questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the healthy growth of teenagers"
},
"options": [
"helping people in trouble",
"writing books for children",
"the research of teen problems",
"the healthy growth of teenagers"
],
"question": "Kimberly Kirberger d... | Who Is Kimberly Kirberger? Kimberly Kirberger is the president and founder of Inspiration and Motivation for Teens, Inc. (I. A. M. for Teens, Inc. ) a corporation formed exclusively to work for teens. It is her goal to see teens represented in a more positive light and it is her strong belief that teens deserve better and more positive treatment.
She spends her time reading the thousands of letters and stories sent to her by teen readers and traveling around the country speaking to high school students and parents of teens. She has appeared as a teen expert on many television and radio shows.
Kimberly says that the College Soul book has been an amazing journey. In getting close to and heating from so many teenagers she kept hearing about this very emotionally packed time that begins with application to college and extends through the four-year experience. It became clear to her that this was a time of life that was filled with many challenges and that college students could really benefit from a book like this. For her, it was simply a continuation of a commitment that she has made to teenagers to do what she can to inspire and motivate them while letting them know there are people who believe in them.
Kimberly is the coauthor of the bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the New York Times bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II, as well as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Journal . She is also the co-author of the forthcoming Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III, and the author of Teen Love: On Relationships, a Book for Teenagers.
Kimberly started the Teen Letter Project with Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Health Communications, Inc. The Project is responsible for answering the heartfelt letters received from teenagers and also reaching out to teens in trouble and encouraging them to seek professional help.
To book Kimberly for a speaking engagement or for further information on any of her projects, please contact:
I. A. M. for Teens, Inc.
P. O. Box 936, Palisades, CA 90272 phone: 310-573-3655
fax:. 310-573-3657
e-mail for stories: stories @ teenagechickensoul. com
e-mail for letters: letters @ teenagechick
Web site: www. Teenagechickensoul. com | high23921.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Choosing a career according to one's strengths."
},
"options": [
"The importance of working hard at school.",
"Choosing a career according to one's strengths.",
"How to face one's weakness.",
"The value of school work."... | What should you think about when trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any especially strong subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. A knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.
Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metalwork or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.
Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may _ when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weakness than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work. | high831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Four."
},
"options": [
"Six.",
"Three.",
"Four.",
"Five."
],
"question": "In this text, the writer mentioned many best-looking campuses in the world. How many Universities are in America?",
"question_type": ... | Forbes asked a panel of architects and campus designers to nominate their picks for the best-looking campuses in the world. These are their top choices.
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio, US
Mike Evans, a principal at Norfolk, Va., design firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, says to be beautiful a campus must have a "signature campus space as a carrier of the campus brand." At Kenyon College, that space is "Middle Path," a 10-foot-wide footpath that serves as the Gothic hilltop campus' central artery. More than just a trail, it's a village green for the tight-knit campus community. Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, who teaches 17th-century poetry at Kenyon, says the college, both isolated and pastoral, is "a small place to think big thoughts."
Oxford University
Oxford, England
Teaching within Oxford's stone walls dates as far back as the 11th century, and the school is considered a paradigm for all college campuses. With its labyrinth of quads, cloisters, and archways, it evokes elegance and tradition at every turn. "Its monastic roots and the spectacular quality of its buildings make it an architectural wonderland," says David Mayernik, associate professor at Notre Dame's School of Architecture.
Princeton University
Princeton, N.J., US
Princeton's style is pure Collegiate Gothic ; most of it executed in gray stone covered in, yes, ivy. As imposing as these old stone structures are, the campus keeps life on a "human scale" by preserving green spaces and walkability.Sinuous footpaths, archways, plazas - all are designed to inspire spontaneous discussion and learning.
Scripps College
Claremont, Calif., US
The total plan of this women's college, founded in the 1920's, has always called for artistic connection between buildings and landscape. Together, architect Gordon Kaufmann, in collaboration with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, created a distinctively Southern Californian blend of Mission Revival-inspired architecture and landscape, which is lovely, evocative and intact. An expert in deciduous trees, Trout planted rows of liquid amber trees to give the students "a sense of autumn" come fall. He also peppered the campus with tulip trees, sycamores, almond and orange trees, as well as rare shrubs.
