questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "His wife was not well."
},
"options": [
"it was his turn.",
"His wife was not well.",
"His wife was not at home.",
"He always looked after it."
],
"question": "Why did the man take care of the baby?",
"quest... | "You'll have to take care of the baby today," a woman told her husband . " I'm not feeling well."
"Then you must stay in bed and rest, dear. " her husband said. "I'll be pleased to look after our baby. "
"Thank you. I'll have a quiet day and I'll soon get better. " his wife told him.
"Shall I do the shopping for you as well?" her husband asked.
She was very pleased and said, "That will help me very much. I'll give you a list of things to buy. "
She wrote out the list and gave it to him.
"You can get all these things at the supermarket," she said.
"You can put the baby in the shopping cart, then you won't have to leave him outside."
The man took the baby to the supermarket and put him in the shopping cart. Then he pushed the shopping cart along the rows of things to buy and looked for those that were on his list.
At first all was well, but then the baby began to cry.
Then he started to scream.
And scream!
And SCREAM!
"Keep calm ,George, " the man said. "Don't get excited. Don't shout, George. Don't lose your temper, George."
A woman in the supermarket heard him saying these things. She walked up to him.
"I think you are wonderful ,"she said. "You are so patient with your little George. "
"Madam, "" the man said, "I'm George. He's Edward." | high11834.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Gold"
},
"options": [
"Thread",
"Gold",
"Comb",
"Yarn"
],
"question": "_ isn't a kind of dry goods.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text... | The Man behind Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss was born in 1829 in Bavaria,Germany. He was the fifth of six children. His father sold dry goods from door to door. (Dry goods include many different things; fabric , thread,scissors,combs,buttons,yarn,etc.)
In 1845, his father died. All six children decided to go to the United States. Two of Strauss' bothers started a dry goods company in New York City. Strauss' sister Fanny and her husband started a similar business in San Francisco. Strauss decided to go to the southeastern part of the United States. For eight years, he walked along the country roads selling dry goods from door to door - just like his father in Bavaria.
In 1853, Strauss decided to move to San Francisco.(At that time, thousands of people traveled to California to look for gold.)On the way to California, Strauss sold almost all of his dry goods. He had only one thing left-- some _ .
In California, Strauss tried to sell the canvas to the gold miners . He said they could make tents from the canvas. But they weren't interested in canvas for tents. Strauss didn't know what to do with the canvas. Then, he had an idea. Strauss could see that the miners needed new pants. There were holes in their pants because the fabric wasn't strong. He decided to make the canvas into pants. They called them " _ ". Later, Strauss stopped using canvas and used a different fabric. It was a heavy cotton fabric-- the same kind people wear today.
Levi Strauss died in 1902. He never married and left his money to his nephews. He left the world much more -- the jeans that so many people wear. | high20431.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL"
},
"options": [
"the TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS",
"it will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL",
"Chinese s... | The United States will introduce a new exam system for students who seek to study in the USA and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which means a great change from the
English level test, was introduced by Theresa Jen, associate director of the International Service of the USA College Board, America's leading educational organization.
"The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time all over the world on May 10, 2012," said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).
"I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL."The APIEL is made for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia." Jen said.
"The APIEL will be used," said Jen, "because the TOEFL can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities of using English." Xinhua reported that a large number of foreign students who had high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after being admitted.
"Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand 'English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with fluency, and writing in an organized way." Jen said. | high16183.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The study condition"
},
"options": [
"The climate",
"The scenery",
"The study condition",
"The living condition"
],
"question": "_ should be considered first if you want to study in the USA.",
"question_typ... | If you planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors . Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live in are not always home to the best schools. What's more, many schools specialize in different areas of study. They Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science. And if you want to study oceanography, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place which is near the ocean.
Now I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in. California is a nice state. Northern California especially has very good weather. As for me, I enjoyed the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Mary land. These states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not so perfect as that in California, but is still quite nice. My favourite of America is the Midwest. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. Besides, there are many good universities, too.
Also you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the different areas. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won't like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature, peace and quiet? Then you'd better stay away from America's larger cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. | high5902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Children of about 15 drinking in a pub with adults."
},
"options": [
"Children under 14 entering a pub with their parents.",
"Young men over 14 eating in a pub by themselves.",
"Children of about 15 drinking in a pub with adu... | Visiting a pub is one of Britain's oldest forms of entertainment. The idea for the first public houses was brought to Britain thousands of years ago by the conquering Roman army. The first pubs served only wine, but after the discovery of hops in the fourteenth century, pubs began to serve mainly beer, as they do today.
Today, there are 61,000 pubs in the United Kingdom. One of the oldest, Fighting Cocks in ST. Albans, Herts, is located in a building that dates back to the 11thcentury. Modern pubs are often owned by English breweries and serve only their owner's products. British pubs are required to have a license, which is difficult to obtain, and operate between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. every day except Sunday, when they must close at 10:30 p.m.
The drinking age in Britain is eighteen, but fourteen-year-olds may enter a pub unaccompanied if they order a meal. Children may enter a pub with their parents until 9 p.m., which lets families enjoy reasonably priced pub meals together and allows pubs to continue in their traditional roles as community centers.
Customs in British pubs differ from those in American bars. In Britain, you must go to the bar to order drinks and food and pay for your purchase immediately, there is no table service. Bartenders are called "landlords" and "barmaids" and they do not expect frequent tipping. To tip a landlord or barmaid, it is customary to tell him to "buy himself one". He or she may or may not take your tip on your offer. At the end of a visit, a polite customer will return his glass to the bar. | high22226.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Facing it bravely with a positive mind."
},
"options": [
"Trying to find an escape from it.",
"Facing it bravely with a positive mind.",
"Asking for help from your s.",
"Ignoring it and living a normal life."
],
... | If you choose only to complain and escape from a misfortune, it will always follow you wherever you go.But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.
In an accident, a boy lost.both his arms and his father-who was the main source of support for the family.Since then, he has had to depend on the arms of his younger brother.For the sake of taking care of him, his younger brother became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years.Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life.
As the two brothers grew up together, they had their share of problems and they would often quarrel.Then one day, his younger brother wanted to leave, living his own life, as many normal people do.So he was heart-broken and didn't know what to do.
A similar misfortune befell a girl, too.One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness, disappeared.Her father went out to look for her mother, leaving her alone at home.She tried to prepare meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in afire which took her hands away.
Though her elder sister who was studying in another city, showed her willingness to take care of her, she was determined to be completely independent.At school, she always studied hard.Most of all she learned to be self-reliant.
One day, the boy and the girl were both invited to appear on a television interview program.The boy told the TV host about his uncertain future at being left on his own, whereas the girl was full of enthusiasm for her life.They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes.The boy wrote: My younger brother's arms are my arms; while the girl wrote: Broken wings, flying heart. | high23138.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a great success and very influential in economy"
},
"options": [
"the number one of the 2001 global future leaders",
"a great success and very influential in economy",
"the chairman of the Students' Union of Hangzhou Teachers... | Jack Ma is the founder and CEO of Alibaba Group. He was one of the 100 global "future leaders" of the 2001 World Economic Forum and the "commercial leader" of 2001 elected by US Commercial Association of Asia.
Born in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Ma graduated from Hangzhou Teachers Institute in 1988 (he failed the entrance exam twice) and became a lecturer in English and International Trade.
In 1985, a one-month visit to see an Australian pen pal he had met in Hangzhou changed his life. "Everything I'd learned in China was that China was the richest country in the world," he said. "When I arrived in Australia, I realized it's totally different. I started to think you have to use your own mind to judge, to think." After his return, Ma became the chairman of the Students' Union of the whole city.
Jack Ma founded Alibaba.com in 1999, a China based business to business marketplace site. In 2003, Alibaba _ Taobao.com, a consumer to consumer auction website similar to eBay.
Ma said that he got most of his ideas while taking very long, hot showers. He likes to spend time walking his four dogs and playing chess and poker. He said, "I've learned a lot of business philosophy by playing poker."
Looking ahead, Ma said that he dreamed of using his group's resources to improve the lives of all Chinese people, especially the 900 million farmers. "There must be some way of using our experience, our know-how, and make their life easier," he said. | high14794.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "doubtful"
},
"options": [
"worried",
"proud",
"doubtful",
"terrified"
],
"question": "Hearing the author's daughter exploring the new neighborhood alone, his American friends feel _ .",
"question_type": "... | On her first morning in America last summer, my daughter went out to explore her new neighborhood alone, without even telling my wife or me. Of course we were worried; we had just moved from Berlin, and she was just 8. But when she came home, we realized we had no reason to panic. Beaming with pride, she told us how she had discovered the little park around the corner, and had made friends with a few local dog owners.
When this story comes up in conversations with American friends, we usually meet with polite disbelief. Most are horrified by the idea that their children might roam around without adult supervision.
A study by the University of California has found that American kids spend 90 per cent of their leisure time at home, often in front of the TV or playing video games. Such narrowing of children's world has happened across the developed world. But German parents are generally much more accepting of letting children take some risks.
"We are depriving them of opportunities to learn how to take control of their own lives," writes Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College. He argues that this increases the chance that they will suffer from anxiety, depression, and various other mental disorders, which have gone up dramatically in recent decades.
I am no psychologist like Professor Gray, but I know I won't be around forever to protect my girls from the challenges life holds in store for them. And by giving kids more control over their lives, they learn to have more confidence in their own capabilities. | high14958.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "introduce to you a newly released comedy"
},
"options": [
"point out the positive sides of being a yes man.",
"introduce to you a newly released comedy",
"tell you it is important to learn to say no sometimes",
"teach y... | What do you think life would be like if whenever you were asked to do something you had to answer "yes"?Would it be more exciting?Dangerous?A little crazy?
Well,that's the premise of a new American comedy called Yes Manthat stars Jim Carry.
In the film,Carry plays a divorced loser named Carl,whose idea of a good time is to sit on his couch watching DVDs.Carl's working life is just as boring--he's been at the same bank for five years,and still hasn't got the promotion he wants.
But everything changes when he bumps into an old friend on the street,who invites him to attend a seminar about the power of the word "yes".At the seminar,the speaker preaches that if you say "yes" to every opportunity,you'll have a much happier and more fulfilled life than if you let opportunities pass you by.
Carl takes this to heart,which sees him offering lifts to homeless people,bungee jumping,and learning to speak Korean and to play the guitar.He also meets a beautiful girl.
While the power of "yes" seems to change Carl's life in a positive way,he soon discovers that if you don't make your own decisions,you can end up in some very _ situations.
Yes Mansees Carry returning to a comedic role after starring in several serious movies.It came out on December 19thin the US and ranks No.1 at the box office.
While the majority of Carry's movies are comedies,he actually considers himself quite a serious person,he said recently on the American talk show "Larry King Live".Carry told Larry King he first started out doing comedy because his mother suffered from depression,and he wanted to find a way to cheer her up or "fix her".
And as for whether or not he's a "yes man",Carry said that he hires a whole group of "people who say no for me"so that he can "stay the nice guy everybody knows and loves". | high22232.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The human influence on the native plants."
},
"options": [
"The human influence on the native plants.",
"The development of native plants.",
"The discovery of new plants.",
"The promising future of tourism."
],
... | In the frozen continent of Antarctica scientists fear an alien invasion -- not from outer space, but carried in people's pockets and bags.
Seeds and plants accidentally brought to Antarctica by tourists and scientists may introduce alien plant species which could threaten the survival of native plants in the finely balanced ecosystem.
"The people that were carrying the most had lots and lots of seeds. They really were real threats," said Dana Bergstrom, from the Australian Antarctic Division.
"When we take things in through hitchhiking then we get species which are competitive. The plants and animals there are not necessarily competitive, so we'd start losing various precious biodiversity on the (Antarctic) continent", Bergstrom told Reuters.
Amongst the alien species discovered were the Iceland Poppy, and Annual Winter Grass -- all from cold climates and capable of growing in Antarctica.
The Antarctic Peninsula, where most tourists travel, is now considered a "hot spot" on the frozen continent and the warmer the climate, the easier for seeds to grow. "The peninsula is warming at some of the greatest rates on the planet," said Bergstrom.
The study, the first continent-wide assessment of invasive species in Antarctica, surveyed about 1,000 passengers during 2007-2008, the first year of the International Polar Year, an international effort to research the polar areas.
Bergstrom said the one alien seed that had gained a foothold is Annual Winter Grass. It is a strong weed in the sub-Antarctic and is on the Antarctic island of King George. It has also made its way to the tail part of the Antarctic continent. | high14780.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "More than one party is responsible for a child's future"
},
"options": [
"All the people in a village should give food to a child",
"More than one party is responsible for a child's future",
"Children should be brought up in ... | It is widely acknowledged that it is by no means an easy task to bring up a child well.And our ancestors already understood it well."It takes an entire village to raise a child."That's an old proverb that is being quoted more and more often these days.And I'm pleased about that.
Today,more and more schools are reaching out to involve parents, community members and businesses to help shape a child's future.
Parents need to be involved in their children's education in many ways.Helping children with homework and studying,going on a field trip,teaching a craft or coaching a child's sports team are all great ways to be involved with your child's education.And don't forget to communicate with teachers -- they need and respect your input.Studies show that children learn more and schools function better when parents and schools work together.It's important to stay in touch with your child's education all through his or her school career.
Communities can help children create and achieve new goals.Help with homework, read to a child,coach a children's team,or provide emotional support.Help solve problems and build self-esteem .Kids need role models and advisers can be role models by sharing their experiences and wisdom.
Businesses can also help shape our children's future.invite a class from your local school to visit your workplace.You may be providing a glimpse that opens a new world of possibilities.Show students what goes on during a typical day.Give a mini course for students:how to use a computer;how products are made;how machinery works.You may have a developing electrician,teacher,nurse,or even a newspaper reporter on your hands.
It really does take an entire village to raise a child.So share the responsibility-- and the joy-- of bringing a child to his or her full potential. | high11820.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Tomatle"
},
"options": [
"Batata",
"Chocolate",
"Tomatle",
"Rockahominy"
],
"question": "Which of the following has been changed for easier pronunciation?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Americans have taken over from the Indians many things besides their continent! Where did corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate and maple sugar come from? The Indians. Who invented moccasins, snowshoes and hammocks? The Indians!
A list of the tools, plants, materials and designs we owe to the Indians would include hundreds of items. But there is something far more familiar, something that is always at hand. It is used daily by every American: a large vocabulary of Indian words.
Potato, tomato, chocolate, moccasin and hammock came into English from Indian languages. So did cocoa, tobacco, maize (an Indian word for corn) and succotash. Some words have changed on the way. Potato, for example, comes from a word that sounds like "batata". Cocoa began as "cacahuatl".
Some meanings have also changed. The long Indian word from which succotash comes means "something broken off in bits". Indian women often varied their dishes by mixing bits of one food with another. White men who ate an Indian dish of mixed lima beans and corn began using the Indian word to mean this particular mixture.
Put on your moccasins and take a walk in the country. If it is a cold day and you wear a mackinaw, your jacket will be as Indian as your shoes. But mackinaw came from "michilimackinac", the Indian name of a place where a fort served as a trading post. Bright-color1ed blankets or jackets bought at the post soon became known as "mackinaws".
Early white visitors to the continent found Indian words useful for the things new to them. But some Indian sounds, such as the "tl" at the end of many words, were hard to say. That is why "coyotl" became coyote and "tomatle" became tomato.
Some words simply seemed too long. So, "musickwautash" became succotash and "rockahominy" became hominy. | high20425.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "doesn't burn up oxygen"
},
"options": [
"runs without any noise",
"doesn't burn up oxygen",
"makes people get sleepy fast",
"is unsuitable for children and pets"
],
"question": "From the passage, we can learn th... | We all know that the cost of heating our homes will continue to be a significant burden on the family budget. Now millions of people are saving on their heating bills with the EP portable heater. With over one million satisfied customers around d the world, the new EP heats better and faster, saves more on heating bills, and runs almost silent.
The EP has no exposed heating parts that can cause a fire. The outside of the EP only gets warm to the touch so that it will not burn children or pets.
The EP will not reduce oxygen in the room. With other heaters you'll notice that you get sleepy when the heat comes on because they are burning up oxygen.
The advanced EP also heats the room evenly, wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It comfortably covers an area up t0 350 square feet. Other heaters heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room. And they only heat an area a few feet around the heater. With the EP, the temperature will not vary in any part of the room.
