questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "don't realize the value of art and music"
},
"options": [
"don't realize the value of art and music",
"don't know the history of art and music at all",
"never benefit from artists and musicians",
"know little about the ... | No one doubts that students should study languages, maths and science in high school, but some may be against the idea that they should study art and music as well. To them, these subjects are useless for students' future and are not worth the time and effort. In my opinion, however, it is necessary for middle school students to study art and music.
Art and music are a valuable culture legacy , which bring us pleasure and enjoyment. Have you ever been deeply moved by Beethoven's famous Fifth Symphony? Have you ever been shocked by the colorful starry night produced by Vincent van Gogh in his paint? Have you ever longed for the moving love between the Butterfly Lovers when you hear this well-known Chinese melody ? Art and music are not only images and sounds, but something beyond them. They are the products of passion and human wisdom.
Art and music help make students more creative. Artists and musicians are considered the most creative people in the world. It is because art and music sharpen their senses and provide a different perspective for them to see the world. Many great scientists benefited from art and music. Einstein, the greatest physicist in the 20th century, as well as an excellent violin player, is a good example.
Enjoying art and music is also a good way to relax ourselves. Middle school students, who typically carry heavy burdens of study, will definitely benefit from it.
In a word, art and music should absolutely be included in the middle school courses, for they can bring students pleasure,creativity and relaxation. | high16223.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "reduce the effect of heat from the sun on the earth"
},
"options": [
"reflect more heat into the atmosphere",
"bring about high rainfall throughout the world",
"rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than 16degC",
... | A rainfores is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below 16degC.Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere,warming the rest of the world .Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns, potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.
In the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources : land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example,a lot of carbon dioxide in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit .
There are two main reasons for _ . Firstly, when people cut down trees, generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly, cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now, but in the long run it actually reduces the world' s wood supply.
Rainforests are often called the world's drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world's shrinking rainforests. | high12045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He died during a struggle with a bear."
},
"options": [
"He died of hunger several years ago.",
"He died when he tried to save a bear.",
"He died in a fight with other warriors.",
"He died during a struggle with a bear.... | Keesh lived at the North Pole a long time ago. He lived near the edge of the polar sea. He was a bright thirteen-year-old boy with a strong, healthy body. His father was a brave man who had died during a food shortage in the village. His father tried to save the lives of his people by fighting a giant polar bear. Keesh's father was crushed to death during the struggle. But he killed the bear, and the meat from the bear kept the people from starving.
Keesh was his only son, and he lived alone with his mother. But people are forgetful, and they soon forgot how Keesh's father had saved their lives. And since Keesh was only a boy and his mother was a woman and not a warrior , they were forced to live in the smallest and poorest igloo in the village.
One night there was a council meeting in the large igloo of Klosh-Kwan, who was the chief. At that meeting Keesh showed how much courage he possessed. He rose to his feet and waited for silence. Then, with the dignity of an older man, he said, " It is true that my mother and I are given meat to eat. But the meat is always old and tough, filled with bones, and difficult to eat."
The hunters--both the young and the old--were shocked to hear a child speak to them that way. But Keesh went on steadily, "Because my father, Bok, was a great hunter, I can speak these words. You know that Bok brought home more meat than any hunter in the village. The oldest woman, the weakest old man, received a fair share."
Keesh waited calmly until the shouting died down. "My mother has no one except me, and therefore I must speak. My father put his life in danger and died, to provide food for this village. It is only right that I, his son and his wife should have enough good meat as long as there is plenty of good meat in this village. I, Keesh, the son of Bok, have spoken."
He sat down. He could hear angry murmuring all around him. Some men began to shout at Keesh. They ordered him to leave. They threatened to punish him by not giving him any food at all. Keesh's eyes flashed and the blood pounded under his skin. In the midst of the noise and the uproar, he jumped to his feet.
"Listen to me, you men!" he shouted. "I shall never speak in this council again--not until you come to invite me to speak. My father was a great hunter, and so will I be."
They laughed at Keesh and followed him out of the igloo, shouting at him. But Keesh said nothing more. He walked away with his head raised, looking neither to the left nor the right....
---Based on a story by Jack London | high23298.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he wanted to have a change"
},
"options": [
"he had a successful career",
"he loved to be a soldier",
"he wanted to have a change",
"he expected to work in a shipping company"
],
"question": "Karl Fleming joined... | Karl Fleming joined the military because he needed a change in his life. He had a successful career with a shipping company but he wanted to do something more. He found that something in the U.S. army. Fleming began his service in 2009 and never looked back.
A few years later, Fleming volunteered to go to Afghanistan. There, he worked as a bodyguard for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He enjoyed it, except for the almost-nightly rocket attacks. Karl was never hit directly by a rocket, but he didn't need to be to feel its effects. The rockets caused severe shaking, shaking so bad that Fleming was left with many injuries. He was also diagnosed with concussions and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD).
Fleming said he was down but not out. Once he returned from Afghanistan, Fleming underwent one test after another. At first, Fleming said he thought he could recover or be able to return to duty and realize his dream of becoming an officer. But then came the news he had never imagined: Fleming would never be an officer because he was too injured to continue.
Fleming said he was depressed after learning his military career was over. Add that to the memory loss, extreme anxiety and the many painful medical procedures he was already experiencing. He rarely ventured outside on the weekend. Instead, he preferred to sleep in. All that changed, however, with Fleming's service dog, Kuchar.
Fleming said he had heard dogs could help people suffering from PTSD, so he started doing research. Karl eventually selected K9s for Warriors, which is where he met Kuchar, a yellow lab. Fleming and Kuchar trained together for weeks, before returning to Fort Benning. K9s for Warriors provided Fleming with Kuchar and the training for free.
Life with Kuchar has been life-changing. Fleming doesn't sleep in any more because Kuchar won't let him. Instead, they venture out into a world Karl was once afraid of -- a world for Fleming that now seems impossible to imagine without Kuchar by his side. | high9240.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To train kids as early as possible."
},
"options": [
"To train kids as early as possible.",
"To try as many means as possible.",
"To help kids develop as fully as possible.",
"To use as many available resources as possi... | Parents will do anything for their children. Whether it would be the food, clothes, or the place they live in, parents will always make sure their children have the best of everything. One of the biggest concerns that parents currently have is educating their children. They are faced with lots of difficulties when it comes to education for their young ones. Choices include private school, charter school, public school or home schooling.
Fortunately for parents,there are a variety of different strategies that they can take in order to increase their child's overall intelligence. According to Ross A. Thompson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, a child's brain will actually reach 90% of its full size by the time they start kindergarten.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago concluded that playing a musical instrument directly affected the brain stem, the lower section of the brain. Moreover, children that learn an instrument at an early age tend to continue it when they are older. And numerous studies show that a well balanced meal is essential for a child's mental as well as physical health. Some other researchers recommended that a second language should be taught when children are in preschool. They state that three to four years of age is the perfect time and that any age under four would work perfectly well for a child's brain development.
The average child will learn how to read between kindergarten and second grade. Many parents can give their children a _ by teaching them to read before they start school. Children could have an adequate background of the alphabet and sounds of words before attending school. This can be done by simply reading to them whenever you want. The more comfortable they get,the easier the process will be. | high14434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "can strengthen the relationship between illustrators and publishers"
},
"options": [
"will last five days in all in July every other year",
"is intended for college students who are good at painting",
"is held by the Bologna ... | The aims of the Illustrators' Exhibition,staged as part of the Bologna Children's Book Fair,organized by BolognaFiere and held from 23 to 26 December,are to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote illustrators and their works among publishers.
QUALIFICATIONS
*Individual illustrators or groups of illustrators of any nationality,if they were born before 31st December 1992,whose artwork is intended for use in children's books,are qualified to enter the Exhibition,either directly or through publishing houses or schools.
*Please state in the application form whether you are entering work for the Fiction or Nonfiction Category.Illustrators may only enter one category.
*Artwork previously presented to the Exhibition may not be reentered.
*The confirmation form must be filled in and a photograph attached,then presented together with illustrations no later than 15 October.
SHIPMENT
Entries may be delivered by post,express delivery service or by hand.From abroad,please use the following forms:Form "A" for registered mail or post by air;Form "B" if using an international forwarding agent or airline.
To avoid delays,material should not be sent by normal post.Material should be sent "carriage paid",including any customs and delivery costs.
BolognaFiere may not be held responsible for the nonarrival or late arrival of artwork.All published works must be accompanied by a declaration bearing the ISBN number,publisher's name and address.
REQUIREMENTS
The illustrations(i.e.the size of the sheet) must not exceed the following dimensions:
Fiction:
32x42 cm (or 42x32 cm)
Nonfiction:
50x70 cm (70x50 cm)
Illustrations in larger formats will not be considered,nor will they be returned by BolognaFiere.The illustrations must be on paper or flexible board,maximum thickness 2 mm (for scanner separation purposes).
SELECTION PROCESS
All artworks received by the stated deadline and meeting the specified requirements will be examined and selected by an international group (whose decision is final),including five members (from publishing houses and art schools) appointed each year by BolognaFiere.
EXHIBITIONS ABROAD
After the Bologna event,the Illustrators Exhibition will travel to Japan under the supervision of JBBY.The Illustrators Exhibition may afterwards be transferred to other venues in other countries.The exhibitions of illustrations held abroad follow the same rules and regulations as the Illustrators Exhibition,and the provisions of the regulations are extended to the organizers of the exhibitions held abroad.
RETURN OF ARTWORK
All the works will be returned to their owners by BolognaFiere or directly by the organizers of the exhibitions held abroad by the end of July next year. | high6173.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Five"
},
"options": [
"Six",
"Five",
"Four",
"Three"
],
"question": "How many ways does the author give us to save money when traveling by train?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | Want to save money when traveling by train? Here are some ways.
Day Returns
This ticket can save you up to 45% on the standard fare. You have to travel after the rush hour period Mon.--Fri . but can travel at any time on Sat. or Sun.
Big City Savers
These are special low-priced tickets on certain trains. You have to book in advance--at the latest by 16:00 the day before you travel. It's first come, first served.
Weekend Returns
Weekend Returns are available for most journeys over 60 miles. Go on Fri. Sat. or Sun, and return the same weekend on Sat. or Sun, and save up to 35% on the standard fare.
Monthly Returns
These are available for most journeys over 65 miles. Go any day and return within a month. Monthly returns save up to 25% on the standard fare.
Family Railcard
For PS20 this railcard allows you to take a second adult and up to 4 children for only PS3 each when you buy single or return tickets. You can travel as often as you like until the card becomes out of date. | high22192.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "about 23"
},
"options": [
"about 8",
"about 18",
"about 23",
"about 15"
],
"question": "The author was _ when he wrote this article.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like "I was wrong about that, "and it is even harder to say, "I was wrong, and you were right about that. "
I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighborhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons . Then he related an incident and I began to remember clearly the incident he was describing.
I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place.
There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of cartons. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together, so I went to work.
The Manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting (examining)some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I was the criminal. He severely scolded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs. I protested my innocence and tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, obviously the manager did not. | high7279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "naughty children"
},
"options": [
"different languages",
"naughty children",
"different customs",
"small houses"
],
"question": ".",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
}
] | In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if things change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greeting for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while--then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it's left off and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people's homes and share their holidays without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return. No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves easily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as "merely" home cooked food, not "doing something" for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family custom, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one's home than to go to a public place, except in pure business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior treatment. | high12051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "hesitated to do so"
},
"options": [
"was unwilling to do so",
"was glad to do so",
"hesitated to do so",
"hurried to do so"
],
"question": "When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author _ .",
... | A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month,we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door,"Ronald,Ronald."
I stepped in and saw a boy,about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was _ . I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me "Ronald, would you hold me?"
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, "Yes!"But my mind was screaming louder. "No!You are going to lose your job!"
"Hold me" was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, "Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald."
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation,permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks. | high1608.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To promote the hotel's green concept."
},
"options": [
"To promote the hotel's green concept.",
"To make the city known to the world.",
"To attract people to the hotel restaurant.",
"To get guests to stay longer at the ... | The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike linked to a generator ,The idea is to get people fit and reduce their carbon footprint. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity -- roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. Guests staying at Plaza Hotel will be given meat tickets worth $36 once they have produced 10 watt hours of electricity. The bicycles will have smart phones attached to the handlebars measuring how much power is being generated for the hotel.
The plan, a world-first, will start on 19 April and run for a year. Only guests staying at the hotel will be able to take part. Frederikke Toemmergaard, hotel spokeswoman, said, "Many of our visitors are business people who enjoy going to the gym. There might be people who will cycle just to get a free meal, but generally I don't think people will take advantage of our programme,"
Copenhagen has a long-standing cycling tradition and 36% of locals cycle to work each day, one of the highest percentages in the world, according to the website visitcopenhagen.dk. US environmental website treehugger.com recently voted Copenhagen the world's best city for cyclists. "Because Copenhagen is strongly connected with cycling, we felt the bicycle would work well as a symbol of the hotel's green profile ."
If successful, the electric bicycle meal programme will be spread to all Crowne Plaza hotels in the UK, the hotel said in a statement. | high14420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Lack of enough sleep can make you slower in mind."
},
"options": [
"Sleep has nothing to do with test anxiety.",
"Less sleep can actually save you more time to study.",
"Lack of enough sleep can make you slower in mind.",
... | Tests can be stressful even for the most prepared students,and,unfortunately,test anxiety can actually have a negative impact on your performance.(Just having that knowledge adds to the stress,doesn't it?)Well,the following tips can help you get through your next test with much greater ease--and likely more success!
Get Enough Sleep
Getting 6 hours of less can put you into what's called a sleep deficit,or lack of sufficient sleep,which can actually make you less sharp mentally and thus negatively affect your performance on tests,even if you spent those missed hours of sleep studying.So it's very important for you to get all of your studying done so you can get a good night of sleep before your big day.
Study Smarter
Being organized with your studies can help you keep from pulling all-nighters to get all of your studying in and blowing the test because you're exhausted.How do you study 'smarter'? Make a list of the most important things you need to learn,in order of importance,and hit the items at the top of the list first.That way,if you run out of time,you're mostly covered.Make a list of all the work you have to do,estimate how much time each item will take,and compare that with the amount of hours you have available;this will tell you if you can carefully read or just skim,how many times you can afford to revise papers,and other ways to pace yourself so you can get everything done.If you're pressed for time,it's important to learn to let go of being perfect.Oh,and turn off the TV as much as possible until your tests are behind you.
Visualize Success
Before you fall asleep each night,it is a great way to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully.Detailed visualizations can help you feel like you're really experiencing something,and visualizing yourself doing well is a way to 'practice' success in a way that can actually help you perform better and feel confident.Being confident as you take your exams can keep you from choking because of the stress.Visualizations can also help you to remember facts: you can create detailed scenarios that involve the information you're trying to remember,and this can help cement the facts in your memory.
Stay Calm
Because stress can impair your memory,it's important to stay calm before and during tests.While that's easier said than done,there are several stress relief techniques that can help you calm down quickly whenever you feel overwhelmed.For example,breathing exercise has been shown by research to reduce test anxiety,and can be extremely effective in helping you relax and reverse your stress response in a variety of situations: just take deep breaths,expanding your belly on the inhale,and let the stress come out with your exhales. | high9254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "One was trying to help the other to escape together."
},
"options": [
"They didn't know about the danger.",
"One was trying to bite the tail of the other.",
"They couldn't find the right direction to run away.",
"One wa... | The following story took place long ago in Israel. One day when government officials were rebuilding an office, they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another.
Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they were just about to start to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing out at the exit of the hole. After some endeavor, the mice finally got out. The strange thing was that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the exit of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped closer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other one was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After witnessing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious Rome official said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of emperor and minister." The others thought for a while and said: "That was why!" Thus the Rome official showed his arrogance .
A smart Israeli said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense; so they expressed agreement. Therefore, the Israeli's countenance (,)showed self-satisfaction.
