questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he didn't feel the same satisfaction as being a teacher."
},
"options": [
"Because the salary was lower than that being a teacher.",
"Because the working conditions were quite bad.",
"Because he didn't feel the same s... | I got into the teaching profession by choice. I was then in 9th grade, when my mathematics teacher asked me to take a class for a few students to whom the subject seemed difficult. And believe me, I enjoyed the teaching. I never knew teaching would be so interesting. I loved my freshmen and was delighted to teach my so-called students who came up with lots of good questions.
After my post graduation, I worked as a software developer with a public sector in Bangalore for a few years. But I realized that no job could provide me the satisfaction that I experienced while teaching and training. In fact, I feel it was a timely realization for me to choose the teaching profession. I applied to a few colleges, and finally I was chosen as a "Lecturer", and I had to lecture graduate and post-graduate students in a college.
On the first day, I was nervous thinking that I had to teach the senior classes. But now I can say that taking lectures was one of the best experiences of my life. I was a Computer Science and Information Technology Lecturer, but I tried to help my students with subjects that were not within my domain . It was a new feeling to me every morning before going to the classes. I used to feel energized and excited thinking that the class would be lit up with bright faces to greet me, "Good morning, Madam".
To me each day was a new beginning, with new feelings, new experiences and new queries . I loved to explore their young minds, read their inquisitive faces when a particular topic seemed tough. It was very challenging to motivate them to take part in the classroom, think critically, question and also respect others' point of view. Though few things never seemed easy, it was very exciting to assure them that they really can. That is the reason, I love to teach. | high14151.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "German"
},
"options": [
"America",
"French",
"German",
"British"
],
"question": "Beethoven was a _ musician.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"... | Beethoven, a famous musician in the world, was born in Germany in 1770.
In his childhood Beethoven didn't have a happy life.His father was a singer. When he was only four, his father began to make him practise hour after hour on different musical instruments . If he did not put his heart into it, his father would beat him or make it hard on him.
Beethoven loved music and he learned so fast that he was able to go around to give concerts, when he was only a boy of eleven. At the age of seventeen, he won high praise from Mozart, the great musician at that time.
Beethoven was often poor and ill during his life. After one illness, he suddenly found himself deaf. At that time he was only thirty-one. It was a blow to him indeed.
But he still went on working and writing music pieces. To people's surprise, some of his best pieces were written after he lost his hearing.
In 1827, leaving more than 300 pieces, the great musician died. But his name is still remembered to this day. | high9725.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because there are less young students in the area."
},
"options": [
"Because the students live in poor communities.",
"Because education is free for Scottish students.",
"Because there are less young students in the area.",
... | The increase in tuition fees has led to a "clear drop" in the number of English students applying for university places this autumn. There are 15,000 "missing" applicants this academic year, according to the Independent Commission on Fees. Chairman Will Hutton said: "We're asking our young men and women to have more debt than any other country in the world -- it's higher than the average debt in the US. It's not clear whether those lost students this year will return next year, or if it's a storm warming of a worrying trend."
But the commission's report says there does not seem to be an impact on poorer communities. The commission found there was no significant change in the application rate to the key universities, such as Oxford or Cambridge. The decline in England has not been mirrored in other parts of the UK where fees have not been raised, and the drop can only partly be explained by falling numbers of young people in the population. Students from Scotland attending Scottish universities do not pay fees, while the Welsh Assembly says it will pay fees above PS3,465 for Welsh students attending UK institutions.
The average tuition fee at English universities this year is PS 8,385, rising to PS 8,507 next year. UK and EU students have access to government-backed loans to pay the fees. And the survey of 1,000 pupils aged 15-18, carried out this April, found that the majority expected to go on to higher education as people continue to understand that university remains a good long term investment in their future.
A spokeswoman at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which is responsible for universities, said: "Students shouldn't be forced to put off going to university for financial reasons. Most students will not have to pay in advance, and no one will have to start paying back their student loan until they start to earn at least PS 2l,000 per year." | high6416.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Nonscientists will be able to add their own notes to the website."
},
"options": [
"You can find information of all living species online in 2017.",
"Nonscientists will be able to add their own notes to the website.",
"The ki... | So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species ,and that's just a small part of what probably exists on Earth.With so many plants,animals,fungi,and other organisms covering the planet,it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is crawling up your leg or what kind of bird just flew by.
A soon-to-be-launched Website might help.An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web -- based Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).The project aims to catalogue every species on Earth in a single,easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started,the creators will use information from scientific databases that already exist.And eventually,in special sections of the site,nonscientists with specialized knowledge will join.Gardeners,for example,will be able to record the dates that their flowers first bloom each year.Bird-watchers will be able to input which birds they've seen and where.The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available.
As the EOL develops, you might find it useful for school projects.The site will have special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods.To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate,scientists will review much of the information added to it.People who visit the site will be able to choose to skip pages that haven't been reviewed.
Another convenient characteristic of the EOL is that you'11 be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests,age,and current knowledge. If you wanted to learn about polar bears for a science class report,for example,you could use the _ setting to get basic information about the animals.On the "expert" setting,on the other hand.you could get much more detailed information about the history,literature,and exploration of polar bears.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species.The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process.
Keep an eye on _ .Pages will begin to go up sometime next year,and you might find them useful for your school reports.The EOL team might have the basics for all 1.8 million entries online as early as 2017.Someday,you might add your own notes. | high24092.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Diligent and adventurous"
},
"options": [
"Faithful and brave",
"Diligent and adventurous",
"Polite but naughty",
"Imaginative but proud"
],
"question": "Which of the following words can best describe the boy?",... | Retold by Laura E.Richards
All day long the little boy had worked hard, in the field and barn and shed, for his parents were poor farmers, and could not pay a workman.But at sunset there came an hour that was all his own, for his father had given it to him.Then the boy would go up to the top of a hill and look across at another hill that rose some miles away.On that far hill stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamonds.They shone so brightly that it made the boy squint at them, but after a while the people in the house put up shutters, as it seemed, and then it looked like any common farmhouse.The boy supposed they did this because it was suppertime; and then he would go into the house and have his supper of bread and milk, and go to bed.
One day the boy's father called him and said: "You have been a good boy, and have earned a holiday.Take this day for your own, and try to learn some good things." The boy thanked his father and kissed his mother.Then he put a piece of bread in his pocket, and started off to find the house with the golden windows.
It was a pleasant walk.His bare feet made marks in the white dust, and when he looked back, the footprints seemed to be following him, and keeping him company.His shadow, too, kept beside him, and would dance or run with him as he pleased; so it was very cheerful.By and by he felt hungry, and he sat down by a brown stream that ran through the alder hedge by the roadside, ate his bread, and drank the clear water.Then he scattered the small pieces of bread for the birds as his mother had taught him to do, and went on his way.
After a long time he came to a high green hill, and when he had climbed the hill, there was the house on the top.But it seemed that the shutters were up, for he could not see the golden windows.He came up to the house, and then he could well have wept, for the windows were of clear glass, like any others, and there was no gold anywhere about them.
A woman came to the door, looked kindly at the boy, and asked him what he wanted.
"I saw the golden windows from our hilltop," he said, "and I came to see them, but now they are only of clear glass."
The woman shook her head and laughed.
"We are poor farmers," she said, "and are not likely to have gold about our windows.But glass is better to see through."
She let the boy sit down on the broad stone step at the door, and brought him a cup of milk and a cake, and asked him to take a break.Then she called her daughter, a child of his own age, nodded kindly at the two, and went back to her work.
The little girl was barefooted like him, and wore a brown cotton dress, but her hair was golden like the windows he had seen, and her eyes were blue like the sky at noon.She showed the boy about the farm, and showed him her black calf with a white star on its forehead, and he told her about his own at home, which was red like a chestnut with four white feet.They became friends after they ate an apple together.However, when the boy asked her about the golden windows, the little girl nodded, and said she knew all about them; only he had mistaken the house.
"You have come quite the wrong way!" she said."Come with me, and I will show you the house with the golden windows, and then you will see for yourself."
They went to a knoll that rose behind the farmhouse, and the little girl told him that the golden windows could only be seen at a certain hour, about sunset.
"Yes, I know that!" said the boy.
When they reached the top of the knoll, the girl turned and pointed;there on a hill far away stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamond, just as he had seen them.And when they looked again, the boy saw that it was his own home.
Then he told the little girl that he must go.He gave her his best pebble , the white one with the red band, that he had carried for a year in his pocket, and she gave him three horse-chestnuts, one red like satin, one spotted, and one white like milk.He promised to come again, but he did not tell her what he had learned.He went back down the hill, and the little girl stood in the sunset light and watched him away.
The way home was long, and it was dark before the boy reached his house, but the lamplight and firelight shone through the windows, making them almost as bright as he had seen them from the hilltop.When he opened the door, his mother came to kiss him, and his little sister ran to throw her arms about his neck, and his father looked up and smiled from his seat by the fire.
"Have you had a good day?" asked his mother.
Yes, the boy had had a very good day.
"And have you learned anything?" asked his father.
"Yes!" said the boy."I have learned that our house has windows of gold and diamond." | high23925.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "PS12.00."
},
"options": [
"PS9.80.",
"PS12.00.",
"PS14.20.",
"PS16.40."
],
"question": "How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until 1806. The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world, for over 250 years.
*Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
*Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
*Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare's period.
*Enjoy the traditional English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet's works.
pThe Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map: nearest is Windsor Street (3 minutes' Walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre, its exhibition, and the garden are accessible to wheelchair users.
[?]The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace). | high12520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To get rid of trouble."
},
"options": [
"To help their friends out.",
"To get rid of trouble.",
"To get attention from others.",
"To create a popular image."
],
"question": "What's the purpose of children tellin... | Whether we're 2 years old or 62, our reasons for lying are mostly the same: to get out of trouble, for personal gain and to make ourselves look better in the eyes of others. But a growing body of research is raising questions about how a child's lie is different from an adult's lie, and how the way we _ changes as we grow.
"Parents and teachers who catch their children lying should not be alarmed. Their children are not going to turn out to be abnormal liars," says Dr. Lee, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of the Institute of Child Study. He has spent the last 15 years studying how lying changes as kids get older, why some people lie more than others as well as which factors can reduce lying. The fact that children tell lies is a sign that they have reached a new developmental stage. Dr. Lee conducted a series of studies in which they bring children into a lab with hidden cameras. Children and young adults aged 2 to 17 are likely to lie while being told not to look at a toy, which is put behind the child's back. Whether or not the child takes a secret look is caught on tape.
For young kids, the desire to cheat is big and 90% take a secret look in these experiments. When the test-giver returns to the room, the child is asked if he or she looked secretly. At age 2, about a quarter of children will lie and say they didn't. By 3, half of kids will lie, and by 4, that figure is 90%, studies show.
Researchers have found that it's kids with better understanding abilities who lie more. That's because to lie you also have to keep the truth in mind, which includes many brain processes, such as combining several sources of information and faking that information. The ability to lie -- and lie successfully -- is thought to be related to development of brain regions that allow so called "executive functioning", or higher order thinking and reasoning abilities. Kids who perform better on tests that involve executive functioning also lie more. | high835.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "makes some men feel proud and others uneasy"
},
"options": [
"brings a feeling of excitement to some men",
"has a different meaning for those who have daughters",
"makes some men feel proud and others uneasy",
"means no... | "Congratulations, Mr. Jones, it's a girl."
Fatherhood is going to have a different meaning and bring forth a different answer from every man who hears these words. Some feel proud when they receive the news, while others worry, wondering whether they will be good fathers. Although there are some men who like children and may have had considerable experience with them, others do not particularly care for children and spend little time with them. Many fathers and mothers have been planning and looking forward to children for some time. For other couples, pregnancy was an accident that both husband and wife have accepted willingly or unwillingly.
Whatever the reaction to the birth of a child, it is obvious that the change from the role of husband to that of father is a difficult task. Yet, unfortunately, few attempts have been made to educate fathers in this re-socialization process. Although many good books have been written about American mothers, only recently have some books discussed the role of a father.
It is argued by some writers that the transition to the father's role, although difficult, is not nearly as great as the transition the wife must make to the mother's role. The mother's role seems to require a complete transformation of daily routine and adaptation to a new life, on the other hand, the father's role is less demanding and immediate. However, even though we have mentioned the fact that growing numbers of women are working outside the home, the father is still thought by many as the breadwinner in the household. | high7708.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "website"
},
"options": [
"book",
"website",
"newspaper",
"announcement"
],
"question": "The passage is probably from a(n) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | The Museum: The Charles Dickens Museum in London is the world's most important collection of material relating to the great Victorian novelist and social commentator.The only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) was opened as a museum in 1925 and is still welcoming visitors from all over the world.On four floors, visitors can see paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and many items relating to the life of one of the most popular and beloved personalities of the Victorian age.
Opening Hours
* The Museum is open from Mondays to Saturdays 10:00-17:00; Sundays 11:00-17:00.
* Last admission is 30 minutes before closing time.
*Special opening times can be arranged for groups, who may wish to book a private view.
Admission Charges: Adults: PS5.00; Students: PS4:00; Seniors: PS4.00; Children: PS3.00; Families:PS14.00( 2 adults & up to five children)
Group Rates: For a group of 10 or more, a special group rate of PS4.00 each applies.
Children will still be admitted for PS3.00 each,
Access: We are constantly working to improve access to the Museum and its collection.Our current projects involve the fitting of a wheelchair ramp for better access, a customer care kit and an audio tour for visitors with impaired vision.Our Handling Sessions are also suitable for the visually impaired.The Museum has developed an online virtual tour through the Museum.Click here to visit all the rooms in the Museum online.
Hire the Museum: The Museum can be hired for private functions, performances soirees and many other social occasions.
Find Us: The Museum may be reached by using the following buses: 7, 17, 19, 38, 45,46, 55, 243.And by these underground services: Piccadilly Line; Central Line.For a map, please click here.The British Museum and the Foundling Museum are within walking distance. | high4201.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "advertisement"
},
"options": [
"news story",
"advertisement",
"lab report",
"letter of thanks"
],
"question": "This passage most probably is a (n) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | Dear Customers,
I love slipping into a comfortable chair for a long read, as I relax into the chair. I also relax into the author's words, stories, and ideas. The physical book is so elegant that it disappears into the background, and what remains is the author's world.
Today, we at Amazon are excited to announce Kindle, a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more than 90,000 books, magazines, and newspapers.
We've been working on Kindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands --to get out of the way --so you can enjoy your reading. We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed--you do your reading directly from the device.
We chose the same wireless technology used in advanced mobile phones. But unlike mobile phones, there are no monthly wireless bills, no service or data plans, and no yearly contracts. There is no software to install(,). We want you to get lost in your reading and not in the technology.
Kindle uses a new kind of display called electronic paper. Sharp and natural with no strong light, reading on Kindle is nothing like reading from a computer screen. Kindle weighs only 10.3 ounces --less than a paperback --but can carry two hundred books.
Enjoy learning about Kindle and many thanks! | high19475.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "His corn picker broke down."
},
"options": [
"His wife objected to his helping his friend.",
"His corn picker ran out of oil.",
"His corn picker broke down.",
"The weather was not favorable."
],
"question": "Whi... | My grandfather had a small farm where he raised beef and some grain for feed. He also worked diligently as a factory laborer and country pastor. He was a good neighbor and well-respected for honoring his word. When harvest time came, he'd piece together his old one-row corn picker and oil it up for the season. All his life he worked hard, helped others, and you could count on him to keep his promises.
He had promised to harvest a few ribbons of corn on a friend's farm, but after harvesting his own corn, Grandpa's little corn picker coughed and quit. It would be out of commission until a particular part could be ordered, but that would take far too long to help this year. The factory where Grandpa worked began to require overtime. In order to keep his job there he had to leave the farm before dawn and get home until well after sunset.
One autumn night, while harvest time was running out, he and his wife sat at the kitchen table and trying to figure a way out of their dilemma.
"There's nothing you can do," said my grandma. "You'll just have to tell him that you can't help with the corn this year."
"Well that just doesn't sit well with me," said my grandpa. "My friend is depending on me. I can't exactly let my neighbor's harvest rot in the field, can I?"
"When do you think you'd have time to do it?" she asked. "With the overtime you've been working you'd be up all night."