The EP comes with a 3-year warranty and a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not totally satisfied, return it at our expense and your money will be given back to you. Now we have a special offer for l0 day3, during which you can enjoy a half price discount and a free delivery. if you order after that, we reserve the right to either accept or reject order requests at the discounted price.
Take action right now ! | high17289.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "There are so many cars in the street that the traffic police can't be seen."
},
"options": [
"Traffic police are not very necessary because few cars break traffic rules.",
"The traffic is very clear and there are few traffic jams a... | There are many differences between America and China. The biggest difference is traffic rules. In America there are too much more cars than in China. But there are much fewer traffic jams and accidents in America than in China. We hardly see traffic police in the street, but all cars obey strictly traffic rules, and people hardly find that a car does not obey traffic rules in the street.
About American traffic rules, there are many better terms, such as:
1. Stop line: There are stop lines in all crossing without traffic light (some have two stop lines and others have four stop lines). All cars must stop while meeting the stop line.
2. Traffic light: There is traffic light in the crossing of the road. Cars may almost turn every direction. The traffic light can give signal step by step including u-turn. There is a kind of middle lane of turning left. When a car wants to turn left in the road, he may enter into the middle lane of turning left and give a signal of turning left. When he thinks being safe, he may turn left. In many conditions the order of passing is also given very specifically. If people want to change lane or turn, they must look behind and think being safe. Only so, they may do it.
3. Specific item: Such as parking, there are three kinds of lines (their colors are white, blue or red) in the roadside. Every line may park different kinds of cars. There are many streets in some residential areas , and there is a kind of rule that any car cannot park at any time or any period time. In every parking, there are some special positions for invalid people.
4. About the priority of passenger and car: At any case, passengers have the priority to cars. And only after passengers have passed the road and got the top of sidestep, cars may go ahead.
In general, traffic rules of America are very specific, convenient, safe and humanizing. | high5916.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year."
},
"options": [
"The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.",
"The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.",
"The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck larg... | First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil is happening underfoot. It's not.
While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren't. The problem is what's happening above ground, not underground, experts say. More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they're rapidly putting up buildings that can't withstand earthquakes, scientists believe. And around-the-clock news coverage and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.
"I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end," said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics at Durharn University in the UK.
A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900--killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far--more than in most years for that time period.
But that's because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes early this year skews the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist .
Also, it's not the number of quakes, but their devastating impacts that gain attention, with the death tolls largely due to construction standards (building standard) and crowding, Earle added. "The standard mantra is earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do, " he said. Ks*5*u
There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world's big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone to earthquakes, Bilham said.
Developing nations, where populations are growing, don't pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said." If you have a problem feeding yourself, you're not really going to worry about earthquakes."
Another reason quakes seem worse is that we're paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.
But it won't last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. "People are paying attention to the violent planet we've always lived on," Mileti said." Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. " | high20343.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "guide her daughter to drink coffee properly"
},
"options": [
"offer some good advice to coffee shops",
"guide her daughter to drink coffee properly",
"stop her daughter hanging out in coffee shops",
"let her daughter be... | If you walk around any large city, you'll find a coffee shop on every corner. Many shops offer comfortable sofas, large screen televisions and sometimes even live music. More and more teenagers are hanging out there. My pre-teen has already done so after school once a month, but she always orders fruit juice. I think she would drink coffee sooner or later, so I started doing some research online.
I found that coffee in moderation could be safe, but one thing that was constant online was the chance of becoming addicted to coffee. Coffee is one step up from soda but still not as dangerous as energy drinks or alcohol. Still, any addiction is hard to break, so I needed to come up with a plan that would protect my child.
Coffee shops offer a safe place for teenagers to hang out. As like anything else you let your children do, you need to set limits. Drinking coffee while socializing once or twice a week won't cause a severe caffeine addiction. However, you should avoid allowing a cup of coffee every morning and ensure they get adequate sleep each night, which will make them less likely to feel the need to drink coffee.
As parents, we have responsibility to set a good example. If you're addicted to caffeine, it's time to start monitoring your intake. If you drink much water and keep healthier drink options in your fridge and at your dinner table, your teenager will follow you. I drink much water and so do both my children. _
As a mother, I'm ready to allow my child to try coffee and we'll talk about it and discuss the pros and cons of consuming this. I feel open communication is vital in helping them make good decisions. Although the decision to drink coffee doesn't pose the same dangers as underage drinking, it still deserves a thoughtful conversation. | high10280.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you"
},
"options": [
"means he or she doesn't like you",
"means he or she likes you",
"doesn't mean he or she likes you",
"doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you"
],
"questio... | Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 p. m. and 8 p. m. and end at about 11 p. m. Ask your host what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. Do you want to be extrapolite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember--it's not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other side. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short"Thank you"letter. British and American people like to say"Thank you, thank you, thank you"all the time! | high16829.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a beginner"
},
"options": [
"a beginner",
"an instructor",
"a refresher",
"a skilled cyclist"
],
"question": "You would like to have three lessons as _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | We are now able to offer those adults who live, work or study in the Bristol City Council area cycle lessons for free up to 3 hours long.
Beginner? Can't you ride a bike? You're not alone. We can help you get on a bike and go cycling. Beginners are called Level 1.
Need a refresher? If you need a refresher or you haven't been on a bike for a while and want to start cycling or perhaps you're confident on traffic-free routes but you want to start cycling on the road, our instructors can teach you the skills you need to cycle safely and confidently on the road. This is Level 2.
Experienced Cyclist? If you are an experienced cyclist, our professional urban coaches can give you smart tips for negotiating complex junctions more easily and improving your rush-hour strategies. This is Level 3.
What you should bring: You will need a roadworthy bike for your lesson. If you don't own a bike you can hire one for the duration of your lesson but you can only hire one from the instructors at our Bedminster and St George venues. The cost of the bike for hire is PS5. UK law does not require you to wear a helmet, but if you do wear one it should fit correctly.
Costs :
Bristol: Thanks to Bristol City Council, sessions are currently free for Bristol residents over age 16 and you can have up to 3 lessons, depending on your ability. To secure your booking, all we require is a PS5 refundable deposit.
B&NES: Thanks to Bath Cycling Campaign, sessions are currently PS5 for anyone over 12. If you are a B&NES resident, please book using the link on the "Outside Bristol" page.[:Z,xx,k.Com]
Anywhere else: Life Cycle have a presence in Salisbury and Gloucester. For Salisbury residents, please book online and for Goucester residents you can book by emailing us (lifecycleuk. org.uk ). For all areas outside Bristol our charge is PS 30 for a 1-hour session. | high7867.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the orange lights are space animals according to a theory"
},
"options": [
"Captain Nash saw twelve orange lights traveling with great speedks5u",
"Captain Nash may have been the first to see lights in space",
"the orange lig... | On the night of July 6, 1943, a plane took off from an Air Force base in England to stop German fighters over the English Channel. Piloting the plane was Captain Thomas Nash. Looking westward, Nash saw twelve orange lights in a row, moving at a very high rate of speed. Thinking they might be a new German weapon, he swung the plane around and headed directly for the lights, but they disappeared.
Captain Nash may have been the first to see such orange lights but he wasn't the last. His experience was repeated many times by pilots during World War II both in England and Far East.
What were they? No one knows for sure, but there is an interesting theory to explain them. According to this theory, the orange lights are space animals---animals specially adapted to life in the upper atmosphere just as some living things are adapted to life at the bottom of the sea.
These space animals, the theory says, live so far up in the atmosphere that they are not in sight from the earth. They feed partly on the air and partly on energy from the sunlight. Being almost pure energy themselves, their body shine at night. During the day, however, they are invisible.
Before World War II, continues the theory, there was little radiated energy on the earth's surface. Then came the development of rockets, nuclear power stations and something like that. The space animals are attracted to these kinds of energy of food. At night when there is no energy from the sunlight, they come down into the lower levels in search of a meal. They may even float into the range of human eyesight. This explains the fact that they have been sighted many times from the earth since 1943. | high24125.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To help their kids form good spending habits."
},
"options": [
"To leave their kids financially independent.",
"To help their kids form good spending habits.",
"To teach their kids' how to save pocket money.",
"To stren... | Personal money-management website Mint.com suggests recently that responsible parents should give their kids credit cards--possibly starting as young as middle school. The website says a credit card will help children master responsible spending habits and give parents the chance to teach them some valuable lessons.
It's absolutely true that kids should learn about how a credit card works and how to use it responsibly. But the idea that they need a card of their own to practise this is questionable.
Yes, credit cards are a teaching tool, but it's the time you spend educating them about money management that does the teaching, not the piece of plastic. Sit down with your child--here we are referring to teens and walk them through your credit card statements. Point out important things like the due date, late fee warning, and APR .
If you have good credit, adding a child as an authorized user onto one of your credit cards also provides teachable moments. Allow kids to use the card to make specific purchases and require their participation in payment.
Since the card is still in your name, you can take them off it at any point and cut off their access if they're not able to handle the responsibility.
Another option is to set them up with an account at a local bank that offers free use of a debit card . Unlike credit card, the debit card has no overdraft function.
Children can only use the card to pay for things and the money is taken directly from their bank account. If the account is empty, the worst that will happen is the card being declined at a cash register. | high9692.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "different theories of the formation of human behavior"
},
"options": [
"relation between personality and behavior",
"relation between behavior and environment",
"different accounts of patterns of human behavior",
"diffe... | People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed.It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions.They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors.There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed.As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between _ of each theory.The controversy(argument) is often referred to as "nature and nurture ".
Those who support the "nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors.That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory.Taken to an extreme , this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts .
Proponents of the "nurture" theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act.A behaviorist, B.F.Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings.The behaviorists' view of the human being is quite mechanistic ; they maintain that, like machines, humans' respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior.
Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching.In the US, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests.This leads some proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites.Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do.
Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior.In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain. | high982.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People thought she was too old to work."
},
"options": [
"Nursing clinics were hard to find.",
"She found it difficult to trust others.",
"People thought she was too old to work.",
"People didn't think she had enough wo... | A job is more than a job, especially to the old. "It's not the money that matters, but the sense of self-worth," 56-year-old Cheng Wonlan said. So, every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels, letters and documents and does her rounds in North Point. She's a courier .
Five years ago, Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic. She had worked there for 30 years but became jobless when the doctor moved away. It was difficult for her to find another job as a nurse. "People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am," she said. After two years of searching, she eventually found another nursing job. But then after two years, she quit. Why?
"My colleagues were young and they didn't understand me because of my age. They often asked me, 'You are so old. What are you working for?' I was very unhappy," she said. When the rest of her family left for work, she was lonely and bored at home. Then her neighbours told her about Employees' Retraining Board offering retraining courses for older people. These courses are specifically designed to encourage the older people back to work.
"I was interested in courier work. I didn't think my age was a barrier because I was fit," she said. Upon graduating, Ms Cheng was offered a job by a company. But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict: she was caught between honour and employment. "I felt embarrassed about carrying and delivering letters and parcels," she said. It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind: there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job. So she went off to work as a courier.
Ms Cheng's employer, Anthony Chong, is delighted with her responsible attitude and said, "I hire older people because they are able and reliable. Age is not an important factor but attitude is. Many old people will not run from difficulties but the young ones will." | high13951.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He seemed to be wearing too much."
},
"options": [
"He seemed to be wearing too much.",
"He was out on such a hot day.",
"He walked quickly behind.",
"He was a tall young man."
],
"question": "What is strange ab... | I was walking along prefix = st1 /Orchard Roadwhen I realized a tall young man wearing a jacket and tie was following me. I noticed him because not many people wear a jacket and tie in the middle of a hot summer day, and I had already seen this man four times that afternoon.
To make sure he was following me, I walked on quickly, turned right into a shopping center and then stopped to look in a shop window. Soon the man appeared and stopped at another shop window. I walked on and stopped several times. When I stopped , he stopped too.
I began to be rather worried and decided to try to lose this strange man. When I saw a taxi coming, I jumped into it. As I was telling the taxi driver where to go, I found the man get into another taxi, which then followed mine. As the two taxies slowly made their way alongOrchard Road, I looked back at the taxi behind, and saw that the stranger was looking out at me. At MRT station, I told the taxi driver to stop and I got out. As I was paying my fare, I saw the man was getting out of his taxi.
By now I got angry, so I turned and walked straight to him. I asked him why he was following me. At first he said he was not following me at all, but when I threatened to call the police, he admitted he was. He then told me that he was a journalist(news reporter) and that he was writing an article on how elderly people inSingaporespend their time. He said he was observing me to gather materials for his article. | high23892.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "it can provide them with valuable experiences"
},
"options": [
"it can help them learn more about society",
"it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves",
"it enables them to find flaws in themselves",
"it... | Sports is not only physically challenging, but it can also mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches(trainers), parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create too much anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has showed that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware(realize), at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find a flaw in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious(careful) that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today's youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on(pay more attention to) the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided in spite of the outcome. Research shows that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress(pressure), which can lead to burnout. | high12497.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "apply for a mailbox"
},
"options": [
"write to the ISPs",
"fill in a form",
"apply for a mailbox",
"go to the post office"
],
"question": "If you want to send or receive an email, you should first _ .",
"... | What is the E-mail
The e-mail, which is also called email, stands for "electronic mail". You can send messages in only a few seconds by e-mail.
On the Internet there are many powerful computers called "servers" to help people send and receive emails. The sending and receiving servers are just like post offices. If you want to use the email service, you have to open at least an email account called a "mailbox", just like we set up a mailbox in a post office. Some mailboxes are provided free of charge by ISPs, which you can get when you open an Internet account. Most widely used mailboxes are provided free by the ISPs, and anyone can apply for one even if he has no ISP account.
How to apply for a free mailbox? First you have to connect to the Internet and go to the homepage of the ISP providing free mailboxes. Then you'll find an icon showing "apply for a free mailbox", click the icon, an agreement about the rules for using the free mailbox will appear. If you want to go on, click the icon "I agree". Then you have to fill in a form about your basic personal information, and the name and pin of the mailbox. The pin is the key to the mailbox. After finishing these, you'll get a mailbox like this: your name @ mail server, for example: jack@ 163. com. The mailbox is separated into two parts by a separator "@", which is read as "at". The former part is the name of the mailbox. The latter is the domain name of the mail server. All mails to you will be received by the server and put into your mailbox. You can read this mail on any computer in the world as long as you have the name and pin of the mailbox. | high14179.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They care a lot about what their peers think of them."
},
"options": [
"They are too young to tell right from wrong.",
"They are eager to challenge themselves.",
"They care a lot about what their peers think of them.",
... | Sometimes having a teenager at home can be a real headache. Many teenagers smoke, drink, wear strange hairdos and even fight. Basically, they are often taking risks.
Earlier studies have shown that teenagers are more likely to make _ decisions than people from any other age group, including children and adults. Is it that teenagers are too young to tell right from wrong? Not really. So what explains their risky behavior?
According to Laurence Steinberg, a professor at Temple University, US, the reason is that teens care a lot about how their peers view them - that's the effect of "peer influence", reported Science Daily.
As children enter their teenage years, they spend more time with their friends and classmates and also become more sensitive to their feedback . This sensitivity drives teenagers to concentrate on the short-term benefits of making risky choices and overlook the costs.
In a test, a group of teenagers were asked to play a video driving game. When they played with their friends watching, they took more chances and drove more carelessly because that would increase their possibility of winning. But when they played alone, they tended to drive more safely.
Why does pressure from peers have such a big influence on teens' behavior?
As Steinberg sees it, a teenager's brain is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake . The "accelerator", the brain's ability to notice the benefits of things, is fully developed by teenage years while the "brake", the brain part related to controlling impulses and long-term thinking, is still immature . When teens are under the pressure of being judged by their peers, they tend to push hard on the accelerator. Given how weak the brake is, it is likely that they are going to end up in a crash.
But the good news here, according to Steinberg, is that a violent teenager doesn't necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it. "They get more self-controlled," Steinberg told Live Science.
Also, people who haven't committed a violent crime by age 19 are less likely to start doing it later, added Steinberg. | high13616.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "is busy with his work"
},
"options": [
"is busy with his work",
"has a weak body now",
"has two children in all",
"is a manager in a film"
],
"question": "We can learn from the passage that the author _ .",
... | I had about 10 minutes to exercise before I had to pick up my two older daughters from school yesterday. It was a busier day than usual for me with a couple of meetings besides my regular work.