A Chinese, who was accustomed to the firm tradition of loyalty to parents, said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son." Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement yet another time. Therefore, the face of the Chinese showed professional modesty.
At that moment, one pure-minded Samaritan who was squatted on the ground resting his chin in his hands, bewilderedly looked at other people, and asked: "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere froze. Then the group looked back at the Samaritan and remained speechless. The Rome official, the Israeli and the Chinese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to respond.
In fact, the true love is not established on benefit, friendship and loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship. | high17129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a worker"
},
"options": [
"a conductor",
"a thief",
"a worker",
"an umbrella maker"
],
"question": "We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was _ .",
"question_type": "summarization_questions"
},
... | Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost _ at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman's umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
"Wait a minute, sir," shouted the old woman. "That's my umbrella!"
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,"Oh, I'm very sorry, Madam! I didn't mean it!"
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. "It seems that I had a better choice than the other four women." She thought. | high10646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "When he realized that Cao Cao took some bad measures to beat his enemies."
},
"options": [
"When he read the history story about Cao Cao.",
"When he saw Cao Cao was watching a game of Cuju,",
"When he realized that Cao Cao to... | With its budget of $80 million , John Woo as director, and an all-star cast ,Red Cliffis the most expensive and ambitious Asian-financed film ever. Last week I saw the release of the second part, and _ does it shows.
But watching the film as a foreigner I felt I was missing out on something. Not knowing my Cao Cao's from my Zhou Yu's, I was not even sure whom I wanted to win. Certainly after the opening scene, in which Cao Cao is seen watching a game of Cuju, an ancient Chinese variation of football, I knew who had my support. After all, any man who enjoys his football is someone after my own heart. But after Cao Cao resorted to some evil strategies against his enemies in the south, I wasn't so sure he was the man I should be rooting for.
And there is a lot more toRed Cliff 2than just extravagant battle scenes. The film does not take itself too seriously. Conversations between leaders are littered with one-liners, many of which had the audience in laughter. There is even enough to keep fans of more romantic entertainment happy too. This includes a charming relationship between a southern spy and an innocent northern soldier. The characters' interaction provides some genuinely heart-warming moments in the middle of the battle.
Clocking in at around two hours, the film certainly does justice to the history story. When I walked out the cinema, I felt as drained as Cao Cao's soldiers must have 1,800 years ago. | high11558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "What to do to help save wildlife"
},
"options": [
"How animals go to extinction",
"The importance of protecting wildlife",
"What to do to help save wildlife",
"How to protect wildlife habitat"
],
"question": "Wh... | Can we give a hand to those endangered animals? Yes, we may only do a little bit, but together our small actions add up to a lot.
1. Protect wildlife habitat.
Perhaps the greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread destruction of habitat. Cutting down forests, farming, and development all result in loss of wildlife habitat. In areas where rare species live, habitat destruction can quickly force a species to extinction. By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals can be protected together naturally. _
2. Reduce the threat of invasive species.
The spread of non-native species has greatly reduced native populations around the world. Invasive species compete with native species for resources and habitat. They can even _ native species directly, forcing native species towards extinction.
3. Place decals on windows.
It is reported that as many as one billion birds in the United States die each year because of collisions with windows. You can help reduce the number of collisions simply by placing decals on the windows in your home and office.
4. Slow down when driving.
Many native animals have to live in developed areas and this means they must move in human-living areas. One of the biggest obstacles to them is that created by roads. Roads divide habitat and present a constant risk to any animal attempting to cross from one side to the other. So when you're out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife. | high4770.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Birdman."
},
"options": [
"the Theory of Everything.",
"Birdman.",
"Boyhood.",
"Whiplash"
],
"question": "Which film's content is mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | The Oscars ceremony at the 87th Academy Awards took place in Hollywood's 3,300-seat Dolby Theatre in California on Sunday evening(Feb.23, 2015). The night concluded with the biggest award of the evening, Best Picture. After already securing the Best Screenplay and Best Director Award for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman took flight as the winner of the night.
Competing with 7 other contenders including another much-predicted winner "Boyhood", the top prize of the night was finally awarded to the film "Birdman". The director of "Birdman" was also awarded the Best Director Oscar by the Academy. In addition, the film took home two other awards for Best Original Screenplay and Cinematography.
Starring Michael Keaton, the dark comedy "Birdman" tells the story of a faded Hollywood star, famous for his roles as the "Birdman superhero", who struggles to win the support and confidence to perform in a different character type in a Broadway show.
The Academy's Best Leading Actor award went to Eddie Redmayne, for his performance in the film "the Theory of Everything". It was the actor's first nomination and first win.
Meanwhile, the Best Leading Actress award went to Julianne Moore who plays a college professor who learns that she is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Patricia Arquette also won her first Oscar for her supporting actress role in the movie "Boyhood", while J.K. Simmons won the Best Supporting Actor in "Whiplash".
Best foreign Language film went to "Ida", while "Crisis Hotline" won the award for Best Documentary Short Subject. | high19104.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "sing praise of the college students helping the victims selflessly"
},
"options": [
"tell us nine of the college students suffered from a fire",
"sing praise of the college students helping the victims selflessly",
"describe ... | Our Community
One Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester at Shippensburg University, sirens sounded. These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong. A house, only one block away, was on fire. Nine of the university's students lived there.
From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up. The victims of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night. The very next day, everyone got into gear to do their part in helping them. Flyers were posted with items that were immediately needed, just to get these students through this next couple of days. Boxes for donations and money jars were placed in every residence hall .
As a residence director, I went before the students in my hall to ask them to do what they could. I knew that college students don't have much, but I asked them to do their best: "Every little bit will help." I really didn't think they could do much. I was proved wrong.
At the hall council meeting the night after the fire, my residents decided to have a wing competition, where each wing of the building would team up to see who could bring in the most donations. I announced that the wing who won would receive a free pizza party.
Thursday evening we announced over the PA system that we were beginning the wing competition. Within minutes, the place exploded. The single large box that I had placed in the lobby was overflowing. We quickly grabbed more boxes, and we watched
as they, too, filled to the brim(;). Members of the resident assistant staff and I began to count the items. I was astonished by what I saw, and I was inspired by these kids.
When we came to the final tally , the winners turned to me and announced that they would like to donate their winnings as well. They wanted the victims of the fire to have their pizza party.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I had watched these students jump to action, work tirelessly and donate all that they could. And then, as if that were not enough, they handed over their reward. I was touched and so very proud of them. | high16237.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives."
},
"options": [
"Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives.",
"Kin selection is important for plants.",
"Animals can recognize and memorize t... | Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.
Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin.
This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions.
"Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life," Dudley said.
The study found plants from the same species of beach-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.
Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal family, the study found.
This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said.
Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. "Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants," Dudley said," Usually it's a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive."
Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn't an option for plants, she noted.
Some researchers speculate that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant's family. | high4016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "doing some sightseeing"
},
"options": [
"visiting their parents",
"learning how to swim",
"doing some sightseeing",
"living with Native Americans"
],
"question": "Emily and Zach will spend their summer vacation ... | Emily and Zach are confused! Their parents told them they could choose between Massachusetts and Arizona for their vacation this summer.
Emily has always wanted to visit Boston, the capital of Massachusetts. Zach and she both agree that walking along the Freedom Trail would enable them to see Boston's most famous places of historic interest, like the site of the school Ben Franklin attended and the Old State House. If Emily and Zach go to Massachusetts, they could spend a few days at the beaches on Cape Cod. Emily loves body boarding, and Zach is great at body surfing. They both enjoy building sandcastles with their mom and dad.
Zach finds learning about Native Americans wonderful and has always wanted to travel along the Apache Trail in Arizona. This mountain highway passes Native American ruins in Tonto National Forest. Emily is not as interested in traveling along this trail as Zach, but they both would like to visit Phoenix, the capital, and then travel to Grand Canyon National Park and Meteor Crater .Zach learned in science class that Meteor Crater is a hole over 4,000 feet wide and 520 feet deep that was created when a huge object from space fell to Earth. The object went so deep that it has never been found. Zach would really like to try to discover it. But Emily thinks if experienced scientists and researchers cannot find it, Zach might as well not even bother to try.
The only drawback for Zach and Emily if they choose Arizona would be the heat. It is very hot and dry in this southwestern state. Massachusetts, on the other hand, is in northeastern United States. Here Zach and Emily and their parents could enjoy mild temperatures. Their parents love hot weather, but Zach and Emily do not really like to sweat.
How will they ever decide to which state they should travel? If only they could take two trips! | high19662.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The contemptuous college students will receive nothing from craftsmen"
},
"options": [
"The college students have trouble separating good plants from wild grass",
"Craftsman's experience is usually unscientific",
"The conte... | Reading is not the only way to gain knowledge of the work in the past. There is another large reservoir which may be called experience, and the college students will find that every craftsman has something he can teach and will generally teach gladly to any college student who does not look down upon them. The information from them differs from that in textbooks and papers chiefly in that its theoretical part -- the explanations of why things happen -- is frequently quite fantastic . But the demonstration and report of what happens, and how it happens are correct even if the reports are in completely unscientific terms. Presently the college students will learn, in this case also, what to accept and what to reject. One important thing for a college student to remember is that if Aristotle could talk to the fisherman, so can he.
Another source of knowledge is the vast store of traditional practices handed down from father to son , or mother to daughter, of old country customs ,of folklore . All this is very difficult for a college student to examine, for much knowledge and personal experience is needed here to separate good plants from wild grass.The college students should learn to realize and remember how much of real value science has found in _ and how often scientific discoveries of what had existed in this area long age. | high3779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a stranger"
},
"options": [
"a close friend",
"a stranger",
"a classmate",
"a"
],
"question": "Jennie gave her bone marrow to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | My friend Jennie gave her bone marrow( )to a 50-year-old woman, a woman she has never met.
At the end of March, the Red Cross called back. Six different blood elements were tested ; Jennie matched five completely and was about a 3/4 match of the six. So she was the best match.
In April, Jennie went for a complete physical exam by one of the doctors who would perform the surgery. The doctor had to make sure that it would be no tread to her. The doctor told her that the surgery would need to have two quarts of bone marrow from her hip bones. Jennie would probably be released the same day the surgery took place and should expect to be painful for a couple of months.
"I didn't think it was that big a deal until I realized I was a match," Jennie said. "There was not a question in my head. It didn't seem like something that was going above and beyond. "
Jennie was left with two very small scars on her lower back from the surgery and was giving medication to help reduce the pain. She still felt a great deal of pressure on her lower back. "Being only 21, I felt like I am not old enough to significantly impact someone's life," Jennie said. " It seems strange to me that I could possibly save this woman's life which was being cut short by cancer. "
Three weeks after the surgery, Jennie received a car from the Red Cross representative who told her the transplant was successful. "I feel good, and I think it will actually work for her. " She said, "So many people say that they'd only donate if it was for a family member or close friend. This woman was someone's family and someone's friend. Obviously no one she knows is a match, and the fact that you'd be able to help a perfect stranger is greater. " | high17897.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "demonstrating interactions among all of Earth's parts"
},
"options": [
"conducting scientific studies of life on the ocean floor",
"predicting future climate changes",
"providing data to determine Earth's age",
"demonst... | A rapidly advancing contemporary science that is highly dependent on new tools is Earth system science. Earth system science involves observation and measurements on the Earth at all scales from the largest to the smallest. The huge amounts of data that are gathered come from many different locations and require special techniques for handling data. Important new tools that facilitate Earth system science include satellite remote sensing, small deep-sea submarines, and geographic information systems.
More than any other way of gathering evidence, satellite observations continually remind us that each part of the Earth interacts with and is dependent on all other parts.
Earth system science was born from the realization of that interdependence. Satellite remote sensing makes possible observations at large scales, and in many cases, measurements of factors that could not otherwise be measured. For example, the ozone hole over Antarctica--the decrease in the concentration of ozone high in the atmosphere--is measured by remote sensing, as are changes in deserts, forests, and farmlands around the world. Such measurements can be used in many areas of specialization besides Earth system science. Archaeology, for example, has benefited from satellite observations that reveal the traces of ancient trade routes across the Arabian Desert.
New tools for exploring previously inaccessible areas of the Earth have also added greatly to our knowledge of the Earth system. Small deep-sea submarines allow scientists to travel to the depths of the ocean. There they have discovered new species and ecosystems thriving near deep-sea vents that emit heat, sasses, and mineral-rich water.
Just as important as new methods of measurement and exploration are new ways to store and analyze data about the Earth system. Computer-based software programs known as geographic information systems, or GIS, allow a large number of data points to be stored along with their locations. These can be used to produce maps and to compare different sets of information gathered at different times. For example, satellite remote sensing images of a forest can be converted to represent stages in the forest's growth. Two such images, made at different times can be overlaid and compared, and the changes that have taken place can be represented in a new image. | high10120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "is likely to create a troubled generation"
},
"options": [
"makes their children become independent",
"may lead to a tense parent - child relationship",
"is harmful to their children's health",
"is likely to create a tr... | Today's children are the "result" of the modern society. Our parents have jobs that keep them busy almost all day long. They only have a free day in a week. This doesn't allow them to keep an eye on their children.
On the other hand, the modern society gives more freedom to the children than they could "handle". As a child, you don't know how to grow up by yourself until you reach a certain age. That is why you need school and parents to be by your side all the time. If you don't have either of them you may make a lot of mistakes. The social system of the modern society is very _ especially with the children.
Most of the children today are rebels . They are rude. They are given too much freedom by their families. This is their parent's mistake. They ought to know that the freedom they give to their children is misunderstood.
For example it is a bad thing for a 17 - year - old child to go out in the evening on weekends. Parents are also guilty of the way their children show up in the street or at school. The same guilt belongs to the teaching system as well. Pupils shouldn't be allowed to dress like they were on a fashion presentation at school.
Another important fact we can think of regarding the freedom of children is their free will of spending money. Parents shouldn't allow their children to spend money on whatever they want.
I think children are given too much freedom not only by their parents, but also by the society. The latter is more to be blamed! | high2467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "with the help of scientists"
},
"options": [
"from a very early age",
"by copying photographs",
"with the help of scientists",
"in order to make a living"
],
"question": "Bonestell made his space drawings _ .... | When the Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969, millions of people were rather sad. The person to blame for this was an artist named Chesley Bonestell. For many years, Bonestell had been creating beautifully detailed paintings of the Moon and planets. Viewers of his artwork were unhappy because the real Moon did not look like Bonestell's pictures of it.
As a space artist, Bonestell tried to make his drawings look exciting and as true as the Moon is. He worked closely with astronomers and scientists to get the most up-to-date scientific information available. But in the 1940s and 1950s, no one had ever seen another planet up close. Yet Bonestell's paintings looked so real that some people thought they were photographs.
Even though Bonestell was interested in astronomy, he did not start out as a space artist. As a young man he studied architecture -- the art and science of designing and making buildings. In 1938 Bonestell became a special effects artist in Hollywood. It was here that he learned he could improve his paintings by following the methods used in the movies.
In 1944, a popular magazine published a series of Bonestell's paintings of the planet Saturn. He drew Saturn as if it were seen by someone standing on each of the planet's moons. The results were _ . Within a few years, Bonestell's artwork was appearing regularly in magazines and books on astronomy and space flight.
Many of Bonestell's artworks had been right all along. But the biggest surprise was the Moon. Someone asked Bonestell what he was thinking when he saw the first pictures from the Moon. "I thought how wrong I was!" he said. "My mountains were sharp , and they aren't on the Moon."
But he shouldn't have felt bad. No space artist had ever before taken so many people to so many faraway worlds. In the years just before the first manned space flights, Bonestell's artwork prepared people for the amazing space adventure to come. | high14346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "insurance against injury to the driver"
},
"options": [
"insurance against damage to the car",
"insurance against injury to the driver",
"the cost of maintenance of the car",
"the cost of repairs to the car"
],
... | Hire charges
What's included:
1)Unlimited mileage .