Stanford University
Palo Alto, Calif., US
New additions like the Science and Engineering Quad manage to gracefully blend modern and technological elements with the timeless, elegant aesthetics of the campus' early California Mission Revival architecture. The campus also scores big points for its dramatic entrance via Palm Drive, its romantic Spanish red-tile roofs and myriad patches of green.
Tsinghua University
Beijing, China
Forbe's panel of architects says natural setting plays a big part in assessing a campus' beauty. In that regard, this campus is blessed: Founded in 1925, Tsinghua sits on the former site of the Qing Dynasty's royal gardens. Many of Beijing's most notable historical sites, like the Summer Palace, are close by. The campus is peppered with artificial ponds where stone benches and floating lotus blossoms inspire reflection. | high6412.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To signal for help."
},
"options": [
"To celebrate the journey.",
"To signal for help.",
"To contact the Titanic.",
"To warn other ships."
],
"question": "Why were the rockets really fired?",
"question_type"... | It was about 11:15 pm on the passenger ship California. The night was freezing cold and the water was filled with ice from the North Pole, making it difficult for the ship to sail on.
In the radio room, ship California's operator Cyril Evans listened to the radio-talk between a nearby passenger ship and the telegraph station on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Evans interrupted it and said, "We're stopped and surrounded by ice. Be careful as you pass through these waters." The radio operator on the nearby ship replied, "I'm too busy to talk now. I have many messages to send to the telegraph station. " Twenty minutes later, as he turned off his radio and went to bed, Evans could still hear the ship sending its passengers' telegrams.
Earlier in the evening the California's captain, Stanley Lord, had seen another ship approaching. It looked about the size of his own, but attempts to contact the ship failed. It lay dark and mysterious about 10 miles away. At 00:40 am there appeared a sudden flash of light just over the mystery ship. Captain Lord, thinking the ship might need help, ordered his officers to signal the ship by lamp. There was no reply. Three more rockets then exploded, none appeared to go higher than halfway up the mast of the mystery ship. Then at about 2:00 am it turned and slipped into the darkness.
In the light of the dawn there was no mystery ship, but 20 miles away was the scene of a great disaster. Unfortunately, the mystery ship had stopped directly in front of the California, preventing people on board from seeing clearly. If this ship had not been there, Captain Lord would have recognized that the rockets were SOS rockets that came not from the mystery ship but from a more distant ship which the California could not see. If Cyril Evans had kept his radio on for just 30 minutes more he would have heard SOS signals coming from that distant ship he spoke with the night before. That ship was the Titanic which was sinking fast, leaving 1,500 of its passengers dead. It was April 14, 1912. | high9721.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Move an object out of the way before it trips someone."
},
"options": [
"Start the car the moment everyone is seated.",
"Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.",
"Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes ... | Two of the saddest words in the English language are "if only". I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, "Take the extra minute to do it right." I always try to live by the "extra minute" rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an "if only" moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don't only avoid those "if only" moments when it comes to safety. It's equally important to avoid "if only" in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had _ an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you." When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here. But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say "if only" about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being. | high14155.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "help someone get to work"
},
"options": [
"climb a long way up a mountain",
"get to the edge of a valley",
"walk through a dangerous area",
"help someone get to work"
],
"question": "Robinson Diaz has a difficul... | Robinson Diaz lives in a small cottage high in the Andes Mountains of South America. Diaz is a "cable racer", and every morning he faces the difficult task of taking the local teacher to her school. To do this, he first walks for an hour up to a place the locals call Los Pinos, right at the edge of the 400-foot deep gorge of the Negro valley. Here, one end of a thick metal cable has been fixed to a wooden post. The cable stretches right across the deep valley to the other side, a kilometer away.
A metal hook is fixed to the cable, with leather straps hanging from it. Diaz fastens the straps around his shoulders and waist, does a quick safety check and then, without hesitating, throws himself off the edge of the mountain. Attached to the cable by only the metal hook, he rapidly picks up speed and soon he is racing through the air. Crossing the valley by wire takes him 30 seconds, instead of the two hours it would take him to walk down through the rain forest and climb up the steep muddy slopes on the other side.