Years ago, I would have put off my workout and would have left things for the next day. But since it was a busy day as well, I knew that I may not have all that much time either. So, I picked up my kettle-bell and _ for 4 minutes.
See, 4 minutes, if that's all you've got, is enough to give your body a great fat-burning exercise. How did I get a killer workout in 4 minutes? I used a training workout discovered 10 years ago by a Japanese Sports Scientist called a TABATA.
It includes 20-second periods of warm-up, followed by 10-second periods of rest and 4-minute straight exercise. How is a 4-minute exercise able to burn fat? It all depends on the quality of work you do. Not on the quantity. Here's how I did it yesterday.
You should never forget your warm-up. A TABATA workout is 20 seconds of 2-arm Kettle-bell swings, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds push-ups, and 10 seconds rest. You should do those 4 rounds. That's it. I was done in a total time of 8 minutes by the time and when I got to school my heart was still pumping pretty hard.
A healthy body is needed for studying and working, and efficiency is the key to building a great body in the least amount of time possible and you can't get more efficient than a 4-minute workout. | high12508.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "an earthquake"
},
"options": [
"a wounded animal",
"people screaming",
"children running",
"an earthquake"
],
"question": "The roaring sound was made by _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | "Earthquake!"The word flashed in my brain.A roaring sound filled my ears.I tried to slide beneath my desk.The desk did a wild tap dance,slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room.I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me,somehow kicking free of my dancing chair.I tried to stand.My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator.
My fingers shook,grasped and held the windowsill tightly.Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal.I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare.Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room,surrounded by chairs and desks.One girl was screaming.A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl.
My grip froze me to the windowsill.
I cried aloud,"I'm going to die.I'm going to die.Save me,I'm not ready to die,I'm not ready!"
I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers.I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores.The fingers would soon cease to exist.Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about.
Suddenly,I became aware that the rocking had ceased.Perhaps I wasn't going to die. | high7720.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The Old Man and the Sea."
},
"options": [
"The Old Man and the Sea.",
"The Ugly Duckling.",
"The Daughter of the Sea.",
"The Gifts."
],
"question": "Which of the following was written by Hemingway?",
"questi... | Hemingway(1898~1961) was born in Illinois. His family took him, as a boy, hunting and fishing trips and so made him know early the kinds of virtues, such as courage and endurance , which were later shown in his stories. After high school, he worked as a newspaper reporter and then went abroad to take part in World War I. After the war, he lived for several years in Paris. It was not long before he began publishing remarkable short stories. In the year he left Paris he published the powerful novel The Sun Also Rises. His subjects were often war and its effects on people, or contests, such as hunting or bullfighting, which demand endurance and courage.
Hemingway's style of writing is striking. His sentences are short, his words are simple, yet they are often filled with feelings. A careful reading can show us, further more, that we see how the action of his stories continue during the silence, during the times his character say nothing. This action is often full of meaning. There are times when the most powerful effect comes from restraint . Such times happen often in Hemingway's writings. He perfected the art of expressing excitement with few words. | high15267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The Pigman."
},
"options": [
"The Pigman.",
"The Doom Stone.",
"The Pigman and Me.",
"The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds."
],
"question": "Which of Paul Zindel's books was the most popular wit... | A Paul Zindel's death on March 27,2003 ended the brilliant life of a famous writer.
Not only did Paul Zindel win a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Prize for his 1970 play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, but he was one of the earliest writers in the field of contemporary literature for young adults . The Pigman, published in 1968. is still one of the most well-known and widely-taught novels in the genre, the American Library Association has named it one of the 100 Best of the Best books for Young Adults published between 1967 and 1992, and Zindel's autobiography. The Pigman and Me, was among the 100 Best of the Best Books published for teenagers during the last part of the twentieth century. Six of Zindel's books, in fact, have been voted the Best Books for Young Adults, and most of his recent horror books--such as The Doom Stone and Rats--have been chosen as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Clearly, he was a writer who knew how to interest contemporary children. Recognizing that, the American Library Association in 2002 honored Paul Zindel with the Margaret A. Edwards Prize for his lifetime achievements , and later that same year he was presented with the ALAN Prize for his contributions to Young Adult Literature. With his passing, young readers, teachers, and librarians have lost a great friend. | high8413.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "can be academically weak or strong"
},
"options": [
"have poor academic records",
"use the information in late years",
"can be academically weak or strong",
"are more likely to be punished than before"
],
"quest... | Cheating is nothing new. But today, education and administrations are finding that examples of academic dishonesty on the part of students have become more frequent--- and are less likely to be punished---than in the
past. Cheating appears to have gained acceptance among good and poor students alike.
Why is student cheating on the rise? No one really knows. Some blame the trend on a general loosening of moral values among today's youth. Others have attributed increased cheating to the fact that today's youth are far more practical than their idealistic ancestors. Whereas in the late sixties and early seventies, students were filled with visions about changing the word, today's students feel great pressure to survive and succeed. In interviews with students at high schools and colleges around the country, both young men and women said that cheating had become easy. Some suggested they did it out of hate for teachers they didn't respect. Others looked at it as a game. Only if they were caught, some said, would they feel guilty. "People are competitive," said a second-year college student named Anna, from Chicago. "There is an potential fear. If you don't do well, your life is going to be ruined. The pressure is not only from parents and friends but from yourself. To achieve. To succeed. It's almost as though we have to surpass people to achieve our own goals.
Edward Wynne, editor of a magazine blames the rise in academic dishonesty in the schools. He claims that administrators and teachers have been too hesitant to take action. Dwight Huber, chairman of the English Department at Amarillo sees the matter differently, blaming the rise in cheating on the way students evaluated. "I would cheat if I felt I was being cheated," Mr. Huber said. He feels that as long as teachers give short-answer tests rather than essay questions and rate students by the number of facts they can memorize rather than by how well they can combine and process information, students will try to beat the system. " The concept of cheating is based on the false belief that the system is legal and there is something wrong with _ who're doing it," he said, "That's too easy an answer. We've got to start looking at the system." | high4229.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "might have died but for her pet's help"
},
"options": [
"works in a Wilmington, Del.,chemical firm",
"was making jewelry when she had the accident",
"might have died but for her pet's help",
"was unconscious when her pe... | When Debbie Parkhurst choked on a piece of apple at her Maryland home, her dog jumped in, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece of apple to pop out of her throat. Debbie Parkhurst's husband, Kevin, was at his job at a Wilmington, Del., chemical firm when she took a midday break from jewelry and bit into an apple. When the Keesling family of Indiana were about to be overcome by carbon monoxide(CO), their cat clawed at wife Cathy's hair until she woke up and called for help.
For their timely acts, Toby, a golden 2 1/2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a gray-eyed American shorthair, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Neither Parkhurst nor Keesling could explain their pets' timely heroics,though Parkhurst suggested it might have been guided by God intervention . "That's what our veterinarian said,"she said. "He wasn't making a joke; he's very spiritual, and now I have to agree with him."
But both pets were themselves rescued in baby, Toby as a 4-week-old baby thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Keesling's husband, Eric, had to feed her milk.
As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump spread carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie moved into rescue spot, the couple's 14-year-old son, Michael, was already unconscious. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry noise," Cathy Keesling said. "When I woke up I felt like a T-bar had hit me across the head."
State police and officers responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house. | high3546.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They will be delighted."
},
"options": [
"They will be moved.",
"They will be upset.",
"They will be delighted.",
"They will be discouraged."
],
"question": "How will most people feel when you try hard to rememb... | Remembering names is an important social skill. Here are some ways to master it.
Recite and repeat in conversation.
When you hear a person's name, repeat it. Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips. You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial.
Ask the other person to recite and repeat.
You can let other people help you remember their names. After you've been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name mad pronounce it correctly for you. Most people will be pleased by the effort you're making to learn their names.
Admit you don't know.
Admitting that you can't remember someone's name can actually make people relaxed. Most of them will feel sympathy if you say. "I'm working to remember names better. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue. What is it again?"
Use connections.
Link each person yon meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual. For example, you could make a mental note: "Vicki Cheng -- tall, black hair." To reinforce your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible.
Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.
When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering every one. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.
Go early.
Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time. There're fewer names for you to remember. And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others --- an automatic review for you. | high2658.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A news report."
},
"options": [
"A story book.",
"A cartoon film.",
"A news report.",
"A research report."
],
"question": "Where is this passage probably taken from?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"ans... | With the average home in the capital selling for 19,548 yuan a square meter in November, a tiny mobile home built by a 24-year-old office worker is creating a stir online.
Dai Haifei built the 6-square-meter pad because he could not afford to buy or rent in the capital. Dai's new home costs him 6,400 yuan and he has been living in it for nearly two months in a courtyard at Chengfu Road, Haidian district.
Dai, who is one of the millions of migrants who moved to the capital from other parts of China seeking a better life and better job, said he realized his financial burden had become too great. The Hunan native said he simply could not make ends meet when he became an intern at a Beijing-based construction design company in 2009.
"I rented a home at the very beginning--a small room in an apartment that cost me about 900 yuan per month," said Dai in an interview with local media. "It was too expensive for me."
Dai's father works on a construction site in his hometown and his mother is a cleaner.
Dai, who ended up becoming a formal employee of the company, figured out his own way to solve the problem---with inspiration from a housing design project at his company's exhibition early this year. The project, named "An egg given birth to by the city", included a series of egg-like movable houses, with a karaoke house, chair house and trader's house in it.
Dai, who borrowed 6,400 yuan from an older cousin and who got additional help from several friends, decided to make one of his own. He spent nearly two months building his "egg house" in his hometown, a village in southeast Hunan that is around 1, 700 kilometers from Beijing. | high17470.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They were both simple creations."
},
"options": [
"They were both simple creations.",
"The artists of both focused on family life.",
"The artists of both came from the lower class.",
"They were both gifted creations by ... | Although in the 17th century in the United States fine art and folk art had similar qualities, a difference between them began to appear as time went on in the 18th and 19th centuries artists with ambition studied abroad and came back to paint portraits of upper-class families in American society. The less ambitious or less fortunate artists traveled around their own areas and created pictures of countryside society. Anyway, artists got trained and those simple creations improved a lot.
Around 1930,folk art began to take on a new meaning and was considered as an expression of a small cultural class. Folk art is never the product of art movements, but comes out of craft traditions. This art is based not on measurements or calculations and rarely goes with the standards of realism. It goes straight to the bases of art which the folk artists feel naturally.
The period 1930~ 1960 was the time when folk artists began to receive recognition. They often began their art careers late in life and used art as an outlet for their energy. Their materials were cheap and simple, their subjects were different, but their creativity flowed. Doing their own things became the norm , and was what made folk art so desirable.
Although it is hard to define folk art, one thing is certain --- it touches us in a special way because the artists show us how he or she brought beauty into their everyday life. Since folk artists come from all walks of life, each piece of art created is one of a kind, emphasizing color, simplicity of line and brave, simple form. Most importantly, it exemplifies(...) the history of American life. | high5137.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "their family is very poor"
},
"options": [
"they want to hang around with the local toughs",
"their mother watches TV all day",
"their father is only a cleaner",
"their family is very poor"
],
"question": "The m... | An unemployed man is desperate to support his family. His wife watches TV all day and his three teenage kids have dropped out of high school to hang around with the local toughs. He applies for a cleaner's job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, "You will be hired at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can contact you easily. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your first day." Greatly surprised, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this, the manager replies, "You must understand that to a company like ours that means you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high tech firm. Good day."
Unable to believe what he heard, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling beautiful tomatoes. He buys a crate , carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than two hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. From that day on, he repeats the tomato business and becomes increasingly successful as time goes on. By the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse. The tomato company has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work and the business grossed a million dollars.
Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. The insurance adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance salesman is surprised, " No computer? No Internet? Just think where you would be if you'd had all of that five years ago!" "Ha! If I'd had all of that five years ago, I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour!" the man replies. | high17316.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "workers were cleaning the spill"
},
"options": [
"workers were cleaning the spill",
"valves of the oil warehouse were shut",
"the oil spill flowed into the city's water network",
"crude oil began to leak from an undergr... | QINGDAO--Water and power supplies have been _ in the East Chinese city of Qingdao, the site of an oil pipeline explosion on Friday, the local government said on Monday.
Crude oil began leaking from the pipeline at 3:00 an Friday in Qingdao in Shandong province. The valves of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later.
The oil spill then flowed into the city's rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions occurred at two locations around 10:30 am Friday when workers were clearing the spill.
According to the local government, about 85 percent of public heating and 90 percent of the gas supply were also brought back to normal as of Monday.
Residents who have been taken to the temporary settlements are receiving bottled water and bread.
Many schools and kindergartens have reopened classes after Friday's oil pipeline explosion. No injures and deaths of students or teachers have been reported following the explosions at an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec. The school buildings of one middle school in the district were seriously damaged during the explosions. Education authorities have arranged psychological help for students and teaching staff. All other 18 schools and kindergartens in the district reopened classes on Monday.
As of Monday noon, the death toll from the explosion had risen to 55, with 9 people still missing and 136 hospitalized. According to local police, 49 bodied have been identified so far, and 42 of them were male victims. As of Monday morning, the blood supply in Qingdao was enough for the injured after more than 950 people in the city donated more than 340,000 ml of blood in the wake of the incident. | high5651.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To find a chance to enjoy their time alone."
},
"options": [
"To find a chance to enjoy their time alone.",
"To realize what they said on their wedding day.",
"To allow in-laws time to enjoy themselves after the wedding.",
... | In the Western world in-laws usually don't get along well with each other or with a new spouse . Perhaps they have a problem in understanding that their wonderful child has now grown up and got married. Maybe they don't like the spouse their child picked. Or maybe they just don't think that anyone will ever be good enough for their own "baby".
So what can the newly married people do?
First of all, go for a long honeymoon. This will give you two things. First, it will give you time to get close to your new partner. Now you must stay with him or her just as you said on your wedding day. Second, it will give the in-laws time to cool down after the exciting wedding. Enjoy your honeymoon! When you return, it will be time to start dealing with the rest of the family.
After you get back from your honeymoon, move to another place. Do whatever you need to do. Change your job. Start a new career, and so on. If you stay near your home or move into a house just down the street from either family, you'll get in trouble. Trust me!
You also need to start making new family traditions. You don't have to make your mum's apple pie for Thanksgiving. You don't have to go to both families on Christmas Eve! Relax. You don't have to have both soon-to-be grandmothers with you when you are giving birth! Don't give in to in-law pressure.
Finally, talk with other new spouses. They will encourage you and give you support for the never-ending and ongoing reality of having in-laws. | high18025.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the foods the freshmen had at home may be healthier than those in the dorm cafeteria"
},
"options": [
"the foods the freshmen had at home may be healthier than those in the dorm cafeteria",
"to break the monotony, the students shou... | Many college-bound freshmen are worrying about more than just who their roommates will be this fall. They may also be nervous about the well-known fact that they are likely to gain weight this school year. Or will they? While many of us remember the extra weight that showed up right around the start of our college careers, we are not always clear on how much weight we realize gained or why.
Many nutrition experts and psychologists think that it is the change in environment and the stress of a new beginning that cause the typical college freshmen to gain extra pounds. As students start a new stage of their lives, many eat to deal with the stress of change or loneliness. Often, college students are making meals or choosing foods independently for the first time in their lives. If they live in the college dormitory, they have a wide variety of foods to select from that may be higher in calories and fatter than the foods they consumed living at home. In addition, college social events usually center around food. I clearly remember sitting in my dorm cafeteria for two or three hours on a Saturday morning socializing with my new friends. Instead of eating only one meal, we would start with breakfast, eat throughout the duration of our socializing, and finish with lunch. Food also makes an appearance after late-night parties, as part of a school day, or simply to break the monotony( ).
So will this year's typical freshmen really gain 15 pounds? According to a 2006 Tufts University study, students enrolling in college this fall will gain weight, but maybe not the assumed 15 pounds. Based on the students surveyed, the study found that men can expect to gain an average of 6 pounds and women an average of 4.5 pounds during the freshman year. | high11767.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The terrible feeling of being without their mobiles."
},
"options": [
"The history of mobiles.",
"The story of meeting an old university friend.",
"The addiction of playing mobile phone.",
"The terrible feeling of being... | It was a comfortable sunny Sunday. I was going to meet an old university friend I hadn't seen for years, and was really excited to hear all his news.
My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem - I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But... where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, I'd forgotten it at home.
No mobile phone. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling anxious, _ and worried when I don't have my phone with me. In fact, I know I'm not alone: two-thirds of us experience 'nomophobia', the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.
