very happy". While no one who works with plants,windows,or both reported they felt "miserable", 0.8 percent of those who work in offices without either said they were "miserable". "I was really surprised that having a plant in your office appeared to be more beneficial than having a window in your office," Cade said. "Everybody says, 'I need a window!' but actually it seemed like a plant could be a suitable alternative." | high1420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because the Cat was dying."
},
"options": [
"Because he had to give the cat away and bring back a new cat.",
"Because the Cat was bad-tempered and bad to him.",
"Because the Cat was dying.",
"Because he would leave the ... | The Zen of Cat
The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat's days were numbered. The doctor had said there was not anything more that could be done, and that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.
The Man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed. The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear rolled down the Man's cheek and landed on the Cat's forehead. The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look.
"Why do you cry, Man?" the Cat asked. "Because you can't bear the thought of losing me? Because you think you can never replace me?" The Man nodded "Yes."
"And where do you think I'll be when I leave you?" the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. "Close your eyes, Man," the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told.
"What color1 are my eyes and fur?" the Cat asked. "Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown." the Man replied.
"And where is it that you most often see me?" asked the Cat. "I see you...on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds...on my favorite chair...on my desk lying on the papers I need...on the pillow next to my head at night." "Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is to close your eyes," said the Cat.
"Close your eyes again," the Cat said. "Now lick your hand." The Man widened his eyes in surprise.
"Just do it," the Cat said. "Lick your hand, and think of me in all my familiar places."
The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop, and when he didn't, he opened his eyes. The Cat's eyes were closed. The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.
The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears.
One day, not long after, there was a new cat on his lap. She was a lovely spotted and white...very different from his earlier beloved cat and very much the same. | high18032.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To look for a job in Robert's company"
},
"options": [
"To ask for a lift in Robert's truck.",
"To look for a job in Robert's company",
"To beg for some money to buy a ticket.",
"To expect Robert to buy him breakfast."
... | Robert is a boss who hires me as a helper. He has lost his home and now has to live back at home, with his mother, at 46.
We had a job in Fort Bending. Robert bought me breakfast there. As we were leaving ,a man walked to us asking if he could get some work from Roberts' company. Robert explained there was no work for the man and the man started to walk away. As I looked from the leaving man back to Robert, l saw Robert getting Out some money and went after the man to give it to him. I asked Robert, "Why did you do that?" Robert said _
After a very long, hard day, we stopped at a Quick Trip for a soda. I got through the check out ahead of Robert and went back out to the work truck. Beside the truck was a woman in a car. She had 3 kids and asked me if I could help-she had been _ now where to go with her children-they were living in the car. I told her I was also hurting in these times-sorry I could not. Robert came out. opened the work truck and we got in I told him about the lady I didn't even finish the story when Robert was out. his door- around the truck and giving the women money to help her and her kids out. When Robert returned I asked, "Why did you do that, she didn't even ask you". He said "I have an ex-wife and a kid-if they need help and I am not able, someone will help them" | high5646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It is more important to keep the freezer at the temperature of zero-degree."
},
"options": [
"It is more important to keep the freezer at the temperature of zero-degree.",
"It is an easy task to have your freezer serve you for 15 y... | When you choose a freezer, remember it's probably going to be with you for a long time. So it's important to know which freezer is right for your needs.
First, decide if you want an upright or chest model. Uprights are more convenient. Their storage space is more accessible and they take up less floor area. However, chest models are more energy-efficient because less cold air escapes when they are open.
If you are buying an upright, you'll have to choose between frostless or manual defrost . Chest freezers are always manual. Frostless freezers automatically defrost at present intervals and remove the water. Manual models must be defrosted by hand every few months or whenever frost pile up to about a quarter of an inch.
To help your freezer reach a ripe old age, try to find a spot that's cool, dry, and away fromdrafts . Drafts and heat will raise the freezer's cabinet temperature, which makes it work harder to keep cool. That means wasted energy. That means wasted energy and a shortened life.
Dry air is important because highhumidity can cause the freezer to rust outside and frost up inside. With proper care, a freezer can serve you for 15 years or more. Regular cleaning and simple maintenance will help it maintain a zero-degree temperature and keep it smelling fresh and looking almost new.
Frostless models requires less care than manual defrost freezers. The inside of a frostless unit should be washed periodically with warm water and baking soda or a mild soap, rinse, and dried.
Good habits go a long way toward a freezer that runs efficiently. To get the most from your freezer, check regularly to make sure it's providing a true zero-degree temperature.
Keep the freezer at least three-quarters full. The emptier it get, the more energy is wasted. If more than three pounds of food per cubic foot of storage space is added every 24 hours, the resulting high or low temperature can damage the food. | high17301.txt |
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