As Diaz begins his trip, Diana Rios, a 23-year-old elementary teacher, is waiting on the other side of the gorge for the moment when he will come racing through the mist towards her at 100 mph. She will then return with him, hanging on to him as he goes back along the cable. Diana had no idea when she took the teaching job that just getting to work in the village school would be dangerous. "At first I wanted to cry," she says, clutching her hook as the metal cable starts to rattle violently at Diaz's approach. "But I soon got used to it." She still prefers to go with Diaz, though, rather than making the frightening and dangerous crossing on her own.
For the inhabitants of Los Pinos, the wire cable is a lifeline. For more than 50 years, it has served the community as a form of transport to and from the rest of the world. Everything that comes arrives via the cable----bricks and wood for building, sacks of rice and corn. Pregnant mothers, who must get to the nearest clinic, cross the wire during the darkness of the night, returning with their newborn babies. It is dangerous, but they have no choice.
This time Robinson Diaz makes a perfect landing on Diana's side of the gorge. For him, the dangers of this daily journey are insignificant. "What I'm really scared of are snakes," he says. "This is nothing in comparison." Then Dianna straps herself into her harness and hooks herself up to the wire behind Diaz, holding on to him tightly. He turns, flashes her a smile, releases the brake and kicks away. Within seconds, the teacher and the cable-racer have disappeared back into the mist. | high24096.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "lawyer"
},
"options": [
"teacher",
"printer",
"leader",
"lawyer"
],
"question": "Matthew Wheelock once had an occupation as a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | Something that makes sense is happening in Washington, D.C! Public school kids surrounded by museums and monuments are putting the ready-made learning tools to use -- and actually learning.
A trip to see painter Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series is one of almost 200 trips that Wheelock will organize this year through the nonprofit group Live It Learn It. "For many kids, school is disconnected," says one of four full-time workers and tour leaders. "With the program, they see how what they are learning is connected to their communities."
Seven years ago, Wheelock changed a job as a lawyer for one as a four-grade teacher. When he learned that D.C.'s public schools ranked behind those of other cities in many ways, he knew he had to do something different. He took his class to Capitol Hill for a lesson on the three branches of government -- and saw his students' interest develop quickly.
With seed money from a local couple, Wheelock developed detailed lesson plans for trips to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Lincoln Memorial. The group also has classes for trips to the Anacostia River, boat rides to historical forts. Word spread, and now fourth, fifth, sixth graders from the neediest public schools in the District participate.
"I'm not brave enough to take my class to a museum for over an hour!" says teacher Cathy McCoy, gesturing toward her students. "But look With Live It Learn It, what the kids learn today they'll remember for a lifetime." | high6374.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "optimistic"
},
"options": [
"pessimistic",
"optimistic",
"depressed",
"disappointed"
],
"question": "Although a lot of unfortunate matters happened to Jean, she is still _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | Well I decided to cut my front lawn today, especially since I live on a main street downtown with lots of traffic. Anyway, I finished mine and decided to cut my neighbor--Jean's grass while I was at it. She is a sweet person who has gone through some _ times in the last year. Her brother passed away of cancer last year; her sister (who lives with her) is mentally challenged--yet so sweet!
It was a difficult time with physical and mental challenges that led her employer in our local hospital to let her go after 25 years of service! Lastly, my neighbor Jean, who is a nurse in our local hospital, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December. She went through radiation and a long recovery--but thankful she is in remission .
Anyway, in short I was leaving my house this afternoon and she stopped me to thank me for cutting her grass. She told me her dad passed away on Friday and she just arrived home from the funeral service, so she didn't know when I would have time to cut her grass. So, when she arrived home and saw it cut she was more than happy and grateful! I said to her "You are welcome, just a small act of kindness for a neighbor."
I did it for exercise and shared pleasure not knowing it meant more to her than just doing a neighbor a favor! | high9047.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Newspaper can supply us with more detailed information."