That's according to a study from 2012 which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones.
It says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, that women are more 'nomophobic'than men, and that 18-24 year-olds are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes.
Do you have nomophobia ?
* You never turn your phone off
* You obsessively check for texts, missed calls and emails* You always take your phone to the bathroom with you* You never let the battery run out
It's funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be businessperson carrying their large, plastic 'bricks'. Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. A UN study from this year said mobile phone subscriptions would outnumber people across the world by the end of 2014.
And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe it's time to ask who really is in charge? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you?
So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: "You haven't changed at all - still always late!" And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no interruptions and no nagging desire to check my phone.
Not having it with me felt strangely liberating. Maybe I'll leave it at home on purpose next time. | high5889.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "loves her job"
},
"options": [
"has a poor memory",
"is a teacher of Chinese",
"loves her job",
"is angry with the headmaster"
],
"question": "Miss Wu _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Miss Wu is a young teacher of English in China. She loves teaching very much. One day when she was giving an English lesson, she found the headmaster sitting at the back of the classroom. After class, the headmaster told her that he came to her class to find out how much English and how much Chinese she was using. The result was about half English and half Chinese. She was using Chinese when she gave instructions to her students and when she wanted to get feedback from her students. The headmaster told her that she should use more English in her class.
Miss Wu made a plan like this:
*talk with an Englishman every Sunday for two hours to learn more English expressions;
*write some English expressions on cards. These cards not only _ her to use English in class, but also help her remember some expressions;
*have a five-minute talk in English with students before class.
She used body language to help her if students could not understand.
One year later, she found she could use English freely in class. | high7046.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "More than 10% of pilots allowed to fly armed"
},
"options": [
"More than 10% of pilots allowed to fly armed",
"Less than 10% of pilots allowed to fly armed",
"More than 16.5% of pilots allowed to fly armed",
"No chances... | WASHINGTON--More than one in 10 of the nation's airline pilots are cleared to carry a handgun while flying, and the number will continue to grow, according to a Transportation Security Administration projection.
The Federal Air Marshal Service, a TSA agency that runs the armed-pilots program, reports that 85,000 to 90,000 pilots and crewmembers flying domestic passengers and cargo planes are eligible to carry a gun. That puts the number of armed pilots at about 9,500.
The TSA projects the program to grow to 16.5% of eligible pilots by the year 2011. Aviation experts were surprised and alarmed that so many pilots are toting guns in the sky.
"That's a big number compared to what I thought it would be," said aviation-security consultant Rich Roth, who said he had predicted there would be fewer than 1,000 armed pilots. The 5-year-old program trains pilots for one week and arms them with 40-caliber semiautomatic pistols.
"That's a scary number," said Joseph Gutheinz, a former Transportation Department special agent and aviation attorney in Houston. "By allowing so many pilots the opportunity to fly armed, we're giving terrorists opportunity to identify somebody who has a gun and overpower him."
Capt. Bob Hesselbein, head of security for the Air Line Pilots Association, said the number of armed pilots is "a tremendous deterrent " to hijackings. "The challenge of an organized terrorist team is to take control of the cabin, then the flight deck."
Armed pilots have come under scrutiny since March 22 when the gun of a US Airways pilot fired in the cockpit of Flight 1536 as it approached Charlotte from Denver. No one was hurt, and the plane landed safely after the bullet pierced the fuselage. | high15501.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "give their children little time to develop freely"
},
"options": [
"treat their children as sports players",
"give their children little time to develop freely",
"bring up their children in a simple way",
"pay no attent... | Recently Cathy Hagner sadly finds that life for her and her three children is set to permanent fast-forward.
Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.
Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.
Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.
"Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.
Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.
"There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down," says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist .
"It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behavior is now well accepted." | high8375.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "admires what the wildlife rescues do"
},
"options": [
"admires what the wildlife rescues do",
"has designed the first nest pattern in the world",
"knits nests which are only intended for injured baby birds",
"keeps a re... | Known as the "crazy nest lady", Katie Deline-Ray isn't quite sure how many mini handmade harbors she's knitted for injured baby animals. But she's certain it's a lot.
Deline-Ray is founder of Wildlife Rescue Nests. She designs and makes strong, soft nests, which she donates to wildlife rescue groups to use as little recovery nests for sick and injured animals. She also shares her patterns for others to copy.
Deline-Ray began making her nests in 2013, while she was recovering from a broken hand, and "spending too much time online."One thing led to another -- as happens on the internet -- and she discovered a woman who was making similar nests for U.S.-based wildlife groups, as an alternative to the hard boxes used to contain the animals these groups care for.
"I thought it was such a wonderful idea and went searching to see whether there was anything like it set up for our wildlife rescues in Canada," she says. "To my surprise there wasn't. So I started contacting wildlife rescues and they agreed to try some out." Some modifications were made to already-existing patterns. And then, like a little bird taking its first flight, the nests went out into the world.
These days, Deline-Ray sends nests -- always for free -- to 60-some wildlife rescue groups, where injured birds and rabbits nestle inside the soft spaces while they are recovering.
Her future plans include making more nests, organizing new volunteer knitters and helping as many wildlife rescuers as possible take care of their animals in this charming way.
"I have no formal training with wildlife, just a great love for it." Deline-Ray says. "I love making the nests because I have a great admiration for all the amazing work the wildlife rescues do. I feel like I have a part in giving back to wildlife in a small way." | high13170.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He can do the job at home."
},
"options": [
"He will lead a stress-free life.",
"He can have their fingers and toes washed.",
"He can do the job at home.",
"He can do the job comfortably."
],
"question": "what i... | More than 50 people have responded to an advertise for "one of the most relaxing jobs on the market" - a bathtub TESTER.
Bathstore is seeking a Bathroom Executive Officer (BEO) to test their range of products.
It is sure to give the perfect candidate a stress-free life and possibly some pruned fingers and toes.
And 12 month contract role pays a yearly salary of PS6,000, plus bathroom installation worth PS6and products worth PS4,000 to trial.
For those expecting an easy life, this job isn't all about splashing around in the suds or playing with a rubber duck.
The successful applicant will be responsible for providing written reports and analysis on the overall bathing experience.
However, all that boring stuff can be done from the comfort of your own home.
That's because Bathstore will regularly install their new baths into the BEO's home "ensuring that this is one job that can be taken lying down".
Before you apply, make sure you meet the criteria, which is to be laid back, relaxed and bubbly!
Bathstore's chief marketing officer Claire Bayliss said: "We are dedicated to making dream bathrooms easy, from design to installation, and this appointment demonstrates our commitment to deliver quality products and expert advice.
"We've already received some great applicants for the BEO position and will be looking to produce a short-list in the upcoming weeks.
"We're really looking forward to filling the role and won't rest until we find the right candidate".
Other possible best jobs in the world range from a chief funster to a taste master. | high6358.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "some new ways for people to communicate or have fun on the Internet"
},
"options": [
"the most popular Internet technology in 2006",
"some new ways for people to communicate or have fun on the Internet",
"one online game call... | In 2006, a large number of new Internet sites became popular around the world. Some of these are for communication, others for entertainment .
The blog is one form of communication that increased in popularity. Through these personal websites , people can share their lives, ideas and opinions on the Internet. People of all ages have their own blogs. For young people, they are a way to show their writing and other forms of self-expression. Blogs also connect people with other people who have the same interests. For example, teachers use blogs to share ideas with other teachers', as well as experiences and concerns about their work.
YouTube is another Internet site that became more popular last year. This website lets anyone create, share and watch short videos. These include videos of people singing or dancing, or animals doing funny things. Three young men created YouTube almost two years ago as a personal video sharing service. They recently sold it to Google for more than one and a half billion dollars.
Games and entertainment also became a larger part of the Internet last year. One Internet social site is called Second Life. It is an online world in which computer users create a new self and live a different life. _ get married, build homes, operate businesses, buy and sell goods, work, play and attend school.
People also take part in fantasy sports leagues with the help of the Internet. A fantasy sport is a game in which each member of a group acts as the owner of a team. Each owner creates a team of real-life professional players to compete against other teams in the league. More than fifteen million American adults play fantasy sports. The industry earns more than one billion dollars each year from publications, memberships and other costs. | high7052.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the girls who had watched the movie remained anxious"
},
"options": [
"it is easy for girls to solve math problems",
"the girls who had watched the movie remained anxious",
"mothers should hug their kids as often as possible"... | If you're ever apart from your children, a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug .
If you're a parent who spends long hours on the job, you probably feel sorry for spending so
much time away from your kids. But the results of a new study show that a mother's voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious child as physical contact .
In an experiment, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked a group of girls between the age of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges --- a stressful situation for anyone. Before the girls were set to solve math problems, the researchers measured their levels of two hormones : cortisol, which goes up during stressful periods, and oxytocin, the "love" hormone.
After they were finished, some of the girls got to meet up with their mothers right away. The mums came in and hugged the girls. Another group of the girls didn't see their mothers, but received phone calls from them, in which their mothers told them how well they'd done. The final group had no contact with their mothers, but watched an animal movie, March of the Penguins instead. Finally, the girls' hormone levels were measured again. Although the movie was interesting, it did nothing to ease the children's anxiety ---- but, surprisingly, both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on easing the girls' stress levels.
So, no matter how old you are, if you're feeling stressed about something in your life, a phone
call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better. | high8361.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "An interview published in the press ."
},
"options": [
"A text taken from a geography book .",
"An interview published in the press .",
"A conversation carried out in a film .",
"An oral test recorded as an example ."
... | The following conversation is between Susan Russell-Robinson from the US Geological Survey and Barbara Reynolds from USA Today .
Q: Why , after 600 years of no activity , did Mount Pinatubo in Philippines erupt in 1991 ?
A: Volcanoes each have their own eruption styles . This volcano probably has a rule which makes it erupt in the order of every 500 to 1000 years , but a volcano in Hawaii seems to erupt every year , and some of the Alaskan volcanoes might erupt every 10 or 20 years .
Q: So nothing caused it ?
A: There's nothing out of the ordinary . If you were to take an ordinary calendar year , 50 to 75 or 80 volcanoes erupt around the world every year . There are 20 to 30 volcanoes every month that show signs of unrest . That might be a full-blown eruption or a whole host of activities like that .
Q: What is "the ring of fire" ?
A: If you look at where active volcanoes are placed around the world , there are somewhere between 500 and 600 of them . There is what appears to be almost a necklace that goes around the Pacific Ocean . It makes a ring where 60% of the world's volcanoes lie .
Q: Why such a concentration there ?
A: That's based on a theory that the oceans and the continents are like separate pieces . When continents and when that happens it seems to produce magma at depth and then you have volcanoes in the same ring . | high15515.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "made an effort to help African AIDS orphans"
},
"options": [
"hosted a show on the situation in Africa",
"was affected by AIDS and a liver disease",
"made an effort to help African AIDS orphans",
"earned lots of money f... | Kendall Ciesemier is the founder of charity Kids Caring 4 Kids, an organization she created after seeing a show on the difficult situation of AIDS orphans in Africa. Ciesemier was inspired to try to change the lives of those affected by AIDS and to encourage other children to do the same. She tells us of the power her personal story has in showing others they too can make a difference.
You saw Oprah's show on AIDS orphans when you were 11 -- do you remember how you felt?
When I saw the show I was shocked. I had never heard of AIDS before and was concerned that kids were growing up without parents and no one had troubled to ask for my help.
I wanted to create a place for kids to get involved and a place where their small contributions would be valued and celebrated. I also felt that I needed to take immediate action myself. I found an orphan sponsorship program online and an eight-year-old girl from Mauritania who needed my help. I started there and Kids Caring 4 Kids grew from that experience.
How has your own illness inspired you to help others?
Growing up with a rare liver disease made me feel different, which I think attracted me to others who were different and those struggling with something. I knew how I felt and I wanted to help reduce that feeling in someone else. I always wanted to support people. Growing up with an illness gave me empathy for others.
How does your own story inspire others?
My own personal story is evidence that people can give from anywhere. I started Kids Caring 4 Kids from a hospital room. I started by helping one person and it snowballed from there. When I share my story, I think that's what affects people the most -- the fact that I started all of this during a time of personal struggle and weakness. If I could do that, then they can do something too. | high13164.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Qi Baishi's Painting Sets an Auction Record ."
},
"options": [
"Qi Baishi's Painting Was Discovered .",
"Qi Baishi's Painting Was Brought Back .",
"Qi Baishi's Painting Sets an Auction Record .",
"The Value of Qi Baishi... | A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art andcalligraphy on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 millionyuanat anauction on May 22. The sale was a milestone in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.
The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years . The work ,Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti , measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 millionyuanin 2010 . Qi's painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86 , and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 millionyuan, it attracted nearly 50bids in half an hour . Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 millionyuanin 2005 . The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago .
China ranked first in global art sales last year , ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales : Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian , Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi . Qi's works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso's last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864 . He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants , insects , birds and fish . He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps . In 1953 , he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists . He died in Beijing in 1957 . | high1423.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "helps readers a lot in their reading tasks"
},
"options": [
"helps readers a little in their reading tasks",
"helps readers a lot in their reading tasks",
"can only be created at one's home",
"can only be created outsid... | If you're like most students, you probably read both at home and outside your home: perhaps somewhere on your schoolyard and maybe even at work during your breaks. Your reading environment can have a great effect on your understanding, so give some thought to how you can create or choose the right reading environments. The right environment allows you to stay alert and to keep all of your attention on the text, especially when it is both interesting and difficult.
When you're at home, you can usually create effective conditions for reading. You might want to choose a particular place-a desk or table, for example-where you always read. Make sure the place you choose is well lighted, and sit in a chair that requires you to sit straight. Reading in a chair that's too soft and comfortable is likely to make you sleepy! Keep your active reading tools (pens, markers, notebooks or paper) and a dictionary close at hand.
Before you sit down for a reading period, try to reduce all possible interruptions. Turn off your phone, the television, and the radio. Tell your family members or roommates that you'll be busy for a while. If necessary, put a "Do not disturb" sign on your door! The more interruptions you must deal with while you read, the harder it will be to keep your attention on the task at hand. | high17302.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because they are no longer the main focus of their children's life."
},
"options": [
"Because the absence of their child makes them feel lonely.",
"Because their children will start a new life in college.",
"Because it means ... | It's common for parents to feel emotional when the moment comes for their child to leave home and go to university. Even parents who don't speak about the event are likely to feel a sense of sadness because it's the end of an era where you and your family were at the centre of your child's world. As a parent you'll probably continue to support your child in different ways, but the main job of raising your child is over. It's a huge change for everyone involved.
There are a few things that you can do to make the transition easier. Plan carefully for your child's departure and think about how you can help. Many parents take their child to university for the first time. If you decide to do that, be ready to feel a real wrench when the time comes to say goodbye. Your child will probably be as nervous as you are about the moment when you finally say goodbye - but that might not show!
Be positive and cheerful about the choice your child has made to continue studying, and plan to leave once you've unpacked the car and looked around your child's new living accommodations. If you can, save your tears for the car - you'll make things easier on your child and yourself.
The more you've invested in being a parent, the more you'll feel a sense of loss, so the sadness you feel now is a sign that you've been a good mom or dad. Remind yourself that parenting is all about raising an independent and confident child who functions well without you. If your child quickly settles and starts enjoying himself, you should congratulate yourself.
It's also only fair to allow yourself some time to grieve . Don't expect to pick yourself up and move on straight away. But you may decide to find a hobby or sport to fill your extra time. Perhaps you've always wanted to learn a new language, go to yoga classes or take up swimming. You may decide to spend more time with family and close friends, who are likely to be feeling the absence of your child as well.
Agree on the best approach to staying in touch before your child leaves, and stick to your agreement. Try not to panic if your child doesn't respond immediately - remember, they're starting a new and busy life.. | high18031.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "people in remote areas can see more stars than those in big cities"
},
"options": [
"people in remote areas can see more stars than those in big cities",
"over one third Americans can see our own galaxy",
"about one in three ... | In most situations, light helps us see. But when it comes to looking at the night sky, light is actually a kind of pollution. It prevents our view of some of life's most striking sights: stars, planets, and even galaxies .
"When I was a little boy, I loved the night sky. I remember looking up and the sky was filled with stars. I became an astronomer because I was amazed by their beauty," says Robert Gent, "Now in most big cities kids can't see the stars like I did."