"I know of one night that I could do it!" he said, running to the bookshelf. He grabbed the Farmer's Almanac and started flipping through the pages. "Aha! There's still one more full moon in October." They say it's called the harvest moon because it gives farmers more light and more time to collect their crops.
And so a few days later, after a long shift at the factory, my grandpa made his way to the field where my grandma met him in the truck with dinner. The weather was cold but clear, and the moon was brilliant. He worked through the night to keep his word.
I know this story well, so sometimes, when I'm tempted to cut corners or to put off responsibilities, I think of my grandfather with his scythe cutting wide arcs of corn in the light of the harvest moon. | high16746.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The research about Alzheimer's disease."
},
"options": [
"Some early signs of the Alzheimer's disease.",
"Some physical tests about Alzheimer's disease.",
"The research about Alzheimer's disease.",
"The patients of Alzh... | Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. American researchers say the disease will affect more than one hundred million people worldwide by the year twenty fifty. That would be four times the current number. Researchers and doctors have been studying Alzheimer's patients for a century. Yet the cause and the cure for the mental sickness are still unknown. However, some researchers have made important steps towards understanding it.
Several early signs of the disease involve memory and thought processes. At first, patients have trouble remembering little things. Later, they have trouble remembering more important things, such as the names of their children.
There are also some physical tests that might show who is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The tests look for proteins in brain and spinal cord fluid. The proteins appear to be found only in people with the disease. The protein tests correctly identify the presence of the disease in about ninety percent of patients.
Now, a much simpler physical test to predict Alzheimer's risk has been developed. Researchers found that trouble with the sense of smell can be one of the first signs of Alzheimer's. Using this information, they developed a test in which people were asked to identify twelve familiar smells. These smells included cinnamon, black pepper, chocolate, paint thinner, and smoke.
The study continued for five years. During this period, the same people were asked to take several tests measuring their memory and thought abilities. Fifty percent of those who could not identify at least four of the smells in the first test had trouble with their memory and thinking in the next five years.
Another study has shown a possible way to reduce a person's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. Researchers in Chicago found that people who use their brains more often are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Those who read a newspaper, or play chess or word games are about three times less likely to develop the condition.
Researchers say they still do not know what causes Alzheimer's disease. But they say these findings might help prevent the disease in the future. | high11029.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "can sit wherever they like when they come in"
},
"options": [
"can enjoy a buffet free of charge",
"cannot reserve a place for lunch or dinner",
"can have the full menu whenever they like",
"can sit wherever they like w... | Extracts From Information Booklet For Car Ferry Passengers
CAR DECKS
Car drivers are advised to use the handbrake before leaving their cars, to lock all doors and to take with them all belongings that may be needed during the crossing.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
We regret that there are no facilities aboard for the exchange of cheques of any kind but most European currencies together with Euro cards and various types of international credit cards are accepted for payment in restaurants, shops, cinemas, etc. and to carry out other transactions on board.
PASSENGER FACILITIES ON BOARD
The following are a small selection of those available.
PROMENADE DECK : Here you can enjoy a pleasant stroll, go for a jog, or sit or lie back in the sunshine in adaptable reclining seats . We would however suggest passengers that decks may be slippery in wet or freezing weather.
VIEWING BRIDGE: This is situated below the Captain's Bridge and offers a view over the bow of the ship. The viewing bridge is reached from the promenade deck via the foremost stairway.
A LA CARTE RESTAURANT: This serves the same breakfast buffet as the main dining room. Scandinavian and international specialties are available at lunch and dinner times. No reservations required.
DUTY-FREE SHOP: This is a supermarket offering Scandinavian and international goods, foodstuffs, spirits, tobacco goods, sweets etc.
OPENING TIMES: The opening times of the various shops, restaurants and other facilities are shown on the relevant entrance doors as well as on the boards in the main halls on Decks 4. | high10337.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "have fathers realize their responsibility for their families"
},
"options": [
"test to - be - dads' fatherhood knowledge",
"test Challenge Dad's parenting knowledge",
"attract the whole society's attention to parenting",
... | TOKYO (Reuters) - "Who played the father in the movie 'Kramer versus Kramer'?" That's one of the 50 questions Japanese men could face in a "daddy exam", meant to raise awareness about fatherhood in a country where men tend to work long hours and leave their wives in charge of childcare and household work.
Even men who remember Dustin Hoffman struggling as a father in the movie may have a hard time answering questions ranging from baby food to politics.
Tetsuya Ando, director of Fathering Japan, a Tokyo non-profit organization that came up with the test and will offer it to eager dads from next March, said the exam was an attracting way to get fathers into parenting. "There just isn't enough information about parenting for fathers. Through the exam, we want men to realize that they don't know anything about bringing up kids," he said.
For the price of 3,900 yen ($34), fathers can find out whether they qualify as a "Super Dad," or are in need of more effort as a "Challenge Dad."
"We have received inquiries from fathers, single men, to-be-dads, grandfathers ... even an aunt who was concerned that her nephew is too busy with work to notice the fun of parenting," Ando said. The image of fathers is gradually changing in Japan as younger men _ their own dads' hands-off way in favor of closer involvement, and a wave of new parenting magazines for male readers has been hitting newsstands. But it is still hard for Japanese fathers to cut down on their work hours and spend more time with their families. Only 0.5 percent of employed men in Japan took parental leave in 2011, compared with 14 percent in the United States and 12 percent in Britain in 2000. | high2670.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To their friend's home for the party"
},
"options": [
"To the mental hospital to visit their friend.",
"To the police station to report the murder",
"To their friend's home for the party",
"To the radio station for the ... | It was on a cold night of December. The rain was pouring on the car roof as Albert and Andy drove through the empty country roads towards their friends' house, the Harrisons,where they were going to attend a party to celebrate the engagement of the Harrisons' daughter,Lisa. When they drove, they listened to the local radio giving a news announcement:The New York police have issued a warning after a man escaped from Shangdi Mental Hospital earlier this morning .The man ,John, is a murderer who killed six people.
Andy felt frightened, "A crazy killer is out somewhere." "Don't worry about it ," said her husband. "We're nearly there now. Anyway, we have more important things to worry about. This car is losing power for the engine." As he spoke, the car began to slow down. Finally the engine died completely. "Now we'll have to walk in the rain." "But that'll take us an hour at least," said Andy, "And I have my high-heeled shoes and my nice clothes on, which will be ruined!" "Well, you'll have to wait while I run to the nearest house and call the Harrisons. Someone can come out and pick us up,"said George. "But George! Have you forgotten what the radio said? There's an insane person out there!" "You'll have to hide in the back of the car. Lock all the doors and lie on the floor in the back. When I come back, I'll knock three times on the door. Then you can open it." Albert opened the door and disappeared into the darkness.
Some time later she heard the sound of vehicles, running quickly down the road. The three vehicles were all police cars. One of them rushed towards the car as Andy opened the door. A policeman said, "Get out of the car and walk. You're safe now. Just don't look back." something in the way he spoke filled Andy with cold horror. About ten yards from the police car, she stopped , turned and looked back at the empty vehicle. Albert was hanging from the tree, a rope tied to his neck. | high17458.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To serve them some cocoa and food"
},
"options": [
"To offer them some warm clothes",
"To serve them some cocoa and food",
"To sell them some old paper",
"To show off her matched cups and saucers"
],
"question":... | They stood outside the door - two children in shabby outgrown coats.
"Any old papers, lady?"
I was busy, I wanted to say no until I saw the snow on their clothes. And their little sandals were also covered with snow.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
There was no conversation. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and toast with jam to strengthen them against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household.
The silence in the front room got me to look inside. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Mercy, no! "
I looked at my shabby sofa. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully.
"Your cups match your saucers, she said."
They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue cups and saucers. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and looked at the meat. Potatoes and meat, the roof over my head, my man with a good steady job - these things matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. I let them be. I wanted them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am. | high16975.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He took a positive attitude towards failure."
},
"options": [
"Being short of money, David was eager to find a job.",
"He wanted to work for a company in the local city.",
"He was not hopeful of getting the job.",
"He t... | Half a year before graduation from college, my son David began to seek a job. Due to the financial crisis, the competition was ever-fierce. My son targeted a company that was located in a coastal city. It was intended to employ only one person among more than twenty candidates, I said to David, "You should not harbor too much hope for fear that you would feel terribly disappointed when you fail." He said to me, "I am not afraid of disappointment. As long as I try, there will always be hope!"
Three young men could enter the final round, which would later decide one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite well and David entered the final round in a week.
Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably simple, during which the interviewer only chatted with them for a while. The interview strategies my son prepared were not useful at all. The interviewer said the company would inform them of the result in 3 days. On the morning of the third day, David received the text from the company that he was not employed. David felt disappointed.
In nightfall that day, David suddenly told me excitedly on phone that he had been employed. Greatly surprised, I asked him, "What's the whole matter?" David told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. David felt very confused about it. Later he found out the first text sent to him was also part of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only David's reply was satisfying to the company. I asked my son, "How did all of you reply?" My son said, "One did not reply. The other said "goodbye" and I said "thank you"."
Only then did I know that my son's "hope" came in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not forget to say "Thank you" to the one who disappoints you. Actually, it is a piece of cake to say "Thank you". Saying "Thank you" shows respect for others' work and demonstrates your grand generosity. Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of opportunities compared with others! | high18780.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "change their color1s to protect themselves"
},
"options": [
"are small animals",
"are easily found by birds",
"are dangerous to their enemies",
"change their color1s to protect themselves"
],
"question": "From t... | Do you know why different animals or pests have their special color1s? Their color1s in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.
Some birds like eating locusts , but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their color1s together with the change of the color1s of crops . When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color1 as crops have. Some other pests with different color1s from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.
If you study the animal life, you'll find the main use of color1ing is to protect the animals themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be easily seen by hunters . This is because they have the color1s much like the trees'.
Have you ever noticed an even stranger act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over , its enemies cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it is not strong at all. | high21101.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To protect this endangered animal."
},
"options": [
"To protect this endangered animal.",
"To entertain people.",
"To satisfy people's curiosity.",
"To do some experiments."
],
"question": "Why did Peruvians set... | Jaguar was very rare. It was said that there less than 20 jaguars in the world, one of which was living in the national zoo of Peru. In order to help this jaguar, Peruvians set up a zoo for it, where there were sheep and deer for the jaguar to eat. However, strange enough, no one had ever seen the jaguar hunt the deer and sheep. What they could see was its lying in its cave, sleeping and eating the meat provided by the zoo keepers.
At first, people thought that the jaguar felt too lonely, so they found a female tiger to accompany it. However, it did not make too much sense. The jaguar just sometimes went out of its cave with its "girlfriend" for a while before it came back to its house again' It is normal for the jaguar to be lazy here. Tiger is the king of forest but you simply put some small animals around him. That is why the jaguar shows no interest in going out' a visitor said. So people put five wolves into the jaguar's zoo. Since then, the jaguar did not go back to its cave any more . It either stands on top of the hill yelling or runs up and down the hill without sleeping all day long .
Actually, one creature without any _ is a lifeless creature. If a man lives without rivals, he is likely to be satisfied with the present and will not fight for the better. He will hold back before all difficulties . Hard environment tends to make successful people . Therefore, we need some rivals to push us to go ahead in all difficulties and competitions in our lives. Due to our rivals, we can bring out our potential to the best. Due to our rivals, we will continuously improve our abilities when competing with them! | high2843.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "praise for efforts should be more encouraged"
},
"options": [
"praise for efforts should be more encouraged",
"praise for results works better than praise for efforts",
"praising a child's achievements benefits his or her suc... | For years we have been told that encouraging a child's self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. _ who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek the same kind of approval from their friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.
The implication of saying "You are the prettiest girl in class," or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.
Social psychologist Carol Dweck, PHD, tested the effects of over-praise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for "trying hard" did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being "smart".
"Praising attributes or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges," says Dweck, now at Stanford University, "They figure they'd better quit while they're ahead." | high3585.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "has had his stories published in the newspapers"
},
"options": [
"is a professional comic",
"has rich stage experience",
"is good at communicating with others",
"has had his stories published in the newspapers"
],
... | I became a stand- up comic at 12:45 yesterday afternoon when I walked onto a comedy club stage and did a "bit". It was an audition in which people had exactly two minutes each to perform for a producer.
I am not a comic, have never appeared onstage, am awkward before many people, and have no social skills. But I have written some funny things in the newspapers, and I figured that if you can write funny, you can be funny. That was my first mistake.
Good stand - up comics improve their acts over months if not years, practicing before bathroom mirrors or their friends. I developed the key skill the morning I went on. I also brought a box of plastic beads , because I figured they could be useful.
For the first few seconds, I was simply staring forward, mouth open, expressing the concept:"Uuungh".
Finally I said, "This is my first performance as a stand - up comic. It's a kind of a special moment for me. I'd like to take this opportunity to say something to my mother, who was an inspiration to me throughout my life. My mother passed away a few years ago, but I feel she is still with me. All the time, wherever I go, I feel her presence. Day in and day out. So I would like to say this to her. LEAVE ME ALONE, MA!"
Some people actually laughed.
Then I said, "Anyway, this really is my first time onstage, and I'm pretty nervous because I'm not all that funny and I have a really bad stage presence. But I've been working on the problem. A long time ago a Greek guy named Demosthenes had the same problem I have, and he became a great speaker by sticking pebbles in his mouth, so I thought I would (and here I began putting
the beads in my mouth) try that. See, the idea is that if you can talk through the pebbles ( now I was putting them in by the handful) you can learn to talk better and wfnm fmuff frmphm grphnm . . ."
More laughter.
I looked at my watch, said something that might have sounded like "My time is up," and left to somewhat spirited applause. What the audience did not know was that I was quietly choking on a slippery bead. | high18958.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because she was the first woman to be president of Harvard University."
},
"options": [
"Because she is a historian.",
"Because she was president of Harvard University.",
"Because she was the first woman to be president of Ha... | Historians usually just study great things that happened in the past time, but Drew Faust has made history! On February 11, 2007, Faust was named president of Harvard University.She is the first woman to hold the position in the school's 371-year history.
"I am a historian," she said."I've spent a lot of time thinking about the past, and about how it shapes the future.No university in the country, perhaps the world, has as remarkable a past as Harvard's."
"And our common enterprise is to make Harvard's future even more remarkable than its past.That will mean recognizing and building on what we already do well.It will also mean recognizing what we don't do as well as we should, and not being satisfied until we find ways to do better."
It is her great desire for improvement and willingness to try out new ideas that have given Drew success in a world controlled by men."This is a man's world, my girl, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be." Drew Faust recalls her mother telling her this when she was young, but she didn't _ it.
Faust grew up in a well-off family in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in the 1950s.Even then, she was a trailblazer .A conversation with her family's black handyman and driver inspired her to write a letter, on school notebook paper, to President Dwight Eisenhower.
She asked that he help bring US citizens together in the south, a much divided part of the country at the time.
"Drew Faust is a historian with her eyes on the future," said Susan Graham, a professor of Harvard.Many of the university's schools said that they believe Harvard will have a brighter future under the leadership of Drew Faust. | high9916.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "high blood pressure"
},
"options": [
"the heart beat",
"the lung problem",
"high blood pressure",
"causing your sweating"
],
"question": "The word \"hypertension\" in the passage most probably refers to _ .",... | Did you know that Christmas shopping is even worse for our health than we previously thought? According to an internet survey, the incidence of _ during the festive shopping season is on the up.
Christmas shopping increased blood pressure to dangerous levels in 50 percent of shoppers. This can lead to hypertension. Heart rates increased by an average of 10 per cent during Christmas shopping. In the study of 16 men and 16 women, men had the worst beating in heart rate during a 90-minute shopping. Samuel Thompson, 30, said: "I had to buy five items and had an hour and a half to buy them." "Normally, I know exactly what I want to get and do it as quickly as possible. But having to make on-spot decisions, like we did in the test, makes it more stressful." "Lack of time and the crowds were the biggest pressure points. I got frustrated by other people slowing me down by stopping to chat in the street. And I could feel myself sweating in queues. Everything took longer than planned."
Dr Turner drew the conclusion: "Samuel's heart rate was good at the start but it had almost doubled by the end. Combined with his systolic blood pressure up by nearly 15 percent, it could put him in line for stroke . Systolic blood pressure relates to the pumping out of blood by the heart."
Men suffer twice as much as women and are therefore in greater danger of dying on the High Street in the coming weeks.
Remember, a husband is for life and not just for Christmas. | high22408.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "it was improper for a lady to show her ankles."