},
"options": [
"People want to know what happened.",
"Newspapers are cheaper than any other news medium.",
"Newspapers are more convenient than any other news medium."... | A newspaper, a publication usually issued on a daily or weekly basis, has the main function of reporting news. Many newspapers also _ their readers with other pieces of useful information, such as weather reports, television schedules, and stock prices. They provide commentary on politics, economics, and arts and culture. In nearly all cases and in varying degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for their income.
Newspaper publishers estimate that nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day, and seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. By the time they see a newspaper; most people have already heard about breaking news stories on television or on the radio. Readers rely on newspapers to provide detailed background information and analysis which television and radio rarely offer. Newspapers not only inform readers that an event has happened but also help readers understand what led to the event and how it will affect the world.
The staff of a large newspaper works under the constant pressure of deadlines to bring news to readers as quickly as their minds, bodies and the technology they use permit. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors compile articles and graphics -- sometimes in just a few hours. Page designers combine articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines into page layouts , then rush their work to the printer. Printing technicians may work through the night operating printing presses that can print out more than 60,000 copies per hour. | high14633.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "One-year-olds can be emotionally influenced by TV programs."
},
"options": [
"Small babies should not be allowed to watch television programs.",
"Adults should let their babies do nothing but watch television.",
"TV programs ... | Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare at the television--they are actually learning about the world, U. S. researchers said.
Parents may want to limit what their babies see on television, based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tuffs University in Boston, who led the research. "Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based on the emotional reactions of adults around them," Mumme said in a statement. "It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television." Mumme's team already knew that babies watch other children and adults for information about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some "yummy" soup or a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches can influence a baby's reaction.
Mumme's team tested babies to determine if television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as red letter holder, a blue ball, and a yellow lubber. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, but the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted naturally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the babies would avoid the object. | high8359.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "An act of kindness."
},
"options": [
"A singer's autobiography.",
"The life of an old couple.",
"An act of kindness.",
"The difficulties Jan met."
],
"question": "What is the passage mainly about?",
"questio... | I recently read about a wonderful act of kindness. It is about the country singer, Jan Howard, and it happened in the mid 1950s. You can read about it in her autobiography , Sunshine and Shadow. She suffered a lot with her three children, two of whom were babies. She was forced to leave her husband because he didn't care about the family. At one point she suffered a nervous breakdown due to his cruel and uncaring behavior.
She took her children with her and decided to leave their home, but didn't know her destination. This all took place in a small town in Kansas, called Frontenac. She had very little gas in the tank and no money at all and she didn't even manage to make it out of Frontenac. As she used up the gas she got into a panic . She then went to a house, not knowing the owner. She "put her pride in her pocket" and went to the door.
After she explained her situation to an old lady who answered the door, the lady asked her husband to help Jan carry the children into the house. These kind people allowed her to stay for two weeks until she received some money in the mail from a . They fed and cared for Jan and her children. This is one of the most exciting acts of kindness I have ever come across in my fifty years. These angels were named Henry and Sarah and they would always be warmly remembered by me for what they did for Jan and her children. | high22381.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because Bedell was more a suffering human being than an enemy to Bettie."
},
"options": [
"Because she felt it her responsibility to save soldiers of the Union.",
"Because she wanted to save Bedell so that her husband could be free... | "I never did hate the Yankees . All that I hated was the war..." That's how my great-aunt Bettie began her story. I heard it many times as a child, whenever my family visited Aunt Bettie in the old house in Berryville, Virginia.
Bettie Van Metre had good reason to hate the Civil War. Her brother was killed at Gettysburg, and her husband, James, a Confederate officer, was taken prisoner and sent to an unknown prison camp somewhere.
One day in late September, Dick came to Bettie reporting that he had found a wounded Union soldier in a farmhouse half a mile away from the Van Metre home. When talking about her first sight of the man in the blood-spotted blue uniform, she always used the same words. _ She went out into the cool air, trying not to be sick at the thought of that smashed right hand, that missing left leg.