Normally, about 2,500 individual stars are visible to the human eyes without using any special equipment. But because of light pollution, you actually see just 200 to 300 and fewer than a dozen from some cities. Only one in three Americans can see our own galaxy with the naked eyes. Those people live far away from the lights of big cities, office buildings, and shopping malls.
Fortunately, there's an inexpensive and useful way. If we shine lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky, and use lower brightness levels, we can save big amounts of energy and keep the beauty of the night sky. Many cities and towns have passed laws limiting lights at night, making sure enough shine for safety without creating much light pollution.
Light pollution affects more than our view of the heavens and can harm wildlife. Migrating birds sometimes fly over cities and become confused by the brightness, flying in circles until they drop from _ Sea turtles need dark beaches for nesting and won't approach bright lights. Too much light at night may even affect human health. For all these reasons, researchers are working on ways to use lights only when and where they are truly needed. Everyone deserves to look up at the sky. | high5645.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "recognize their personalities"
},
"options": [
"avoid talking about their homeland",
"recognize their personalities",
"obey rules of communicating with friends",
"needn't practice English while playing together."
],... | How to make friends with people from a different culture? The rules are as follows:
RULE 1: Appreciate the Person. Most Americans like to be recognized as individuals as someone special with unique characteristics and personalities. Therefore, never say, " You're from America so I want to be your friend." Also don't imply that the reason why you approached them is because you wanted someone to practice your English with. That turns people off. Instead try saying," You seem like a real nice and interesting person and I would like to get to know you better." This way, they are much more inclined to be friendly because you see them as a three dimensional person and appreciate them for who they are in the inside. And by doing so, you not only learn about America and practice your English, but also gain a real friend in the process.
RULE 2:Quit Calling Us Foreigners. Please refrain from calling a foreigner a foreigner especially in his face. The word makes people feel like an outsider, and even unwelcome, suggesting separation and insurmountable differences, widening an already existing gap in the situation.
When Americans travel, they rarely say, "I'm foreign to your place." They tend to say, "I'm new in town. I'm new here." The reason is because new and unfamiliar things can become old and familiar. But can foreign things become native? Aha? You catch my drift.
RULE 3: Just Do It. Some students like to be told about American culture but are less interested in spending the time and the effort to actually experience it. As Americans always say, "Get your hands dirty." Until you have first hand and hands on experience, you'll never really know anything. Right?
So whenever you have the opportunity to participate in American culture, don't just sit there and watch. Get up and get involved!
RULE 4: Find that Common Language. Now I must stress the importance of finding a common language. By that I don't mean English, Chinese, German, French, etc. I mean finding something you have in common with another person on a spiritual and philosophical level: likes, dislikes, worldviews, ways of thinking, and attitudes toward life. And to start, you must first enhance your knowledge of the particular culture from which your potential new friend comes from. | high21868.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "1.2%"
},
"options": [
"6.7% .",
"6.8%",
"1.3%",
"1.2%"
],
"question": "According to the report, in the last quarter of 2008, China's real economic growth was at least _ less than planned annual growth rate.",... | BEIJING, Feb 13 -- Never has China's economic growth attracted so much global attention. The shock waves from the financial crisis that started in the United States have spread across the entire world, sending developed nations, including Japan and those of Europe, into serious recession . The world is now holding out hope that China, with its massive potential, will serve as the engine to fuel global economic growth.
But China's real economic growth slowed sharply to 6.8 percent in the October-December quarter. For China, this rate of economic expansion must be as disappointing as negative growth is for Japan. Beijing has set an official goal of achieving a minimum annual growth rate of 8 percent -- a pace it regards as important to ensuring job security.
The Chinese government is apparently confident the nation will achieve the minimum growth target of 8 percent in 2009. At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the Chinese economy began to show signs of recovery late last year.
Last week, however, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China's economic growth in 2009 will be 6.7 percent. China's economic outlook is likely to keep both hope and anxiety for the time being.
China's impressive economic growth has been fueled by swelling exports and massive investment in equipment to produce goods for overseas. But the US, Japanese and European economies, which have absorbed the bulk of China's exports, are expected to shrink simultaneous in 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II. For the first time since it started serious efforts to turn itself into a market economy in the 1990s, China is facing the challenge of maintaining healthy economic growth without depending on external demand.
Expansion of domestic demand holds a key to China's success in tackling this challenge. Consumer spending accounts for only 35 percent of China's gross ) domestic product. The ratio is considerably lower than the 70 percent for the United States and the nearly 60 percent for Japan. That is because the middle class - the group that should lead consumer spending - is still relatively small in China, where the benefits of the nation's strong economic growth in recent years have mostly eluded rural villages and low-income earners. | high11773.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "together with her husband"
},
"options": [
"alone",
"together with her husband",
"every day",
"in the morning"
],
"question": "Mrs. Bell did shopping _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | It was a cold December, and Mrs. Bell wanted to do a lot of shopping. She waited until it was Saturday, when her husband was free, and she took him to the shops with her to pay for everything and to carry for her what she had bought. They went to a lot of shops, and Mrs. Bell bought everything she could think of.
She often stopped and said, "Look, Peter! Isn't that beautiful?"
"All right, my dear. How much is it?" answered Mr. Bell, and then he took money out to buy it for her.
It was almost dark when they came out of the last shop, and Mr. Bell was tired. He was thinking about a nice drink by the side of a warm fire home. Suddenly his wife looked up at the sky and said, "Look at that beautiful moon, Peter!"
Without stopping, Mr. Bell answered at once. "All right, dear. How much is it?" Then he took his wallet out of his pocket. | high2894.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because it is the season for shopping."
},
"options": [
"Because they have enough food at their homes.",
"Because it is the season for shopping.",
"Because they have run out of money at that time.",
"Because it's popula... | In the UK, a group of campaigners have declared the last Saturday in November as National Buy Nothing Day. "Our message is clear: shop less, live more!" says organizer Michael Smith. "The challenge is to try simple living for a day. Spend time with family and friends, rather than spending money on them. Anyone can take part, provided they spend a day without spending."
On Buy Nothing Day, they take to the streets to tackle consumers . They dress as pigs to symbolize greed . They offer to cut up credit cards and hand out shopping bags with the words "another useless thing I don't need" written on the side. Some hold street parties to show shoppers that it is possible to have fun without spending money. Others go into shops and put notes saying "don't buy me" inside clothes and shoes.
Some protestors are working against powerful forces. Many retailers and manufacturers depend on Christmas sales for most of their profits. Around two thirds of GDP in the West is made up of consumer spending. If this drops, many people will lose their jobs. At least that will make it easier for them to buy nothing.
And there is also the risk that the campaigners will be seen as killjoys, who want to stop people enjoying themselves. "There's a fun side to this," says Michael Smith. "To some it's a protest, but it's also a street party. We're not saying that people are bad because they go shopping, but we need get the message across for people to consume wisely. And after we're finished, we'll probably go for a drink." | high3552.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Healthy-minded people also like money"
},
"options": [
"Healthy-minded people shouldn't like money",
"Healthy-minded people also like money",
"Nothing is worth more than food",
"Healthy people can make more money"
]... | It is physically impossible for a well-educated, intellectual, or brave man to make money the chief object of his thoughts; as physically imposssible as it is for him to make his dinner the principal object of them. All healthy people like their dinner, but their dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy-minded people like making money--- ought to like it and to enjoy the sensation of winning it; but the main object of their lives is not money; it is something better than money.
A good soldier, for instance, mainly wishes to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay--- very properly so, and justly grumbles when you keep him ten months without it; but still, his main notion(,) of life is to win battles, not to be paid for winning them.
So with doctors. They like fees no doubt--- ought to like them; yet if they are brave and well-educated, the entire object of their lives is not fees. They, on the whole, desire to cure the sick, and --- if they are good doctors , and the choice were fairly put to them--- would rather cure their patient and lose their fee than kill him and get _ . And so with all other brave and rightly trained men; their work is first, their fee second, very important always, but still second. | high18757.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The Swedish People didn't watch color TVs until 1970."
},
"options": [
"The Swedish People didn't watch color TVs until 1970.",
"The Swedish People began to watch color TVs in 1962.",
"Kjell Stensson was a TV host.",
"N... | Happy April Fool's Day.In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes in history.They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.
INSTANT COLOUR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white.The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display colour reception.All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color.Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people were taken in.Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
SAN ERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean.A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this unknown nation.The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot.Few noticed that everything about the island was made up.
NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again.His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his election speech.Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger.Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke, Nixon's voice was copied by comedian Rich Little. | high49.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "French Woman has First Partial Face Transplant"
},
"options": [
"French Woman has First Partial Face Transplant",
"First Face Transplant Opens Debate",
"Risks and Ethical Problems of a Face Transplant",
"A Complete Face... | French surgeons have performed what they said on Wednesday was the world's first partial face transplant--- giving a new nose, chin and lips to a woman attacked by a dog.
Specialists from two French hospitals carried out the operation on a 38-year-old woman on Sunday in the northern city of Amiens by taking the face from a brain-dead woman, who had hanged herself just hours before the operation. Her family agreed on the operation.
"The patient is in an excellent state and the transplant looks normal," the hospitals said in a brief statement after waiting three days to announce the pioneering surgery.
The woman had been left without a nose and lips after the dog attacked her last May, and was unable to talk or chew properly. Such injuries are "extremely difficult, if not impossible" to repair using normal surgical techniques, the statement said.
The statement did not say what the woman would look like when she had fully recovered, but medical experts said she was unlikely to _ the woman who had been the source of her new face.
The operation was led by Jean-Michel Dubernard, a specialist from a hospital in Lyon who has also carried out hand transplants,
Skin transplants have long been used to treat burns and other injuries, but operations around the mouth and nose have been considered very difficult because of the area's high sensitivity to foreign tissue.
Teams in France, the United States and Britain had been developing techniques to make face transplants a reality
There was a short-term risk for the patient if blood vessels became blocked, a medium-term danger of her body rejecting the new skin and a long-term possibility that the drugs used could cause cancers.
Experts say that although such medical advances should be celebrated, the transplant had thrown up moral and ethical issues. Little is known about the psychological effect of the transplant. | high9719.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "when a mathematician is calculating the area of a farmland"
},
"options": [
"when a psychologist is helping a patient with his mental disease",
"when a teacher is comforting a student about his father's death",
"when a mathem... | Do you have an emotional brain or a rational one? Researchers at Australia's Monash University have found actual difference in the brains of people who respond emotionally to others' feelings compared with those who respond more rationally.
A study published in the journal NeuroImage has looked at whether people who have more brain cells in certain areas of the brain are better at certain types of empathy, according to Science Daily. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, and the two types investigated were cognitive empathy and affective empathy.
"Every day people use empathy with, and without, their knowledge to get around in the social world," said Robert Eres from Monash University's School of Psychological Sciences. "We use it for communication, to build relationships, and to increase our understanding of others."
"People who are high on affective empathy are often those who get quite fearful when watching a scary movie, or start crying during a sad scene. Those who have high cognitive empathy are those who are more rational, for example a psychologist helping someone," explained Eres.
The results of the study showed that people with high scores for affective empathy had more gray matter in a part of the brain called the insula, found right in the "middle" of the brain. Those who scored higher for cognitive empathy had more in a part called the midcingulate cortex--an area above the corpus callosum, which connects the two halves of the brain.
The discovery "raises new questions--like whether people could train themselves to have more empathy, and whether those areas of the brain would become larger if they did, or whether we can lose our ability to empathize if we don't use it enough", according to Science Daily.
"In the future we want to investigate further by testing whether training people in empathy-related tasks can lead to changes in these brain areas. We also want to investigate if damage to these brain areas, as a result of a stroke for example, can lead to empathy problems." said Eres.
Perhaps in the future we will all be able to empathize more with other people. Maybe you will cry at that sad movie after all! | high13602.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "one enjoys the meal that is prepared by the host"
},
"options": [
"the host is very friendly with the visitors",
"one doesn't want to eat anything at all",
"one enjoys the meal that is prepared by the host",
"one is not... | Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia , some friends ask you to eat with them. What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud "burp " after you finish eating. Burping shows that you like the food.
In some countries, if you give a loud burp, you are told to say "Excuse me, please."
In many places people like to eat together. But in some parts of Polynesia it is bad manners to be seen eating at all. People show good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat.
What are manners like in an East African town? People try not to see you. They are being polite. You may see a friend. He may not see you at all. If you are polite, you will sit down beside him. You will wait until he finishes what he is doing. Then he will talk to you.
Manners are different all over the world. But it is good to know that all manners begin in the same way. People need ways to show that they want to be friends. | high1345.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "she didn't follow the traditions"
},
"options": [
"she didn't follow the traditions",
"she always had better opinions",
"she held too many meetings",
"she became the First Lady"
],
"question": "Some people hated... | Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her father died only two years later. Attending a good school in England gave her, at 15, her first chance to develop self-confidence among other girls. In her circle of friends was a distant cousin, handsome young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They became engaged in 1903 and were married in 1905. Within 11 years Eleanor bore six children; one son died early.
In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. When he was stricken with polio in 1921, she took care of him devotedly. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes.
When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House, she understood social conditions well and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She broke the tradition to hold conferences, and expressed her opinions. This made her a target for political enemies but her sincerity of purpose made her personally popular to many. As she had written: "...if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face, all will be attracted to her..."
After the President Roosevelt's death in 1945, she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate; she told reporters, "The story is over." Within a year, however, she began her service as American spokeswoman in the United Nations. She continued a positive career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband. | high23919.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Susan's visit on the first day."
},
"options": [
"Her Chinese doll.",
"Susan's thanksgiving bunny for Halloween.",
"Gifts from her parents in China.",
"Susan's visit on the first day."
],
"question": "What made ... | On my first day in America, I was excited, but nervous as well. It was my dear neighbor Susan who helped me get used to my new life far away from home. There was a knock at the door. When I opened it, Susan came in with a home-made apple pie. She hugged me and said:"You must be the precious Chinese doll!" With a big smile, she went on:"Alice, I am sure you have never, ever tried a home-made apple pie before! You are going to love it so much!" To be honest, I was greatly surprised by this welcome from a stranger. And the apple pie made me feel at home.
Susan was very helpful to me. When I was thinking about a costume to wear on Halloween, she suggested I dress up like a traditional Chinese girl. "I happen to have a traditional Chinese dress and guess what, I am a great make-up artist!" she said. Susan didn't hide her excitement, when, after an hour of hard work, she pushed me to the mirror to examine our work. The clothes fit me perfectly! I am sure that I _ from the crowd that Halloween, and I am very grateful to Susan for her help.
My first Thanksgiving was another highlight. On the festival morning, I was surprised to find a gift box in my front yard. There was a note on it:"Hello Alice, I am the Thanksgiving bunny! Enjoy your gift!" I looked around and caught Susan looking at me from the porch. Seeing that she had been caught, she awkwardly picked up a newspaper and pretended to read it. I couldn't help laughing. When I walked up to her, she said:"It was not me. It was the Thanksgiving bunny!" Susan is such a lovely person; she is the American above all others I need to thank.
I saw that the spirit of the Chinese saying, that "Neighbors carry more weight than distant relatives," is alive and well in America. Susan filled my heart with warmth and joy, just as angels do. | high7734.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "cheap and strong"
},
"options": [
"cheap and strong",
"cheap and long",
"fast and expensive",
"strong and slow"
],
"question": "Henry Ford was the man to built _ cars.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions... | Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap,strong and fast.He was able to se11 millions of models because he could produce them in large numbers at a time;that is,he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind. Ford's father hoped that his son would become a farmer,but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit where he worked as a mechanic .By the age of 29,in 1892,he had built his first car.However,the car made in this way,the famous "Model T" did not appear until 1908-----five years after Ford had started his great motor car factory.This car showed to be so well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty years.Since Ford's time,this way of producing cars in large numbers has become common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise be very expensive. | high809.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "has pleasant smells of kabobs"
},
"options": [
"is splendidly decorated",
"has pleasant smells of kabobs",
"is crowded with dining tables",
"looks like a common restaurant"
],
"question": "When first entering th... | When first entered, Vanak Restaurant does not look like much of a restaurant, but once the pleasant smells of kabob hit the senses, you are incapable of calling it anything else.
Owned by a local couple, this Persian restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere that many restaurants lack.
The space is small with only a few dining tables and nearly no decoration, but the environment is truly charming.
Lying in a hardly noticeable street corner, the restaurant still attracts all customers, especially those experienced in the delights of Middle Eastern cooking.