2)Expenses on oil , maintenance and repairs, which will be repaired on production of invoices .
3)Full insurance except personal accident (see below) and contents.
What's not included:
1)Personal accident insurance.
2)Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines
Conditions of Hire
l The shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.
l Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car.But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.
l The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.
l Upon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company" Conditions of Hire.
l If you decide to hire a car , just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us . A booking fee of PS12 as part of the car hire cost is required.
l Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before the date of hire), a cancellation charge of PS12 will be made. | high9532.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the Las Vegas Trip"
},
"options": [
"Route l",
"Route 6",
"the Las Vegas Trip",
"the California coast"
],
"question": "If you are going to the USA for the man-made attractions, you can drive along _ .",
"q... | Plan on traveling around the USA this summer. If you need help in arranging the trip, or want ideas about where to go and what to do, there are a number of outstanding websites that can make your American dream come true.
http://byways. org
The National Scenic Byways Program covers l50 memorable roads. Some are natural routes, such as Route l along the California coast. Others focus on history(such as Route 6) or man-made attractions (the Las Vegas Trip). For each, you are provided with a map, told the route's length and how long is allowed, and given detailed suggestions on sights and stop-offs.
www. oyster. com
This is the best website for reviews of hotels in US cities and resorts. The reviews are impressively thorough--covering locations, rooms, cleanliness, food and so on. Importantly, these are not promotional photos by the hotels, but more honest and revealing ones taken by inspectors. Search facilities are excellent. From the 243 hotels reviewed in the New York, you can narrow down what you are looking for by locations, facilities and styles, or just pick out a selection of the best.
www. 101usaholidays. co. uk
This is the latest offering that features l01 holiday ideas to the USA. It's an impressively diverse selection, ranging from touring in the footsteps of Martin Luther King to a golfing break in Arizona and a cycling and wine--tasting trip in California's Napa Valley. Narrow down what you are looking for--whether by price, region, theme and who will be traveling--and then just the photos of the relevant holidays remain on view. It's a really clever design.
www. mousesavers. com
Walt Disney World in California can make dreams come true, but the price is not affordable for the majority of people.
So turn to long established Mousesavers. com, dedicated to giving big discounts on tickets, hotels and dining at Walt Disney World. The website also offers general money--saving tips, suggestions for cheap and free stuff and brief coverage of other Florida and California theme parks. | high6601.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his information can be read by a machine"
},
"options": [
"he is not required to show his passport",
"he doesn't need a passport in that airport",
"his information can be read by a machine",
"only a man from foreign cou... | The Future of Technology
William, a businessman, arrives in a foreign airport. He doesn't show his passport. Instead, a machine in the wall reads the computer chip in his arm. This contains information about him: his name, age, and I.D number. He exits the airport, and a car door opens when it "sees" him. The car takes him to his hotel. His room "knows" he has entered the building and it "reads" his body. He is cold, so the room becomes warmer. William then watches a business presentation on a video wall. When he takes a bath, the presentation "follows him and continues on the bathroom wall. Finally, the room plays music to help him sleep. It turns off the music when it "sees" him sleeping.
William doesn't exist, and none of this is real. But it might be soon. "In five to ten years, computing and communications are going to be free and everywhere, in your walls, in your car, on your body,' says Victor Zue, leader of Project Oxygen.
Project Oxygen has one big idea: to create better relationships between machines and people. The dream is that computer will learn to understand what people want.
So, what changes will there be at work? Firstly, the building will know where everyone is, all the time. You want to talk to someone? Type the person's name on the nearest computer. It will show you a map of the building and exactly where this person is. You then call this person, who picks up the nearest telephone, also shown on the computer. If he or she is busy with a client or in a meeting, the computer will tell you.
Is all this really possible? Visit the Siebel Center, Illinois and see for yourself: computers in the doors and walls, cameras everywhere, the technology of the future, but here today. | high13429.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Buy something in the general store."
},
"options": [
"Make lists for her shopping.",
"Buy something in the general store.",
"Send lists to the lady in the general store.",
"Go to see the lady in a store."
],
"qu... | When I spent the summer with my grandmother, she always set me down to the general store with a list. Behind the counter was a lady like no one I'd ever seen.
"Excuse me," I said. She looked up and said, "I'm Miss Bee."
"I need to get these." I said, holding up my list. "So? Go get them. " Miss Bee pointed to a sign. "There's no one here except you and me and I'm not your servant, so get yourself a basket from that pile."
I visited Miss Bee twice a week that summer. Sometimes she shortchanged me. Other times she overcharged. Going to the store was like going into battle. All summer long she found ways to trick me. No sooner had I learned how to pronounce "bicarbonate of soda" and memorized its location on the shelves than she made me hunt for it all over again. But by summer's end the shopping trip that had once taken me an hour was done in 15 minutes. The morning I was to return home, I stopped in to get some run.
"All right, little girl," she said. "What did you learn this summer?" "That you're a meanie!" I replied. Miss Bee just laughed and said, "I know what you think of me. Well, I don't care! My job is to teach every child I meet life lessons. When you get older you'll be glad!" Glad I met Miss Bee? Ha! The idea was absurd...
Until one day my daughter came to me with homework troubles. "It's too hard," she said. "Could you finish my math problems for me?"
"If I do it for you, how will you ever learn to do it yourself?" I said. Suddenly, I was back at that general store where I had learned the hard way to add up my bill by myself. Had I ever been overcharged since? | high12737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a medical magazine"
},
"options": [
"a literature book",
"a travel journal",
"an old directory",
"a medical magazine"
],
"question": "This passage is probably taken from _",
"question_type": "cloze_questio... | Coffee is one of the world's most widely-enjoyed drinks. Now, a new research suggests that if you drink enough coffee, it might help you avoid certain kinds of cancer.
Dr. Mia Hashibe of the University of Utah School of Medicine was interested in the connection between coffee drinking and certain cancers of the head and neck. Researchers have looked into this before, but without reaching any firm conclusions. She said, "So this finding from our new study was quite a surprise. We didn't really have any expectation of which direction it could go into."
To sort out the confusion, Hashibe and her assistants used statistical ( ) techniques to, in effect, make one big study out of the earlier smaller studies. She explained, "Thanks to the earlier studies, we have a lot more power than earlier studies that looked at this. And we included 4,000 cancer patients who have cancer of the mouth and throat. And then 9,000 controls, people who do not have cancer. '
Those studies--in Europe and the United States--found that people who drank a lot of coffee were less likely to develop cancers of the mouth and throat. "We saw a protective effect for drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day," Hashibe said. "This was the 40 percent decrease in risk. We did not see the same effect for drinking three cups or less per day."
Mia Hashibe said there was a weak connection between cancer risk and drinking coffee without caffeine. And she and her assistants found no proof that drinking tea provided the same protection as drinking Coffee. Their research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Hashibe says it is not clear how coffee might protect drinkers from certain cancers. "There are a few chemicals that are known to be antioxidants in coffee. So we are thinking perhaps they are playing some sort of protective role against several cancers." | high15058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he had already gained enough knowledge"
},
"options": [
"he should be diligent in order to succeed",
"he had already gained enough knowledge",
"he ought to pay attention to details",
"he should keep learning every day"
... | Long long ago, there was a scholar who always wanted to gain more knowledge each day even though he had already gained enough knowledge. One day, he came to visit a saint and asked to be his student. The saint offered some tea. He slowly filled the scholar's cup: the cup was full, yet he kept pouring. The scholar couldn't help bursting out, "Stop! You can't add anything to something that's already full!" The saint set down the teapot and replied, "Exactly."
Whether it's the silence between notes in music, or some open time in your schedule, you need space to act effectively. Yet most of us, myself included, tend to stuff as much as possible into whatever room is available - closets, schedules, budgets, relationships, and even the mind itself.
However, some people know how to avoid overstuffing their life. For example, in Australia, it seemed that most people there operated at about 85% of their capacity, unlike Americans pushing as close as to 100% as possible. So when you run into Australians you know in the street, they have time to hang out and talk with you.
Remember the cup: its value is in the space, the emptiness it holds. How to empty your "cup" ?
Be mindful of the element of space, openness, and emptiness in your life. This includes room in a drawer, the volume of air in a kitchen, and open-mindedness in a friend. Sometimes you're just stuck with a big bucket of tasks yet to do. But at least empty the bucket faster than you fill it with new tasks. Put some space between finishing one thing and starting another. For example, after sending one email, take a breath before replying to another one. Drop the stuff you can no longer afford to lug around. At sea level, you can run with a brick in your backpack, but if you're hiking on a mountain, that brick has to go. | high16579.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She wanted them not to spend extra money"
},
"options": [
"She wanted them not to spend extra money",
"She was too sad to say anything else",
"She told them a truth on money",
"she just played a joke with them"
],
... | For years I wanted a flower garden.But then we had Matthew.And Marvin.And the twins, Alisa and Alan.And then Helen.Five children.I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time.Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I' d have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you now."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own.
One spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen.Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by.I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard.I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches.Then I put my glasses on-and I couldn't believe what I saw.
There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look.It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree.Think of' all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: ''IOU eight hours of digging time.Love, Marvin."
Marvin kept his promise, too.He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me And my other children bought me tools, ornaments , a trellis , a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.
That was three years ago.My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted.When I go out and tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did.I feel like they're right there with me.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees.But I know love does! | high3751.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "transform its economic pattern"
},
"options": [
"top the world",
"transform its economic pattern",
"solve its population problem",
"respond to pressure from developed countries"
],
"question": "China is self-mot... | China is showing the world its great resolve in the global climate campaign with concrete and self-motivated efforts as well as serious commitment.
At the opening ceremony of the Paris climate summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated China's plan made in June to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent.
With a large population, China is facing increasing resource limits, severe environmental pollution and a worsening ecosystem, and its citizens are also becoming increasingly aware of environmental problems. Suffering environmental problems and seeing the efforts as important to transforming its economic growth pattern, the country has much at risk if climate change is left unattended.
Actually, climate change efforts are already included in China's medium- and long-term program of economic and social development, and ecological efforts are the clear characteristics in China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).
Although it is and will be a developing country for a long time to come, China has been actively involved in the global campaign against climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation and use of new and renewable energies.
However, China's development rights need to be respected. It is unfair to overstress China's status as one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters and regard it as the major part of responsibilities in the global fight against climate change.
It is worthy of notice that China's emissions of greenhouse gases per person are far lower than those of developed countries, especially the United States, although rapid economic expansion and its population base have made it one of the biggest producers of the gases.
To show its great resolve, Beijing in September also announced the establishment of an independent South-South cooperation fund of 20 billion RMB to help developing countries affected by global warming.
While China is eagerly accomplishing its policy commitments, developed countries should stop questioning China's commitment to fighting climate change and pointing fingers, and start shouldering
their due responsibilities instead. | high19892.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It is a good place in which to discuss business matters."
},
"options": [
"It is the most convenient way for them to get regular exercise.",
"It is a good place in which to discuss business matters.",
"It is a great way to es... | Over the last 30 years, Bangkok, once a small fishing village, has transformed into a rich, concrete, high-rise city that it is today. The spreading metropolis and its population of 12 million now produces 35 per cent of Thailand's economic wealth.
As a magnet for foreign companies, Bangkok attracts many overseas managers and business people from different fields, including tourism, automobiles and electronics. The city's population of foreigners is in the high hundreds of thousands, with tens of thousands of Japanese, Chinese and western employees working alongside hundreds of thousands of Burmese who mostly do unskilled jobs shunned by Thais.
For those used to the good life, the variety and quality of the city's food is a key attraction, says one US manager, before listing many of his favourite Italian, Mexican and, of course, Thai restaurants. Most offer quality meals for less than the cost of a takeaway sandwich in London.
Great choice and value can be found in Bangkok's other attractions, too. For overseas business people who enjoy shopping in luxury and air-conditioned comfort, the city has hundreds of modern shopping malls. Some foreigners, however, prefer the charms of Chatuchak Market, where anything can be bought at a good price by the skilled bargainer.
When the time comes to talk business many overseas business people prefer to move out of the markets and onto the golf course. Thailand has thousands of courses, which can provide a welcome break from the busy and noisy city life. But most business people go to the golf course because it's the perfect place to discuss the next big deal.
Because of the fast-paced life some foreign business people see Bangkok as a place to stay for the short term, rather than a lifetime. Australian computer software designer Sarah Huang is seven months pregnant but still working full-time in her Bangkok office. She says the city is "definitely a place I want to stay for the next five, ten years". Nannies and home help are affordable, but high fees for quality secondary education have convinced Ms. Huang to return to Australia when her child reaches high school age. | high10108.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Uncle Lan liked the stuffed monkey as much as the writer."
},
"options": [
"Bedtime used to be the writer's favourite part of the day because of the stuffed monkey.",
"Uncle Lan liked the stuffed monkey as much as the writer.",
... | When I was younger, bedtime was always my favourite part of the day. Wearing soft pajamas and with Lan, my stuffed monkey, in my arms, I felt no pressure at all.
I named Lan after my uncle when I compared Lan's long arms and legs to his. One night I ran up to Uncle Lan at a family party and told him I had named my monkey after him. His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, then a chuckle escaped his lips. I guess he didn't understand how important it was to me.
Even if Uncle Lan didn't think my monkey was special, I certainly did. I dressed him in a white baby nightgown. My mother thought that Lan was the best-dressed stuffed animal in the world. Yes, he was certainly a fashionable creature. The strong cologne I used on him years ago makes him still smell "pretty".
For a long time, Lan went everywhere with me. He was my best friend, and I told him everything. But when I turned twelve, I realized I was too old for stuffed animals. I thought people would think I was babyish, so I put him in the cupboard with the rest of my teddy bears and dolls. I begged him to understand why I was doing this, but at the same time I longed to talk to him again.
It took me several years to realize that it was OK to miss Lan. I know now that maturity doesn't only mean growing up and taking on more responsibility. It also means holding on to your childhood and acting young sometimes.
Lan has been with me since I was six years old. Holding him in my arms connects me to my past and my present as I continue to grow and understand myself. | high17667.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "excited"
},
"options": [
"excited",
"surprised",
"unhappy",
"uninterested"
],
"question": "When the author was asked to try the standing desk out, he was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | I got interested in the idea of standing desks about a year ago. The health advantages of standing instead of sitting for eight hours a day are clear, so when the company Ergotron invited me to review their WorkFit C-Mod Dual Desk, I jumped out of my chair---really.
After several hours putting the desk together, I finally got to try it out. The standing desk had a desktop that I could use for writing.
At first I absolutely loved it. Standing during the day instead of sitting was fantastic. Although I felt more tired after all that standing during the day, I knew the health benefits were worth the slight discomfort. However, after the initial novelty of the desk wore off, I realized that I could not use it in the long term.
It was just not practical. While using the desk for a month , I could definitely foresee problems arising from using it full time.
I enjoy having a lot of things on my desk. The standing desk just did not have enough room for all of my things.
I can easily foresee awkward situations when I put that desk in an office space. When someone comes into your office, does your guest have to stand as well? If you office is big enough, maybe you have room for two chairs for you and a visitor, which is great. Yet for the ordinary worker in a small office, the standing desk creates a very awkward situation.
Additionally, the amount of money I would have to spend to replace my current workspace with a standing desk was another issue. The desks I have looked at were highly expensive.
Yes, spending the day standing can offset many of the negative effects of too much sitting, but we humans are designed for movement. Through activity changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you can easily increase the time you spend on your feet. Best of all, those options are completely free. | high3989.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "so that they could return before dark"
},
"options": [
"because they could return in 24 hours",
"because the sea was calm then",
"when the sun was not strong",
"so that they could return before dark"
],
"questio... | The journey two naval officers made some time ago to the very deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be explored. The two men went down seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean inside a small steel ball called a "bathyscaphe" to find out if there are any ocean currents or sings of life.
It was necessary to set out early, so that the "bathyscaphe" would come to the surface in daylight, and so be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The drivers began preparations at dawn and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.