The man's papers Bettie found in the farmhouse showed his identity: Henry Bedell, 30 years old. She knew that she should report the presence of this Union officer to the Confederate army, but she wouldn't. This is how she explained it: "I kept wondering if he had a wife somewhere, hoping, and not knowing--just as I was. It seemed to me that the only thing that mattered was to get her husband back to her."
Slowly, patiently, skillfully, Aunt Bettie fanned the spark of life in Henry Bedell. Of drugs or medicines she had almost none. And she was not willing to take any from the few supplies at the Confederate hospital. But she did the best she could with what she had.
The October nights in the valley grew cold. With the help of Dick and his wife, she moved the Union officer at night, to a hidden room above the warm kitchen of her own home. But the next day, Bedell had a high fever. Knowing that she must get help, she went to her family doctor, Graham Osborne. Dr. Osborne examined Bedell and said, "there was little hope unless proper medicines could be found."
"I'll get them from the Yankees at Harpers Ferry." Bettie said. The doctor told her that Harpers Ferry was almost 20 miles away. Even if she reached them, the Yankees would never believe her. "I'll take proof," Bettie said. She found a blood-spotted paper bearing the official War Department seal . "When I show it, they'll believe me."
Early the next morning she set off with a list of medical items. For five hours she drove, stopping only to rest her horse. The sun was almost down when she finally stood before the general at Harpers Ferry. The general listened, but did not believe her. "Madam," he said, "Bedell's death was reported to us." "He's alive," Bettie insisted. "But he won't be much longer unless he has the medicines on that list." "Well," the general turned to a junior officer, "see that Mrs. Van Metre gets the supplies."
With the medicines, Bedell gradually recovered. Ten days later he was walking with sticks. "I'd better go back as soon as possible." Bedell told Bettie. So it was arranged that Dick should help Bettie deliver Bedell to Harpers Ferry in his wagon. Bedell lay down in a box filled with hay, his rifle and sticks beside him.
At Harpers Ferry, the soldiers were amazed when the Union officer with the missing leg rose from his hay-filled box. Bedell told the story to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who wrote a letter of thanks to Bettie and signed an order to free James Van Metre. It was arranged for Bedell to go with Bettie as she searched for her husband. Records showed that a James Van Metre had been sent to a prison camp in Ohio. Then at Fort Delaware, near the end of the line of prisoner, a tall man stepped out and walked clumsily into Bettie's arms. Bettie held him, tears streaming down her face. And Henry Bedell, standing by on his sticks, wept, too. | high12242.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They are more likely to survive serious diseases today."
},
"options": [
"They are sure to enjoy a longer and happier life.",
"Their average life span has been considerably extended.",
"They have lived long enough to read thi... | If you're a male and you're reading this, congratulations: you're a survivor. According to a survey, you're more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer than a woman, than nine times more likely to die of AIDS. Assuming you make it to the end of your natural term, about 78 years for men in Australia, you'll die on average five years before a woman.
There're many reasons for this -- typically, men take more risks than women and are more likely to drink and smoke--but perhaps more importantly, men don't go to the doctor.
"Men aren't seeing doctors as often as they should," says Dr. Gullotta. "This is particularly so for the over-40s, when diseases tend to strike."
Gullotta says a healthy man should visit the doctor every year or two. For those over45, it should be at least once a year.
Two months ago Gullotta saw a 50-year-old man who had delayed doing anything about his smoker's cough for a year.
"When I finally saw him it had already spread and he finally died from lung cancer," he says. "Earlier detection and treatment may not have cured him, but it would have prolonged his life."
According to a recent survey, 95% of women aged between 15 and early 40s see a doctor once a year, compared to 70% of men in the same age group.
"A lot of men think they can never defeated," Gullotta says. "They only come in when a friend drops dead on the golf course and they think, 'Geez, if it could happen to him, ...'"
Then there's the ostrich approach. "Some men are scared of what might be there and would rather not know," says Dr, Ross Cartmill.
"Most men get their cars serviced more regularly than they service their bodies," Cartmill says. He believes most diseases that commonly affect men could be addressed by preventive check-ups.