},
"options": [
"only the rich went on holidays to the seaside.",
"dining rooms were often located on the second or third floor to avoid being looked into.",
"it was improper fo... | During the Victorian period, ordinary people started going on holidays to the seaside for the first time.
When a woman entered a room, it was considered rude for a man to offer his seat to her because the cushion might still be warm.
People thought that you could digest food better in the dark, so the dining room was often located in the basement.
It was considered improper to look into someone's bedroom, so most bedrooms were on the second or third floor.
People went to great lengths to hide their water closets from view. In some homes, they were behind a curtain or screen, in a separate part of the house or even outside.
A lot of men used macassar oil to slick back their hair. In order to stop this grease from sticking to the furniture, pieces of material called antimacassars were placed over the backs of chairs.
For a lady, to show her ankles was considered taboo . ks5u
Many people kept a hedgehog in the basement so it could eat insects.
When Queen Victoria came to the power in 1837, most people lived in villages and worked on the land. There was no electricity (gas lamps or candles were used for light) and most people walked or traveled by boat, train and horse. However, by the end of her reign in 1901, the majority of the population lived in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories, and there was piped water, gas and even electricity. | high23716.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Town Twinning"
},
"options": [
"Town Twinning",
"Friendly Towns",
"Exchanging Teachers and Students",
"Peace and Understanding"
],
"question": "Which is the best title for the passage?",
"question_type": nul... | In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become "twins" with a sister-city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin towns in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skill, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations. | high606.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "may be different"
},
"options": [
"come from their parents",
"have nothing to do with their education",
"may be different",
"have something to do with their marks in the exams"
],
"question": "Generally speaking... | Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will learn a musical instrument or ballet or other classes which will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So the parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children's skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents aren't teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It's an enjoyable but difficult experiment. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually to finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines , such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your children to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities aren't merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important. | high1392.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the absorption of the nutrients"
},
"options": [
"people lose weight",
"feel always full",
"the absorption of the nutrients",
"people to live longer"
],
"question": "According to Joe, the appropriate fat intake ... | There are plenty of creams etc on the market that help you look younger, but today, Dr Oz is going to show how some people are actually living longer.
"We are going to talk about extreme life extension," he says. "I am talking in details about allowing us to go into our second century of life with the energy that you have when you are a young person."
Owing to advances in technology and research on how diet affect the aging process, Dr Oz says it might be possible for some people to live to see their 120th birthdays.
There's one man in Oprah's audience who Dr Oz says may become the first man in history to live to be 150 years old. Joe Cordell is one of thousands around the world who believe they've found the key to an extreme long life --- calorie restriction leads to a longer, healthier life.
At 59 Joe weighs 130 pounds. He may not look like a person who needs to count calories, but as part of his life extension program, he inspects every mouth of food that passes through his system.
Every day for the past seven years, Joe has limited himself to about 1,950 calories.
He believes that by eating less and restricting his caloric intake, he will _ a genetic switch that slows the aging process.
Joe doesn't take away himself of food. Instead, the then 52-year-old father filled up on natural fruits, vegetables and lean proteins that were packed with necessary vitamins and nutrients. "Whenever you are thinking about calorie restriction, you should continually think about getting the most nutritional amount per calorie," Joe says.
In keeping with this principle, Joe starts every morning with three apples...but he only eats the peels. "Most of the fiber is in the peel, and more importantly, most of the nutrients are in the peel," he says.
"It is important to eat some nuts with breakfast so that you do take in some fat, some healthy fats," he says. "I think it helps the absorption of the nutrients, and it is very filling."
For lunch, Joe usually eats a large salad, loaded with vegetables. At dinnertime, he and his family enjoy lean meat or fish and more vegetables.
When Joe started practicing calorie restriction, he weighed 175 pounds. Since then, he has lost 45 pounds, and he says he hasn't had a cold in seven years. Though he is in his "golden years", researchers studying Joe say he has the body of a 20-year-old athlete. | high160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "insects that travel around and pollinate plants"
},
"options": [
"insects that are eaten by birds, reptiles and fish",
"insects that travel around and pollinate plants",
"insects that harm mosquitoes and stop the spread of di... | If you look outside, you probably will see some kind of insect. If your first instinct is to kill it, take a moment to think about all of the benefits insects provide to the environment.
Entomologists, scientists who study insects, estimate that there are more than 800,000 species of insects found throughout the world. Only a few hundred of these insects are considered harmful. Mosquitoes, for example, are considered harmful. They bite humans and other animals, and their bites can cause skin pain and spread disease. Desert locusts also are considered harmful because they destroy crops causing billions of dollars in damage each year.
However, the number of helpful insect species far outweighs the number of harmful species. Some insects make up a vital part of the food chain. Many different birds, reptiles, fish and even plants eat insects. There are also about 500 insects that people in various parts of the world eat. These insects are considered delicious food and prized for their high protein, mineral, and vitamin content. Other insects produce valuable commercial products such as silk, wax, and honey.
Of all the insects, perhaps the most important are those that travel from flower to flower and pollinate the plants they visit. Agriculture around the world would be very different without the bees, butterflies, moths, flies and wasps that pollinate many crops. In fact, nearly one-third of the food you eat depends on plants that are pollinated by insects!
While it is true that some species of insects harm or annoy us, _ . You may be destroying one of the hundreds of thousands of insects that provides many benefits to human beings. | high14804.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He could not use his organs under the neck."
},
"options": [
"It was impossible for him to do anything.",
"By no means could he call for a nurse.",
"He could not use his organs under the neck.",
"He was unable to move h... | A chip inserted in a young quadriplegic's brain is already improving his quality of life. Soon the benefits may be more widespread.
A 25-year-old man unable to move from the neck down recently did what many assumed impossible. After a knife attack that had left him paralyzed, all he could move was his head, which he used to push a switch and call for a nurse. And he could turn his wheelchair by blowing into a straw near his face. That was it.
Then last June, a Foxborough (Mass.) company called Cyber Kinetics opened the man's skull and inserted a special chip no larger than a baby aspirin. That insert has given him a few additional and precious abilities. When connected to a special computer via a cable, the chip translates the young man's thoughts into commands that let him move a cursor across a PC screen and open e-mail. He can draw a circle with a computer painting program. And he can use a robotic hook to perform simple tasks like picking up a candy and sliding it across a table.
All he has to do is to think.
Several new studies have begun or been completed in the past year. In fact, more than half of the scientific papers in this field, called brain-to-computer interaction (BCI), have been published in the past two years, notes Jonathan Wolpaw, a research physician at Wadsworth Center, the New York State Health Dept.'s research laboratory.
Brain surgeries are no longer rare: Thousands of Parkinson's disease patients have had special devices inserted in their brains to ease uncontrollable shaking and other symptoms. The inserts themselves have improved, so the body doesn't reject them as furiously . And significant development has been achieved in software used to interpret the brain's signals and change them into commands understood by computers.
But increased demand for thought technology remains the biggest reason for the field's progress. Today, 4 million Americans live with paralysis according to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
Scientists hope that thought technology will reduce the impact of such disabilities. People with spinal-cord injuries, for example, often lose their ability to walk because the communications network between their brain and their legs has been interrupted. The brain still commands the leg muscles to move, but they don't hear its orders.
Thought technology, scientists hope, will bridge this communications gap. "Our goal is for you to see paralyzed people eating at a restaurant and for you not to know that they are paralyzed," says John Donoghue, founder and chief scientific officer at Cyber Kinetics. | high20579.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "not dreaming of living a comfortable life"
},
"options": [
"not dreaming of living a comfortable life",
"avoiding finding unnecessary excuses",
"deciding to change your present life",
"getting in touch with successful p... | What I've noticed about some very successful business owners is that they are always learning and growing.
For your business to be better you need to be better and, you don't get better by doing nothing!
You are the average of the five PEOPLE you hang around with most. Surround yourself with people whom you want to be like.
To do this you may have to get right out of your comfort zone and join in a coaching program, go along to seminars where you can meet other like-minded people or those playing at a higher level of business than you.
There's no excuse not to _ and learn your way to success. Regardless of where you are located,events are taking place all around the country regularly as well as online. Saying you have "no money" or "no time" is not a good enough excuse.
For many business owners they spend their whole lives using these excuses and going nowhere. Don't focus on where you are now, but where you want to be. You'll find the money and the time if you seriously want to change.
Your ongoing learning can take you from struggling along to soaring high in all areas of your life.
It's been nearly six months since you made those New Year decisions to make changes in your business and your life.
Are you getting the results you wanted?
Is your business more profitable?
Do you have more free time?
Is the quality of your life improving?
Is your answer "yes", then take a look at why that is. What have you been doing to get these results? And if you're not moving ahead, seriously look at why that is. When's the last time you read a book, listened to a CD, got coached or attended a seminar to learn how to do things better? The people I know who are getting great results in their business and personal lives are always learning and growing.
You are the Secret to Your Success, so do everything within your power to invest in yourself. | high21673.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "how to make a friend and be a friend"
},
"options": [
"the ways of talking to a shy person",
"some favorable qualities to be a psychologist",
"how to make yourself attractive to your listeners",
"how to make a friend an... | After we meet people it is up to us to make them our friends. Let us stop a moment and consider what really makes a friend. The major qualities like faithfulness, devotion, friendly company, flash through our minds. But it is the large number of very small particular qualities that make up one's whole character, such as cheerfulness, friendliness, and punctuality . After all, " to make a friend, be a friend" is not such a big and difficult order. There are particular favorable qualities, which attract others to us, and some elements which do have an effect on people in fundamental psychology or not.
If you are in the presence of a shy person, talking and asking casual questions may _ . Think of what would be most acceptable to the other person, for you to talk, or to listen. Either way the goal is to make yourself pleasant.
Always remember to listen, but listen intelligently. To have anyone " hang on our words" is the most unnoticeably clever way in the world to please somebody. For a few extremely happy seconds we are the center of attraction, but when it is our turn to be audience, let us remember how we felt as the actor, and let's be genuinely interested in what the other fellow is saying.
Other people will like us, if we like them. If you want friends, keep your mind and heart open to friendship. Be alive to the other person's world. | high11968.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The introduction to the Best High Schools in three states."
},
"options": [
"The introduction to the Best High Schools in three states.",
"The different examinations in several high schools.",
"Scholarships in the Best High S... | Alabama
Students in Alabama take the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, which consists of multiple-choice questions. In the classroom, Alabama high school students must prove specific skills in English and take certain math classes.
Among the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools in Alabama, two were awarded gold medals, 16 received silver medals and 72 were considered bronze medal schools. One of the gold medal schools, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, lies about 90 miles south of Birmingham in the state capital of Montgomery, within the Montgomery County School District.
Alaska
To graduate, Alaska high school students must get at least 21 credits, including a half credit in Alaska history. Alaska judges students from the third grade through senior grades. Students first take the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination at the tenth grade. It includes math, reading and writing skills.
10 schools were awarded silver medals and 21 received bronze medals among the U.S. News Best High Schools in 2013. While Alaska's capital is Juneau, several of the state's Best High Schools are in or near Anchorage, in the Anchorage School District.
Delaware
Delaware students have a high GPA and 10 hours of community service. If they hand in their FAFSA by a certain date, they may get the Inspire Scholarship, which helps pay for tuition at Delaware State University. Before they go to college, however, students must pass the Delaware Student Testing Program Exams.
Among the Delaware schools in the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools, there are three silver medal schools and four bronze medal schools. The top school in the state is Delmar Senior High School. It is part of the Delmar School District and is about 50 miles from Delaware's capital, Dover. | high5686.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The adaptive ability of humans."
},
"options": [
"Our genetic makeup.",
"Resources on the earth.",
"The adaptive ability of humans.",
"By-products in space exploration."
],
"question": "What makes it possible fo... | Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few obvious benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.
Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.
Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.
Exploration also allows minerals and other potential resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions . Knowledge or techniques have been gained through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products of technological developments in the space industry!
While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.
While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future. | high174.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because consumers can hardly make sense of the information on the food labels."
},
"options": [
"Because there are usually an extremely wide variety of food in the shop.",
"Because food labels in the shop are in such a mess that th... | Food labels are such a mess that the government is redesigning them, as the ingredient lists are usually too confusing. As a result, a shopper could spend hours in a grocery store watching, calculating, and comparing, and still could not get it right. ShopWell is trying to help by allowing consumers to scan food labels and receive understandable and personalized information.
Here's how it works. Register for ShopWell, and enter your age and gender. Add your goals (General health? Or are you trying to lose weight?). Then, note what you want in your diet, such as protein or iron, and what you want to avoid(added sugar, say). Add your allergies and things you cannot accept, and start scanning.
Then ShopWell will come up with a clearly personal result: green for a food that is good for you; yellow for foods you can enjoy a little; and red for foods you should avoid.
The results are easily understandable and is clean because it's not mixed with ads. Instead, ShopWell makes money by selling data to supermarkets. Its database contains 350,000 products, the app has been downloaded 1.3 million times, and the company claims a scan every two seconds "in stores such as Walmart, Whole Foods and 7-Eleven," in the words of marketing manager James Allgood.
One of the first items I scanned was So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, which I buy because I'm lactose intolerant. It turns out it's only a little suitable for me -- because of its 1 gram per serving of added sugar. I'm not sure I'll give it up. But Ididask the app to watch for added sugar, and it's doing its job.
One _ to ShopWell is that the scanner often doesn't work for items from Costco or Trader Joe's. Meanwhile, Some user reviews say that it doesn't cover enough allergies. | high7091.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It is not a new development."
},
"options": [
"It is not a new development.",
"It made World Wide Web famous.",
"It appeared because of the computers.",
"It helped people develop new interests."
],
"question": "... | One of the most recent social changes taking place in the world is social networking. Social networking has been in existence for at least 150 years, and probably longer than that. In the times before the invention of the computer and the World Wide Web (WWW), social networking was done in person. People who had similar likes and interests would gather together to share experiences, make new friends, and improve their businesses.
On the Internet, social networking websites made their first appearances during the late 1990s. The first major social networking website in the United States was MySpace. MySpace allowed its users to exchange messages, share pictures, and make new friends in a way that was never thought of in the past. With MySpace, people who did not go out much could reach out to others from their own homes.
In 2004, Facebook was created. It was first a website created for use by Harvard University's students and teachers, but it soon expanded to include just about everyone. It is now larger than some of the largest companies in the world. It is a website that is changing all the time. Facebook has completely changed the way people stay connected with each other and the rest of the world. The way it works is simple. Users can set up a new account easily. All a new user needs is an email address to start. Once a person has created an account and his friend also has his own Facebook page, he can invite his friend by sending a request out to him. Once you get started, making new friends will come easily. | high14810.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "around 3,000"
},
"options": [
"no more than 20",
"over 3,000",
"4,000",
"around 3,000"
],
"question": "Scientists say that within 50 years, perhaps, there will be only _ languages in the world.",
"questio... | The time may soon come when we say goodbye to most of the world's languages. Today humans express themselves in over 6,000 different languages. But that is quickly changing. Many scientists say that over half of these languages will disappear within the next 50 years. After 100 years, the languages used in the world will not be more than 20.
Why? It is because people from different cultures live and work together much more often than before. This brings changes. The languages of the world's main culture are replacing the languages of the smaller cultures. Most international trade takes place in world languages such as English. People respect their own cultures and traditions, but when it comes to getting a job, knowing a world language is often necessary. It may mean the difference between success and failure.
Technology works on the change of languages in an even more amazing way. Modern media such as radio and television give young people in developing countries much knowledge about the world. But this knowledge doesn't come in words from the mouths of their parents or the elders in their neighborhood. It usually comes in the language of a different culture.
People in different cultures think it good for them to share a popular language. They can quickly share ideas and work together. Knowing the same language means easier communication and is a basis for trust.
Is the death of a small local language such a terrible thing? The answer is maybe. Many cultures may have words for many useful things we know nothing about. If their languages die, their valuable wisdom may be lost forever. The future of the world's language depends on our actions now. Will we protect endangered languages or allow them to quietly disappear?
Time will have the last word. | high9902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "need to deal with their health problems"
},
"options": [
"just need a lot of willpower",
"can recover with a good diet",
"can recover with the help of others",
"need to deal with their health problems"
],
"quest... | Emily and her boyfriend had just had a fight. She felt alone and hopeless. Then she went into the kitchen and grabbed what she needed before going back up to her room quietly. She switched on the TV and started eating...and eating...for hours, until it was all gone.