In time, the temperature dropped to freezing-point and the men trembled inside the ball. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone describing how they felt. Then, at a depth of 3,000 feet, the men were surprised by a sudden, loud noise, even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the "bathyscaphe" touched the soft ocean floor raising a big cloud of "dust" made up of different kinds of small, dead sea animals. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite uncontrolled by the very large water-pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the weak but clear voices of the officers wre heard on the mother ship. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving three hours later, _ . | high18554.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the activity is a chance for anyone"
},
"options": [
"the friends I shall meet in the activity",
"the activity is a chance for anyone",
"the place where the activity is to be held",
"the time that I shall spend in the a... | I was an extremely verbal child, and growing up with my dad was an experiment in linguistics . My father was a man of few words. Whenever I wanted his permission for a certain activity, I planned a speech that included who would be there, where it would take place, how long it would last, and why it was an incredibly wonderful opportunity for me. He would listen and then say either "Yes" or "No." There were never any qualifiers; not "Yes, but be home by dinner" or "No, unless you can convince me otherwise." It was yes or no, plain and simple.
My father's phone messages were also lessons in patience and long-suffering to a teenage girl. I was quite active in high school. Not only did I enjoy being involved in many areas, but I came into contact with many a great teenage guy. I can recall one busy day when I had met two great guys and had given each of them my phone number. The first words out of my mouth when I walked through the front door were, "Dad! Did anyone call?" His answer, of course, was simply "Yes".I required for a more accurate description of the caller. His answer: "A boy." Since I had met two guys that day, this did not help me. I ran to my room in tears.
Knowing my dad's dislike of language in general and his fondness for briefness, it surprised me to hear that he was going to teach the eleven-year-old boys' Sunday school class. He did so for not one, but many years. I always wondered if he actually said anything, or if they all just sat in their chairs and stared at each other. I was sure that if people were waiting on my father to _ with brilliant conversation or a springboard comment, they'd be badly disappointed. Still, September after September, my father hung his sign outside the Sunday school room: Mr. Ernst--Eleven-Year-Old Boys. | high6629.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "make the butterfly come out easily"
},
"options": [
"kill the butterfly",
"play with the butterfly",
"make the butterfly come out easily",
"have the butterfly"
],
"question": "The old man cut the cocoon in order... | Once upon a time, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything on the land ---- animals and plants.
One day while walking through the woods, the old man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He took it home. A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then came out easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, or they would be smaller. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any difficulties, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly. | high13401.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because they go shopping on the lnternet."
},
"options": [
"Because they don't have enough time.",
"Because Christmas is two weeks away.",
"Because they go shopping on the lnternet.",
"Because it isn't convenient for th... | With only two weeks to go before Christmas, buying presents is a lug priority for a lot of people. However, this year not so many people are leaving their homes to browse around the shops. These days lots of people do their shopping in the comfort of their own home with the help of the Internet.
Online shopping is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons: prices are often lower online, you don't have to queue up in busy shops and you can buy almost any product imagin- able with just a few clicks of your mouse.
Computer trends are often man-dominated but this year women are expected to do more shop-ping on the Internet than men. It seems .that women are now more attracted to the convenience of on-line shopping than they used to be.
Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to $240 compared to the slightly lower average $233 for men, while the average spending per person on the high street is only $197. 70% of lnternet users, male and female, are now buying their Christmas gifts online.
In the past a lot of people were unwilling to shop online. Many were worried about the security of entering their card details on the Intemet and the reliability of the Internet but as shopping; online has become more widespread, these worries have begun to disappear. 45% of Internet users still do have security worries but it hasn't slowed the ever-increasing numbers of online shoppers.
One victim of the online shopping boom is the UK high street. Christmas trading can represent up to 60% of turnover for some stores. Many companies are concerned that not enough shoppers are coming through their doors in the run-up to Christmas. As a result there are lots of special offers in the shops. Most shops traditionally have sales after Christmas but this year the bargains have come early. | high22804.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "attend a stage school"
},
"options": [
"attend a stage school",
"are going to the theatre",
"have got some work to do",
"love singing and dancing"
],
"question": "People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing ... | When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: "We have to go to work now," you're left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the "work" they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.
Stage schools often act as agencies to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name "stage school" are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.
A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn't settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?
Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days.
The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don't make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case. | high7537.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "used proverbs to teach Tsholofelo"
},
"options": [
"quoted proverbs when she was talking with others",
"asked Tsholofelo to read more proverbs",
"collected proverbs in her spare time",
"used proverbs to teach Tsholofelo... | I recall my mother's voice which called me to order, and often ended with some strong proverb to express the gravity of the wrong done. It was common practice for my mother to send me off soul-searching with a proverb.
Of the many interactions I had with my mother those many years ago, one stands out with clarity. I remember the occasion when Mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from the farmhouse, to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers home for a meal. She instructed me to take a container along and collect dry cow dung for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers.
The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that high heat, was enough to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother, and after serving the group, she called me to the balcony, where she usually sat to attend to her sewing .
Looking straight into my eyes, she said, "Tsholofelo, why were you so unhappy when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?" Despite my attempt to deny her allegation , and using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my alleged behavior, Mother, giving me a firm look, said, "A foot has no nose." It means, "You can't detect what trouble may lie ahead of you." Had I denied the group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in my travels some time in the future, I found myself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame me, Mother continued, "A person is a person because of another person." | high15070.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Karsts."
},
"options": [
"Karsts.",
"Kha-nyou.",
"rock rats.",
"Laonastes aenigmamus."
],
"question": "Which of the following is not the name for this new creature?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answ... | It's not quite a rat. Nor is it a squirrel, or a mouse. It's definitely a rodent , and it's also a brand-new family of mammals.
The locals of the Southeast Asian country of Laos call the creature a kha-nyou (ga-nyou). The kha-nyou have long body hair, short legs, and a hairy tail less thick than a squirrel's. They're vegetarians living in the rocky hills of Laos, and they come out at night, but for more information, you'll have to ask the Lao people.
"It was for sale on a table next to some vegetables. I knew immediately it was something I had never seen before," said Robert Timmins, a researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Timmins was working in Laos to stop people from selling endangered animals when he spotted the species. Criminals who trade illegal wildlife can make a lot of money, but they also push the animals closer to disappearing from the planet.
The kha-nyou live in karsts, or rough rock. Mark Robinson, a scientist with the World Wildlife Foundation, set out with Lao villagers to find a few more of the rodents for study. They climbed onto a karst, trapped with rice, and caught several.
"To find something so unusual in this day and age is just extraordinary," said Timmins. "For all we know, this could be the last remaining animal family left to be discovered."
It's a big deal to discover an entirely new family of animals. Humans, for instance, belong to the same family as great apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas. So even though kha-nyous look like rats, they're really very different. The last time scientists discovered a new family of mammals may have been in the 1970s, when they found new bats in Thailand.
Timmins seems to have the gift for finding new animals in Laos--he discovered a new species of rabbit there in 1999.
Scientists call the kha-nyou Laonastes aenigmamus, which means "mysterious mouse that lives among the stones."But if that's too hard, Timmins and Robinson suggest you call them "rock rats". | high7251.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "find out how people explain their dreams and what impact that has"
},
"options": [
"determine when people tend to remember their dreams",
"research whether dreams have anything to do with real life",
"find out how people expl... | Dreaming is believing, claim researchers of a new study, who found that dreams have an effect on people's behavior, judgment and they might contain important hidden truths as well.
"Psychologists' explanations of the meaning of dreams vary widely. But our findings show that people believe their dreams provide meaningful insightinto themselves and their world," said a lead author of the study Carey Morewedge, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
In six different studies, researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 people about their dreams. One of the studies focused on general beliefs about dreams and involved 149 university students. All students were asked to rate different theories about dreams. The experts found that a surprising majority of the participants supported the theory about dreams revealing the hidden truths about themselves and the rest of the world.
In a second experiment, they surveyed 182 people at a Boston train station, and asked them to imagine one out of four possible situation that could have occurred the night before a scheduled airline trip. Most of the participants said that dreaming of a plane crash would be more likely to affect their travel plans than would just thinking about a crash, or being warned by the government of a terrorism risk. They said a dreamed crash would influence their travel plans just as much as learning about a real crash on their planned route would.
Another experiment involved 270 men and women from across the United States. In a short online survey, they were asked to recall one of the dreams they had seen about any person they knew.
The findings showed that people were more likely to remember and describe pleasant dreams about a person they liked, rather than a person they disliked. Meanwhile, in most cases they tended to consider an unpleasant dream as more meaningful if it was about a person they disliked.
"In other words," said Morewedge, "people attribute meaning to dreams when it corresponds (......) with their pre-existing beliefs and desires."
The researchers say that more investigation is needed to fully understand how people interpret their dreams. According to Morewedge, most people realize that dreams are not predicting their future, but they still try to find some meaning in there. | high12079.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the slow speed of the checkout line"
},
"options": [
"the look of the old cashier",
"the slow speed of the checkout line",
"the smile on the cashier's face",
"the long line of customers"
],
"question": "The auth... | One day I was waiting in line to check out at Wal-Mart. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, my thoughts were on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier.
There stood a man in his seventies. Of average build, he wore glasses and a nice smile. I thought, "Well, he's an old guy and it probably takes him a little longer to get the chores done."
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the items they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, "How's it going?" But he did something different--he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was strange, but I guess I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, "I just found out I have six months to live,'' and someone would reply, "Have a great day!''
This old cashier had my attention. He seemed genuine about wanting to know how people were feeling. And after giving them the change, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. "I sure want to thank you for shopping here today, ''he told them. "You will have a great day. Bye-bye."
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some shy grins .All had been touched by his simple gesture in a place they never expected. | high13367.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the police"
},
"options": [
"science",
"children",
"the future",
"the police"
],
"question": "Detective stories are stories about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | John Smith was a writer, who wrote detective stories for magazines , though he never dealt with criminals . One evening he could not finish an end for a story. He sat in his study , but he had no ideas. So he decided to go to the cinema.
When he came back, he found that he had had a visitor. Someone had broken into his house. The visitor had had a drink, smoked several of his cigarettes and had read his story. The visitor left him a note. "I have read your story and I don't think it is very good. Please read my suggestions and you can finish it. By the way, I am a thief. I'm not going to steal anything tonight. But if you become a successful writer, I will return."
John read the thief's suggestions. Then he sat down and wrote the rest of the story. He is still not a successful writer, and he is waiting for his "visitor" to return. Before he goes out in the evening, he always leaves a half-finished story in his study. | high1620.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "normal"
},
"options": [
"upset",
"strange",
"normal",
"different"
],
"question": "When the Thais give the author surprised looks, she feels _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | I was born in Thailand, where I feel at home. I am used to jumping on to a song taow (red taxi), and squeezing in between two strangers. I am used to bargaining at the market to get a shirt that I like. I love telling bilingual jokes and I am used to the surprised looks I get from the Thais when I can speak their language fluently.
Every two years my family goes to America for the summer, and every two years my world is turned upside down. The prices of everything are three times what they were in Thailand, but there is the sweet drink Dr. Pepper! And Bluebell Ice-cream! And everything you could imagine! I am amazed at it all, but the biggest change for me is the people. There are white people everywhere. I am not tall but average , my yellow hair is no longer out of place, and speaking English no longer draws looks. I should feel comfortable. I'm not out of place anymore, and nobody is looking at me, but I feel like they are. Now I feel out of place and different. I'm not used to giving people handshakes and hugs when I meet them for the first time. I get looks when I have trouble figuring out how much money to pay. I know different music, different places, and different fashion. I can't understand these people who have never left their town or city.
Still, there are quite a few _ about living overseas. I get to meet people from all over the world, and I know how to adjust to different cultures and places. I have been to places most people see only in geography books. Still, being so different makes it hard to know who you are. I'm not Thai, but I am not American either. I am a mix of both cultures, a third culture kid. | high14408.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "How to teach a child about money"
},
"options": [
"How to develop a child's early habits.",
"How to work up an amount of pocket money",
"How to teach a child to save money",
"How to teach a child about money"
],
... | An allowance is an important tool for teaching children how to make plans for the use of money, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly. How large is an allowance is suitable? Experts say there is no right amount. Actually amounts differ from region to region, and from family to family.
To set up a suitable allowance for your child, work up a weekly plan. Allow for entertainment costs such as movies or fast food. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies. "If you make the child responsible for these bills," says Josephine ,a specialist , "he or she will learn to plan for necessary costs."
Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible, if you keep your children's allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose buying power falls away below his peer's can feel left out.
It can be taught but don't excuse your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke was ten, her mother gave her $5 a week, $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch. "If you lose your money, Brooke" mother told her, "you walk home."
One week that girl spent all her money in a candy store; then she called home for a ride. "Mom made me walk home," recalls Brooke, now a financial planner in a big company. "At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson." | high17101.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they lacked food"
},
"options": [
"they lacked food",
"they were overhunted",
"a disease attacked them",
"their habitat was destroyed"
],
"question": "Black-footed ferrets once became extinct mainly because _ ... | On a cool summer night in Wyoming, Dean Biggins waits patiently in his truck. Suddenly, Biggins, a wildlife biologist, spots a pair of eyes in the distance.
Baggins can't believe his luck: He's just caught sight of a black-footed ferret --one of the world's rarest animals.
Just over a century ago, hundreds of thousands of black-footed ferrets lived on the grasslands in North America known as the prairie. But the animals died off as prairie dog disappeared.
Black-footed ferret depend on prairie dogs for both food and shelter. After a ferret has eaten a prairie dog, it moves into the animal's burrow .
When cattlemen started setting up ranches on the prairie in the early 1900s, they thought prairie dogs, which eat grass, might compete with their cattle and sheep for food. To make sure that didn't happen, they killed off billions of prairie dogs.
As prairie dog populations dropped, black-footed ferrets disappeared. By 1979, researchers couldn't find any ferrets and declared the species extinct.
Then, two years later, a small group was discovered. Although scientists were excited about the discovery, it soon became clear that the ferrets were in danger. A disease called sylvatic plague was killing the ferrets. Soon, just 18 ferrets remained.
"To help the species survive, the researchers put all the ferrets in cages in 1986 and began raising them," says Randy Matchett, a wildlife biologist.
To help the black-footed ferrets learn survival skills, wildlife biologists put them through a process called preconditioning. Researchers build a fence around old prairie dog burrows and put the ferrets in them when they are a couple of months old. While the animals get used to their new home, researchers feed them live prairie dogs so they can practice hunting.
"Now about 1,000 black-footed ferrets are back in the wild. Despite their amazing comeback, black-footed ferrets aren't out of the woods yet," says Matchett. Sylvatic plague is still a threat, and ranchers still don't want too many prairie dogs on their land.
"We have come a long way, and we've learned a lot," says Matchett. "I think if we keep working, we'll be able to help this species recover." | high18232.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "You may get lost when passing through."
},
"options": [
"Airboats may make a very big noise.",
"You may get lost when passing through.",
"Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.",
"Many different kinds of animals ... | The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a "river of grass" because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes--and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water's surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators .
While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.
For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained . They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.
People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an _ from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides to kill them. | high2329.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The woman standing on the corner didn't like the compliment"
},
"options": [
"The first man the author praised accepted his compliment.",
"The first man the author praised worked at a radio station.",
"The woman standing on t... | About seven years ago, whenever I notice someone looked nice, I started telling them they looked nice. Shortly afterwards, I came up with an observation: If you tell five people during the day that they look nice, at the end of the day, six people feel great. Here are some fruitful experiences I have with this.
One day, I was riding with a friend when we rolled to a stop at the traffic light. As we waited for the light to turn green, a man walked across the crosswalk. He looked very together, so I called out, "Hey, you look _ today!" Pointing towards a building, he said, "Thanks, but I was sharper there." His comment puzzled me. But before I could ask about it, the light turned green, and we drove on. I asked my friend what he meant. My friend informed me that we were at the corner of a radio station and the man was the voice on the radio. Then I understood. But no matter who he was the biggest thing for me was that he was smiling when he accepted my compliment .