Regular check-ups for men would inevitable place strain on the public purse, Cartmill says. "But prevention is cheaper in the long run than having to treat the diseases. Besides, the ultimate cost far greater; it's called premature death." | high21688.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she was not accustomed to the new surroundings"
},
"options": [
"she was attracted by the beauty and peace right away",
"she was not accustomed to the new surroundings",
"she was in conflict with her step-father about farming... | Growing up in town, I classified myself as a "city girl." I had very little knowledge about farming and rural areas, but all of that changed six years ago when my mother and stepfather married and we moved to my stepfather's farm. Surrounded by cows and cornfields, I was unsure of what to do. However, I did enjoy the beauty and peace of the countryside.
On the farm, I helped with odd jobs like feeding cows. When I was old enough to get a real summer job, my step-father said I could choose between two options--getting a job at our local Dairy Queen or selling produce that I grew on our farm. While I came up with a short list of pros for working at the fast food restaurant, I found more advantages to selling produce. Yet I realized the numerous disadvantages to selling produce: responsibility for the success or failure of the operation, early mornings, and long days. At last, I decided to start my own farming business.
My stepfather and I began planning in March. Together we chose three varieties of seeds, prepared the land, and planted the first batch of sweet corn at the end of April. Throughout the spring, my stepfather continued to plant sweet corn every two weeks as I rode in the tractor with him.
The sweet corn needs taking great care while growing. As the corn was putting forth ears, we applied fertilizer and sprayed pesticide to prevent worms. I watched them grow taller and taller, dreaming about the money I would soon make. We planned to harvest and sell the corn at our local farmer's market. It sounded easy and looked good on paper, but it worked out a little differently.
Nonstop rain delayed the harvest by a week or so. When my sweet corn was finally ready to pick, I found that a pack of raccoons had visited the field at night, ruining about half of it. We picked what was still good and prepared for market.
This was it--my first day at market! I was excited to see my hard work finally pay off. I loaded my materials into the pickup truck and arrived early at the farmer's market to find a good spot. There were many customers and several other tradesmen. Probably because I was young and new, potential customers would look at me and smile, then head straight to my competitor, Mrs Cates, who had been in the market for years and had an established following. At the end of the first day, about half of my corn was left, so I donated it to a local homeless shelter and went home disappointed.
Soon I noticed that Mrs Cates and her crew did not arrive at the farmer's market until about 11 am. So I decided to show up an hour earlier. This meant that we had to start picking corn at 6 am, no easy task with teenage workers. But the effort paid off; I was selling half of my corn before Mrs Cates arrived and most of it by the end of the day.
Although the farmer's market was only open three days a week, the corn needed to be picked and sold daily because it would not keep. On days the farmer's market was not open, I developed a marketing plan that included sending e-mails to family and friends. I also went to local businesses to sell corn and distribute business cards. Customers began calling, and I took orders over the phone. Before I knew it, I had a loyal following. I stayed busy by making weekly and sometimes daily deliveries to these businesses while maintaining my produce stand at the farmer's market. Then something wonderful happened.
I had made more money than any of my friends with typical teenage jobs. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I see people buy produce from me. | high19317.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Digital billboards are used to convey messages."
},
"options": [
"The brightness of digital billboards is harmful to people's eyes.",
"The Federal Highway Administration banned digital signs in 2013.",
"There is evidence indi... | Many drivers say the large digital billboards flashing ads every few seconds along Bay Area freeways are just too bright and too distracting. And they may be right.
A Swedish study published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention concludes that digital billboards hold the gazes of drivers longer than two seconds. Previous studies have shown that anything that takes a driver's eyes off the road for that length of time increases the risks of a crash. "This study proves what is common sense when it comes to digital billboards," says Mary Tracy, president of Scenic America, a national nonprofit group that seeks to limit billboards. "Bright, constantly changing signs on the sides of roads are meant to attract and keep the attention of drivers, and this study confirms that this is exactly what they do."
The Federal Highway Administration allowed digital signs for the first time in 2007 after concluding they did not pose a significant danger. But a follow-up report is pending and could be released this year. California has no law banning the billboards, and is one of 39 states that allows them. "We would need to review more research, so it's too early to call for a ban," says Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. "There is a role for digital messaging, such as conveying urgent information and other safety messages."