What Emily didn't know at the time was that she was suffering from an illness called binge-eating disorder(BED) .
For years, Emily didn't tell anyone what she was doing. She felt ashamed, alone, and out of control. Why don't famous people confess to BED, as they do to _ ? It's simple: There's a stigma involved. "Overeating is seen as very bad, but dieting to be skinny is seen as positive and even associated with determination," says Charles Sophy, a doctor in Beverly Hills , California.
"Some parents or friends may look at a teen with BED and think, 'Oh, a good diet and some will-power will do the trick.' But that's not true," says Dr.Ovidio Bermudez , a baby doctor at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver. "Eating disorders are real physical and mental health issues; it's not about willpower." The focus in treating BED shouldn't be on weight, because as with all eating disorders, the behaviors with food are a symptom of something deeper.
Like most other diseases, genetics may play a big part in who gets BED and who doesn't. If you have a close relative with an eating disorder, that means you're more likely to develop an eating disorder of your own.
Besides, many people with BED have tried at some point or another to control it by going on a diet, but paying more attention to food doesn't help. And it might even make things worse, like it did for Carla, who's 15 now and is recovering from BED. "My parents would always tease me about my weight, so when I was 14, I went on a very restrictive diet," she says. When you can't have something, you only want it more, so every time Carla would have a bite of something that wasn't allowed on her strict diet. She would quickly lose control and binge . | high13819.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "support the idea that clearer thinking comes from messy environment"
},
"options": [
"support the idea that clearer thinking comes from messy environment",
"tell the fact that Einstein was well-known for his untidy desks",
"i... | "A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking", say researchers from Germany.
The researchers found in a series of linked studies----using a messy desk and a messy shop front ----that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand.
Visual and mental mess forces human beings to focus and think more clearly. Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been well-known for their untidy desks.
"Messy desks may not be as harmful as they appear to be. As the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can increase work efficiency or improve employees' creativity in problem-solving," say the authors.
"Business and government managers often promote 'clean desk' policies to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks, for the purpose of improving work efficiency and productivity," writes lead researcher Jia Liu from the University of Groningen in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and make one's judgments difficult."
"However, not all evidence supports this traditional link between a messy environment and a messy mind."
The scientists tested people's response in various messy environments----including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task "reminded" people of messiness.
The authors found in the series of six studies tended towards simplicity in their thinking. "They categorized products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a T-shirt that shows a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices," said the researchers. | high23702.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "5:45 p.m."
},
"options": [
"6:20 p.m.",
"5:45 p.m.",
"8:00 p.m.",
"7:15 p.m."
],
"question": "If you want to take a bus in the evening rush hour, you should take the _ in the Railway St... | The following notice is posted in the bus station.
Time Table:
*Buses leave the Railway Station, New York City, from7:00 a.m. and every half-hour thereafter, until 11:30 p.m. (7 days a week)
*Buses leave Brennan Station 20 minutes before and after every hour from 6:20 a.m. to 11:40 p.m. (7 days a week)
*Evening rush hours (5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.); Buses leave the Railway Station, New York City every 15 minutes.(Monday--Friday)
*Holidays Buses leave every hour on the hour, each direction.(Trip time:30minutes each way)
*All tickets must be bought at Window 12, the Railway Station, New York City, or at the Brennan Station Window BEFORE boarding buses. | high1386.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "show us our real mind"
},
"options": [
"do harm to our mind",
"show us our real mind",
"solve our stress in mind",
"give us a turning point in mind"
],
"question": "By saying \"Dreams give US an x-ray of our unc... | If your recurring dreams are worrying you,you can rest assured and needn't worry.Psychologists say in the vast majority of these cases,this is just the mind's way of dealing with stress and conflicts,problems and concerns.It's a good thing.
They call be surprisingly vivid and real,or fragmented and weird.They can be comforting or frightening.Our dreams can tell us a lot about what we are really thinking.Dreams give us an x-ray of our unconsciousness .They tell us,particularly when we are at life's passages or turning points.
Lisa Oppenheim had the same dream whenever she was about to move to a new home or a new city.It's always just a feeling of needing to stay safe.Experts say disturbing dreams often occur around major life events.For Lisa,it was moving.For others,it can be marriage or divorce,the death of a loved one or pressure at work.
Doctor Siegel has studied the meaning of dream for nearly 30 years.He believes stressful or upsetting dreams can be a sign of what's buried deep inside our minds.
He said."Dreams are important to survival.They are crucial to the balance of our psyche .They help us work out problems that we're having every single day.They go to the cutting edge of what's stressful,what's bothering us and what we're working out in our lives.Dreams can guide us and in order to find that guidance,to find that deep source of wisdom that's in our dreams every night,we need to pay attention to our dreams."
But many dreams are scary and horrible.How can we understand these nightmares? Doctor Siegel says they are reflecting especially intense emotion or unresolved conflict.The stronger the emotion in the dream,whether it's pleasure or fear,the likelier the dream is to be important.
Knowing what your recurring dreams or nightmares mean can be liberating.Some nightmares can be a sign of serious psychological problems,such as post-dramatic stress disorder.If they are extremely disturbing or violent or the cause of severe anxiety,you should see a professional therapist . | high612.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Mother, passion, smile, love and eternity."
},
"options": [
"Mother, smile, passion, love and eternity.",
"Mother, passion, smile, love and eternity.",
"Mother, smile, love, eternity and passion.",
"Mother-in-law, passi... | There is good and bad news for parents today. The word "mother" has been voted the most beautiful word in the English language. But "father" failed even to make it on the list of the 70 best words in a survey of thousands of non-English speakers across the world. From Ankara to Zurich, "mother" was voted above "love", "smile" and "blossom".
In second place was "passion", followed by "smile", "love" and "eternity", with "fantastic", "destiny", "freedom", "liberty" and "tranquility" completing the top 10.
The results were given by the British Council which carried out a huge survey of more than 40,000 people in 102 non-English speaking countries.
The study was done to celebrate the group's 70th anniversary --and it threw up a few surprising words to the list.
"It's interesting that 'mother', the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll ",said British Council spokesman Greg Selby. "It is great to see words in the survey that are so positive and suggestive of the British Council' s purpose -- words such as 'freedom', 'liberty', 'peace'."
Those surveyed were allowed to choose their words on either meaning or sound, said Mr. Selby. This explained why words that are satisfying to pronounce, like "flip-flop", made the list.
Famous mothers like Kate Winslet, Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer have all done their bit to make the word popular.
Kate, 28, even stopped shooting Woody Allen's new film to spend more time with her young family.
Singer Robbie Williams is proud to express his love for his mother, while actor Peter Kay went through a marathon British tour to pay for a new house for his mom.
The mood was added to by Britney Spears, yesterday as she showed her love for her mother.
She said: "My mom was and still is a supermom. She is just so much fun and I think the reason why I love so much her is because she's a young mom."
She added: "Mom, thanks for being the best role model--you rock." | high16961.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the bamboo seed never stopped growing"
},
"options": [
"he cared for the fern only",
"they didn't receive any care from him",
"he gave up the bamboo in the fifth year",
"the bamboo seed never stopped growing"
],
... | If you are trying to achieve big goals in your life and work, the chances are that, from time to time, you hit rock bottom. Nothing works, nothing goes right, and nothing succeeds. At times like these, you may feel like throwing in the towel. But before you do, read the following story. It might just change your mind.
One day, a small business owner decided he'd had enough. Enough of the endless work, enough of the lack of response, enough of the disturbing loneliness.
He went into the woods to have one last talk to the wise man. "Mr. wise man," he said. "Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't give up?"
The answer took him by surprise. "Look around you," the wise man said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes." the man replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo, I took very good care of them. I gave them both equal amounts of food and water. I gave them sunlight in spring and protected them from the storms in autumn. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not give up on the bamboo. In the, second year, the fern grew even better than before but nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not give up on the bamboo. In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But l would not give up. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. Still would not give up."
Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout came out from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small. But day by day the sprout grew. Within six months, the sprout had risen to a height of 100 feet. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive."Did you know, young man, that all this time you have been struggling, you have been growing? Grow the roots that you need to produce your fruit."
"Don't compare yourself to others. All things have different purposes, and different journeys. The bamboo has a different purpose from the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come. You will rise high."
The small business owner left the forest. And never went back.
If nothing seems like it is happening in your life, despite all the work you're putting in, remember that you're probably growing roots not fruit. Stick with it. One day not far from now, there'll be a great harvest. | high18794.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Cartoon making"
},
"options": [
"Animal world",
"Movie camera",
"Cartoon making",
"Movement"
],
"question": "What does the passage mainly discuss?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move.
Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement. But not until this century have we managed to take control of movement, to record it, and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it. To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector .
In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible. You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do.
A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties. Felix was a wonderful cat. He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as a handle and then putting it back.
Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry. The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928. Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Ficischer in 1933.
But to be an animator, you don't have to be a professional . It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all. All you have to do is to draw directly on to an empty film and then run the film through a projector. | high2857.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "using phones while driving has caused many accidents"
},
"options": [
"there is no national laws to prevent the use of cell phones in cars",
"most drivers take no notice of American laws",
"using phones while driving has caus... | Although new laws have been passed in some American
states to cut down on distracted driving, many
accidents and deaths were still related with it, especially
using cell phones while driving. Recently the Obama
administration is considering disabling cell phones in cars,
aiming to out down cell-phone-related road deaths.
Transportation Secretaryy Ray LaHood, the nation's anti-distracted-driving supporter, said in an interview on November 18 that federal officials are looking at technology to disable cell phones inside cars.
"I think it will be done," LaHood said."I think the technology is there and 1 think you're going to see the technology become adaptable in automobiles to disable these cell phones.We need to do a lot more if we were going to save lives."
Also on Thursday, the transportation government started a new "Faces of Distracted Driving" video campaign that features people who have been killed or lost their loved ones because of inattentive drivers.The video features heartbreaking stories of children killed in crashes because of phoning or text messaging, and new videos are expected to be added every few weeks.
A driver is four times more likely to crash while using a mobile phone.More than 5,500 people were killed last year by distracted drivers, and another 500,000 were injured.LaHood has said it is never safe to talk on a cell phone while driving, hands-free or not, because it can really cause distraction.
Incidentally, a lot of people seem to agree with this viewpoint--a new research shows nearly two-thirds of Americans support a national ban on the use of cell phones while driving, even if the driver is using a hands-free device .But the research didn't ask how people feel about government-issued mobile phone scramblers or other disabling devices. | high21115.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "pay for his college education"
},
"options": [
"support his family",
"do some research",
"help his partner expand business",
"pay for his college education"
],
"question": "Deluca opened the first sandwich shop ... | It was the summer of 1965. Deluca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked Deluca about his plan for the future. "I'm going to college, but I need a way to pay for it," Deluca recalls saying. "Buck said, 'you should open a sandwich shop.'"
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1,000. Deluca rented a storefront in Connecticut, and when they couldn't cover their startup costs, Buck kicked in another $1,000.
But business didn't go smoothly as they expected. Deluca says, "After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn't know how badly, because we didn't have any financial controls." All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
Deluca was managing the store and to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They'd meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. "We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, 'We are so successful; we are opening a second store.'" And they did--in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners' learnasyougo approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, Deluca would drive around and handdeliver the checks to pay their supplies. "It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn't necessary but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out," Deluca says.
And having a goal was also important. "There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal," Deluca adds.
Deluca ended up founding Subways Sandwich, the multimilliondollar restaurant chain. | high3591.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "English words"
},
"options": [
"new inventions",
"languages",
"English words",
"new discoveries"
],
"question": "A few hundred _ come from the names of people.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | About three hundred words in the English language come from the names of people. Many of these words are technical words. When there is a new invention of discovery, a new word may be coined after the inventor or scientist.
It is interesting to observe how many common words have found their way into the language from the names of people. Lord Sandwich, who lived from 1718-1792, used to sit at the gambling table eating bread with meat in between. As the Lord was the only one among his friends who ate bread in that way, his friends began to call the bread "sandwich" for fun. Later on,the word became part of the English language.
The word "boycott" means to refuse to have anything to do with somebody or something. It comes from a man called Captain Boycott. He was a land agent in 1880 and he collected rents and taxes for an English landowner in Ireland. But the Captain was a very harsh man. He treated his poor tenants very badly. His tenants decided not to speak to him at all. Eventually word got back to the landowner and the Captain was removed . The word "boycott" became popular and was used by everyone to mean the kind of treatment that was received by Captain Boycott. | high15298.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It has lost its leading status in the world market."
},
"options": [
"It used to be associated with poor quality.",
"It has lost its leading status in the world market.",
"Its products are recognized by luxury fashion brands.... | "Made in China" has Changed
Many shoppers in the West still prize labels, boasting a product was made in Italy without knowing that a growing number of Italian products come from factories that are Chineseowned and staffed. The products which were marked "Made in China" gave the buyer an impression of "low pride and low cost, low technology and development". The statement used to be true, but now it has changed.
"Made in China" is becoming a leading part in the world market. China's garment industry has been investing in producing technology and training for decades, and its workforce has collectively gotten better at sewing garments. As a result, the quality of Chinesemade clothes is rising fast. It has been home to a highlyskilled, highlyspecialized garment industry, one that supplies even some highend labels and offers the best mix of price, speed, and quality.
"If I was to make a basic men's jean, I'd make that in Pakistan," said Edward Hertzman, coowner of the trade publication Sourcing Journal. "If I was going to make a fashionable women's garment, I would move to China because their skill set is better, their hand is better, their finishing is better, and they can handle that type of fashion."
Indeed, luxury fashion labels now routinely make things in China. Burberry, Armani, and Prada have all produced things there, because they're still able to get good workmanship at a relatively low price. Even the Japanese brand Visvim, known for its crazy attention to detail, also produces highend, handmade footwear in China.
Despite the rising wages and costs of doing business in China, companies have not walked away. "China is viewed by people who make buying decisions as unique and hard to copy elsewhere," says Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva. | high13831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The emissions of greenhouse gases."
},
"options": [
"The burning of fossil fuels.",
"The rise of sea level.",
"Extreme weather disasters.",
"The emissions of greenhouse gases."
],
"question": "According to the p... | According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures have risen by approximately 0.6degC in the past century, caused mainly by emissions of greenhouse gases produced by human activities,such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.Temperatures are to increase between 1.6degC and 5.8degC in the next century, accompanied by sea level rise and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events.
The best available evidence suggests that climate changes since the 1970s may already be causing over 150,000 deaths annually, and that greenhouse gas emissions would increase disease burdens in the coming decades.The risks are concentrated in the poorest population, who have contributed least to the problem.
The Kyoto Protocol is signed by 128 nations,and commits the participating industrialized countries to cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by over 5% below 1990 level by the period of 20082012.
"Over 600 thousand people died in weatherrelated disasters in the 1990s.Temperature and rainfall influence the rates of diseases and infections including malaria,and malnutrition,which together cause over 3.5 million deaths a year.The Kyoto Protocol is the first step towards protecting the climate system,which exerts such a strong influence on our health",said Dr Kerstin Leitner,Assistant DirectorGeneral for Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments.
While acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is also essential to protect vulnerable communities from the effects of climate changes.WHO works to promote measures such as protection from malaria and other climate sensitive diseases, and reliable access to clean water and sanitation, for people in the most vulnerable developing countries.Increasing disease control efforts will also help to protect current and future generations from the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. | high14186.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the expressions with \"gold\""
},
"options": [
"the value of gold",
"the expressions with \"gold\"",
"the history of gold industry",
"the purity,beauty and power of gold"
],
"question": "The article mainly tells... | Throughout history, gold has been a sign of purity, beauty and power. Calling something golden means it has great quality and value. For example, the golden rule is possibly the world's most widespread moral rule. It says people should treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated. Every major religion has its own version of this idea.
The golden ratio is found in art, architecture and nature. It describes a rectangle with a length about one and one-half times its width. Objects using this ratio in their design seem to please the eye more than others.
Philosophers have their own golden idea. The golden mean says moderation in all things is the best way to live one's life. It is an idea linked to the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Similar thoughts exist in Buddhism and Confucianism.
Ancient Greek myths told of a time long ago when people lived in peace and happiness. Poets called it the Golden Age. A golden age now describes a historical period of great artistic, scientific or economic progress. It can even recall a time of success and popularity for an industry. For example, the nineteen thirties and forties were called the Golden Age of Radio.