Later that day, there was a woman standing on the corner where we were turning, and I yelled the compliment again, "You look nice!" She was just taking a sip of a bottle of water and started to laugh. I felt good to get a laugh.
Another day, while seated in a restaurant, there was a lady sitting near me. I really did not care for her skirt, but she did look nice in it, so I told her, "You look nice today." She looked at me and rolled her eyes a little. Well, her friend sitting next to her told her, "He just gave you a compliment. Say thank you." I don't remember whether she said "thank you" or not, but what I did notice was that her friend was smiling at my "You look nice today" compliment. | high4980.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "You never seem to get old."
},
"options": [
"You enjoy the right to name your children.",
"You still need to learn.",
"You never seem to get old.",
"You get admiration as a parent."
],
"question": "Which of the ... | The cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 is about $ 160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, this figure might lead them thinking how much they could have banked. For others, that number might confirmthe decision to remain childless.
But $ 160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $ 8 ,896. 66 a year, $ 741. 38 a month, or $171. 08 a week. That's a mere $24. 44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you ever want to be "rich". It is not.
What do you get for your $ 160,140?
* Naming rights.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Kisses and hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jam.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, and building sandeastles.
For $ 160,140, you never have to grow up! You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, and never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching cartoons , going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
For $ 160,140, you get to be a hero just for taking the training wheels off the bike, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history; to witness the first step, first word, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal
You get another branch added to your family tree.
You get an education in nursing, criminal justice and communications that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
You have all the power to correct a mistake, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a party, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
...... | high20975.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The price of the ticket ordered via cell phone will be lower."
},
"options": [
"The price of the ticket ordered via cell phone will be lower.",
"Ordering tickets through the net can get good seats.",
"Few people would like to... | Long queues at cinemas buying hot tickets for blockbusters will become rare as Beijing residents will be able to order film tickets via cell phone networks in a month.
Film ticket circulation service on cell phone, also called the "Green channel of film tickets ordering", is aiming at lowing the cost of ticket circulation and easing the ticket distribution pressure on such popular film-watching days as summer and winter vacations or Valentine's Day.
"People log onto the net through cell phones, then choose cinema seats, _ , browse information for new films and read cinema introductions," said Guan Zheng, the publicity chief of Xingmei Digital Media Company Ltd., the service provider.
"Film fans can enjoy various discount prices if they order tickets via cell phones," Guan said.
Meanwhile, the cell phone ticket circulation platform provides subscribers general mobile phone services like jokes, videos, flashes, phone ring downloads and games.
The service is about to be put into trial at the Beijing-based Xingmei International Cinema for a month before being putting into use at other cinema chains both in and outside Beijing, as the service is going to be improved through gradual expansion, said Guan.
China's film industry that is being restored has seen more and more enthusiastic moviegoers. Up to the end of 2009, China has had more than 5,000 specialized cinemas, among which there are 2,243 modern cinemas with 3, 668 silver screens and 56 cinema chains.
Currently, many people buy film tickets on the Internet or by phoning the cinema's ticket office or simply queuing at the cinema gate. More people want to buy tickets on popular days like May Day holiday, National Day holiday or Valentine's Day. Yet the inefficient ticket circulation system contributes the most to the failure. | high11570.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Impressive."
},
"options": [
"Creative.",
"Impressive.",
"Persuasive.",
"Imaginative."
],
"question": "What did Russell Lyons think of his first volunteering?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {... | When Russell Lyons volunteered for the first time, he read Goodnight Moon to a class of San Diego preschoolers. And it wasn't reading-he'd memorized the book and was reciting it out loud. He was 4. Still, he said it felt good up there, in front of the other kids, lending a hand. He wanted more of that feeling.
Thirteen years later, he's getting a lot of it. He's on a five-month road trip across America-not sightseeing, but volunteering.
The University City resident has spent time at an animal reserve in Utah, a women's shelter in St. Louis, a soup kitchen in New York, a retirement home in Tucson. This week he's in Los Angeles, at a program that supports disabled youth.
"I just like helping people and feeling that something I do is making a difference," he said. He resists the idea that his "Do Good Adventure" is all that unusual. It bothers him that the media often describes young people as lazy, self-centered and materialistic. So he sees his trip as a chance to make a statement, too. "About 55 percent of teens do volunteer work, higher than the rate of adults," he said, according to a 2002 study. "Not everybody knows that."
Of course, some teens do volunteer work because it looks impressive on their college applications. Lyons said he mentioned his trip on his submissions. But charity work is a habit with him. Even before the cross country trip, he was volunteering abut 200 hours a year at various places. He's made sandwiches for homeless families in Washington D.C.. He's taught math to fifth-graders in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
He gets some of that drive from his mother, Leslye Lyons, who has been involved in nonprofits for much of her life. She was there when her son "read" to the preschoolers-a memory of hers "that will never go away." | high4758.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "of a reason that was not mentioned"
},
"options": [
"he had earned enough money",
"Google threatened Microsoft's leading place",
"PCs were out of fashion",
"of a reason that was not mentioned"
],
"question": "Bi... | Last week,Bill Gates retired from full-time work at the world's biggest computer software company, Microsoft.He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five.
Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing industry.Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers,or PCs,were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools.He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found "on every desk and in every home."
Early on,Microsoft understood the importance of the "network effect." That is, software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it.
Now,free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software.Devices like "smart phones" connect people to the Internet.Google has become a 1eader in Internet Web searching and advertising.Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment.Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system,Vista,have not been big successes.And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed.
In the last several years,Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others.In two thousand,he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University.Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty.Still,it is hard to overestimate the influence of Bill Gates on computing.He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world's one billion PCs.Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees.
At fifty--two years old,Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world.He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars.He remains Microsoft's biggest shareholder.
Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars.It provides money for health, education and other projects,mostly in developing countries. | high17115.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To make money is the root of developers working on new games."
},
"options": [
"Ten percent of online games users are over 30.",
"To make money is the root of developers working on new games.",
"In the past, games were not en... | A recent survey shows the number of online game users in China reached 40 million last year. That's over a 20 percent increase from the year before.
At 22:00 p.m. in a Beijing Internet cafe, many people inside,especially the young, playing online games.
An industry report says that over 90% of online game users are under 30.
An online game player said, "Online games help me handle life pressures. The scenarios don't come up in real life, so I can be famous and get whatever I want when playing.
Players say this is their way of communicating with each other,even in different places.
Though many players admit that online games are time consuming and cost much money, the number of users is increasing. It's estimated that by 2012, there will be 80 million online game players in China.
Driven by profit, developers are constantly working on new games. Last year, more than 250 new games entered the market. But figures show that games with a native cultural background are preferred, even by foreigners.
"During our research on new games, we found we can promote Chinese culture with the game itself." said an online game developer.
Criticism about online games is beefing up with more and more young people spending too much time playing games filled with violence, gambling and superstition.
Kou Xiaowei from Gen. Admin. of Press & Publication said, "We are putting forward stricter monitoring measures. If bad content is found, it will be deleted."
With the help of government guidelines, developers are producing better quality online games suitable for young people.
Games that are not violent or offensive, but ones from which a player can learn, such as general knowledge of quiz games.
Officials say they will spend five years on purifying the online games. Their goal is to produce games that entertain and at the same time, provide useful knowledge. | high18226.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The Consequences of modern Technology"
},
"options": [
"The Advance of Communications Technology",
"The Consequences of modern Technology",
"The Story of Communications Revolution",
"The Automation of Modern Communicati... | A funny thing happened on the way to the communications revolution: we stopped talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and... I became invisible, absent from the conversation. The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communications technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction . With email and instant messaging over the internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated , the alienation index goes up. You can't even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn't wise... they're a great help to us. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.
More and more. I find myself hiding behind email to do a job meant for conversation. Or being relieved that voice mail picked up because I didn't really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier ...or at least facilitating my antisocial instincts.
So I've put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging with people who live near me, no cell phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home. | high5452.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "start a global campaign against early marriages"
},
"options": [
"urge parents to treat girls equally as boy",
"call on people to pay more attention to girls' education",
"call on people to pay more attention to girls in poor... | At age 11, Ghulam was married off to 40-year-old Jaiz in a rural Afghan village, making her only one of more than 10 million young girls who are being forced to wed men old enough to be their fathers of grandfather every year.
In an effort to start a global conversation about the devastating effects of early marriages, which are currently practiced in more than 50 developing countries, the United Nations designed October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child this year.
Although child marriage is against the law in many countries, and international treaties forbid the practice, it is estimated that about 51 million girls below age 18 are currently married, often under the cover of darkness and in secret. In Afghanistan alone, it is believed that approximately 57 percent of girls wed before the legal age of 16.
Various factors drive parents of child bridges to marry off their daughters, from the community's pressure to confirm to age-old cultural customs to economic considerations. In poor, developing nations, it is not uncommon for families to settle debts by offering their daughters as payment.
Experts agree that early marriage denies the girl education and robs them of their childhood because most young wives, burdened by grownup responsibilities, do not get a chance to interact with their peers or carry on friendships outside the household. In many cases, the girls are lorded over by their husbands and in-laws, leaving them vulnerable to domestic violence as well as physical, sexual and verbal abuse. Underage wives who are lucky enough to escape from their husbands end up living in poverty, or worse. Most girls who enter early marriages are expected to get pregnant right away, which often leads to tragedy for both the mothers, who are still children themselves, and their babies.
Unless international organizations take steps to reverse the troubling trend, it is estimated that over the next decade, 100 million more girls--or about 25,000 girls a day ---will marry before they turn 18.
To learn more about campaign to end the practice of early marriages, please click: Too Young To Wed. | high4994.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve years"
},
"options": [
"four years",
"eight years",
"twelve years",
"twenty years"
],
"question": "How long is it since Mrs. Blake graduated from middle school?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | Mrs. Blake teaches English in a large school in the inner area of a big city on the west coast. Even since she was a young girl, she has wanted to become a teacher. She has taught eight years now and hasn't changed her mind. After she graduated from high school, she went on to college. Four years later, she received her bachelor's degree (BA) in English and her teaching certificate . Then she went to teach in the secondary schools of her state. In the summers, Mrs. Blake takes more classes; she hopes to get a master's degree ( MA ). With an MA, she will receive a higher salary and if possible, she hopes to get a doctor's degree as well. The school day at Mrs. Blake's high school, like that in many high schools in the United States, is divided into one hour each. Mrs. Blake must teach five of these periods. During her free period, which for her is from 2 to 3 P.M, Mrs. Blake must meet with parents, make our examinations, check assignments at all, Mrs. Blake works continuously from the time she arrives at school in the morning till the time she leaves for home late in the afternoon. | high3023.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker."
},
"options": [
"Good ways of studying English well.",
"Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker.",
"Things to pay attention to when learning English.",
"How to correct y... | How do you improve your English speaking skills, so that you can communicate more easily and effectively? These tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.
Practice where you can and when you can. Any practice is good--- whether you
speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple sentence structure that you know is correct so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Try not to translate into and from your own language. It takes too much time and you will find it difficult to get an English answer right away. You don?t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you more shilly-shally.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time ,and say things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ' um',or 'er',if you forget the word.
Don't speak too fast! It? s important to use a natural rhythm in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak and you,11 find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at normal speed. Final tips
--Try to become less hesitant and more confident.
--Don't be shy to speak------ the more you do it, the more confident you,11 become.
--Remember to be polite------ use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to
do something for you. | high20961.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she was lucky to have a job working with Helen"
},
"options": [
"Helen was full of complaint about her work",
"it was easy for Helen to make everyone happy and comfortable",
"she was lucky to have a job working with Helen",
... | I had my first job at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery when I was 22. I worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow waitress Helen who had incredible self-respect and did what she loved--serving people. She made everyone smile and feel good, customers and co-workers alike.
Being a waitress changed my life. One of my regular customers was Fred Hasbrook, an electronics salesman. Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen, I dreamed of having my own restaurant. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, "We just don't have the money."
The next day, I shared my dream with him and said, "Fred, I know I can do more if somebody would just have faith in me."
He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me checks totaling $50,000--along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, "The only collateral on this loan is my trust in your honesty as a person. Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to make that dream come true."
I took the checks to Merrill Lynch--the first time I had ever entered a brokerage house--where the money was invested for me. I continued working at the Buttercup, making plans for the restaurant I would open. My investments soured, though, and I lost the money.
After great deliberation I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker. Eventually I paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm.
I got a thank-you note from Fred, which will be imprinted on my head forever. He had been sick and wrote that my check had helped cover his mounting medical bills. His letter read, "That loan may have been one of the best investments that I will ever make." | high11564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "some pedestrians are a threat to road safety"
},
"options": [
"drivers should be polite to cyclists",
"road accidents can actually be avoided",
"some pedestrians are a threat to road safety",
"walking while using phones... | Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger
We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.
#Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders.
People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing whileN crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.
The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.
----Michael Horan
#I loved the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.
I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me.
The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.
The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!
The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent jackets and lights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.
----Carol Harvey
#Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.
I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.
Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists?
It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be treated and there might be an opportunity to claim.
----JML
Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper. | high19138.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "http://a4esl.org/"
},
"options": [
"http://a4esl.org/",
"http://www.manythings.org/voa/",
"http://www.world-english.org/listening.html",
"http://eleaston.com/listen, html"
],
"question": "If you want to test how... | This column is part of a series on websites that are useful for English language learning.Activities for ESL Students
Includes various types of tests, exercises and puzzles designed to help people studying English as a second language (ESL).The activities include grammar, vocabulary and idiom tests at easy, medium and difficult levels.The specially designed Chinese-English vocabulary tests can help Chinese memorize English words.
http://a4esl.org/
Interesting Things for ESL Students
Contains a comprehensive list of audio clips from the Special English programs of Voice of America (VOA).The list covers news of all kinds on VOA.The listening and vocabulary exercises and the word list designed with the clips will help English learners improve listening ability and increase vocabulary.
http://www.manythings.org/voa/
World-English
This site provides a list of radio or TV channels offering English news clips.It includes the BBC radio program clips from England, CNN and ABC news clips from the US, and other news clips from other English-speaking countries.Click on the links and you will be taken to channels where you can listen to clips.This is a good way to practice listening.
http://www.world-english.org/listening.html
Listen to English
Offers a large number of materials for English learners to practice listening.The materials include business English, English literature, history, movies, and politics.Students can improve their English while enjoying the beauty of the English of literature, songs, movies, and news in different countries.
http://eleaston.corn/listen, html | high7245.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She asked them to ask their parents for help."
},
"options": [
"She asked them to call 911 as soon as possible.",
"She asked them to teach her how to perform CPR.",
"She asked them to ask their parents for help.",
"She ... | Only about 30 percent of people in the US know how to perform CPR . Recently, a 9-year-old boy showed a Georgia woman how to perform CPR on her newborn baby.
Susanna Rohm said she had experienced a parent's worst nightmare -- her 2-month-old son, Isiah, was not breathing. "I noticed he looked pale. I looked at his arms and his legs and they were limp ," Rohm told a local newspaper. "Then I noticed that he looked like he wasn't alive." In _ , she dropped and broke her cellphone. Rohm had to run into the street, screaming for help.
"I had him in my arms and screamed over and over. Then I ran outside. I saw two boys playing across the street, and I yelled, 'Go and ask your parents to call 911,'" Rohm said. But the two boys were able to do more than that. Nine-year-old Ethan Wilson took action, showing Rohm how to perform CPR on little Isiah while ten-year-old Rocky Hurt helped as well.
Rocky said he had learned the CPR technique from a poster in a health class at their school, Sedalia Park Elementary. "I was thinking we'd better give her a helping hand instead of getting scared," Ethan said. "I told her to push on the baby's chest five to ten times a minute with only two fingers, tilt back the baby's head, plug the baby's nose and breathe into the baby's mouth," Ethan said in an interview.