A common sight is that of old Persian men sitting in the corner talking loudly about world topics, watching news events on TV, drinking a black tea known as Persian chai, and reading local Persian newspapers all the while trying to finish off their plate piled with food.
The variety of food at the restaurant is limited, but the amount of each dish is fairly large.Most of the meals can serve two people and are under $10, so not only is it affordable but practical as well.
The food especially appeals to health-conscious eaters because each dish is very healthy, made with limited fat and oil and served straight off the grill .
The main dish that the restaurant is popular for is its kabobs, which are different style of grilled meat.
One delicious and extremely healthy dish is the Joojeh Kabob, which is made of grilled chicken pieces served with either rice or bread.Another great kabob is the Chelo Kabob, a kabob consisting of grilled beef.
Although the restaurant is small, the atmosphere and the food is delicious.It is a place that should not be overlooked. | high15273.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "By writing to Lanchester Fish 15 Collings Lane LA5 8RU."
},
"options": [
"By calling 0196-675898.",
"By calling 0196-436211.",
"By calling 0196-887323.",
"By writing to Lanchester Fish 15 Collings Lane LA5 8RU."
],
... | Advertisement A
WE NEED DISTRIBUTORS AGED 13 + IN ALL AREAS
Would you like the opportunity to earn extra cash close to home? If so we have a vacancy in our team of local distributors which would suit you. Both adults and youngsters aged 13 + are required to deliver your local free paper.
FOR MORE INFORMATION TEUNIONE 0196 -675898
Advertisement B
PAYROLL CONTROLLER LANCHESTER FISH
Must be able to work on own initiative .
High degree of computer literacy required.
Ability to develop new payroll systems an advantage.
Write with full CV and two referees to: Lanchester Fish
15 Collings Lane LA5 8RU
Advertisement C
THE KINGDOM COUNTRY CLUB requires EXPERIENCED CHEF/COOK
Must be motivated and creative with food.
EXPERIENCED BAR MANAGER / BAR PERSON
required full time. Accommodation available if required
as part of the package ( wage negotiable. )
Could possibly suit couple
PART -TIME BAR STAFF REQUIRED
Tel 0196- 887323 during office hours
Advertisement D
SELL INJURY INSURANCE
Previous experience NOT essential. Local area.
Expenses paid. Training provided. Major international company.
Excellent career prospects +package.
CALL 0196 436211 FOR LOCAL INTERVIEW | high19461.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "how to perform first aid in a road accident"
},
"options": [
"how to reduce road accident deaths",
"how to perform first aid in a road accident",
"how to treat the injured people on the scene",
"how to protect us from b... | 55% of deaths caused by road accidents occur in the first few minutes after a crash. Up to 85% of these deaths could be prevented if first aid were given. The first person on the scene of a road accident will almost certainly be another road user. So as a driver your knowledge of first aid could make a real difference to someone in the event of a road accident.
Assess conditions
*Remain calm. Judge the scene and seriousness of the collision.
*Determine what has happened, how many people and vehicles are involved and the exact location.
*Determine how many casualties there are, what is the severity of the injuries, whether anyone is trapped, and whether there is a danger of fire.
Make safe
*Make sure you stay safe and keep off the road. If you need to stop or warn approaching cars, signal to them from the pavement. Wear reflective clothing, use warning triangles, flashing lights and warning lights. Don't smoke.
*If you are in a car and you come across an accident, first park safely and turn off the engine before you get out to help. Use a triangle warning danger if necessary.
*Consider the safety of others. Don't move the vehicles, look out for dangers -- leaking fuel, chemicals, broken glass or dropping loads -- guide uninjured passengers to a place of safety.
Call for help
Dial 999 (or 112) for the emergency services. If there is no phone nearby, send two people in opposite directions to seek help.
Do this as soon as you can or get someone else to do it while you deal with an injured person. You will need to tell the emergency services:
*where you are
*what has happened (describe the accident)
*how many people are injured
*whether they are breathing or bleeding.
The operator will talk you through what to do while you wait for an ambulance to arrive.
Apply emergency first aid
*Remain calm. Reassure the victims.
*Do not allow smoking or offer food or drink to casualties as this could _ urgent medical treatment. | high4215.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it is a hard job for magicians to perform magic tricks well"
},
"options": [
"being a famous magician, Liu Qian leads a comfortable life",
"it is a hard job for magicians to perform magic tricks well",
"Liu Qian's parents sup... | Liu Qian, a magician from Taiwan, cast his spell over an audience of thousands on the CCTV Spring Festival Show. Die-hard fans are still trying to work out the secrets behind many of the tricks he performed.
But Liu, 32, when asked, laughed off the idea that there might be an "answer" to his magic. "The most fascinating things about magic is the puzzling process. People enjoy how magicians make the impossible come true," said Liu.
Few people today believe in the possibility of real magic. They also often fail to consider magicians' devotion to their art. It can take a magician years' of practice to perfect a trick before he performs it on stage.
Part of Liu's star appeal is his astonishing skill. However, when he began in the industry, he was embarrassingly clumsy. "I could practice thousands of times for one single act. It wasn't much fun," he said.
No magician's supernatural powers on stage extend to their life off stage. Liu says his life was no easier or funnier because he was a magician.
He developed an interest in magic at a young age, but didn't consider making a living out of it until he graduated from university. He had studied Japanese language and found himself unable to find a job. "My parents never considered being a magician as a proper job. To begin with, I had little confidence I would be doing this in the long term," he said.
Yet Liu felt a powerful calling to become a magician. "For many people, magic somehow means a miracle, which is something we all secretly wish for no matter how hard-bitten or cynical we become," he said.
Liu may be right. A popular modern dream is of the fairy godmother, who waves her magic wand and makes our dreams come true. But according to Liu, we all have the power to create magic in our lives. As Liu puts it: it's not the magic that makes it work;it's the way we work that makes it magic. | high16752.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To explore new forms of protein."
},
"options": [
"To seek for future vegetables.",
"To advocate traditional meats.",
"To make up for the lack of meat.",
"To explore new forms of protein."
],
"question": "Why ha... | A US student has just spent 30 days on an "insect diet " - eating insects three times a day. Camren Brantley-Rios says traditional meats such as pork and beef are unable to continue and he wanted to try out what many consider the diet of the future.
Many people would not like the idea of eating insects distasteful, even if it were not disgusting. Not so long ago Brantley-Rios was among them. But for the last month he has been eating insects for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
"I'm mainly sticking to three kinds," he says.
Occasionally he has included different insects. Preparing these he "actually cried", though he insists they were surprisingly good.
Insects consume fewer resources than animals, like pigs and cows, to produce the same amount of protein , Brantley-Rios says - and more than two billion people worldwide include insects in their regular diet, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
"There's not really a need to eat insects in America because we have it so nice," Brantley-Rios says. "We have finer meats and we're lucky to have that luxury , so there's not much of a pressure to eat insects right now. But what a lot of people are trying to do is make it a little bit more marketable."
He has ordered insects from farms that usually supply zoos, which need them "to feed certain animals". He has always made sure the insects have been fed on an organic diet, he says, and only bought species he knows are safe to eat.
He knows that one person eating insects won't make much difference. To have a real environmental effect, millions would have to follow his example. | high10323.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they wanted old papers"
},
"options": [
"it was Thanksgiving Day",
"they were beggars",
"they wanted old papers",
"they wanted a cup of cocoa"
],
"question": "Two children came to the writer's front door because... | It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together. "Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, "Your cups match your saucers." Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said "Thank you." They didn't need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job--these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am. | high2664.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "more memories of wonderful life in the countryside"
},
"options": [
"more homework and exercises when they were children",
"more memories of wonderful life in the countryside",
"fewer memories of taking part in outdoor activi... | The younger generation , according to a new survey, can hardly remember the last time of climbing trees or flying kites, as they are kept indoors and short of outdoor experiences.
The survey of 1,000 people found that the current generation of 15- to 34-year-olds have fewer memories of 12 key countryside activities such as swimming in rivers or going fishing.
The research found that three quarters of the older generation remembered playing games or climbing trees, compared with two thirds of younger adults.
The 55+generation also had more memories of collecting stones, visiting a farm or pond dipping. Altogether, two thirds of older people had more memories of playing outdoors compared to just over half of the younger generation.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) carried out the study at the start of the school term to stress the growing worry that children are not getting outdoors enough.
The study has found that 82 per cent of people think that schools should provide more outdoor education and most believe nature is still important to children today.
Dr. Mike Clarke, head of the RSPB, said children who are usually kept indoors are easier to get " _ ". He said public money should be used to take children on day trips to nature and to build wildlife gardens, especially in poor areas.
"To many people, it would seem clear and unquestionable that an important part of childhood is exploring the world around you. Unfortunately, this is far from the fact and the children are having less time and fewer chances to get close to nature," he said.
"The RSPB has more than a 40-year history in getting children outdoors and is still continuing to play our role. We now need the government and the schools to realize that they should play the most important role in making it possible for all the children to experience, enjoy and benefit from the outdoor environment." | high14145.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "help the first year students to get rid of the shyness."
},
"options": [
"help the first year students to get rid of the shyness.",
"help the first year students to know about the campus.",
"intruduce the teachers to the firs... | You might think that Western students are less shy when it comes to mingling with the opposite sex, but the truth is that pupils in the UK can feel just as awkward. Britons are actually quite reserved and being at university can make them feel out of their comfort zone. Everyone finds it difficult to talk to the other gender on campus.
However, there is a way of dealing with this shyness in Britain, and it is called "Freshers Week". Freshers Week is designed to help people socialize and lose their inhibitions(; ). It is a one-week long party for first year students to welcome them before lectures and coursework begin.
I remember my first week at university - it was terrifying. I looked at the schedule for Freshers Week and was amazed at how much was planned. Every hall of residence organizes its own events to help students become friends with the people they live with. My hall was called "Goldney Hall" and the week ahead included a talent show, a comedy night, and themed parties, including one for which we had to dress up as golfers.
The first event I went to was a school kids party at which everyone dressed up as if they were in school. This party encouraged me to talk to all the people on my floor. One boy, who lived opposite my room, was very handsome and I felt nervous speaking to him at first. But when we met at the party dressed in silly school outfits, I remember feeling a lot more relaxed speaking to him.
It sounds strange, but drinking and dressing up seems to be how Britons overcome their shyness at university. My Freshers Week was hectic, but I managed to forget how scared I was.
One thing's for sure: nothing helps you lose your inhibitions(; ) quite like dressing up as a golfer - complete with a golf club, checked hat and tweed jacket! | high6402.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Mark Galeassi."
},
"options": [
"Antonio Simmons.",
"Michael Grosser.",
"Scott G.",
"Mark Galeassi."
],
"question": "Who is in favor of the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo?",
"question_type": "factiod_question... | News that Microsoft was making a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses:
Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri
This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers.
Scott G of New Jersey
I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along: Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsoft... same old story... I don't think the merger will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders' bank accounts.
Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they'll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo's formerly non-priced features. Microsoft's greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland
Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft's current search engines are too inferior to compete. Even if combined, they still lack. | high61.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "of the same feeling over the issue"
},
"options": [
"in the same financial trouble",
"in the same financial condition",
"of the same family background",
"of the same feeling over the issue"
],
"question": "Maria... | One day in my class, Maria shared her feelings about money, "Money worries me. I think I want to live without money because I hate it. I HATE MONEY." We were all touched by Maria's words as they reminded us of the spiritual burdens that money managing can bring to us. After class I offered to help Maria deal with her financial problems. She hesitated to accept my offer, and I could see from the expression on her face that she was afraid of what it might involve. I quickly promised her that I wouldn't make her do more than she was able to. I told her frankly that I didn't enjoy managing my money any more than she did hers and wouldn't burden her with guilt, judgments, or impossible tasks. All I would ask her to do was to let me help her look at her fears and try to make some sense of them.
Maria still resisted my offer, and I can remember the excuses she gave me as they were the repeated complaints I had heard from so many people. "I'11 never understand money," she said. "My facts are meaningless." "I don't deserve to have money." "I never have enough," "I have too little to manage." "My financial position isn't worth looking at." and the most _ one of all, "I just can't do it."
Going home that day, I couldn't get Maria out of my mind: Her attitude conveyed the same negativity and fear that I believed annoyed many people. I was sure it was this attitude that prevented people from managing their money effectively. My counseling has taught me that these anxieties are inseparably connected to our self-doubts and fear for survival. Many of us are terrified of handling our money because we don't believe we can do it well, and to do it wrong would put our very existence at risk.
On a deeper level we know that money is not the source of life, but sense of worth drives us to act as if it were. It locks us up in self-doubts and prevents us from tapping into the true source of our management power, our spirit. | high24086.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To strengthen education and to encourage the pupils to work harder."
},
"options": [
"To divide students into good and bad.",
"To cast a shadow over the students and bring them inferiority or jealousy.",
"To strengthen educat... | A TV grab shows anchorman Bai Yansong wearing a green tie on Oct 19, 2011.
"I just want the students to know that I'm also wearing a green one. And we are all great people and are as good as those wearing red scarves." Bai Yansong, a famous anchor of China Central Television, voiced his support to students wearing green scarves at a primary school in Xi'an by wearing a green tie on a TV program, Oct 19, 2011.
The program focused on a recent controversial issue, triggered by First Experimental Primary School in Northwestern China's Xi'an that made children whose schoolwork and general behavior were not yet good enough to wear green scarves instead of the red scarf of the Chinese Young Pioneers.
"The original idea for designing the green scarf was to strengthen education and to encourage the pupils to work harder," said Chen Hong, the school's principal.
The practice that divided students into "good" and "bad" has aroused a lot of discussions on Sina Weibo, a Chinese twitter-like microblogging website.
The color1 of green in Chinese culture carries an annoying implication particularly because "green hats" are the Chinese symbol of a cuckold. Many Weibo users thought it was inappropriate to make pupils wear green scarves.
"It is a violation of dignity to make bad students wear green scarves," said a blogger with the username Suosez.
"If bad students have to wear green scarves, then bad teachers should wear green hats," another blogger said.
"The Chinese version of Steve Jobs has died in primary school because his pride has been hurt by the green scarf," said another blogger.
"It is an discrimination against children," said yet another.
"Seeing the students in Xi'an wearing green scarves reminds me of some miserable memories. I cannot forget that I was the second group to wear a red scarf in my class. I cannot forget the scar on my hand left by my Chinese teacher. And I cannot forget that my math teacher threw my test paper on the ground and insisted that it was copied," a blogger with the username Kivalailai recalled.
"The green scarves will cast a shadow over the students and bring them inferiority or jealousy, which are quite bad for their mental health," said a blogger.
The school has halted the use of green scarves as on Wednesday, parent-teacher meetings were held to explain the situation, according to teachers at the school. | high23931.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To attract students from all over the world."
},
"options": [
"To attract students from all over the world.",
"To make South Thames College London known.",
"To stress the importance of EIS courses.",
"To help find a sui... | Thousands of students, from all around the world, have helped their international careers by taking EIS English studies at South Thames College London - STCL.
You too can take our first-class EIS courses to learn, and live English in London @ STCL.
1. Our experience
We have provided English for International Students EIS courses to people from around the world for 40 years.
More than 1,000 students take our EIS courses each year, often after a recommendation from a friend or relative.
Our teachers have worked in many countries; their experience will help you to develop international English communication skills.
2. A world in one college
The College has students from more than 100 countries.
When you study English with us, you will have the opportunity to meet not only UK students, but also people from all over the world.
3. _
The College's main purpose is to provide education and training for our local community.
We have more than 20,000 students, on a range of academic, technical and vocational courses in addition to English language courses.
All students can also use the facilities available at the college--library services, free Internet access, sports & more.
You can join a range of leisure and social activities.
4. Assured quality
STCL is a member of English UK, the national association of accredited English language centers.
Our EIS courses meet the quality standards of Accreditation UK and are accredited by the British Council.
5. Our range of courses
We have a wide range of courses designed to meet the needs of global citizens in an international environment.
Our courses prepare you both for life in London - perhaps as a student - and for your future career, anywhere in the world.
We help you improve your English so you can communicate more effectively - for study, work or socializing...
Intensive courses meet UK immigration regulations for students.
For information about out intensive English courses, click here. | high12534.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "gain technical knowledge"
},
"options": [
"travel in your country more easily",
"gain technical knowledge",
"contact people all over your country",
"watch television networks"
],
"question": "According to the pa... | Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life. That's right. If you can communicate in English, you can:
Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send email to interesting people.Learn about their life and culture.
Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go--English is spoken in more than 100 countries (source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or...ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday!
Push your career forward. If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!)
Knowing English will let you:
Put "excellent knowledge of English" on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money.
Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you're going to read about technology, you'll probably have to do it in English.
Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles!
Be a worldclass businessman (or woman). It's simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English--to contact other business people, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.
Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines.
Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better--and become a better employee. | high8349.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A dangerous meal"
},
"options": [
"A dangerous meal",
"A snake----floodplain death adder",
"Two types of frogs----Dahl's Frog and Marbled Frog",
"The method of killing frogs"
],
"question": "What's the best tit... | It's impolite to spit out the first bite of your dinner. But to a type of Australian snake, this rude behavior is a matter of life and death.
The snake, called a floodplain death adder , eats two types of frogs that are hard to stomach. The frogs produce chemicals to defend them from predators .
One of these species, the Dahl's frog, can kill a snake that tries to eat it. The other species, the marbled frog, is less dangerous but still tough to eat. When attacked, _ produces a glue like substance. Leaves and branches get caught up in this material, making a big sticky mess that gets in the way of anything trying to swallow it. A marbled frog can even get stuck on the head of an attacking snake.
Both frogs have good defense methods. But the floodplain death adder knows how to get around each of them.
Floodplain death adders quickly strike these frogs, using their poisonous teeth to inject poison. But then, instead of swallowing their dinner immediately, the snakes sit back and wait for their preys to become safe to eat. That's because both the Dahl's frog's protective toxin and the marbled frog's glue break down over time. After a while, the frog toxin is no longer poisonous and the glue is no longer sticky.
The two substances break down at different rates, and floodplain death adders seem to know the difference, And adder waits for a different length of time depending on the species of frog it just struck.
The stickiness of the marbled frog glue decreased by as much as two-thirds after just 10 minutes. And that's just about how long an adder waits before eating a marbled frog.
On the other hand, the snakes wait for about 40 minutes before eating a Dahl's frog. That's enough time for the frog's toxin to break down into harmless substances.
But even a quick strike gives a taste of the Dahl frog's toxin. After striking such a frog, a floodplain death adder thrashes around and lies on its back with its mouth open, It's like the snake has just had a mouthful of chili pepper.
By comparison, when given frogs that have no chemical defenses, floodplain death adders eat their prey immediately after striking. Snakes, despite the fact that they've got this tiny pea-size brain are clearly capable of recognizing what kind of frog they've bitten. | high22391.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "hearing"
},
"options": [
"touch",
"sight",
"smell",
"hearing"
],
"question": "An elephant can tell a man from a woman by sense of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Elephants are able to differentiate between ethnicities and sexes, and can tell an adult from a child --- all from the sound of a human voice.
This is according to a study in which researchers played voice recordings to wild African elephants.
The animals showed more fear when they heard the voices of adult Masai men.
Livestock-herding Masai people do come into conflict with elephants, and this suggests that animals have adapted to specifically listen for and avoid them.
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Prof Karen McComb and Dr Graeme Shannon from the University of Sussex led the study. They explained that in previous research they had used similar playback experiments to show that elephants could tell --- from the sound of a lion's roar --- whether the animal was a female or a more dangerous male.
Prof McComb wanted to find out if the animals used their very sharp sense of hearing to identify a potential danger from humans.
The scientists recorded Masai men, women and children saying, in their own language, "Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming".
They also recorded Kamba men saying this phrase.
While cattle-herding Masai people often come across free-ranging elephants, which can result in violent conflict, the Kamba people's more agricultural lifestyle does not generally bring them into aggressive touch with the animals.
When the team played recordings of these different voices through a hidden loudspeaker, they found that elephant family groups reacted more fearfully in response to the voice of a Masai man, than to a Kamba man's voice.
And the adult male Masai voices encouraged far more of these defensive reactions than the voices of women or boys. | high9057.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "several ways to work out within short time"
},
"options": [
"several ways to work out within short time",
"short exercise does no good to health",
"how to find time to exercise",
"fitness can be improved"
],
"qu... | Young people frequently say that they want to exercise, but they just can't find the time.
The solution just might be in-office interval training.
Recent studies show that very short but intense exercise rapidly builds and maintains fitness and health, even when the workout is only a few minutes long.
Work the stairs
You can complete an excellent, effective -- and very brief -- workout in an office stairwell, says Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada and an expert on interval training.
For a study that he and his colleagues presented earlier this year, they asked 12 out-of-shape women in their 20s to warm up for two minutes by slowly walking up and down stairs in a campus office building.
They completed three of these abbreviated stair workouts per week for six weeks.
By the end, their aerobic fitness had improved substantially, the researchers reported, by about as much as if they had been running or cycling each week for hours.
Fidget your way to fitness.
Parents and teachers may once have urged you to sit still, but wiggling, tapping your toes, standing briefly, and otherwise fidgeting as much as possible at your desk is in fact good for your body.
In one recent study, college students showed healthier blood flow in their lower legs if they fidgeted than if they did not.
Even better, a 2008 study found that among office workers, those who frequently fidgeted burned as many as 300 calories more each day than those who resolutely stayed still. | high14623.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "improving work efficiency"
},
"options": [
"creating ideas",
"improving work efficiency",
"helping people to relax",
"stimulating people"
],
"question": "Stephen Braun mainly stresses caffeine's _ .",
"qu... | For most caffeine consumers, its chief benefit is that it helps you get more done. This is what makes it unusual, says Stephen Braun, author of Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine.
"Its appeal is that it helps us earn more money," he adds. "What makes it different from other drugs is that it's used as a productivity tool -- not for pleasure."
Many of history's creative minds have also been associated with a large amount of caffeine consumption.
According to one biographer, the French novelist and playwright Balzac drank as many as 50 cups of coffee a day. "Were it not for coffee one could not write, which is to say one could not live," he once insisted.
For seven years, the film-maker David Lynch ate at the same Los Angeles diner every day, drinking up to seven sweetened cups of coffee "with lots of sugar" in one sitting, which he said would guarantee that "lots of ideas" arrived.
Ludwig van Beethoven was said to have painstakingly counted out exactly 60 coffee beans per cup when he brewed coffee.
Perhaps recent tales of caffeine excess featured the singer Robbie Williams, who reportedly consumed 36 cups of black coffee and 20 cans of Red Bull a day.
It is the routine task itself, as much as the stimulating effects of caffeine, that makes the process so important, says Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. "A lot of artists use the process of making coffee as a gateway to the creative process," he adds. "You need to get into the right mindset to do that sort of work, and the preparation process provides a focus."
One problem with attempting to control caffeine, says Braun, is that it affects everyone differently -- it is impossible to work out a "safe" limit that works for everyone. "Eventually, you have to become your own scientist -- there isn't an alternative to careful self-experimentation," he says. | high11983.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Becoming too fat."
},
"options": [
"A low risk of heart disease.",
"Becoming too fat.",
"Balanced cholesterol maintenance.",
"Benefiting your neck and spine."
],
"question": "What bad effect does sitting too muc... | How many hours do you spend sitting in a chair every day? Eight hours in the office plus three hours in front of the TV after work is the norm for many people.
You probably don't need an expert to tell you that sitting too much is not good for your health--from an increased risk of heart disease and obesity in the long term,to reduced cholesterol maintenance in the short term,not to mention the strain on your neck and spine.
To make matters worse,many researches show a good diet and regular exercise call't reduce the negative effects of sitting too much.
A 2010 study of nearly 9,000 Australians found that for each additional hour of television a person watched per day,the risk of dying rose by 11 percent.Another study tracked the health of 123,000 Americans between 1992 and 2006.The death rate for men who spent six hours or more per day sitting was about 20 percent higher than for men who sat for three hours or less.
So what can we do about it? Health experts suggest we break up those many hours spent sitting with more hours spent standing.
The BBC conducted a simple experiment with a group of 10 volunteers who usually spent most of the day sitting.They were asked to stand for at least three hours a day.The researchers took measurements Oil days when the volunteers stood,and when they sat around.When they looked at the data there were some striking differences,the BBC reported.
Blood sugar leveled off much quicker on the days when the study subjects stood compared with the days they spent in a chair.Standing also burned more calories----about 50 calories an hour.A member said although doing exercise offers many proven benefits,our bodies also need the increase in muscle activity that standing provides.
The researchers believe that even small adjustments,like standing while talking on the phone,will help. | high18019.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a few of the more unusual sites on the WHL"
},
"options": [
"the remains of ancient cultures on the WHL",
"all the heritage sites on the WHL",
"a few of the more unusual sites on the WHL",
"places of artistic or cultura... | If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places associated with ancient art and culture, historical building and monuments. And of course, many of these are on the World Heritage List .But the WHL contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Let's look at a few of them.
Robben Island in South Africa
This island was used through the centuries as a prison, a hospital and a military base. But it's probably the most famous as a prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its residents. The WHL says it represents "the victory of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism "
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India
This railway was opened in 1881 and is still operating today. It crossed a difficult area of mountain landscape and it is a great example of railway engineering. The WHL says that it is "the first, and still the most outstanding example of a hill passenger railway."
Borders of France and Spain
This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farms. Surprisingly, people there still use a type of agriculture that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but has almost completely disappeared in modern times.
Alto Douro, Portugal
This is an area in the North of Portugal where wine has been produced for thousands of years. The WHL says that this long tradition of wine making "has produced a cultural landscape of outstanding beauty that reflects its technological, social and economic evolution".
Rio Platano Reserve, Honduras
The WHL says that this site is "one of the few remains of a humid tropical forest in Central America". It's a mountainous area on the Caribbean coast with many different species of plants and animals. The people who have always lived there still have the same traditional life-style.
Simien National Park, Ethiopia
Simien National Park was one of the first sites listed in 1978. It is one of the highest mountain area in Africa, and the WHL calls it "one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world". It is also important for its wildlife. The population of some rare animals is getting smaller and smaller. | high20586.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a universal phenomenon"
},
"options": [
"a universal phenomenon",
"a social pressure from education",
"because of the invention of iPads",
"pediatricians' lack of responsibility"
],
"question": "According to the... | Like most parents, I worry that my child isn't getting enough sleep. Now it turns out that doctors have been warning kids don't get enough sleep for over a century--long before iPads, and texting robbed children of peaceful sleep. What's more, there's no solid scientific basis for pediatricians' recommendations on the amount of time children need to sleep. That's the word from researchers in Australia.
It turns out that children are sleeping less than those in days of old. The researchers, at the University of South Australia's Health and Use of Time Group, found that kids' nightly sleep time declined by about three-quarters of a minute each year for the period they studied. My daughter was more likely to beg for a few more minutes of Angry Birds before bedtime.That means nowadays my daughter is sleeping about 50 minutes a night less than her grandfather who had to get up to milk the cows at 5:30 am.
What hasn't changed is the predictions from health professionals on the consequences of lack of sleep. "This is a sleepless age and more and more... we are turning night into day," one expert said in 1905. Back then, sleep was seen as a way to restore "wearied brain tissue". Children and "clever" children were thought to be most at risk, and most in need of energy-restoring sleep. The words may be different today, but the threats are pretty much the same. Parents are told that children risk mental and physical problems, and even obesity, if they don't get enough sleep.
So the Australians looked to see how much sleep kids do need. The answer is the biggest surprise of this study--no one really knows. "There is almost no exact evidence for proper sleep for children," the authors write. Their work was published in the journal Pediatrics. | high19307.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They ran after the burglars at once."
},
"options": [
"They stood there in surprise.",
"They ran after the burglars at once.",
"They waited for the police.",
"They phoned their teacher."
],
"question": "What did... | Just before midnight, six University of Cincinnati students were watching TV in an on-campus apartment when three men burst through the door. While one of the intruders pointed a gun at the group, the other two scooped up $4,400 worth of laptops, cell phones, video games and cash. Once they had what they wanted, the trio fled into the night.
Furious, the students chased down and tackled one of the burglars -- the one with the gun. In the struggle, it went off, and a bullet grazed a student's leg. His friends piled on the gunman and held him until police showed up.
By the next day, the injured young man was back in his apartment, and the suspect was in jail, charged with burglary, felonious assault and receiving stolen property. But how did the men manage to storm into an on-campus residence that November night in the first place? Simple: Students told police the building's main doors hadn't latched properly for days.
As parents confront ballooning college costs and shrinking acceptance rates, they are finding themselves with an even bigger, more basic problem: Which campuses are safe? Colleges seem like idyllic and secure places, and for the most part, they are. But ivy-covered walls can't keep out every bad element. This country's 6,000 colleges and universities report some 40,000 burglaries, 3,700 forcible sex offenses, 7,000 aggravated assaults and 48 murders a year. Other hazards -- fires, binge-drinking, mental-health problems -- are also on the rise.
Of course, that's not what parents and students see on America's serene campuses. There's a false sense of security, says Harry Nolan, a safety consultant in New York City. "Students see guards patrolling at night or a video camera monitoring the dorm entrance and think, nothing bad can happen to me," he explains. "People don't know that safety controls are often very lax." | high4573.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He wondered how long he had to wait for the next bus."
},
"options": [
"He wondered how long he had to wait for the next bus.",
"No driver would give him a ride.",
"He didn't know the routes.",
"He perhaps would have to... | Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California's Santa Freeway.It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home.I couldn't reach anyone to pick me up, so I decided to take a bus.Not knowing the routes, I thought I should just go east.
A bus stopped.I got on and asked the driver how far she was going."Ten more miles,"she said.There was another bus I could take from here.This clearly was going to be a long night.
I got off at the end of the route and she told me which bus to look for.After waiting 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi ride home.Then a bus came up.There was no light number above its windshield .It was out of service, but the door opened.It was the same driver."I just can't leave you here,"she said."This isn't the nicest place.I will give you a ride home."
"You will drive me home on the bus?"I asked, astonished.
"No, I will take you in my car, "she said.
"It's a long way, "I insisted.
"Come on, " she said."I have nothing else to do."
As we drove from, the station in the car, she began telling me a story.A few days earlier, her brother had run out of gas.A good man picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car."I'm just passing the favour on,"she said.
When I offered her money as a thank-you, she wouldn't accept."Just do something nice for somebody.Pass it on."she said. | high21698.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "came downstairs hurriedly"
},
"options": [
"ran down the street",
"came downstairs hurriedly",
"ran so quickly that he fell down",
"came into the hotel hall very quickly"
],
"question": "The traveler _ .",
... | A traveler hurried down to the hall of an American hotel and went to the cash-desk. He had just 15 minutes to pay his bill and get to the station. Suddenly he remembered that he had left something in his room.
"Look here, boy," he said to the bellboy, "run up to my room and see if I have left a parcel on the table there. Be quick about it."
The boy ran upstairs. Five minutes passed. The traveler was walking up and down the hall, looking very angry. At last the boy appeared.
"Yes, sir," he reported to the traveler," you have left the parcel there, it's right on the table in your room." | high16034.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "talks with Ms. Runkle quite a lot"
},
"options": [
"seldom sees Ms. Runkle",
"talks with Ms. Runkle quite a lot",
"enjoys introducing Ms. Runkle to her friends",
"often invites Ms. Runkle to different activities"
],... | I have many new teachers in high school, but Lori Runkle, my English Language and Composition teacher, is my favorite teacher.
Ms. Runkle enjoys getting to know more about students, so I have many chances to talk with her after class. I have always wanted to become a journalist . Since Ms. Runkle used to be a journalist back in the United States, she has introduced many helpful journalistic writing skills to me.
Although she is my teacher, Ms. Runkle and I are more like friends. She often invites my classmates and me to take part in different activities outdoors. For example, I went to listen to a journalist's speech, which helped me better understand current events .
Not only does Ms. Runkle talk with me outside of school, she is also a great teacher in the classroom. English Language and Composition is a really hard subject for a second language learner. We felt worried in the beginning, but Ms. Runkle really makes an effort to help us out. In class, Ms. Runkle always encourages students to question everything to keep us active. One part of class I love the most is when groups of students are requested to give speeches on events that are happening in the world. It requires a lot of deep thinking and I really learn quite a lot from it.
I love Ms. Runkle very much. She not only helps me to get good scores, but also acts as a good friend and always gives me advice on life. | high11997.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "beards are helpful to keep warm"
},
"options": [
"they have no time to shave their beards",
"beards are helpful to keep warm",
"beards will come out soon when they are shaved",
"they think beards will make them look han... | The Chinese Antarctica expedition returned to Shanghai on March 20 following a month living on the ice. It was the first time Chinese scientists had visited the Amery Ice Shelf--the longest ice shelf in the world.