You may have heard the proverb silence is golden. This means silence is of great value. It is sometimes better to say nothing than to speak.
You might say your child was good as gold when he behaved well at school. British writer Charles Dickens used this expression in eighteen forty-three. He was describing the child Tiny Tim in the book "A Christmas Carol."
In nineteen thirty-seven, American playwright Clifford Odets wrote a play called "The Golden Boy." This expression describes a young man who has many good qualities and a bright future.
You might tell someone you are golden when that person does something very well.
Gold digger is another description. But this does not say something nice about a person. A gold digger is someone who seeks to marry a rich person because he or she is only interested in that person's money.
Maybe you like old songs from the nineteen fifties or sixties that are still well known and popular today. These are called golden oldies. In the nineteen eighties and nineties, an American television comedy series told about four older women living in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls often dealt with social issues in a funny way.
Today, most older people look forward to reaching their golden years. This is when hard-working people can retire to a life of ease and fulfillment. | high7907.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Seasonal migration."
},
"options": [
"Seasonal migration.",
"Elephant-human conflict.",
"Restricting the gene pool.",
"Shortage of food."
],
"question": "Which of the following isn't the result of smaller elepha... | Elephants are the largest land animals and they need plenty of living space. They have seasonal migration routes. As human populations rise, elephant land is being cleared for agriculture and other kinds of development.
When animals are effectively trapped on small areas of land, it restricts the gene pool and also results in a shortage of food. Where elephant reserves border agricultural areas, elephants are often attracted to leave parks to attack crops and barns. Only the strongest walls will stop an adult elephant (males can weigh 6,000kg), so farmers have great difficulty protecting their fields.
In prefix = st1 /India, elephants don't only attack for food. Some even have developed a taste for rice beer. InAssam, elephant-human conflict has resulted in the death of more than 150 people and 200 elephants in the space of two years.
Poverty leads to the killing of elephants for meat. If people don't have enough food and their governments cannot afford to enforce poaching bans, it's not difficult to predict the outcome.
Ivory comes form elephant tusks , which can grow to be 3 meters long. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks.
Most new ivory comes from Africa and is sold as a high status material in Asian countries such as Thailand, mainlandChinaandJapan. It can fetch $150 an pound and is carved to make decorations, chopsticks and ink stamps. The conservation priority here is to change public attitudes.
In some countries in southern Africa, where conservation efforts have been successful, there is not enough room for a growing elephant population and animals have to be killed. A CITES meeting in November 2002 ruled that Botswana,NamibiaandSouth Africamay sell stock-piled ivory, starting in2004.
Many conservationists are convinced that _ will fuel the demand for ivory and lead to more illegal poaching, they say it is almost impossible to tell legal from poached ivory. The governments argue that the sales will be used to fund conservation work. | high24045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "you can plan your time for English study according to your practical situation"
},
"options": [
"you can improve your English quickly through it",
"it will offer you the method of how to study English well",
"you can plan you... | Used by over half a million learners,English Practice is one of the world's most popular online English learning products. English Practice offers over 40,000 interactive 1essons for all levels of students who want to study and improve their English. Our structured content will help you improve your speaking,vocabulary,grammar,and your listening and written comprehension. And because English Practice is online,you can study at a pace and at a time that is convenient for you.
How to Study
When you start with English Practice we will give you a test to evaluate your language level. We will then recommend that you start as either a beginning intermediate or advanced learner. At each level you can take classes in General English,Work Skills,or Community to improve the skills you need. When you have completed enough lessons,we will give you another test and move you up to the next level.
General English
This is where you will find lessons to improve your grammar,listening comprehension,and vocabulary. There are new lessons weekly so you will always find new 1essons to this area you can also take lessons to prepare for TOEFL and IELTS.
Work Skills
This is where you can take lessons to teach you the specific skills you will need if you have to speak English at work,or do business in English. There are lessons on general business skills as well as courses to on specific industries.
Community
In the Community section you find English Practice's popular chat room,where you can practice with fellow students from around the world,and ask English teachers questions about English Community also has fun games like Bingo,Hangman,and Karaoke. As well as links to online English studying resources. | high16949.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Special arrangements are made for giving a good education to children during the weeks of their \nemployment as TV actors."
},
"options": [
"We must realize that television is the most powerful force in the education of children today.",... | Many children act in TV shows. They work several hours every day, so they cannot go to a regular school. How do they get an education?
In Hollywood, where many TV shows are made, about forty teachers give lessons for the children in the shows. They teach wherever their pupils are working.
They teacher's job is very important. She is responsible for making sure that the child works only the permitted hours each week. She is also responsible for making sure that the child learns the required subjects. She makes sure, too, that the child gets enough rest and play, along with his education.
Child actors are required to attend classes twenty hours each week. California law says that they must be taught from September to the middle of June. If they do not get good marks in school, they are not permitted to continue working in TV shows.
TV children are usually good pupils, and most of their teachers like this special kind of work. Their classes are held in many interesting places. Sometimes the"classroom"is a Mississippi riverboat. Sometimes it is the inside of a spaceship. Often the pupils become famous stars. | high20223.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "mix metal and jade"
},
"options": [
"are made of pure gold",
"are more valuable",
"mix metal and jade",
"are made in different cities"
],
"question": "The medals for 2008 Olympic Games are different from those o... | All the 6,000 medals for the 2008 Olympic Games have arrived in the capital from the Shanhai Mint,ready for their debut on August 8.For the,first time in Olympic history,the medals for the Beijing Games mix metal and jade.
The technology of inlaying jade into metal can date back to the Han Dynasty almost 2,000 years ago.It is not easy to bond jade perfectly with metal.The key to the process lies in the inner layer of the metal and the groove of the jade ring.A seal ring is put between the inner layer and the groove to join the metal and jade together.
Jade rings used for casting Olympic medals have been subjected to strict quality controls,and those not up to the standard have been thrown away.
To make use of those jade rings that do meet the quality criteria,metal medals were produced to fit the jade tings,and more than ten different sizes of seal rings were designed.
To avoiding any loosening of the jade rings due to aging of the seals,glue has been used in casting the;Olympic medals,which is a painstaking manual process.
Experts from the International Olympic Committee(IOC)were concerned about the risk of fragility when the jade ring design was proposed.The IOC required that jade rings should be strong enough to withstand a 2-meter drop test.The Shanghai Mint raised that standard to 3- meters.Medals call survive a 3-meter drop test with only minor cracks on the jade rings. | high16791.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "change its role"
},
"options": [
"be responsible for Americans' safety",
"take stricter measures",
"improve its work efficiency",
"change its role"
],
"question": "The new rules require the Food and Drug Adminis... | Each year, bad food sickens about one in six Americans. Proposed new rules aim to improve food safety. Officials say the changes could prevent more than one million cases of food-related illnesses each year.
The new rules were proposed this month, exactly two years after President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act. The rules are the first step in putting the law into effect, making the biggest changes in food safety since the 1930s.
The law makes the Food and Drug Administration responsible for preventing food-related illnesses. Experts say this is a change from the role that the FDA has played in the past in reacting to disease outbreaks .
Congress passed the law after a series of outbreaks linked to bagged spinach, peanut butter and other foods. Margaret Hamburg is commissioner of the FDA.
"They occurred because of problems that would have been solved by these kinds of approaches. So I think, you know>> we're very optimistic that we will begin to see the real change. "
The agency is proposing to require food manufacturers to show that they have identified where contamination is most likely to happen. Manufacturers would also have to show that they have taken steps to prevent it. The proposed rules also deal with safety in growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables.
Caroline Smith DeWaal is director for food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She says the rules should have been released a year ago. And she notes, "The bigger question is, where are the rules on imports that haven't been released yet?"
The FDA says about 15 percent of food eaten by Americans is imported, and that share is growing. Rules have not been released yet to require imported foods to meet the same standards as food produced in the United States. | high18964.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "can serve as a force for social change"
},
"options": [
"are also works of art",
"are popular ways of reporting news",
"often shock the public",
"can serve as a force for social change"
],
"question": "The photo... | Photographs are everywhere. They decorate the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. _ can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories.
Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change.
Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine's pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children.
Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture.
As historical and artistic documents,photos can become more important over time. Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish them in books and on the Internet. | high5876.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Chinese appeals to more Americans"
},
"options": [
"China is getting under a shadow from USA",
"American competitive edge is shaking",
"Americans object to learning Chinese",
"Chinese appeals to more Americans"
],
... | China is casting such a huge shadow on the United States that many Americans are struggling to learn Chinese in order to maintain their competitive edge, "Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown dramatically in the past five years," said Vivien Stewart at the Asia Society, a US group trying to bridge the gap between Americans and people of Asia and the Pacific.
China, the world's most popular nation, is critical to the United States because it is a leading trader, consumer and investor- Its political influence is also rising across the globe.It has replaced the United States as the world's largest consumer and become the second largest economy in the world after the superpower status and its telling effects politically, economically and culturally are driving the interest to learn the language, experts say.
From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, there is a "rapid rise" in interest among pupils to study the Chinese language.
Even though the US State Department has stressed the Chinese language "critical " to national prosperity and security, the "current infrastructure to support recruitment of students and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is -badly inadequate," an Asia Society study says.The Society has set a target of having at least 5% of American high school students learning Chinese by 2015."Millions of Chinese are learning English, but only 24,000 Americans are learning Chinese," said Andrew Corcoran of the San Francisco - based Chinese American International School.
The most popular languages after English in the United States at present are Spanish and French. | high11798.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his wish to express his own feelings"
},
"options": [
"his admiration for Lewis Carrioll",
"his dream of becoming a famous artist",
"his wish to express his own feelings",
"his eagerness to cure his wife's illness"
... | Venue The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll's extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland -the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experience all kinds of things. At that time, Blackman's wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events, was similar to his wife's experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am--1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children's Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit
Date Sunday 24 June,11am--4pm
Venue Exhibition Space, Level 3
Topsy-Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland will be screened
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July, and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July, 12noon--3pm
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale ( ) can make artworks strange but interesting. Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world. Then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July,10:30am-3pm
Venue Foryer, Level 3 | high11940.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "no less than 4, 500 years ago"
},
"options": [
"4, 500 years ago",
"no less than 4, 500 years ago",
"less than 4, 500 years ago",
"nearly 4, 500 years ago"
],
"question": "According to the passage,people started... | The making of glass is a very old industry---at least 4,500 years old. Glass has many extraordinary qualities and it is often being used in new ways.
One of the most interesting new uses for glass is in telephone communication. Scientists have developed glass fibers as thin as human hair which are designed to carry light signal. When the light reaches the other end,it is first changed into electrical signals , which are in turn changed into sound messages.
Called lightwave communication, the new system was used successfully in an experiment in Chicago in 1977. During the experiment, two glass fibers were able to carry 672 conversations at the same time. The lightwave cable , containing 144 glass fibers, is able to carry 50,000 conversations at the same time.
The lightwave communication system has two important advantages. First, the glass fiber cables are smaller and weigh less than copper cables. Second, they cost less.
Perhaps it can be said that telephone communication has entered the age of light. | high20545.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the industrialized world"
},
"options": [
"Japan",
"the United States",
"Western Europe",
"the industrialized world"
],
"question": "In 1995, about 700,000 robots were working in _ .",
"question_type": "c... | A robot is a computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move and handle objects. Robots are able to perform repetitive tasks more quickly, cheaply, and accurately than humans. In 1995, about 700,000 robots were used-including over 500,000 in Japan, about 120,000 in Western Europe, and about 60,000 in the United States-all in the industrialized world. Many robots applications are designed for tasks that are either dangerous or unpleasant for human beings. Now, robotic technology can be used in more and more fields. Experts say in the future robots will be able to make new highways, constructsteel frameworks of buildings, clean sewage , and such physical work. Besides, another possibility is the development of robotic technology in medical surgery operations.
Perhaps the greatest changes in future robots will improve from their increasing ability to reason. The field of artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from university labs to practical application in industry, and machines of a new kind of robots are being developed, _ can perform something involved in the process of understanding and planning, such as the management of a battlefield. Even the control of a large factory will be performed by intelligent computers. And there might be a possibility that these computers can design and make robots of their own.
Is there anything dangerous involved in this artificial intelligence progress then? Robot technology has been making people nervous ever since it was invented. Is it unreasonable to worry that robots will someday become too clever? Is it impossible that these human-like robots will start to think and plan for themselves? Will robots take over the world and force humans to give them energy to survive? | high10486.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a vaccine that could treat fatal cancers."
},
"options": [
"a sugar that it is decorated with a distinctive shape.",
"a medicine that could attack cancers.",
"a protein that exists in cancerous cells",
"a vaccine that c... | In tests, it shrank breast tumours by 80 percent and researchers believe it could also treat prostate, pancreatic, bowel and ovarian cancers. Even tumours that resist treatment with the best medicines on the market, including the "wonder drug" Herceptin, may surrender to the vaccine. The experiments so far have been on mice - but researchers hope to pilot the drug on people within two years. If all goes well, the vaccine could be on the market by 2020.
Rather than attacking cancer cells, like many drugs, the new treatment arouses the power of the immune system to fight tumours. The search for vaccines has been prevented by fears that healthy tissue would be destroyed along with tumours.
Researchers from the University of Georgia and the Mayo Clinic in the US focused on a protein called MUC1 that is made in bigger amounts in cancerous cells than in healthy ones.Not only is there more of it, but a sugar that it is "decorated" with has a distinctive shape.
The vaccine trains the immune system to recognise the rogue sugar and turn its weapons against the cancer. "Cancer cells have a special way of thwarting the immune system by putting sugars on the surface of tumour cells so they can travel around the body without being detected," researcher Professor Sandra Gendler said.
"To enable the immune system to recognise the sugar it took a special vaccine that had three parts to it. "She said it was this that "turned out to be a winning combination". | high21883.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He wanted to help the homeless."
},
"options": [
"He had no home to live in.",
"He had to make more money.",
"He lost interest in sculpture.",
"He wanted to help the homeless."
],
"question": "Why did Gregory tu... | Gregory Kloehn digs through dustbins every day, but not for the reason that most people would think.He isn't homeless.In fact he is trying to help the homeless.
Gregory began his life as a sculptor.But he often felt that his sculptures.Which just stood in rich people's houses for years,lacked a meaningful purpose.So in 201l he decided to put his artistic energies into creating homes to sell--not ordinary homes but small structures built entirely from recycled materials.
The thought of creating homes for the homeless didn't occur to him until the year 2013,when a homeless couple asked him for a tarp .Instead of a tarp,Gregory offered them something better:a small home with a water tank, a kitchen and a trap for waste.They were so grateful that Gregory decided to focus his efforts on helping house the homeless population in his city.And soon his"Homeless Homes Project"was started.
Before starting a new home,Gregory,goes hunting for materials by digging through dustbins.Everything he finds is usable--refrigerator doors become house doors;washing machine doors often serve as windows,and the tops of cars become strong roofs.He put wheels at the bottom for users to move their homes around easily.Each home takes two to three days to make.
So far Gregory has donated dozens of homes to the city's most needy.While his small low- cost mobile homes are not the final solution to the problem of homelessness,they are really practical and do provide a warm and safe place for the homeless to stay in.They are simply a way for one man to do something nice for those in need of some help.
Gregory has written a book titled Homeless Architecture,where he explains techniques to build those homes and he is now working on weekend workshops."A lot of people who hear about what I'm doing want to get involved,"he said."Maybe we can meet someplace and put a couple of homes together." | high9094.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he described an unpractical goal in his paper"
},
"options": [
"he didn't do a good job in his studies",
"he came from a horse trainer's family",
"he described an unpractical goal in his paper",
"no young boys desired t... | I have a friend named Monty Roberts. He has let me use his horse ranch to put on events to raise money for Youth-at-Risk Programs.
Last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let you use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a horse trainer. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be when he grew up."
"That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of owning a horse ranch someday. He put all his heart into the project and wrote about his dream in great detail. He even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of the buildings, stables and the track, and even a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house on it."
"The next day, he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later, he received a large red 'F' on his paper with a note, 'See me after class.' The boy went to see the teacher and asked why. The teacher told him there was no way for a young boy like him to do that because owning a horse ranch required much money and resources, and then added 'If you'll rewrite his paper with another goal, I will reconsider your grade.'"