At last, Isiah began crying and was breathing again. He spent two nights in a local hospital. "If the little boy hadn't shown me what to do right there, my baby would probably not be alive right now," Rohm said. | high8176.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They all want people in the proper position."
},
"options": [
"Each of them is commented by their manager.",
"They are located in the south of the same city.",
"Their companies are introduced in detail.",
"They all want... | City College Union Inc
Secretary/Typist
The Union is a student-run organization with a permanent staff of 20.Typing speed:at least 60 wpm.
The ability to take shorthand dictation and a working knowledge of filling procedures are essential requirements.
The basic salary for the position is $ 18,500 per year.
Enquires to R.Barbar 387-5075.
Emu Airline
Secretary
Emu Airline is now offering a part-time position for a secretary.
The position offers at least 20 hours' work a week, with a view to full-time work in the future. Monthly salary is about $ 1,400.
Phone 899-3264 for an appointment.
Word Processor
Operator (full-time)
We need an operator to work in an office associated with the building industry.Only experienced operators are expected to apply.
Starting salary:$ 17,950 yearly.
Apply in writing to:
The Personnel Officer Hill Morgan Pty Ltd 38 Green Hill Rd.Kensington 2033.
Sewing Machinist Wanted
Jeans Industry
We are an expanding clothing company located south of the city.Our products include jeans,skirts,shorts and so on.We are looking for sewing machine operators.
The factory works a 38-hour week over 4-5 days.Wages for this are $ 18,050 per year.Wages and conditions are in line with the current industrial award.
If you are interested, come over and pick up an application form from Ripper Jeans,23 North Ave,Beaudesert. | high13373.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "their answers seldom satisfied him"
},
"options": [
"they often angered and disappointed him",
"their answers often astonished him",
"their answers seldom satisfied him",
"he often misunderstood them and gave them bad m... | There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with his students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee, the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK. Then the professor asked about the cure for the illness, and the student, too, answered just as right. "Good," said the professor, "and how much will you give the patient?" "A full spoon," answered the student. "Now you go out and wait for what you can get," said the professor. At the same time the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed there was something wrong with his last answer. "A full spoon is too much," he thought to himself. Anxiously he entered the room and cried, "Mr. Professor, I've made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops. "
"I'm sorry, sir," said the professor coldly, "but it's too late. Your patient has died." | high9268.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the degree of changes of people's opinions"
},
"options": [
"the changes in the attitudes of the people",
"the degree of changes of people's opinions",
"the result of the experiment",
"the difference in people's charact... | It is well-known that when an individual joins a group, he tends to accept the group's standards of behavior and thinking. Many illustrations could be given of this from everyday life, but what is of particular interest to psychologists is the extent to which people's judgments and opinions can be changed as a result of group pressure, Asch and others noticed that people in a group will agree to statements that are contrary to the evidence of their senses. It would be a mistake to think that only particularly docile people are chosen to take part in experiments of this type. Usually highly intelligent and independent people are used. In a typical experiment, this is what may happen.
The experimenter asks for volunteers to join a group which is investigating visual perception .The victims are not, therefore, aware of the real purpose of the experiment. Each volunteer is taken to a room where he finds a group of about seven people who are cooperating with the experimenter. The group is shown a standard card which contains a single line. They are then asked to look at a second card. This has three lines on it. One is obviously longer than the line on the first card; one is shorter and one the same length. They have to say which line on the second card is the same length as the line on the standard card. The other members of the group answer first but what the volunteer does not know is that they have been told to pick one of the wrong lines. When his turn comes, he is faced with the unanimous opinion of the rest of the group-all the others have chosen line A but he quite clearly sees line B as correct. What will be do? According to Asch, more than half of the vietims chosen will change their opinion. What is equally surprising is that, when interviewed about their answers, most explained that they knew the group choice was incorrect but that they gave in to the pressure of the group because they thought they must be suffering from an optical illusion , or because they were afraid of being different. | high22810.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "9 years"
},
"options": [
"40 years",
"21 years",
"10 years",
"9 years"
],
"question": "The first games for the disabled were held _ after Sir Ludwig Guttmann arrived in England.",
"question_type": "cloze... | 40 years ago the idea of disabled people doing sport was never heard of. But when the yearly games for the disabled were started at Stoke Mandeville, England in 1948 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the situation began to change.
Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who had been driven to England in 1939 from Nazi Germany, had been asked by the British government to set up an injuries center at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London, His ideas about treating injuries included sport for the disabled.
In the first games just two teams of injured soldiers took part .The next year, 1949, five teams took part. From those beginnings, things have developed fast. Teams now come from abroad to Stoke Mandeville every year. In 1990 the first Olympics for the disabled were held in Rome, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games. Now, every four years the Olympic Games for the disabled are held, if possible, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games, although they are organized separately. In other years games for the disabled are still held at Stoke Mandeville, In the 1984 Wheelchair Olympic Games, 1,064 wheelchair athletes form about 40 countries took part. Unfortunately, they were held at Stoke Mandeville and not in Los Angeles, along with the other Olympics.
The games have been a great success in helping the progress of international friendship and understanding, and in proving that being disabled does not mean you can't enjoy sport. One small source of disappointment for those who organize and take part in the games, however, has been the unwillingness of the International Olympic Committee to include disabled events at the Olympic Games for the able-bodied. Perhaps a few more years are still needed to persuade those fortunate enough not to be disabled that their disabled fellow athletes should be included. | high1152.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the news broadcast on the air"
},
"options": [
"an official visit to Africa",
"the improvement of relationship between China and the U.S.",
"the news broadcast on the air",
"the strike led by the teachers' union"
],... | This is news on the Hour. Ed Wilson is reporting. The President and First Lady will visit Africa on a goodwill tour in May. They plan to visit eight African countries.
Reports from China say the Chinese want closer ties between China and the U.S. and Western Europe. A group of top China scientists starts its ten-nation tour next month.
Here in Milmi, the mayor is still meeting with the leaders of the teachers' union to try to find a way to end the strike. City schools are still closed after two weeks.
In news about health, scientists in California report findings of relationship between the drinking of coffee and the increase of heart disease among woman. According to the report in the American Medical Journal, the five-year study shows this: women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have a greater chance of having heart disease than women who do not.
In sports, the Chargers lost again last night. The BBS beat them one to nothing. The Wingers had better results. They beat the Rifles 7 to 3.It was their first win in their five matches.
That the news of the Hour. And now back to more easy listening with Jan Singer. | high7523.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the knowledge gained from failure lasts longer"
},
"options": [
"what we learn from failure is more powerful",
"what we learn from success does no good to us",
"the knowledge gained from failure is important for a company",
... | No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.
One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.
They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.
The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites--and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.
In two thousand two, a piece of insulating material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.
Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.
Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.
He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.
The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? I'm just dusting, Mum!"So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in hispocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is mywallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place. | high8610.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The young man had just got off a train."
},
"options": [
"The young man went past the railway station.",
"The young man was working in the railway station",
"The young man had just got off a train.",
"The you man was wa... | It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn't have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, "Where do you want to go, sir?"
"To the Star Hotel," the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn't feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.
After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. "You should pay me fifteen dollars," the car driver said to the young man. "What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I'm a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won't pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week." | high15064.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Behind the Scene."
},
"options": [
"Behind the Scene.",
"Hard Life of Musicians.",
"My Part-time Job.",
"How to Make Musicians Happy."
],
"question": "Which might be the best title for the passage?",
"questi... | Once you've tasted the joy and freedom of an all-access backstage pass, sitting in the balcony far from the stage has little attraction. In March of 2008, I had the opportunity to tour with a band. The experience was eye-opening.
I hadn't realized how many misconceptions I had about the lifestyle of a world-class musician. Such a life is not as great as it appears. In fact, some aspects are extremely _ . Hours and hours are spent waiting. The musicians wait for their transportation; they wait for the sound check; they wait to perform. After the show, they wait for the crowds of fans to go away.
When the musicians are not waiting, they are traveling. Sometimes the travel itself can seem attractive and exciting, with the limousines and the first-class seats on the plane. However, even these luxuries cannot make up for long, boring hours on the road or in the air. Basic needs are all but ignored. Late-night shows and early wake-up calls make them know the preciousness of sleep. The demanding travel itineraries and show schedules make regular meals impossible.
In spite of the sacrifices, life on tour has its advantage, at least for the talent. A support team generally travels with the band, with at least one person dedicated to meeting the musicians' needs at all times. The musicians are expected to perform at the shows, but they are not expected to manage any detail of their lives. When I was with the band, I poured glasses of grapefruit juice, made sandwiches, prepared dressing rooms, and performed all kinds of routine work, such as buying toothpaste and getting money from the ATM. In addition, efforts are made by promoters to keep the musicians happy. Most places offer private dressing rooms for the musicians. There is also usually a green room, a room that is large with comfortable furnishings where the band can visit with friends and family while waiting to go on stage. Before the band goes on, their families and friends file out into the auditorium and find their seats. The house lights go dark and curtain rises. When the lights flash on and the band starts playing, the scene is magical. A behind-the-scenes view makes the experience even more spectacular. | high3745.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "law"
},
"options": [
"law",
"rubbish",
"advice",
"warning"
],
"question": "To the writer, what her mother said was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1... | "Mom, can I bake some bread?" We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.
"It's not worth the trouble," my mother said. "It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort."
Begging was useless. Mom's "no" meant "No!"
But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.
We studied the recipe. That was easy. "Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt."
We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.
"Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough holds together, squeeze it."
We took turns working like that. "Is the dough 'holding together'?" we asked each other.
I remembered my neighbor's instructions: "If it's too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water."
We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.
"Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth," the recipe instructed.
We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.
"Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour."
This was good news --- we'd have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. "See?" we would tell my mom. "Isn't it worth the work?"
Hanna and I couldn't help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.
"Maybe something will happen in the hot oven," I said.
Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.
Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right. | high11202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is more common in business circles"
},
"options": [
"is practiced exclusively by the FBI",
"is more common in business circles",
"has been intensified with the help of the IRS",
"is mainly carried out by means of secret... | When we worry about who might be spying on our private lives, we usually think about the Federal agents. But the private sector outdoes the government every time. It's Linda Tripp, not the FBI, who is facing charges under Maryland's laws against secret telephone taping. It's our banks, not the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), that pass our private financial data to telemarketing firms.
Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far. The legislators lean toward letting business people track our financial habits virtually at will.
As an example of what's going on, consider U.S. Bancorp, which was recently sued for deceptive practices by the state of Minnesota. According to the lawsuit, the bank supplied a telemarketer called Member Works with sensitive customer data such as names, phone numbers, bank-account and credit-card numbers, social security numbers, account balances and credit limits.
With these customer lists in hand, Member Works started dialing for dollars-selling dental plans, videogames, computer software and other products and services. Customers who accepted a "free trial offer" had 30 days to cancel. If the deadline passed, they were charged automatically through their bank or credit-card accounts. U.S. Bancorp collected a share of the revenues.
Customers were doubly deceived, the lawsuit claims. They didn't know that the bank was giving account numbers to Member Works. And if customers asked, they were led to think the answer was no.
The state sued Member Works separately for deceptive selling. The company denies that it did anything wrong. For its part, U.S. Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes. But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to nonfinancial products sold by outside firms. A few top banks decided to do the same. Many other banks will still do business with Member Works and similar firms.
And banks will still be mining data from your account in order to sell you financial products, including things of little value, such as credit insurance and credit-card protection plans.
You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit. For example, no federal law shields "transaction and experience" information-mainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts. Social Security numbers are for sale by private firms. They've generally agreed not to sell to the public. But to businesses, the numbers are an open book. Self-regulation doesn't work. A firm might publish a privacy-protection policy, but who enforces it?
Take U.S. Bancorp again. Customers were told, in writing, that "all personal information you supply to us will be considered confidential." Then it sold your data to Member Works. The bank even claims that it doesn't "sell" your data at all. It merely "shares" it and reaps a profit. Now you know. | high19886.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "something we talk about to start a conversation."
},
"options": [
"a kind of conversation with short words.",
"a greeting used when people meet each other.",
"something we talk about to start a conversation.",
"to let p... | As we all know , the language is a very important tool for people to communicate with each other. In most of the languages , people usually begin their conversations by a kind of small talk -a casual form of conversation that "breaks the ice" or fills an awkward silence between people . That is to say , small talk means the little things we talk about to start a conversation . In English-speaking countries such as Britain, people often make small talk about the weather. " Nice day, isn't it?" "Terrible weather , isn't it?"
However, we still have something special about small talk. It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable . People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At basketball matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching. "Great game , isn't it?" At train stations, people may talk about the transport system . " The train service is terrible, isn't it?" | high17673.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "when she arrived at the airport"
},
"options": [
"when she was leaving America",
"on her way back to Santo Domingo",
"before she left the USA",
"when she arrived at the airport"
],
"question": "Maria's story hap... | Sixteen-year-old Maria was waiting in line at the airport in Santo Domingo. She was leaving her native country to join her sister in the United States. She spoke English very well. Though she was very happy she could go abroad, she was feeling sad at leaving her family and friends. As she was thinking all about this, she suddenly heard the airline employee asking her to pick up her luggage and put it on the scales . Maria pulled and pulled. The bag was too heavy and she just couldn't lift it up. The man behind her got very impatient. He, too, was waiting to check in his luggage.
"What's wrong with this girl?" He said, "Why doesn't she hurry up?" He moved forward and placed his bag on the counter, hoping to check in first. He was in a hurry to get a good seat.
Maria was very angry, but she was very polite. And in her best English she said, "Why are you so upset? There are enough seats for everyone on the plane. If you are in such a hurry, why can't you give me a hand with my luggage?"
The man was surprised to hear Maria speak English. He quickly picked up her luggage and stepped back. Everyone was looking at him with disapproval. | high18540.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "try to give them a helping hand"
},
"options": [
"try to give them a helping hand",
"do housework for them when they are sick",
"give them a good job if they're out of work",
"lend them money when their parents are ill"... | Neighbors play an important role in our lives. Their lifestyle, friends, and social habits can have a strong influence on our lives. So it's a good idea to get along well with neighbors and build a better relationship that will last for many years to come. But how should you get along with your neighbors?
When you hear of a special need you can meet, do it, such as sitting with a sick child while your neighbor goes to work or taking an elderly parent to a doctor's appointment when their car won't start.
If you hear that someone close by is ill, has an accident, or is out of work, give him or her a hot meal or a fresh dessert. Your kindness will add a special feeling during a difficult time. If your neighbor is cutting down a tree or building a doghouse, offer helping hands to him or her. There is no better way to build relationships. Besides, you never know when the favor might be returned.
Exchange holiday cards, gifts or traditions. Invite your neighbors over for a cup of coffee or lunch. A backyard barbecue can be a great way to share food and fun. If they've watched your kids grow up or been concerned about your family events, they may want to share these special events.
Plan a party. Invite all your neighbors to your party. Planning and carrying out the activity helps everyone to know and understand each other.
Your neighbors are like your family in many ways since you have to live with them, or near them for a long time. Appreciate their strong points and ignore weak points, and everyone will get along well. | high5334.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It was built by middle school students."
},
"options": [
"It was built by middle school students.",
"It has an' attractive design.",
"It was made in 1971.",
"It won the fourth prize."
],
"question": "What is spe... | It's not the flashiest car in the world. Not even close. But the 1971 Volkswagen named Helios can do something most cars can't: nm on solar energy - energy from the sun's light and heat!
Joshua Bechtold, 14, and the other students at the Riverside School in Lyndonville, Vermont, worked many months to getHeliosready for the 1999 American Tour de Sol ( "Sol" is the Latin word for "sun"). They named their car after Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology .
The 4-year-old Tour de Sol encourages the use of "green", or environmentally friendly, cars to help reduce pollution and save energy. It' s not a race. Cars are judged on fuel efficiency rather than speed. In the week-long event, 44 cars took the 350-mile tour from Waterbury, Connecticut, to prefix = st1 /Lake George,New York. Of the 23 student cars, Helios was the only one built by middle school students.