The team collected ice samples and data on temperatures, which are necessary for research on global warming.
So far, about 27 countries have visited Antarctica for scientific research. Although the living conditions are very hard, many scientists have to stay there for long periods of time. So, how do they manage their lives on the ice?
Well, during the summer, the temperature in Antarctica reaches about-20degC. It falls to about-60degCin winter. So, even if there are 24 hours of sunshine, scientists must keep wearing all the correct clothes to protect them from the cold. These clothes include jeans, running shoes, jackets, long underwears, boots and woolen socks.
Although highly technical clothing provides much protection against the extreme cold, scientists often need to go outside when there is an icy wind blowing and the temperature is-30degC. Natural protection such as facial hair can also help.
"That's why many researchers wear a beard. It really does keep you warm,"says German explorer Arved Fuchs.
Usually, the polar researchers have good meals. Some even have feasts on holidays like Christmas and New Year's Day. Vegetables are always welcome and usually finished the quickest.
Life on the ice means living with other researchers in tight living space. Most people sleep in dorm style rooms. More remote field camps use separate tents. So, at least some researchers don't have to _ annoying snorers .
But what do they do for fun in their spare time? There are actually a lot of things they can do. They watch movies, read tons of books, listen to music, have saunas ,paint and ski. Some female researchers might even do some knitting.
It is important for a polar researcher to be in good physical condition. They can be required to climb to heights of more than 3, 000 meters. And the Antarctic atmosphere has less oxygen than that of any other continent. | high10451.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "playing computer games"
},
"options": [
"playing computer games",
"searching information on the Internet",
"sending e-mails",
"buying things online"
],
"question": "According to the first letter, many college st... | Dear Victor:
I am a college student. Nowadays games on the net are very popular with college students. Some of my roommates are very interested in them. They not only play games in their free time, but also keep talking about them at night when lights are off, and they regard games as part of life. I've begged them to give it up, but they wouldn't listen to me. It has become a rather big problem. Should I report it to our teachers or do something else?
Ted,
Dear Ted:
Drop it. Your roommates, as grown-ups, can do whatever they want with their time so long as it doesn't break school rules or violate other people's interests.
Playing perhaps gives these students relaxation from hard study. If they play too often, have little time to study, and they will _ , but you will not. Reporting to the teachers would only harm your good name in your dormitory . However you have rights to ask your roommates to be quiet when you need sleep. If they aren't angry with you, they will stop talking. But be polite and friendly. Perhaps, in return, join them in a game or two.
Victor. | high2116.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "can be harmful as well as beneficial"
},
"options": [
"can hardly be changed once set",
"are against individual benefits",
"can be harmful as well as beneficial",
"are promoting social consolidation"
],
"questio... | WHY do we sometimes struggle with moral dilemmas? Why is it a crime to take certain drugs but it's acceptable to take others? Why is it wrong to create human embryos to cure diseases suffered by millions? Often, we follow rules that bring little benefit and can even be positively harmful. But the rules are not set in stone, so there is nothing to stop us getting rid of those that don't work and putting better ones in their place. Now an experiment suggests that morality isn't entirely about benefits to individuals. We also tend to make and obey arbitrary moral rules, probably as a way of promoting social consolidation .
A classic psychology experiment called "trolley experiment" suggests that our minds have two moral systems, and they don't always agree. In the trolley experiment, participants are told that an out-of-control trolley could kill five people on the tracks. They must decide whether to turn it onto a second track with only one person on it. Almost everyone does it, sacrificing one to save five. But if instead you have to push one person off a bridge onto the track to stop the trolley, most people say no. That suggests most of us have a strict rule against killing people directly, even for the greater good.
How are such rules formed? Although people with morality appear to _ the act of killing in the bridge experiment, most moral behavior in animals appears focused on outcomes--the death of an individual, say--rather than the death of the majority. When an animal experiences harm to help a , biologists view this as increasing the chances that the animal's genes will survive. Many psychologists think that human moral rules are an extension of this "kin selection".
Kurzban of the University of Pennsylvania did the experiment further. Kurzban's team gave volunteers changes of the bridge situation. Volunteers were asked what they would do and whether their actions were morally right. 85% of them said it would be morally wrong to push one person off to save five, whether these people are brothers or strangers, confirming the idea that there is a rule against killing. However, despite thinking it wrong, 28% said they would still push a stranger off to save five, while 47% said they would push a brother off to save five brothers. "They're more likely to do this 'less moral1thing if it's to save a ," Kurzban says, suggesting kin selection is at work as well as the basic "moral rule" against killing. The experiment shows we have at least two parallel systems for deciding right and wrong: one that says some actions, like killing, are bad, and another that tells us to protect kin. So how is this helpful?
Science has made great steps in explaining morality. No longer is it seen as something handed down from on high. Sacrificing yourself so as to protect your kin, for example, can benefit your family genes. Social consolidation demands we have rules, regardless of what they are, to help settle disputes quickly and peacefully. | high21854.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "children are ready to follow their parents' directions"
},
"options": [
"kids turn a deaf ear to their parents' requests",
"parents' directions sound like a broken record",
"children are ready to follow their parents' directi... | Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV, start their chores , or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions. Before you know it, you've started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments, clean their room, or take out the trash. Rather than saying, "Do your chores now", you'll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed. So instead of arguing about starting chores,just say, "If chores are't done by 4 p.m, here are the consequences." Then it's up to your child to complete the chores. Put the ball back in their court. Don't argue or fight with them,just say, "That's the way it's going to be." It shouldn't be punitive as much as it should be persuasive. "If your chores aren't done by 4 p.m, then no video game time until chores are done. And if finishing those chores runs into homework time, that's going to be your loss." On the other hand, when dealing with homework, keep it very simple. Have a time when homework starts, and at that time, all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done. If your child says they have no homework, then they should use that time to study or read. Either way, there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.
When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you're trying to talk to him, make no bones about it; he is not ignoring you, he is disrespecting you. At that point, everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears. Don't try to communicate with him when he's wearing headphones--even if he tells you he can hear you. Wearing them while you're talking to him is a sign of disrespect. Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing. Remember, mutual respect becomes more important as children mature . | high3208.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Wife and husband."
},
"options": [
"Mother and son.",
"Wife and husband.",
"Sister and brother.",
"Teacher and student."
],
"question": "What's the relationship between Melissa and Roman?",
"question_type": ... | Melissa and Roman McCoy were looking forward to the Christmas. But on December 5th, Roman got a phone call that changed everything. Melissa had been in a terrible car accident, and the doctor had little hope she would make it.
"He said the next six to eight hours were critical in determining whether she would live or not. And I just wept," Roman said. "A lot of pressure built up inside, and I just dropped my cell phone on the ground when I heard that. It was the worst feeling that I've ever felt."
Melissa, a college English professor, was on her way to class when her car hit into a mound of dirt and rolled over several times.
Roman recalled, "I could only think how I am going to raise my kids without their mother. If she did live, how would I take care of her and my kids? The questions you never want to ask yourself, I had to face."
Melissa survived the first night. She had injuries to her stomach and lungs and worse, she suffered severe injuries to her brain. She didn't recognize anyone, even her own husband.
"Over the next few days, she remained unresponsive to treatments. The brain surgeon never really gave us much hope."
Days passed and Melissa didn't improve. Christmas Eve, Roman was by her side in the hospital. Then, he received a Christmas gift he would never forget.
"That evening, she woke up and was just as clear as before, recognized everybody, and was able to read. It was just amazing. I saw her bright smile and her sense of humor. The only way I could describe it is that the weight of the darkness that had hovered over me was just completely gone."
Melissa quickly improved, and she is back to being a wife, mom, and professor. There is no sign of damage from the brain.
Melissa said, "I thank him for everything now. It's not just 'thank you for my job, thank you for my children.' It's 'thank you for every aspect of my life.'" | high19313.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The increasing uncertainty about directions."
},
"options": [
"The invisible sun or moon.",
"The increasing uncertainty about directions.",
"Differences in leg length or strength.",
"Wrong signals providing information ... | Scientists from the Max Plank Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tubingen, Germany, have presented the first experimental evidence that people do end up walking in circles if lost in unfamiliar areas.The study, published in the journal Current Biology, examined the tracks of people who walked for several hours in the Sahara desert in Tunisia and in the Bienwald forest in Germany.Researchers Jan Souman and Marc Ernst said the scientists used the global positioning system (GPS) to record these paths.The results showed that the walkers were only able to keep a straight line when the sun or moon was visible.As soon as the sun disappeared behind some clouds, people started to walk in circles without even noticing it.
Souman said one explanation offered in the past for people walking in circles was that most people have one leg longer or stronger than the other, which would produce a systematic bias in one direction.To test
.the researchers asked people to walk straight while blindfolded which removed the effects of vision.They found that these circles were rarely in a systematic direction, with the same person sometimes switching to the left and sometimes to the right.
"Most of the participants in the study walked in circles, sometimes in extremely small ones.Walking in circles is therefore not caused by differences in leg length or strength, but more likely the result of increasing uncertainty about where straight ahead is," said Souman, "Small random errors in the various sensory signals that provide information about walking direction add up over time, making what a person perceives to be straight ahead drift away from the true straight ahead direction." | high16020.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "John needed more education and he could go to high school there"
},
"options": [
"John's father died in his hometown when John was very young",
"life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown , while life in Chicago would ... | John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six . He was reaching high school age , but his hometown offered no high school for blacks .
Fortunately he had a strong -- willed , caring mother . John remembers that his mother told him many times , "Son , you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe ." She told him not to be dependent on others , including his mother . "You have to earn success," said she . "All the people who work hard don't succeed , but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard ."
These words came from a woman with less than a third --grade education .She worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough money to take her son -- then 15--to Chicago .
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for . John's mother and stepfather could not find work . But here John could go to school , and here he learned the power of words -- as an editor of the newspaper at Du Sable High School . His wish was to publish a magazine for the blacks .
While others discouraged him , John's mother offered him more words to live by : " _ " She also let him pawn her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine .
It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful . He always keeps his mother's words in mind: "Son , failure is not in your vocabulary ." Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America . | high22385.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A person born during January 1---January 31."
},
"options": [
"A person born during April 1---April 30.",
"A person born during August 1---August 31.",
"A person born during January 1---January 31.",
"A person born duri... | January 1 -- January 31
You are charming and intelligent. You are actually quite ambitious. You like to go to parties and chat with your friends. On the other hand, you are friendly, but you are also a very private person.
February 1 -- February 28
You are determined and hard working.You are born under the sign of loyalty and faimess.You like parties and enjoy a lot of friends. On the other hand, you are quite famous for your courage. You really like to explore and you are an adventurer.
March 1 -- March 31
You are very loyal, independent, and open-minded. You are a born leader, and when you set a goal, you go to it. You adore challenges and competitions. You are most likely to be the one who calls out, "Let's go!" you are always in a circle of friends. You love animals. _
April 1--April 30
You are artistic, well-mannered, intelligent, and diplomatic.You are usually sweet and kind, of course.You are sometimes famous for your artistic sense and good taste. You love throwing grand parties. Vacations and routines are very important to you. You are also fairly popular.
May l -- May 31
You are talented, sincere, and most of all, enthusiastic. You are the master of ceremonies. You shine in the crowd.When you walk into a room, heads turn, and you hear whispers and gasps. You have a strong will to defeat any challenge in your way. You have a hunger for fashion.
June 1 -- June 30
You are very elegant, wise, and compassionate .You are very attractive and people are attracted to you. Your friends rely on you for advice. You will be someone like Jacqueline Onassis. You are also very lucky in many ways.
July l -- July 31
You are mostly agreeable, energetic, and popular.You like to try new things wherever you go. You know how to dress and you always look your best. You are talented and you love sports. You are always one step ahead of anyone else. You adore freedom and independence.
August 1 -- August 31
You are empathetic, easygoing, and compliant.You can get along with almost everyone. Many people admire you for your talent and creativity. On the other hand, you are sensitive and compassionate. You always like to dream. You enjoy peace and quiet at night.
September 1 -- September 30
You are individualistic, sociable, and very entertaining. You are capable of anything. You have an excellent memory. You like long, friendly conversations with your closest friends.You turn boring things into the life of the party.
October 1 -- October 31
You are thoughtful, intelligent, and the class comedian.You are also very popular, and nice around friends. You love to save the best for last. You are amusing and very fun to be around with. You love to spend hours each day reading and studying for final exams, when the school year has just started. You almost never turn on your friends.
November 1 -- November 30
You are unselfish, knowledgeable, and friendly. You are loyal to your friends and family. You can see the difference between right and wrong. You are very honest and you speak out when you feel something has gone wrong. You are the person who likes trendy clothes.
December 1 --December 31
You are smart, optimistic, and willing to help others. You are like a rare diamond. You are intentionally the nicest while you are with friends. You are also very affectionate. You are too good to be true. Your friends trust in you easily. You are also popular in the "Being Nice" way. | high12246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "seven."
},
"options": [
"six.",
"seven.",
"eight.",
"nine."
],
"question": "How many successful people are mentioned as examples in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | Did you know that Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four years old, and did not read until he was seven? His parents and teachers worried about his rnenta1ability.
Beethoven's music teacher said about him,"As a composer he is hopeless." What if this young boy believed it?
When Thomas Edison was a young boy,his teachers said he was so stupid that he could never learn anything.He once said,''I remember I used to never be able to get along at schoo1.I was always at the foot of my class...My father thought I was stupid,and I almost decided that l was a stupid person."What if young Thomas believed what may said about him?
When the sculptor Auguste Rodin was young; he had difficulty learning to read and write.:. Today, we may say he had a learning disability. His father said of him, "I have an idiot for a son. "His uncle agreed. "He's uneducable," he said. What if Rodin had doubted his ability?
Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper editor because he was thought to have no "good ideas". Enrico Caruso was told by one music teacher, "you can't sing. You have no voice at all. " And an editor told Louisa May Alcott that she was unable to write anything that would have popular appeal.
What if these people had listened and become discouraged? Where would our world be without the music of Beethoven, the art of Rodin or the ideas of Albert Einstein and Walt Disney? As Oscar Levant once said, "It's not what you are but what you don't become that hurts. "
You have great potential.When you believe in all you can be, rather than all you cannot become, you will find your place on earth. | high13158.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "help and care about each other"
},
"options": [
"live in a large family",
"are wealthy but unhappy",
"are isolated and don't have connections",
"help and care about each other"
],
"question": "In traditional com... | "Community" is not a concept that is easy to define . In this essay I will examine what turns individuals into a community, and discuss some different types. I will also look at what all communities have in common, the benefits they offer and draw conclusions about their increasing importance.
The word "community" may make you think of traditional communities in the developing world, where large families live together. We may also imagine the neighbours as people who are happy to help out whenever it is needed. The stereotypical view is that of a village, where people have little but can feel very rich because everyone takes responsibility for the welfare of the others.
On the other hand, there are other types of communities: ultramodern ones, where the community members are unlikely to have actually met each other. These are online communities, where people blog or chat about particular issues that are important to them. They come across others on websites and may develop a relationship there with like-minded people, discussing the same topics. The view is often that these are artificial connections between people who are, in fact, still isolated strangers.
In reality, the connections are real. Moreover, there are many types of communities in between these extremes: people who join clubs, who sign up with voluntary, political or other organizations, or who take part in group discussions in their local area. They may be campaigning about issues or simply getting together for companionship and support.
Human beings are social by nature, so it should not be a surprise that we organize ourselves in groups. However, there is more going on: these groups provide something that we cannot achieve on our own. The main benefit of being part of a larger group is strength in numbers. For example, we can access and share more information, we can take part in team sports, we can complain and campaign more effectively and even if we are just having a chat, online or in person, we can feel supported in whatever we do.
Whatever forms communities take, what defines them is the sense of identity and safety that they provide for their members: the knowledge that there are people who we have something in common with and who can be relied on when we need each other. | high14637.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Parents choose reading materials for their children."
},
"options": [
"What TV programs children can watch during reading.",
"Advice is given to control their children.",
"Parents choose reading materials for their children."... | Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don't. With help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.
"A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them," Donna George said. "They are sadly mistaken."
George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. "It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are," George said. "Parents are their child's first teacher." Parents help their children build listening, phonics , comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.
Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy----television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joiners said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a _ . So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.
Parents who do not read themselves should not depend on their children being enthusiastic about it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents' job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important. | high6370.txt |
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