"The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what to do. His father said, 'Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it's a very important decision for you.'"
"Finally, a week later, the boy turned in the same paper without any change and stated, 'You can keep the F, and I will never .'"
"I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper over the fireplace."
"Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what." | high22352.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The family wouldn't see it suffer in its later life."
},
"options": [
"The cat had changed its color.",
"The vet himself had no way to save its life.",
"The family wouldn't see it suffer in its later life.",
"The cat su... | DEAR AMY: We recently had to put our cat down. It came _ . We had no idea that he had health problems, and we woke up early one morning to the cat crying out painfully. We immediately rushed him to the vet's where the vet said that at best treatment might lengthen his life by two to three months. We did not want to see him suffer, so we chose to kill the cat in a painless way.
I am having a rough time! I cry when I am alone. I cry when I see pet commercials on television. I put away everything that reminds me of the cat. But the last sight of seeing the cat in pain plays over and over in my head. My kids seem alright with what has happened, but why am I struggling?
It has only been one week since his passing, so I hope things will get better. Do you have any suggestions?
Yours,
Sad
DEAR SAD: There is no loss quite like the loss of a pet; these animals keep us company through important life passages and are beloved witnesses to our human lives.
I understand your instinct to put away all of your cat's things, but it may help you now to memorialize your pet by using these things. Each family member can write down favorite things about him or memories of him; read their memories aloud and put the papers inside his bowl. The idea is to replace those painful last memories with much more lively memories taking place over the most of the animal's life.
Time will then do its job, which is to affect your feelings. And then, when you're ready, I hope you will adopt another animal and give it the opportunity to[:Z-X-X-K]share your life.
Yours,
Amy | high12291.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "150,000"
},
"options": [
"850,000",
"1,000,000",
"150,000",
"2,000,000"
],
"question": "About _ drivers can find places to park their cars in Shanghai now.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Parking has long been a major headache for drivers in Shanghai. The Transportation Department is _ a new plan for the city's parking system. There are one million cars on the road in Shanghai but only enough public parking space to provide room for 15 percent of these vehicles . It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The city is seeing a rise in private car owners. In March, the city sent out 2,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to 14,600 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of automobiles in Shanghai will probably reach two million. If one parking lot is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles.
Downtown Shanghai is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in downtown areas is not practical and doesn't provide an ideal solution. The idea of " Park & Ride" system has been suggested. This means that drivers can leave their vehicles in car parks nearby subway or bus stations and ride public transport to go downtown. Based on this idea, the city will limit the number of parking lots in downtown areas and demand higher parking fees but build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops. | high148.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He is not good at using computers or drawing."
},
"options": [
"He has created his buildings all by hand.",
"He is not only an architect but also an artist.",
"He is not good at using computers or drawing.",
"He was a p... | Architecture lovers in Washington do not have to travel far to see some of the world's most famous buildings. Architect Adam Reed Tucker has recreated fifteen of them using Lego bricks. The exhibit is called "LEGO Architecture: Towering Ambition." It is at the National Building Museum in Washington until early September. Faith Lapidus has more.
Lego bricks are small, color1ful plastic blocks. They can be snapped together to make any number of objects. They are popular with children of all ages around the world.
Adam Reed Tucker calls himself an "architectural artist". He was a professional architect for ten years. After the terrorist attacks against the United States in two thousand one he decided to do something different. He wanted to express his feelings for the form of the skyscraper while deepening his understanding of architecture, engineering and construction. He chose to use something that most people used as children.
Tucker does all his work by hand, using only pictures of the buildings. He does not use any computers or drawings to plan his buildings. While the exhibit is going on, Tucker will be working on his latest work, the White House where the American president lives. Visitors can watch him create the famous building brick by brick.
After walking through Tucker's models, visitors can create their own works at the building station. They can make houses, office buildings, stores or factories. They can then place their models on a large map of a city. As more visitors come, the Lego city will grow.
To many people, Legos might seem like toys for kids. But Adam Reed Tucker proves that _ . To watch another Lego artist at work, go to 51voa.com and click on Captioned Videos.
Lowry Baker came from McLean, Virginia, to see the exhibit. Baker said, "When we saw the models, there were just amazing. As soon as my son got a look at all of the stations here, he wanted to start building. It's really a great set-up. It really encourages creativity on the kids' part." | high23058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "organized games"
},
"options": [
"organized games",
"hunting wild animals and birds",
"what people do in their spare time",
"something people are paid to do"
],
"question": "The word \"sport\" now usually means ... | The word "sport" first meant something that people did in their free time. Later it often meant hunting wild animals and birds. About a hundred years ago the word was first used for organized games. This is the usual meaning of the word today. People spend a lot of their spare time playing football, basketball, tennis and many other sports. Such people play because they want to. A few people are paid for the sport they play. These people are called professional sportsmen. They may be sportsmen for only a few years, but during that time the best ones can earn a lot of money. For example, a professional footballer in England earns more than 30,000 dollars a year. The stars earn a lot more. International golf and tennis champions can make more than 500,000 dollars a year. Of course, only a few sportsmen can earn as much money as that.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about sportsmen and money is that the stars can earn more money from advertising than from sports. An advertisement for sports equipment does not simply say "Buy our things". It says "Buy the same shirt and shoes as ...". Famous sportsmen can even advertise things like watches and food. They allow the companies to use their names or a photograph of them and they are paid for this. Sport is no longer just something for people's spare time. | high9080.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the acts of violence against scientists"
},
"options": [
"the use of animals in research",
"the acts of violence against scientists",
"the techniques of planting bombs in cars",
"setting up of new animal protection orga... | Protests at the use of animals in research have taken on a new and fearful character in
Britain with the attempted murder of two British scientists by the terrorist technique of the pre - planted car - bomb.
The research community will rightly be alarmed at these developments which have two aims: to draw public attention and to frighten people working in research with animals. The scientists insist that everything should be done to identify those responsible for the crimes and to put them on trial. The Defense Research Society has taken the practical step of offering a reward of PS10,000 for information leading to those responsible, but past experience is not encouraging. People are unlikely to be attracted by such offers. The professional police will similarly be challenged by the problem of finding a needle in a haystack.
That is why the intellectual community in Britain and elsewhere must act more strongly in its own defense. There are several steps that can be taken, of which the chief one is to demand of all the organizations that exist with the declared aims of defending the interests of animals that they should declare clearly where they stand on violence towards people. And it will not be enough for the chairman and chairwoman of these organizations to make placatory statements on behalf of all their members. These people should also promise that it will be a test of continuing membership in their organizations that members and would-be members should declare that they will take no part in acts of violence against human beings. | high22346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "lifestyles"
},
"options": [
"lifestyles",
"transportation",
"physical condition",
"school educational ."
],
"question": "According to Branca , people are becoming overweight because of their changes in _",
... | The World Health Organization says there has been a sharp increase in the number of over-weight children in developing countries. In African countries, the WHO says the number of over-weight or obese children is twice as high as it was 20 years ago. Around the world, about 43 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2013.
Overweight and obese children are more likely to become overweight and obese adults. The condition can _ serious health problems like heart diseases.
Francesco Branca is the director of the WHO Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. He says urban lifestyle makes people eat processed food more often ,which has a high sugar ,fat and salt content. He also says people are gaining weight because of their lack of activities. They travel in cars or other vehicles more than on foot.
The WHO experts say to lower obesity rates is especially complex in countries that also deal with high rates of infectious diseases.
The WHO has some basic solutions for individuals and countries. The organization says you should lower your intake of fat, sugar, salt and processed food and eat more fruits,' vegetables and increase physical activity. The WHO says these actions are especially important for children.
And WHO expert Branca says mothers should breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of life, if possible. More importantly, governments should consider providing vitamins for children and educational campaigns about problems linked to obesity would also help. In his view, government policies should deal with how food is marketed to children and food producers must balance quality and taste with the dangers of sugar, fat and salt. "Reducing the number of overweight children will not be easy. The goal is difficult to meet even in wealthy countries. " he adds. | high5862.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Most people do not know foreign culture well."
},
"options": [
"Business diversity is not necessary.",
"All international managers can learn culture.",
"Most people do not know foreign culture well.",
"Views differ on h... | Culture is one of the most challenging elements of the international marketplace. This system of learned behavior patterns characteristic of the members of a given society is constantly shaped by a set of dynamic variables : language, religion, values and attitudes, manners and customs, aesthetics, technology, education, and social institutions. To deal with this system, an international manager needs both factual and interpretive knowledge of culture. To some extent, the factual knowledge can be learned; its interpretation comes only through experience.
The most complicated problems in dealing with the cultural environment lie in the fact that one cannot learn culture--one has to live it. Two schools of thought exist in the business world on how to deal with cultural differences. One is that business is business the world around, following the model of Pepsi and McDonald's. In some cases, globalization is a fact of life; however, cultural differences are still far from disappearing.
The other school suggests that companies must adjust business approaches to individual cultures. Setting up policies and procedures in each country has been compared to an organ transplant; the critical question centers around acceptance or rejection. The major challenge to the international manager is to make sure that rejection is not a result of cultural myopia or even blindness.
Fortuneexamined the international performance of a dozen large companies that earn 20 percent or more of their revenue overseas. The internationally successful companies all share an important quality: patience. They have not rushed into situations but rather built their operations carefully by following the most basic business principles. These principles are to know your rivals, know your audience, and know your customer. | high11954.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "312,000"
},
"options": [
"312,000",
"480,000",
"650,000",
"1,000,000"
],
"question": "There are about _ African Americans living in Memphis.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Memphis is the largest city in the southern State of Tennessee, USA. The Mississippi River flows along the west side of the city. Memphis is the chief centre of business, industry and transportation in Tennessee. Six hundred fifty thousand people live in the city. More than one million people live in the area. Like many other American cities, Memphis has had racial problems. About forty eight percent of the city's population is African American. In 1968, city workers who collected waste went on strike. Most of the workers were black. The famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Junior went to Memphis to support the workers. On April 4th, King was murdered in Memphis by James Earl Ray. After Mr King's death, the city worked to improve living conditions for black people. In 1991, voters elected W*E Herenton the city's first black mayor . The same year, Memphis opened the National Civil Rights Museum. It was built next to the place where Martin Luther King was killed. Many people visit the museum to learn about the history of the American civil rights movement. Today, people from across the United States and around the world visit Memphis. Tourism has become a major industry. | high20551.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "are popular with people"
},
"options": [
"are popular with people",
"are made by farmers on farms",
"are shipped from foreign countries",
"are better than fresh ones"
],
"question": "Generally speaking, convenie... | Convenience Foods
Instead of buying only fresh foods, Americans nowadays buy many more convenience foods. These are foods which are ready partly or completely prepared. Many of them are frozen, such as frozen dinner, heat-and-serve French fries, and frozen pizzas. There are also many canned convenience foods, such as ready-made spaghetti, soups, stews and vegetables
Convenience foods save time and trouble. They are popular with people who are busy or who don't like to cook or wash dishes. But they often cost more than fresh, unprepared foods and many contain man-made additives. Also, many people feel they don't taste as good as home-cooked foods.
Health Food and Co-ops
In the 1960s, a "back-to-the-earth" movement was started by young people in the United States. The movement was a reaction against the harmful effects of technology. From the movement came a new understanding of food and health. Many people now prefer natural and organic foods to the prepared foods sold in health foods stores and in food co-ops, which are small stores where customers help manage the store. In co-ops, food is usually not packaged. Customers bring their own bags and jars and scoop their food out of boxes or baskets.
The Diet Craze
These days Americans are more and more concerned with their weight. Perhaps as many as 70 million Americans are on weight-dollar business.
American supermarkets sell a variety of diet food such as soft drinks, diet candy, and diet salad dressings. Dieters also spend money on diet pills, exercise machines, and jogging suits . Each year dozens of new diets are popularized. They have such names as the Miracle Diet, the Nine-day Wonder Diet, and the East 24-hour Diet. There is even one called the Ice Cream Diet, which advises the dieters to eat only ice cream for lunch and dinner! For dieters who cannot lose weight on their own, there are many well-organized diet groups, which offer help and encouragement. | high20237.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "stressing the necessity of family meals for the teenage girls"
},
"options": [
"stressing the necessity of family meals for the teenage girls",
"showing the results of a research",
"providing some suggestions on family dinner... | Meals at the family dinner table could be the key to preventing a generation of teenage girls from developing eating disorders .
New research shows girls who regularly have family meals are much less likely to adopt extreme weight-control behaviors such as vomiting, and using diet pills.
The research, published in the international journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, surveyed students aged 13 to 17 in 2003 and followed them up five years later. Regular family meals were found to have a protective effect regardless of the age, weight, socioeconomic status, dieting habit or relationship with the family.
Belinda Dalton, director of the eating disorder clinic The Oak House, said eating with family helped "normalize" young people's relationship with food.
"When teens are feeling that they are not managing, they turn to something that they can control and food is something available and accessible for them to control. Clearly, if they are sitting with their family on a regular basis, then their family can be more in control of their eating," Ms Dalton said.
"It's about young people feeling connected within their family, and _ builds self-esteem and a sense of worth and works very actively against someone developing an eating disorder.
An eating disorder expert, Kirsty Greenwood, said meal times were often difficult for sufferers. "It's typical that they feel very ashamed of their eating habits and often won't eat with other people. Perhaps it's because they haven't experienced the important of the family meal while growing up," she said.
The study found eating regular family meals made no difference to the future eating habits of boys. | high21129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "promote brain development."
},
"options": [
"generate new blood vessels.",
"change the way a person thinks.",
"promote brain development.",
"divert one's attention."
],
"question": "Research by Dr. Cameron seems... | Smart Exercise
Doctors are starting to find more and more information that suggests a connection between exercise and brain development. Judy Cameron, a scientist at Oregon Health and prefix = st1 /ScienceUniversity, studies brain development. According to her research, it seems that exercise can make blood vessels, including those in the brain, stronger and more fully developed. Dr. Cameron claims this allows people who exercise to concentrate better. As she says: "While we already know that exercise is good for the heart, exercise can literally cause physical changes in the brain."
The effects of exercise on brain development can even be seen in babies. Babies who do activities that require a lot of movement and physical activity show greater brain development than babies who are less physically active. With babies, even a little movement can show big results. Margaret Barnes, a pediatrician , believes in the importance of exercise. She thinks that many learning disabilities that children have in elementary school or high school can be traced back to a lack of movement as babies. "Babies need movement that stimulates their five senses. They need to establish a connection between motion and memory. In this way, as they get older, children will begin to associate physical activity with higher learning," says Margaret.
Older people can beef uptheir brains as well.CornellUniversitystudied a group of seniors ranging in age from seventy to seventy-nine. Their study showed a short-term memory increase of up to 40 percent after exercising just three hours a week. The exercise does not have to be very difficult, but it does have to increase the heart rate. Also, just like the motion for infants, exercise for older people should involve some complexity. Learning some new skills or motions helps to open up memory paths in the brain that may not have been used for a long time.
For most people, any type of physical activity that increases the heart rate is helpful. The main goal is to increase the brain's flow of blood. And your brain can benefit from as little as two to three hours of exercise a week. | high16785.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The cobbler and the banker."
},
"options": [
"Taking and giving.",
"Helping those who are in trouble.",
"The cobbler and the banker.",
"Cats and the noises."
],
"question": "Which of the followings is the best t... | A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night; it was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear him; he was more satisfied in making shoes than anyone else. His neighbor, on the contrary, who was rolling in wealth, sang but little, and slept less. He was a banker; when by chance he fell into a sleep at day-break, the cobbler awoke him with his song. The banker complained sadly that God had not made sleep a saleable product, like foods or drinks. Then he visited the cobbler and asked him, "How much a year do you earn, Master Gregory?"
"How much a year, sir?" said the merry cobbler laughing, "I never count my income in that way, living as what I like from one day to another; somehow I manage to make the ends meet throughout the year; each day brings its meals."
"Well then! How much a day do you earn, my friend?" asked the banker continuously.
"Sometimes more, sometimes less; but the worst of it is that a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work, so we won't earn any money during these days, without which our earnings would be better."
The banker, who was laughing at the cobbler's simplicity, said that "In the future, I will satisfy what you want. Take the hundred coins, preserve them carefully, and make use of them in time of need."