A teacher droveHelios, but the children talked with people wherever they stopped along the mad. "That was my favorite part," says Anna Browne, 15. "We explained how the car runs."
Due in part to old, inefficient batteries , Heliosfinished fourth - out of four - in its kind, the sun-powered class. "We were there for the fun of it," Anna says. "We're proud ofHelios," says Ariel Gleicher, 14. "It's a car that's good for the environment." | high21896.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "popular culture influences people"
},
"options": [
"new films and shows replace the old",
"movie stars are changing over time",
"popular culture influences people",
"advertisements change rapidly"
],
"question":... | Fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular. Fashion goes beyond just clothes, though. It's important for some people to wear only the latest fashions and styles. For others, though, keeping up with trends isn't that important. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: it always changes!
In the 1960s and 1970s, hippies made bell-bottomed blue jeans popular. In the 1980s, Michael Jackson made parachute pants all the fashion. Now try to find these items in today's clothing stores!
Why do fashions change? The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change. Over time, the new replaces the old. People are influenced greatly by popular culture, including athletes, musicians, movie stars, as well as popular films, televisions shows, books and music. We are also influenced by the fashion industry's advertising.
The stars of popular culture are always searching for a new angle to maintain their popularity. Often these new angles come in the form of new clothing or hairstyles. When people see these new styles, they often want to imitate their favorite stars. To do so, they seek out the latest fashions to make themselves look like the people they want to imitate. In this way, fashions evolve and change over time.
For years, clothes have been used to separate people into groups. Even today, brand-name clothing that is more expensive than other types of clothing can be used by some people to distinguish themselves from others. Unfortunately, this can often have the effect of distancing certain groups from others.
Don't forget that it's always OK to develop your own sense of style that is unique and separate from what the fashion world determines! Stay true to yourself and let your personality -- not your clothes -- speak for who you are. | high10493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Three."
},
"options": [
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four.",
"Five."
],
"question": "How many ways are mentioned to fight insects in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | Home gardens are very common in America. They can provide people with fresh vegetables, but hard work should be done. For example, you have to fight against insects and animals in home gardens, because they like the fresh vegetables as much as us. Maybe you will surround a small garden with a wire fence, but this may not keep out birds or some digging animals. Instead, it can reduce unwanted visitors.
You can remove harmful insects by hand. But if you want to use poisons, be extremely careful. Be sure to follow all the safety directions.
There is another way to fight insects-avoid planting a crop in the same place every year. Insects lay eggs in the soil, so they reappear yearly. Moving a crop from place to place in the garden can keep insects away from the plants they like to eat.
To reduce garden work, spread eight to ten centimetres of _ under and around vegetables. Mulch can be made of tree bark or the pages of newspapers. Mulch will help limit the growth of weeds and hold water in the soil. Mulch also provides fertilizer as it breaks down. You can talk to an agricultural adviser about other fertilizers to add to the soil.
Harvest vegetables during the cool part of the morning if possible. Here is some advice for some popular kinds of vegetables:
Harvest beans and peas when they have grown full, bright and green. Do not wait too long.
Heads of broccoli should be harvested before any yellow flowers appear. More growth will develop later for a continuous harvest.
Some greens like collards , mustard and spinach produce more leaves after the first harvest. They will continue to grow all the season. Pick green onions when they reach the desired size. Pick other onions when their top leaves turn yellow.
A home garden can be hard work for several months. But a good harvest is the best reward. | high20550.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "6 million"
},
"options": [
"4.3 million",
"6 million",
"8 million",
"3.7 million"
],
"question": "It is judged that there are _ people hit by AIDS in Asia or so.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | AIDS' Threat to Asia Grows
NEW DELHI----Just a few years ago, Mala was a typical middle-class Indian housewife. She cooked, cleaned and looked after her two small children.
Last year, her life took a tragic turn. Her husband died of AIDS; she was found out HIV-positive and her mother-in-law took her children away from her, saying they would get the disease. "When friends dropped for a visit, she would introduce me, saying, 'She is my son's widow. She has AIDS,'" said Mala. AIDS is now described as "explosive " around the world. A study of a hospital in the port city of Durban in South Africa, where the world's biggest and Africa's second AIDS conference opened last Sunday, found that almost half the beds in medical wards were occupied by AIDS patients.
South Africa has one of the world's fastest growing HIV infections, with 1,700 people infected daily, adding to the 4.3 million, or 10 percent of its population, living with HIV. Until now, Asia has been more successful in holding the AIDS virus than Africa, where the disease has killed about 12 million people.
AIDS is now threatening to surround many of Asia's poverty-stricken countries. Countries in Asia, such as Cambodia, and Thailand, have HIV infection speeds over 1 percent. But the low speeds hide huge numbers of infected people, because of the population base.
In India, for example, 3.7 million are infected, more than in any other country except South Africa. In China, an estimated 860,000 people (the actual number may be a little larger), mainly drug users, live with HIV/AIDS. Gordon Alexander, a senior advisor for UN AIDS in India, estimates that the number hit by AIDS in Asia will climb about eight million over the next five years from about six million.
In many Asian countries, the battle against HIV is a social and cultural one against public discussion of sexual health put a nationwide media campaign into action to limit the speed of HIV through unsafe sex. Brenton Wong, an official for Singapore's Action for AIDS, _ . "Shame and deny is still very, very common so people are afraid to get tested and many times won't even tell their families if they test positive," said Wong. | high11955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Giving her classmates advice before tests."
},
"options": [
"Working as a newspaper deliverer.",
"Feeling proud of her intelligence.",
"Working hard to be honored and awarded.",
"Giving her classmates advice before test... | Like a backward tape, time returns to my mom's teens.She is waiting for admission results from a famous high school.She has studied for the test but with joy, since she feels no suffering in learning.Suddenly I spy her jumping and laughing, waving a paper in her hand while her family stands nearby, more shocked than happy.No one else from their village has ever passed the test.
Later, at her new high school, I proudly watch as she continues to rise to the top.Many of her essays are published in newspapers, and her classmates seek her advice when a test is approaching. She never refuses them, and I feel honored to be related to such an intelligent person.
As I walk with her through her journey, I finally come to the point I have been looking forward to most: her life in America. After passing several tests and finding a kind boss to sponsor her, she becomes a college student at University of California, Los Angeles. At first, I sense her loneliness and panic as she tries to adapt to her new surroundings.Though her English is broken and she knows little about American culture, I can tell she is more than grateful to be here. Here she has access to electricity and running water, and most importantly, better schools. At UCLA, she has so many opportunities to grow and advance in her field.
Her journey to America was for just one reason: education.Though having an education will better her life, I know she doesn't do it for herself.My mom wants her children to have an easier life that will not require hard labor.I see what my mom goes through, and I'm filled with gratitude that she has made the brave choice to move here. | high5863.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they are in great need"
},
"options": [
"they are too common",
"they look very beautiful",
"there are more restaurants",
"they are in great need"
],
"question": "Many people are beginning to plant mushrooms prob... | Growing mushrooms is probably the easiest thing you can do if you are new to mushroom growing. Mushroom growing is becoming more and more common as restaurants are creating more dishes that include mushrooms.
Mushroom growing is easy. To start with you need to have a growing space where you are going to grow these mushrooms. It does not have to be too big enough for you to grow as many mushrooms as you need. When you have found the space that is perfect for you, you can start to research what kind of mushrooms you want to grow. There are hundreds of kinds to choose from but not all mushrooms are _ which is an important fact you need to remember before you start. Don't grow mushrooms you can't use or sell.
When you figure out what kind of mushrooms you want to grow, you can make some preparations. Sometimes you need to hire some workers to help you if you have a large mushroom farm, or if you are trying to start a professional mushroom growing business. Trying to start a business by yourself can be stressful. If you don't have time to take care of everything yourself, to hire a worker is the best bet.
After you have started the mushroom growing, you should regularly check and make sure that your mushrooms are growing properly and that they are not being attacked by any pesticides or any other animals that are potentially dangerous for them. That is the worst situation of mushroom growing. Protect your mushroom farm well with a fence or a gate so that only you and your workers can get in an out.
Mushroom growing is not difficult and is a really easy way to get started in the field of farming. You will possibly supply some of the great chefs of the world with high-quality mushrooms that will be enjoyed by thousands of people around the world. | high12284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Poison Toads Leap Across Australia"
},
"options": [
"Poison Toads Leap Across Australia",
"Strategies To Keep the Toads Under Control",
"The Main Threat the Cane Toads Cause",
"Climate Favours the Spread of Cane Toads."... | Native to America, the cane toad was introduced to northern Queensland 70 years ago to control sugarcane beetles . The toads failed in that duty but spread across prefix = st1 /Queenslandand into neighboring northern area.
Now it calmly invades the states of Western Australia and New South Wales (NSW). NSW wildlife experts fear _ --which have poisonous backs that kill hungry predators, --will have a terrible effect on native animals.
Those fears may be about to be realized. Australia's leading government research body, the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research organization (CSIRO), forecasts a rise in average temperatures that will make NSW ideal living place for the cane toad.
Tony Robinson, head of CSIRO's Wildlife,Pests,and Diseases Program, said climate change is increasing the amount of suitable living place for the toad.
"With climate change, the cane toads might go down as far as Sydney and some areas of Western Australia," Robinson said.
Recent estimates put the pace of the toad's westward march at nearly 17 miles(27 kilometers)a year and slightly slower from north to south.
More southerly cities, such as Melbourne and Adelaide, would likely remain too cold and dry to ever suit the toads, Robinson noted, but Perthcould expect cane toads in five years' time.
Sydney could see their arrival in the next 20 years.
Robinson said there is no 0ne method that will keep the toads under control.
The cane toads already cover at least half of Queenslandand most of the northern country the toads are believed to number in the billions.
A Venezuelan virus was tried in the 1990s but had to be given up after it was found to also kill native frog species.
Scientists and governmental bodies believe a national approach is needed.
The main threat the toads cause to species such as dingos, quolls, goannas, and crocodiles is the poison contained in glands on each of the frogs' shoulders. The poison sprays out when the toads are threatened or handled roughly.
The poison is made up of 14 different chemicals. Together they cause rapid heartbeats, excessive salivation, convulsions, and paralysis.
Cane toads also compete, and usually win, the hunt for food and living space.
"If the government and other states combine resources, I believe we can achieve a very practical biological -control research program, "Burns said. | high22347.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "stress that a person has a very good memory"
},
"options": [
"prove that everyone can have a good memory",
"stress that a person has a very good memory",
"show what matters much to a good memory",
"tell us a good memory... | Have you ever known someone with a "photographic memory"? It's easy to assume that people with super memories are super intelligent, but the key to their ability is in the methods that they use to remember information. By learning and mastering some basic techniques, you can also boost your memory. Here are some tips to make it happen.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is our body's way of "rebooting" out systems. Besides allowing our bodies to recover, sleep also helps our brains to process all of the information that they have received during the day. When we fail to get enough sleep, our brains experience an overload of memory.
Organize before you memorize
It turns out that brains work much like today's computers do. The more efficiently we store information, the more available storage space we'll have. So when memorizing information, store it into chunks that are logically grouped.
Use visual and auditory input
Our senses have a crucial role in creating our memories. Pictures, graphs, and recordings can help to make our memorization more concrete. These types of techniques are particularly effective for those who are "visual" or "auditory" learners. Certain _ techniques work better for certain people.
Make memorization meaningful
It's one thing to memorize facts and figures for the sake of doing it. It's quite another thing to make the information meaningful. Make it personal and seek a deeper understanding of the information. These basic steps will help you to memorize more information, and memorize it faster.
Connect new information with previous knowledge
You'll be able to store information faster, by linking new information that you memorized, with information that you memorized in the past. By linking new information with old information, you'll improve both your short-term and long-term memories.
While not all of us are born with a photographic memory, by using these tips you can transform you brain into a super computer. Forget about needing to say "I forgot" throughout the day. | high23059.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The ant was small but clever."
},
"options": [
"The ant was hurt by the lion.",
"The ant was small but clever.",
"The white pigeon was as brave as the ant.",
"The lion wanted to play a joke on the rabbit couple."
],... | One day while walking along the bank of a river, a rabbit couple saw a wounded ant lying unconsciously on the grass. The rabbit couple gently put the ant on the leaf of a nearby plant. She soon recovered and saw the rabbit couple sitting beside her.
The ant remembered that she had found herself under the foot of a cat by chance and fainted . She asked how she reached the leaf top. The rabbit couple told her what had happened. The ant thanked them and said she would help them when they needed help.
The rabbit couple went further up the river to enjoy the bright sun. They had been there many times and would spend many hours playing and relaxing in the sun.
One fine day, the couple were again on their way to the river while the ant was playing on the leaf of a tree. She saw the rabbit couple walking towards the river. A few hours later she saw them sleeping peacefully on the soft grass by the river. Suddenly she saw a lion moving towards the grass where the rabbit couple were sleeping. The loin saw the rabbits sleeping, and started walking quietly to attack them.
Realizing the _ getting close to the rabbits, the ant jumped from the leaf to the lion's shoulder and bit the lion's back. The lion cried out in pain, waking the rabbit couple. The rabbits ran away quickly and the ant jumped off the lion's back into the grass.
A white pigeon who watched this event cheered at the courage of the ant and told the whole story to the rabbits. The rabbit couple were moved and thanked the ant. They became best friends. | high9081.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Jones encouraged him to"
},
"options": [
"his father told him to",
"he wanted to learn a skill",
"Jones encouraged him to",
"he just wanted to pass his time"
],
"question": "The young man learnt to make shoe tac... | The hardworking businessman Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see him every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the man worked.
" Young man, why don't you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks , even if it is only to pass the time ? " said Jones. " Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you ."
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son because of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers' shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
" How funny it seems, " he used to say, " even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches." | high149.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "For animals, cleanliness is a survival skill."
},
"options": [
"Animals enjoy living in a clean environment.",
"Animals fight against parasites in different ways.",
"Unlike people, animals hate staying in water.",
"For ... | How would you like to brush a crocodile's teeth? Or give a shark a bath? Cats are well-known for the way they keep themselves clean by licking , but other animals have their own ways to stay clean as well. And tidiness can be important for their survival. Even cockroaches have to keep their feelers clean to help them into food.
Many animals in the wild, such as deer, wolves and bears, have an automatic cleaning system. Insects like to attach themselves to animals to feed on the skin or blood. These parasites can be unhealthy. But their "host" animals are constantly dropping skin and fur by a natural process. They also like to rub up against trees or rocks to comfort themselves, and this removes additional skin and fur. Along with old fur goes the dirt and parasites living in the fur. While these animals may sometimes take a bath when they enter or cross a river or lake, they don't need the water to stay clean. They don't get sweaty, because they don't have sweat glands all over their bodies the way people do. Growing new skin and fur is enough to keep them clean.
Some animals and birds use dust to get clean. Chinchillas, a kind of small animal that lives in the mountains of South America, have a very fine fur. (They are raised for their fur, in fact.) If they took water baths, they might get too cold. So, instead, they roll around in fine dust, raising quite a cloud as they "bathe". The dust helps to keep their fur and skin dry. This protects them from bacteria and parasites that enjoy warm and wet places. And the fine dust doesn't stick in their fur for long. It falls off or blows away.
As for lions and tigers, their rough tongues act like combs and can remove dirt and loose fur. Why is it important for them to stay clean and smooth? It helps them stay cool in very hot summer or feel warm in cold winter. | high24050.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "book beforehand"
},
"options": [
"attend talks on the local wildlife",
"have suvival training",
"walk the final five miles",
"book beforehand"
],
"question": "If you want to go on the camp,you will first have to... | Every year holidays Broughton teams up with Sopraviva Trekking to offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest.Depending on where this year's rain forest adventure is located,you may be going to Borneo, Malaysia,Indonesia,or even to the greatest rain forest of them all,the mighty Amazonian forest.