The cobbler was very delighted and fancied that he possessed all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind. Returning home, he buried his money and his happiness at the same time. No more singing; he lost his voice. The banker could now have a sound sleep. However, at that moment, the cobbler realized that what he acquired now was the source of sorrow. Sleep broke up with him; and cares, suspicions, and false alarms took its place. All day, his eye wandered in the direction of the treasure, even at night, if some naughty cats made noises, he would think somebody was robbing him. At last, the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor; "Give me back," said he, "sleep and my voice, and take your hundred coins." | high18970.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "make people accept some advice"
},
"options": [
"teach people how to avoid loss of life",
"support some traditional ideas",
"make people accept some advice",
"explain what is a triangle space"
],
"question": "By... | How to survive an earthquake
prefix = st1 /Indonesia is located on the edge of the volcanic ring that circles the Pacific. This means volcanoes and earthquakes, which can cause serious loss of life.
Many people there have heard suggestions of what to do in an earthquake. For instance, they are taught to stand in a doorway or, in a building, avoid the elevators and head for the stairs.
Mr. Doug Copp is an expert on earthquakes and is the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International. He has worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985. What his years of involvement have taught Doug is that when roofs and ceilings collapse they fall on objects and furniture, crushing them. Anyone hiding under a desk or a bed is always killed. However, Doug says the falling roofs and ceilings always end up forming triangle of space between the crushed object and the floor, what he refers to as Triangles Of Life. Instead of hiding under a solid object, lie on the floor next to it and you will likely have a space to survive. Doug says paper does not crush and usually where there are boxes of paper in an office building there will be a triangle space next to it.
What about the old idea of standing in a doorway because the roof falls into the room? Dough says people who stand in doorways are usually killed, too. If the door falls forwards or backwards you will get crushed by the falling ceiling. If it falls sideways you will get cut in half by the doorway.
What about stairs? Stairs have a different "moment of frequency " to the rest of the building and will swing back and forth until they collapse. Getting caught on a destroyed set of stairs means you will probably be injured or even killed by the different parts. | high24051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "were given a living room without a toy"
},
"options": [
"fought with each other",
"were told not to play on the floor",
"were blamed for destroying property",
"were given a living room without a toy"
],
"questio... | The "babies" tend to be on or near me, or crying, or both. I spend a fair amount of time trying to get William to sleep, to get Elliott to get involved in something that will actually keep him happy for a little while, or to get William to play on the floor for 10 minutes straight so that I can get something done. But, a lot of days, it seems like I'm not succeeding in any of those efforts.
So, yesterday, a friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook. This particular friend has a baby who is about a month younger than William. The picture was of the baby, who had made his way across the floor to the toys housed along the side of the room. I just kept looking at that picture and thinking that if only William had some different toys to play with, perhaps he would stay occupied a bit longer at a stretch. But William seems so bored with all of his toys! _ . In order to find a way to make him playing longer, I kept looking at that picture. Suddenly, I realized my sons need to play closer to me.
So I cleared off the cubby shelves in the playroom, and my husband and I moved it to the living room. We found all of the toys that would be safe for William and put them in the cubbies. Then, we pulled the play kitchen in.
William was so interested in what I was doing that he sat there and played and chewed on his toys while we moved furniture. When we were done, I moved him over closer to the cubbies and he got so excited that he didn't disturb for an hour, while I made dinner and cleaned up! Even Elliott played happily for a few hours. It was a dream come true! And I got to know that my lack of happy children was because of my desire for a toy--free living room. | high7913.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "calm"
},
"options": [
"nervous",
"excited",
"calm",
"frightened"
],
"question": "Throughout the period of darkness, Martin Saltzman and the eleven others were _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | New York, 10 November -- 5:27 pm, yesterday. Biggest power failure in the city's history.
* Thousands of people got stuck in lifts. Martin Saltzman spent three hours between the 21st and 22nd floors of the Empire State Building. "There were twelve of us. But no one panicked. We passed the time telling stories and playing word games. One man wanted to smoke but we didn't let him. Firemen finally got us out."
* "It was the best night we've ever had," said Angela Carraro, who runs an Italian restaurant on 42nd Street. "We had lots of candles on the tables and the waiters were carrying candles on their trays. The place was full -- and all night, in fact, for after we had closed, we let the people stay on and spend the night here."
* The zoos had their problems like everyone else. Keepers worked through the night. They used blankets to keep flying squirrels and small monkeys warm. While zoos had problem keeping warm, supermarkets had problems keeping cool. "All of our ice cream and frozen foods melted," said the manager of a store in downtown Manhattan. "They were worth $ 50,000."
* The big electric clock in the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in downtown Manhattan started ticking again at 5:25 this morning. It was almost on time. | high9269.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The Internet and the film 2012."
},
"options": [
"The Internet and the film 2012.",
"The Mayan calendar.",
"The US space agency.",
"The television screen."
],
"question": "What played a key role in the spread of... | The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar.It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide with the earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks."There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website."If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see _ with our eyes now.Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted."After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space.But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little."And while comets and asteroids have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted.The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs .
"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said. | high1635.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He woke up deaf in one ear one day."
},
"options": [
"He is born deaf.",
"He becomes deaf in a traffic accident.",
"He woke up deaf in one ear one day.",
"He becomes deaf due to taking some medicine."
],
"questi... | You don't know what you've got until it's gone. I've learned that through my personal experiences. A few months ago, I woke up deaf in one ear. I did not pay much attention to it at first. It felt that I had water in my ear. However, I began to hear less and less out of that ear. I even had to ask people to talk into my other ear so that I could hear them. I didn't realize how serious it was until late in the day . One evening, when I was sitting on my bed doing chemistry homework, I fell off my bed. When trying to get up, I was incredibly dizzy .
I went to see a doctor and he told me that hearing loss was common. However, hearing loss is usually bilatera _ or occurs in both ears. He said that my hearing should come back within a week. After about a week the dizziness eventually went away, but the hearing loss did not. The medicine helped and I gained some of my hearing back. After many hearing tests, the doctor diagnosed that I had permanent hearing loss in that ear.
School became harder for me because I couldn't hear my teachers. I was very depressed. Finally, I bought a hearing aid. With the hearing aid, my hearing is almost back to normal. It makes school and group conversations easier.
My friends, teachers and even complete strangers always ask me questions about hearing loss. I answer them patiently. I never get offended because I know this is new to them. I am delighted that I can teach them something new.
What I have learned from this particular situation is that when things are desperate(;), there is always something good that can come out of it. My experiences have given me an opportunity to teach people about hearing loss and also taught me about the value of hearing. | high8177.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Safer."
},
"options": [
"Dangerous.",
"Expensive.",
"Safer.",
"Cheaper."
],
"question": "What do the producers think of e-cigarettes?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,... | We know that cigarette smoking kills. So, producers made electronic cigarettes as a safer smoking choice - safer than tobacco. Although e-cigarettes contain the drug nicotine like cigarettes, they do not use tobacco and you do not light them. They are powered by battery .
However, if e-cigarettes are so safe, why has the United States Center for Disease Control(CDC) seen an increase in telephone calls about e-cigarette poisonings?
The answer is children. Most of the calls are from people worried about children who have played with the devices, In the period of one month this year, the Center said 215 people called the Center with e-cigarette concerns. More than half of these calls were for children aged five and younger. The devices had made them sick.
Tim McAfee is director of the Center's Office on Smoking and Health, He says the problem is regulation. Meaning, the U.S. federal government does not control e-cigarettes even though they contain liquid nicotine. Mr.McAfee adds that liquid nicotine is a well-known danger. Mr.McAfee explains that nicotine poisoning happens when it gets into the skin, gets into the eyes or is swallowed. It can cause stomach pain or a sense of unbalance. And too much nicotine can kill,
Tim McAfee says e-cigarettes do not create the level of risk to people that tobacco products do.He notes that almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cigarettes. "So, cigarettes are the winner in that contest." E-cigarettes do not contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that are found in real cigarettes. So, the U.S.Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak has suggested that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for adults trying to end their tobacco use.
But McAfee worries that teenagers may think electronic cigarettes are harmless. They could become addicted to the nicotine and then start smoking real cigarettes. In other words, he fears that for young people fake e-cigarettes could be a "gateway" to the real thing. | high7244.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Differences."
},
"options": [
"Differences.",
"Humans",
"Cultures.",
"Customs."
],
"question": "Which of the following is the best tile for this passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | What do those countries have in common? People are killing each other or drive others out of their homes. Why is this happening? Very simple, in each of these, one group of people believes another group is different from them and dangerous to them. It has been thus through history. How different are humans from each other?
We come in different colors: red, black, white, yellow and brown; we have a variety of political systems, social systems, religious views or none at all; We are different in mind, have different educational systems, different economic classes. We speak different languages, and have different customs and dresses.
If we were to break each of these further, we would have quite a long list of qualities and characteristics that make humans appears to be different from each other. I say they appear to be different, because most of what have been listed stand for what we see or hear, not what is true of human. Man is man everywhere. It is only where he lives, when he lives there, with whom he lives there, and al the others that have effect on how he lives, that is, what he believes, what he wears, his customs, his language and so on. These are man-made facts that each group develops over tome, living together, facing the same problems, needing and desiring the same things. They are his culture. The truth is that we are much more same than different. If you wear one type of clothing and I wear another, we both wear some kind of clothing. Our culture demands it. If you speak one language and I another, we both speak so that others will understand us; we must communicate with each other. Nothing is gained by giving too many differences, but much is lost. If we understood our differences as the ones of culture, then we could make our world more peaceful.
Differences does not mean better or worse, right or wrong. It means only that differences have been made by society. Differences produce variety of thoughts, work out human problems peacefully. | high11565.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Weather Closes Government Offices a Second Day"
},
"options": [
"Another Big Winter Storm Hit the West Coast of the USA",
"Weather Closes Government Offices a Second Day",
"A Big Snowstorm on the Way to America",
"More ... | WASHINGTON(Reuters)--Federal Government Agencies in the capital region will remain closed for a second day on Tuesday as residents trying to clean up the weekend storm that shocked the area with two feet of snow.
Another big winter storm was expected to hit the U.S. mid--Atlantic on Tuesday and last through Wednesday, the National Weather Service forecast on Monday. _ snowfall is ranged from 10 to 20 inches, it said. The new storm was expected to hit other big cities along the East Coast, including Baltimore and Philadelphia, which is still extending into New Jersey and New York. It would pile on to the 32 inches of snow that fell in suburban Washington in the biggest snowfall to hit the city in decades.
The Office of Personnel Management announced on Monday evening that Federal Government Offices in the Washington area would be closed on Tuesday. Emergency employees were expected to report for work in time, but non--emergency employees were excused. The Federal Government was closed on Monday, though President Barack Obama still held meetings at the White House. Schools and most businesses in the region also were shut.
In the county, about 80,000 people lost power on Saturday, and some customers still had no electricity or heat on Monday. Many schools said classes would be canceled through Tuesday, even before the latest storm warning.
On Monday, winter sunshine bathed the nation's capital and the surrounding region, where people dug out their driveways and sidewalks to finally start to clear streets in some residential neighborhoods. Bus service on Monday was limited to just a small number of routes in the Washington, D.C.
Cold and snow blanketed much of the central United States this winter, slowing weight gain in cattle and pigs, delaying livestock sales, and increasing feed costs for producers.
The new storm might also hit the Northeast, the nation's largest market for heating fuel. The weekend blast largely bypassed that region. | high20960.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "share poems and stories with her friend"
},
"options": [
"share poems and stories with her friend",
"go to her friend's house regularly",
"become serious about her study",
"learn from her classmates at school"
],
... | When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and "too serious" about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say: "Let's start with a train whistle today." We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. _ .
For almost four years I have had a remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other's dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think: "Yes, I must tell..." We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist, who will only fill up the healing silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend. | high3022.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The author's learning experience in London."
},
"options": [
"The author's learning experience in London.",
"The friends the author made while in London.",
"The author's progress in learning English.",
"The poor memorie... | When I put a foot in the school for the first time, the thing that I will never forget is a big smile coming from the people of the reception. This is the kind of things that means a lot to you when you are feeling like a strange person in a country that you have never been, as it was in my case.
In the classes, I don't know if I'm a lucky person, but the teachers that I have had, in my opinion, are excellent, very professional in their jobs, and they just seem to enjoy teaching, and make the lessons useful and classes amusing.
Another fact that I've really enjoyed is that the school is not only aimed at the English language knowledge. You can also find every kind of activity intended to entertain the students in their free time, with things like going to museums and galleries, visiting special places in the city or going to the very famous pub night to have a few beers with your friends. So here you have the opportunity to enjoy the stay in London, to meet new friends, and also to learn everything about the city and the British culture.
Personally, there are some facts that have not been easy for me since I arrived, like being so far away from my family, the differences between English food and the food I used to eat, and the high prices for everything. However, I am impressed about a very developed and multicultural city, with people aware of the sense of living in community, with a public transport amazingly thorough, with outstanding tourist places, with opportunities for work and with food from every part of the world that you can imagine.
I've experienced something priceless with my friends in London. Every time I made contact with my friends from another country, I learn about their culture. I was lucky to have such good friends. I think that time was a present for me. | high4995.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "One World, One Dream"
},
"options": [
"The taste is great.",
"One World, One Dream",
"Mosquito Bye Bye Bye",
"Things go better with Coca-Cola"
],
"question": "Which of the following slogans is different from the... | Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Many advertisements are designed to produce increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinforcement of "brand image" and "brand loyalty". For these purposes, advertisements sometimes fixes their persuasive message with fact-based information. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet and billboards. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.
Organizations that frequently spend large sums of money on advertising that sells what is not, strictly speaking, a product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations, and military recruiters. Non-profit organizations are not typical advertising customers, and may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as public service announcements.
Advertising spending has increased greatly in recent years. In 2006, spending on advertising has been estimated at $155 billion in the United States and $385 billion worldwide , and the latter to be over $500 billion by 2010.
While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited commercial email and other forms of spam have become so widespread as to have become a major trouble to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation . | high18227.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "his unusual ability and skeleton key"
},
"options": [
"his special tricks and supernatural powers",
"his unusual ability and skeleton key",
"his magic tricks and supernatural powers",
"his wisdom and magic tricks"
]... | Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his "magic" tricks.
Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural power. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in clubs in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdini's success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape from ankle chains. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks. She passed it quickly from her mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? Worldwide fame and a name remembered today. | high5335.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "worry about the journey to the ocean"
},
"options": [
". believe in herself .",
"meet any difficulties",
"want to cross the dessert",
"worry about the journey to the ocean"
],
"question": "Before the stream reac... | A little stream ran down from a high mountain far, far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert .The stream then thought, "I've been through countless difficulties. I should have no problem crossing this desert! But as she started her journey, she found herself slowly disappearing into the sand. After many tries, she still failed add was very unhappy "Maybe I can't reach the ocean in the end," she said sadly to herself,
At this lime, a deep voice came, "If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river ." It was the voice of the desert. But the little stream replied, "That's because a breeze can fly, but I cannot."
"That's because you can't give up what you are. If you like to do it, and left yourself evaporate into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach the ocean ."said the desert,
"Give up what I am now and disappear into the breeze? No !No !"The little stream could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before.
"The breeze can carry the vapor across the desert and let it leave as rain. The rain will form a river again to continue its course," explained the desert very patiently.
"And whether you're a river or vapor, your nature never changes ,"continued the desert.
Hearing this, the little stream rushed into the open arms of the breeze , while carried her to the next stage of her life.
The course of our lives is like the experience of the little stream. If you want to overcome the difficulties in your life to head for the success ,you should also change the way you used to be. | high18541.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "were free from depression"
},
"options": [
"were free from depression",
"were fond of using the media",
"attached much importance to their health",
"could afford the time for the long-term survey"
],
"question":... | A new study suggests that the more teenagers watch television, the more likely they are to develop depression as young adults.But the extent to how much TV may be to blame is a question that the study leaves unanswered.
The researchers used a national long-term survey of adolescent health to look into the relationship between media use and depression.They based their findings on more than 4,000 adolescents who were not depressed when the survey began in 1995.
As part of the survey, the young people were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily.They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio.
Media use totaled an average of 5 and one half hours a day.More than 2 hours of that was spent watching TV.
7 years later, in 2002, more than 7 percent of the young people had signs of depression.The average age at that time was 21.