You will fly with your fellow adventurers to one of our special base camps at the edge of the forest,where you will be given five days of survival training,and talks on the local wildlife by trained and experienced experts.You will also go on walks which take you deeper and deeper under the forest canopy until on your final night you camp out in the rain forest itself.
Then you transfer by bus into the forest itself.If you go on one of the Asian holidays,you will have to walk the final miles to the camp site itself,to avoid disturbing the local ecology.All of the Sopraviva sites have been carefully built to conform with the latest regulations,and to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife.
From the camp,you will go on daily walking tours to experience for yourself the beauty and diversity of the forests,and plants and vegetation that can be found nowhere else on the planet.Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness,and they are not suitable for families with young children or for anyone who is not physically able to meet the demands of this kind of adventure.Also remember that in order to preserve the delicate ecological system that you will be walking through ,no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time,so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays,you will need to book early! | high22421.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "become more confident in themselves"
},
"options": [
"invent something useful",
"imagine anything they like",
"become more confident in themselves",
"develop an interest in doing experiments"
],
"question": "Per... | Drama and the performing arts are excellent methods of building confidence in children and adults alike. Learning through drama allows children to explore their creativity and have fun while leaving their shyness and worries behind. Drama also works by supporting the growth of imagination and other skills.
Entertainmet has become rather passive with cinema, television, and computer games becoming more popular. These screen-based methods have had a negative effect on communication. However, drama puts the " _ " back into entertainment. Children have the opportunity to connect with others in a more meaningful way as drama encourages speech development and awareness of body language, and allows the child to become more socially aware.
Play and drama are closely linked. When children play a game, they are pretending and using their imagination and so are moving away from reality to create their own story. Drama is a vehicle through which children can express themselves more freely through mime , gesture, movement, and speech to make education fun.
Children gain confidence by understanding that there is no final answer in drama and that their opinion and contribution are valued. Children are able to give a personal response to many issues and situations such as poverty, bullying , global warming and recycling. The issues that drama can deal with are endless. Drama and education have a strong link as drama can encourage children to take an active interest in other subjects such as geography, history, and English and so have a more rounded education.
As a drama teacher, I have witnessed children at their first class holding onto their parent's arm-unwilling to let go. Then to see the same child later running ino my class with smile is an excellent sight. Drama installs confidence in children by allowing them to improvise and experiment. Everyone is given the opportunity to shine within drama. | high21128.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it is healthy and protective for people to be very overweight"
},
"options": [
"it is healthy and protective for people to be very overweight",
"people with a BMI of 27 or more are classified as overweight",
"senior adults wi... | Is carrying a few extra pounds into your senior years healthy? Advice has been mixed. Now, two studies published this month attempt to better define the ideal weight for fitness and longevity for adults over age 60.
The main point is that you don't need to worry about being slightly overweight, as long as that extra weight is maintained at a consistent level. However, being very overweight is detrimental to health, and exercising to lose body fat and to gain muscle mass is always beneficial.
Determining the ideal weight for older people has been a pursuit, with researchers looking for what weight is not too thin, but not too fat. Studies have suggested that being slightly overweight can be protective.
For example, a 2001 study by researchers at Yale University found that moderately overweight senior adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 -- two points higher than the BMI of 25 that defines being overweight -- lived longer than seniors who were either thinner or heavier. There's a fine line here, though, because carrying extra pounds is a risk factor for many types of cancer and other diseases. And, according to the researchers behind the two new studies, the general public has misinterpreted the Yale findings to mean that being very overweight is healthy.
One new study, published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology by researchers at The Ohio State University in Columbus, found that seniors who maintained a stable, slightly overweight status survived most probably over the 16 years surveyed. Those seniors who had a so-called healthy weight going into the study (a BMI between 18.5 and 25) and who gained weight, but stayed below BMI 25, had a slight possibility of surviving over the study period.
People in the obese group, with a BMI higher than 35 and who continued to gain weight, faced the worst among all the groups in the study. But next-to-last were normal-weight people who lost weight, but this was likely because they became sick, the researchers said.
The second study, appearing this month in the journal Obesity, was conducted by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., and supports intentional weight loss among senior adults. Whether weight loss is beneficial has been debated because of this concept that being overweight is protective.
In short, the researchers found that physical activity and weight loss for overweight and obese adults resulted in lower cardiovascular disease risk and improved mobility. This finding supports previous studies demonstrating that exercise builds muscle and bone strength, improves balance and coordination, prevents falls and enables seniors to enjoy a more active lifestyle, they said.
Hui Zheng of Ohio State, the lead author of first study, said that the negative effects of obesity on health are greatest for young people. | high16784.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "China has more newspapers and magazines."
},
"options": [
"Digital books take the place of common ones in China.",
"China has more newspapers and magazines.",
"More information sources are developing with the economy.",
... | BEIJING, June. 30(Xinhua)----There are ten times as many Chinese newspapers and magazines than there were 30 years ago. That's when the country adopted the reform and opening-up policy.
Figures from the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP)show there were 186 newspapers and 930 magazines in China in 1978. Today, the country has 2,081 newspapers and 9,363 different magazines.
In the meantime, official figures show China has some 600 publishing houses producing nearly 300,000 kinds of books. That's a dramatic increase from the 105 publishers of the past that produced only 10,000 different books.
Rapid economic development and universal education since China adopted the reform has helped fuel the need for more information sources.
Under the market economy, hundreds of publishing houses and newspapers have taken steps to restructure management systems into corporations listed on the stock market.
The legal system overseeing the news and publishing industries in China has also changed over the last three decades. Since 1990 a law and five relevant regulations were adopted in 1990 to govern the sectors.
Since it started in 1993, digital publishing has _ . Its industrial volume amounted to 20 billion yuan (2.93 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006. More than 500,000 kinds of digital books were produced last year alone in China, which is more than any other country in the world. | high20236.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Hopeless."
},
"options": [
"Promising.",
"Miserable.",
"Optimistic.",
"Hopeless."
],
"question": "What did the men think of their fate after climbing into the lifeboat\"?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | Crane was traveling from the United States to Cuba as a newspaper reporter. One night, his ship hit a rock. It sank m the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida. Most of the people on board got into lifeboats. Crane was among the last to leave. There were three others with him: the ship's captain, the cook, and a sailor.
These four men climbed into the only remaining lifeboat. The boat was so small that no one believed it could stay afloat for very long. None of the four men thought he would ever reach the shore. But the men fought the seas bravely, with all their strength. For two days, the four men had been struggling to reach land, but there was no land to be seen. All the men saw were violent waves which rose and came fiercely down on them. Hours passed. Then, as the boat was carried to the top of a great wave, the captain looked across the water. He said that he saw the lighthouse at Mosquito Inlet. The cook also said he saw it.
The lighthouse had been slowly growing larger. At last, from the top of each wave the men in the boat could see the land. Slowly, the land seemed to rise from the sea. Soon, the men could see two lines, one black and one white. They knew that the black line was formed by trees, and the white line was the sand. At last, the captain saw a house on the shore. And the lighthouse became even larger. Slowly and beautifully, the land rose from the sea. The wind came again. Finally, the men heard a new sound -- the sound of waves breaking and crashing on the shore. The men watched the shore grow larger. They became hopeful. In an hour, perhaps, they would be on land. The men struggled to keep the boat from turning over. They were used to balancing in the boat.
The reporter thought he was now wet to the skin. But he felt in the top pocket of his coat and found eight cigars. Four were wet, but four were still dry. One of the men found some dry matches. Each man lit a cigar. The four men sailed in their boat with the belief of a rescue shining in their eyes. | high18965.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "four or five children died when they were five"
},
"options": [
"many children died before they were five",
"the youngest child would be fifteen",
"seven of eight children lived to be more than five",
"four or five chil... | The greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children ,her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience foods.
This important change in women's way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it.
Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age , and though women tend to marry younger ,more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more after wads, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each of them. | high16790.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "why there are many stone walls in New England"
},
"options": [
"how to make a stone wall in New England",
"why there are many stone walls in New England",
"which parts of New England first used stone walls",
"how many f... | In some parts of the United States, farming is easy. But farming has always been difficult in the northeastern corner of the country, which is called New England.
New England has many trees and thin, rocky soil. Anyone who has wanted to start a new farm there has had to work very hard. The first job has been cutting down trees. The next job has been digging the stumps of the trees out of the soil. Then the farmer has had the difficult job of removing stones from his land.
This work of removing stones never really ends, because every winter more stones appear. They come up through the thin soil from the rocks below. Farmers have to keep removing stones from the fields. Even today, farms which have been worked on for 200 years keep producing more stones.
That is why stone walls are used instead of fences around New England fields. The stone walls are not high; a man can easily climb over them. But they keep the farmer's cows from joining his neighbor's cows. | high20222.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he got himself hurt."
},
"options": [
"Because he had no chance to take part in it.",
"Because he was too old to beat his opposite.",
"Because he got himself hurt.",
"Because he was too busy to well prepare it."... | Good evening,ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this of the Box Bill Tennis Club. It's good to see so many of you here this evening. I'm sure you're all enjoyed the fine food,and that you are ready to hear our guest speaker.
Ladies and gentlemen,we're pleased to welcome our most famous club champion,Billy Rogers,to our meeting.
Billy needs no introduction because he is one of the most well-known tennis players in our country. However,I must mention a few things about him. Billy has won the US Open three times,and Wimbledon twice. He has won more tennis tournaments than any player from this country. He has been ranked number one in the world in both singles and doubles. He has played in the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup for his country. His Wimbledon victory two years ago has been called one of the bravest in the modern time. Had he not been injured,he would undoubtedly have won a third Wimbledon Championship. Billy is regarded by many as perhaps the finest player ever in international tennis.
But of course Billy is much more than a tennis champion.
He is like an ambassador for the sport and for his country. He has done great work to help children around the world,and his generosity to children's charity funds is well known.
And of course,Billy is the most successful graduate of our club. He won the club championships when he was twelve--yes,at only twelve. And Billy has not forgotten where it all started. That's why he accepted our invitation to speak to us tonight. We're proud to have played a small part in Billy's success.
Won't you please give a big hand to our own Billy Rogers? | high16948.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "who you want to talk to"
},
"options": [
"who is friendly to you",
"who is active at the party",
"who you want to talk to",
"who you are speaking with"
],
"question": "Generally speaking you would like to focus ... | Have you ever been talking to somebody at the party? Do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there? Generally speaking, if the person is someone you really want to talk to you will focus on them. Most other people will only get about half of your attention.
You may think that this is OK, because if you don't really want to talk to them then what does it matter if you don't give them your full attention? Consider two things. First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation. If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your attention wander as you speak to him. But maybe you don't realize that this person has already met the CEO and could introduce you. Do you think he will do that if he feels you don't really care about speaking to him? This doesn't mean you need to spend the entire time talking to him. Five or ten minutes of real attentive conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention interaction.
Second, whether you want to speak to someone changes based on the situation. You love your spouse , but if he or she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going? Make your own decision, but if you want them to feel valued, give them your 100% attention. "The nice thing is that in many cases you can give them your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were doing. You miss very little, they feel valued, and all is good." | high24044.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Her mother died"
},
"options": [
"She was born",
"She got her nickname",
"She got married",
"Her mother died"
],
"question": "What happened to Claudia in 1917?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Lady Bird Johnson was born Claudia Alta Taylor in nineteen twelve. The Taylor family lived in the small town of Karnack, Texas. Claudia's father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor, owned two stores as well as thousands of hectares for cotton production. Her mother, Minnie Taylor, died when Claudia was only five years old. A woman who worked for the Taylor family gave Claudia her nickname. Alice Tittle said the small child was "as purty as a lady bird."
As first lady, Missus Johnson became an energetic activist for educational and environmental issues. She helped support Head Start, a public program aimed at giving educational and health services to young children from poor families.
She started the Society for a More Beautiful National Capitol. Its aim was to improve the beauty of Washington by planting trees and flowers in public areas and parks. Missus Johnson understood that these improvements were also linked to important issues such as pollution, public transportation, mental health, and crime rates.
Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson had a difficult four-year term. The president faced strong opposition about the United States involvement in the war in Vietnam. In nineteen sixty-eight, President Johnson surprised the nation by announcing that he would not seek reelection as president. The Johnsons left politics and returned home to Texas. Mister Johnson died of a heart attack in nineteen seventy-three.
Lady Bird Johnson continued her tireless work to improve the country's natural environment. She created the National Wildflower Research Center in nineteen eighty-two. The center helps to educate people about the environmental importance and value of native plants. Missus Johnson died in two thousand seven at the age of ninety-four. Her memory lives in the many fields of wildflowers that color the roads of America. | high7906.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "you can realize your goal on Jan. 19,2014"
},
"options": [
"you can make a call to Kraig Clifton",
"you can visit friendsofrrfschool.org",
"you can realize your goal on Jan. 19,2014",
"you can buy a Tshirt with the girl... | Announcements
Bret Harte vs. Calaveras alumni boys
The annual Bret Harte vs. CHS alumni boy basketball game will be held at 7 p.m.,Saturday, Nov. 30,at Calaveras High. All players must have played at least one year of varsity basketball. Cost to play is $30. Admission for audience is $5 for adults and $2 for kids. Kids 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call Kraig Clifton at 7430679 or Jeff Eltringham at 7360162.
CHS girls basketball skills
The Calaveras High girls basketball program presents the Junior Redskins Winter Skills, a developmental basketball program for girls in fifth through eighth grades that will be held from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays. Signups are still being accepted for the second of two fiveweek sessions, which will be held for five Sundays in a row beginning Jan. 12,2014. Cost is $25 per session. Each competitor receives a Tshirt at the end of each session with recommended drills.For more information or to sign up, call Jeremy Malamed at 2174563 or email sports.calent@gmail.com.
CHS swim/baseball coaching vacancies
Calaveras High School (CHS) is looking for a head boys/girls swim coach and a baseball coach for the 2014 spring season. Applications will be accepted and jobs will remain open until filled. Interview dates are to be set. Anyone interested can stop by the district office or the high school for an application.For more information, call Mike Koepp at 7541811.
Foothills Little League signups
Foothills Little League will hold signups for the 2014 season from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.,Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Pizza Factory in Valley Springs. All players must provide proofs of citizenship and a birth certificate.For more information, call Shawn Threet at 3047399 or leave a message at 7721516.
Yoga in Rail Road Flat
Yoga is being offered at Rail Road Flat Elementary from 9.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fridays with instructor Kristine Louise. Cost is a $5 instructor fee and $2 donation to The Friends of Rail Road Flat School for each person. For more information,visit friendsofrrfschool.org. | high14187.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "driverless cars will come soon"
},
"options": [
"traditional cars are harmful for kids",
"his son is not good at driving",
"his son is a slow learner in driving",
"driverless cars will come soon"
],
"question": ... | I passed my driving test at the fourth attempt. You might think that means I'm not as safe as someone who passed on their first attempt. But would you feel safer with no driver at all? Maybe not, and that's why automotive firms have included driverassist functions in their driverless cars. This allows the human driver to take over if there is a problem.
Google is one producer that has prototype driverless cars. These cars have been newly equipped with autosteering wheels and conventional controls to allow normal driving. But this is just a stage -- the vision is to have fully automated cars very soon. The director of Google's selfdrive project, Chris Urmson, hopes his 11yearold son will never have to take a driving test. To achieve that, the cars need to be on the roads in five years. He says driverless cars will greatly reduce accidents and traffic jams.
According to Chris, about 1.2 million people are killed on the roads around the world each year. That number is equivalent to a jet falling out of the sky every day. He thinks gradual changes to existing car designs are not enough to deal with the problems. "If we are really going to make changes to our cities, get rid of parking lots, we need selfdrive cars," he says.
Google's prototypes have covered over a million kilometers on the road. They have also had to deal with unexpected situations, such as a child driving a toy car in the road, and a woman in an electric wheelchair chasing a duck. In each case, the car reacted safely.
Some are not convinced. Sven Beiker of Stanford University thinks driverless cars will still need human input in extreme circumstances. | high13830.txt |
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