Brian Primack at the University of Pittsburgh medical school was the lead author of the new study.He says every extra hour of television meant an 8 percent increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
The researchers say they did not find any such relationship with the use of other media such as movies, video games or radio.But the study did find that young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount of media use.
Doctor Primack says the study did not explore why watching TV causes depression.But one possibility, he says, is that it may take time away from activities that could help prevent depression, like sports and socializing. It might also affect sleep, he says, and that could have an influence.
The study was just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
In December, the journal Social Indicators Research published a study of activities that help lead to happy lives.Sociologists from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people.The study found that happy people are more likely to be socially active, to read, attend community services and to vote. | high17672.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she could not refuse the polite request from the young man"
},
"options": [
"she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries",
"she wanted to refresh her childhood memories",
"she could not refuse the polite request f... | Dear Guys,
I'd like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That's when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn't have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I'm bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I'd be nervous at what I'm sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.
However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you'll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn't it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren't going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.
Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
"Throw it granny-style!" one of you said.
"Just back up a little and give it all you've got!" another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, "You can do it!"
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself--and I'm sure you as well--by letting out a cry, "DAMN IT!!!" I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I'd be put out of my misery.
Alas, the heart attack didn't happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: "Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?"
Unfortunately for you, I wasn't really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, "Please just come get the damn ball."
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely,
Jen Cordery | high19887.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "environment"
},
"options": [
"security",
"environment",
"wealth",
"employment"
],
"question": "The following factors of happiness are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | Most, if not all, Chinese have become richer thanks to 28 years of reform and opening up. But are we any happier?
Various surveys attempt to answer this question. Though experts have presented varying percentages based on different standards, their answers tend to find we are generally happier, and the number of optimists rises each year. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' 2006 Blue Book on social progress says 70 per cent of rural and urban citizens surveyed in 2005 reported a feeling of happiness and were optimistic about their futures.
But each survey shows a worrisome fact that 10 per cent, at the lowest, of citizens were not content with their lives or not hopeful about the future. We cannot be content with the fact that at least 130 million of our countrymen are not happy.
Although a sense of happiness remains a luxury for many of our countrymen because of poverty, we agree wealth is not the only factor of happiness. For most of us, except the extremely rich and naturally born optimists, there simply are too many variables that may kill the feeling of happiness. These include, but are not limited to, rising housing prices, tight and instable job market, back-breaking schooling expenses and medical bills.
The most common one, however, is a low sense of security . Some experts pointed that in the low-and-middle income group there was too much uncertainty regarding employment, income, housing, medical situations, and education. How can you feel happy when you always have to prepare yourself for the unexpected?
It may be beyond the government's reach, not to mention duty, to guarantee higher income for every citizen. But it does have a burden to create an environment where all citizens can feel a reasonable level of security. | high11203.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "refused to talk to others"
},
"options": [
"preferred to stay alone at home",
"often escaped school",
"refused to talk to others",
"began to dislike his mother"
],
"question": "By saying \"Karl became withdrawn\... | My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help. "Please God, I can't do anything more for my son. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm giving the whole thing up to you."
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. "I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. "I love my son but I just don't know what to do. I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It's out of my hands." For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, "thank you for your time", and hung up.
Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, "Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?" I nodded. "That was I. I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud." | high3744.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Body Language"
},
"options": [
"Body Language",
"How to Communicate with the People around You",
"The History of Body Language",
"Gestures And Languages"
],
"question": "Which of the following is the proper titl... | Can you communicate with others when you live in a foreign country with no or little knowledge of its language? Of course, it is possible. You can communicate your moods and intentions to one another without words, because all human beings share a lot of common visual signals. These signals are as effective as words during communication.
The gestures of the head play a key role in body language. The movements of eyes and eyebrows are as important as head movements in body language.
Besides the gestures of the head or the movements of the eyes and eyebrows, the action of arms, hands and legs is also a large part of body language. Extending one's arm and shaking hands with others is a greeting in both formal and informal cases. This part of body language might date back to primary tribes .
Like handshaking, there are still many other forms of body language presented by hands. Raising one's hand and making a circle with his thumb and for finger signals, that something is OK. Clasped hands raised above the head, a traditional picture accepted by sportsmen after winning a fight, is a display of triumph that grows out of a kind of feeling following a victory. Waving one's hands, a speaker can make his words more powerful and vigorous .
Besides hand gestures, there are times when a person says something with his legs as well as with his head and eyes. The leg gestures often reflect one's attitude towards something or someone that person is with.
According to the above facts, body language has offered a more reliable way to understand one's mind by means of gestures. Though it is soundless and wordless, once you understand it, you will feel the world is bigger than you realized. | high15065.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author."
},
"options": [
"Because the boy studied the author from head to toe.",
"Because the boy laughed at the author.",
"Because they boy said the author was shorter ... | I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. "Mom, come here! There's a lady here my size!" The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize. I smiled and told her, "It's okay." Then talked to the boy, "Hi, I'm Darry Kramer. How are you?" He studied me from head to toe, and asked, "Are you a little mommy?" "Yes, I have a son," I answered. "Why are you so little?" he asked. "It's the way I was born," I said. "Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger." After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy's hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf . Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn't realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids joked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I'm 47 now, and the stares have not _ as I've grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, "Look what else I have--a great family, nice friends."
It's the children's questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect. | high8611.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to draw readers' attention to his theory"
},
"options": [
"to draw readers' attention to his theory",
"to introduce the topic to be discussed in the passage",
"to describe the cars in the future",
"to prove that his ide... | Recently I was asked,"Are we anywhere near the day when you can climb into a car on Long Island, program it to take you to your niece's house in Chicago, hit enter, and after the first hundred yards, once you hit a main road, the car takes over automatically and you just sit back and enjoy the ride?"
It is a question I worry. But I had to answer truthfully:"Absolutely. We are without a doubt near that day."Look, we're already doing it with airplanes.
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk takes off at an air base in the U.S., climbs to 50,000 feet, flies to Australia, and lands at an Australian air base, where there is a grandstand filled with military officials=with no human pilot.
The necessary technology is already here. We have radar technology that can be tied to cruise control and brakes, which automatically adjusts your speed based on following distance and preprogrammed settings. It's still a little bit raw, but it does work great. The technology can allow cars and trucks to follow each other in very closely spaced roads.
GPS can also change speed with location. Let's say you're in a state with a 75-mph limit and you cross into a state with a 65-mph limit. GPS knows that and adjust your speed accordingly.
It's not out of the question to imagine that someday soon you'll be able to start the car, make proper settings, then turn the front seats around and play cards and eat lunch as if you're riding on a train. All in perfect comfort and safety, all the way to that niece's place inprefix = st1 /Chicago.
If asked to estimate just how far time is, I'd say a working system is ten years out, practice maybe 20 years. | high22811.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was of particular importance in a war"
},
"options": [
"had served as a university",
"was constructed with white stones",
"was designed by Christopher Wren",
"was of particular importance in a war"
],
"question"... | The area south of the Thames at Greenwich has a long history. Throughout time different buildings have been constructed on the same site. The Palace of Placentia, an English Royal Palace built in 1447, no longer exists apart from a few remains under the present buildings.
The grand buildings on the South Bank of the Thames at Greenwich were designed by Sir Christopher Wren, most famous for St. Paul's Cathedral. The buildings were finally completed in 1745, although some parts started to be used as early as 1705. They're now part of a university -- having served as a naval hospital and a naval college and the setting for several cinemas.
But the buildings stand on a site which has a much longer history, of which now only a part remains that is below the ground. For nearly two hundred years, from around 1450 to 1650, Greenwich was one of the main royal palaces of England. Some of the most famous English rulers, such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, not only lived there, but also were born there.
Henry VIII put an armory there, and there were also gardens, a great fountain and a mass of buildings. The Palace was also in a strategic location, because at the time either side of Greenwich on the Thames were important Royal Dockyards .
Eventually, though, the Palace fell into disrepair. In 1664, the King at the time, Charles II, decided to replace it with completely new buildings in a modern style. Only a cellar from the former Royal Palace now remains, under one of the new buildings. Its red brick, typical of the 16th century, contrasts sharply with the white stone above it.
Would you like to join us to have a good view of Greenwich? | high15071.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "middle-aged men and middle-aged women"
},
"options": [
"young men and young women",
"young women in the same industry",
"middle-aged men and middle-aged women",
"middle-aged women in the same industry"
],
"quest... | Why do women earn less than men?
Women earn less than men. For example, in 1988 the hourly wages of women in the U.S. were 16% less than those of men. The gap between male and female incomes varies with age. The gap between the labor incomes of young women and young men is much smaller than that between middle-aged women and men. It is also clear that jobs in which women are concentrated pay less. The larger the number of workers in an industry who are women, the lower the average wages.
Why do women earn less than men? Are the differences explained by the fact that women are looked down upon? If so, the government has to intervene, to force the employers to pay equal wages to equal jobs. however, there is no agreement among economists about the causes of the gap. One view argues that women on the average have chosen low-paying jobs in which workers enjoy the freedom of entering and leaving the labor force, which reduces their years of experience relative to men. Other people say the gap can also be explained by the difference in educational background which is shown in the difference in the marginal product between men and women.
Much of the gap, however, has not been fully explained. It might be the result of some bias against women. It is this part that has produced calls for government action. What would happen if the government did intervene to increase the wages paid to women? One possibility is that incomes for women as a group might actually decline. An increase in wage decreases the quantity of labor input demanded, resulting in decreased employment as the rate of hiring new workers declines. The result will be a surplus of labor. Those who can find jobs might be better off while those who had jobs might find themselves out of work. | high7536.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "ln a newspaper."
},
"options": [
"In a diary.",
"In a magazine.",
"In a science report.",
"ln a newspaper."
],
"question": "Where can you most likely read this passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"... | BERLIN-With the crisis in Japan raising fears about nuclear power, Germany and Switzerland said on Monday that they would reassess the safety of their own reactors.
Doris Leuthard, the Swiss energy minister, said Switzerland would put off plans to build nuclear plants. She said no new ones would be permitted until experts had reviewed safety standards.
Germany will put off "the recently decided extension of the running time of Cerman nuclear plants," Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "This moratorium will run for three months and it will allow for a thorough exanunation of the safety standards of the country's 17 nuclear power plants.
The European Union called for a meeting on Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe's preparedness.
Germany's foreign minister, Cuido Westerwelle, called for a new risk analysis of the counitry' snuclear plants, particularly regarding their cooling systems. He is the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which strongly supports nuclear power.
A previous government,led by the Social Democrats, passed a law in 2001 to close all the country's nuclear plants by 2021. But Mrs. Merkel' s government changed that decision last year to extend the lives of the plants by an average of 12 years.
In Switzerland, Doris Leuthard said she had already asked to analyze the exact cause of the problems in Japan and draw up new or tougher safety standards "particularly in terms of seismic( )safety and cooling."
In Russia, the Prime Minister said his govemment would "draw conclusions from what's going
on in Japan." | high22805.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Informing, persuading and entertaining."
},
"options": [
"Informing, delivering and entertaining.",
"Informing, persuading and entertaining.",
"Informing, writing and delivering.",
"Informing, writing and persuading."
... | A speech is a wonderful opportunity to inform, persuade or entertain. The best speeches often take on a combination of all three of these components . However, before you can go about the writing of a great speech, it is important to set goals. Goals keep you,your speech and your audience focused.
What a goal is
In the context of a speech, a goal is the purpose of the speech, and what it hopes to accomplish. For example, the goal of a eulogy might be to celebrate the life of a loved one. The goal of a speech at a political gathering would be to inform the crowd about the political position of a candidate and persuade them to vote and campaign for the candidatein question .
Why a goal is important
Without a goal, a speech is without direction. The goal informs the structure and content of the speech. For example, if a speech's goal is to convince people that smoking is bad for them, the speech will be structured with persuasive arguments to back up the goal. A speech with a goal of informing the audience will keep the information fair and factual.
A goal is incredibly important to the speech's ability to connect with an audience. If the speaker is unaware of the goal of the speech, the audience will likely be unaware as well. This severely reduces the effectiveness of the message.
Aside from informing the audience of the content and structure, a speech's goal drives the speaker to greater heights. If a speaker is asked to speak on a specific subject, but never establishes the goal, they won't know where to start in the research, organizing and writing of the speech.
_
If you have been charged with delivering a speech, establishing a goal can seem difficult at first. There are several things to take into consideration. First, think about who you will be speaking to. The demographic of your audience will likely determine whether you will be able to persuade them, or whether they will be able to sit through(......). Second, think about the topic itself. If the topic is something controversial , it may worth your while to consider an informative approach to present both sides of the issue. Finally, consider your resources. A speech with an informative or persuasive goal usually requires a great deal of research, and sometimes takes more time to write. | high1147.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was ambitious."
},
"options": [
"He was ambitious.",
"He was cautious.",
"He was unreliable.",
"He was inexperienced."
],
"question": "What can we learn about Howard Warshaw from the passage?",
"question_... | Worst Game Ever?
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a video game that came out for the Atari 2600 game system in 1982. It was based on a very popular film of the same name. Star programmer Howard Warshaw created it with consultation from the film director Steven Spielberg.
It was July 27th, 1982. Howard Warshaw was hot off the success of his most recent game, Raiders of the Lost Ark. He received a call from Atari C.E.O, Ray Kassar. Atari had bought the rights to make a video game version of Spilberg's Movie, E.T., which had just been released in June. Kassar told Warshaw that Spielberg had specifically asked for Warshaw to make the game Warshaw was honored, but there was one huge problem. Atari needed the game finished by September 1stin order to start selling it during the Christmas season.
It had taken Warshaw six months to create Raiders of the Lost Ark. The game he made prior to that took him seven months. He was expected to create E.T. in around five weeks. Warshaw accepted the challenge anyway and production began. Spielberg wanted Warshaw to create a simple maze game similar to Pac-man, but V had a bigger vision. He wanted players to explore different environments in 3D world. Usually companies like Atari have people test games before releasing them, but they decided to skip testing due to time limitations.
The game was a hot holiday item at first. Unfortunately, Atari overestimated how many they would sell. They made 5 million copies and they only sold 1.5 million. Most people who played the game hated it. The graphics were bad. Game play was awkward. Players got stuck in holes that they couldn't escape. Some people who stuck with the game grew to like it, but it wasn't the mainstream success that Atari had hoped it would be.
Too many copies of the game sat on store shelves. One employee remembers the game being discounted five times, from $49.95 to less than a dollar. A newspaper in New Mexico reported that between 10 and 20 semitrailer truckloads of Atari products were crushed and buried at landfill in Alamogordo. Atari lost over $100 million on E.T.. The game was so bad that it was said to have affected Atari's reputation. The video game industry soon fell into a deep depression, with a profit $3.2 billion in 1983 to just over $100 million in 1985, almost a 97% drop. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial will long be remembered as one of the worst games ever made, if not one of the causes of the decline of entire video game industry. | high13400.txt |
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"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Mobile devices create a lot of divided attention and social anxiety."
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"The wide use of mobile devices has nothing to do with the traditional social construction.",
"Mobile devices play a less important part in Ameri... | When Gretchen Baxter gets home from work as a New York City book editor, she checks her Blackberry at the door. "I think we are attached to these devices in a way that is not always positive," says Baxter, who'd rather focus at home on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. "It's there and it beckons . That's human nature (but)...we kind of get crazy sometimes and we don't know where it should stop."
Americans are connected at unprecedented levels--93% now use cell phones or wireless devices; one third of those are "smart phones" that allow users to browse the web and check e-mails, among other things. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road, staying in touch with friends and family, efficiently using time once spent waiting around. The _ : often, we're effectively disconnecting from those in the same room.
That's why, despite all the technology that makes communicating easier than ever, 2010 was the year we stopped talking to one another. From texting at dinner to posting on Facebook from work or checking e-mails while on a date, the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention, not to mention social anxiety. Many analysts say it's time to step back and reassess .
"What we're going to see in the future is new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected like never before," says Scott Campbell. "It can be a good thing, but I also see new ways the traditional social construction is getting somewhat torn apart."
Our days are filled with beeps and pings--many of which pull us away from tasks at hand or face-to-face conversations. We may feel that the distractions are too much, but we can't seem to stop posting, texting or surfing. "We're going through a period of adjustment and rebalancing, " says Sherry Turkle and she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off. "Our human purposes are to really have connections with people," she says. "We have to reclaim it. It's not going to take place by itself." | high6628.txt |
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