There are more than 1,800 digital billboards nationwide, more than double the number five years ago. While no data indicate an increase in accidents due to the Bay Area signs, many drivers are opposed to them.
"Monstrosities" is what Merlin Dorfman of San Jose calls them, while insurance agent David Whitlock says he has found them a major distraction. "They're much too bright at night," he says. "When the advertisement switches from a bright color to a darker one, your eyes cannot adjust fast enough, and you end up losing sight of the roadway."
Officials with sign companies could not be reached for comment, but Bryan Parker, an executive vice president for Clear Channel Outdoor, told USA Today last year that "there's no doubt in my mind that they are not a driving distraction." | high4563.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the hearing of 10 percent of all the workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work"
},
"options": [
"90 percent of all the workers in Britain are not suffering from noise",
"10 percent of all the workers in B... | In today's world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people's health. However, not all the persons know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human health, too.
People who work and live under noisy conditions become deaf . Today, however, scientists believe that 10 percent of workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people, for these young people like to listen to "pop" music and most of "pop" music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people's life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad . It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness.
Nowadays the government in many countries have made laws to reduce or control noise and make it less than 85 decibels. In China, the people's government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise pollution problem. | high20596.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he had confidence in her"
},
"options": [
"he showed sympathy to her",
"he had confidence in her",
"he lost hope in her",
"he felt sorry about her"
],
"question": "From what Jessica' s father said. we know that"... | Born in 1983 in Arizona, US, Jessica has learned to live her life with her feet. She was born without arms, and no doctors could figure out why.
There were many questions at the time about whether Jessica would be able to live a "normal" life. However, Jessica ' s father said , "I have never shed a tear about her birth condition. " With the support of her parents and family, Jessica became confident in herself as an adult and continued to explore the world with her feet.
As a child, Jessica studied dance in her home town. When the first performance arrived, she asked to be put in the back row. Her dance teacher told her there was no back row. Nervously, she took the stage with the other students and performed her routine. When she finished, the applause from the audience gave her encouragement and the confidence to continue dancing for 14 years.
After graduating from high school, Jessica attended the University of Arizona, where she
earned a bachelor' s degree in Psychology. When talking about her major, she frequently explainsthat psychology has a great effect on her life, helping her out of a physical limitation.
During college, Jessica signed up for a club of Taekwondo and learned all of the color1 belt material. The instructors created a course that would be accessible to any future armless students. Jessica became the first armless person to earn a black belt in the club.
Jessica' s most famous accomplishment was learning how to fly. It took three states, four airplanes, two flight instructors and a discouraging year to find the right aircraft. She received the Cuinness World Record for being the first person permitted to fly an airplane with only her feet.
Now Jessica works as a motivational lecturer. She travels the world sharing her story and
encouraging people to be creative with the slogan "Think outside the shoe." | high18009.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Uncomfortable."
},
"options": [
"Uncomfortable.",
"Shocked",
"Wonderful",
"Excited"
],
"question": "How did the author first feel about camping in Yosemite?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | THE first night in Yosemite had been awful. I hadn't been able to sleep and I was stuck in a too small tent with my wife and two kids. "Things haven't worked out," I said to myself. But, like so many other things I complain before my morning coffee, this one was ridiculously off-key. Things weren't bad; they were good.
A hundred yards(91 meters) away was Summit Lake, with its wonderful early morning mists shimmering off the water. A couple of miles to the southwest was the base of the Lassen Peak Trail. The base was 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) above sea level, huge snow banks dotting the place even in mid August. It was beautiful. We fired up the camp stove, got out our cold boxes from the heavy metal locker ,fired up some bacon, cut open some bread, and boiled up a cup of coffee.
Half an hour later, my 6-year-old daughter and I were in the parking lot of the Lassen Peak Trail, getting ready to hike. We wouldn't make it all the way-- young legs get pretty tired on a steep mountain path, but it didn't matter. We would see great views spread out below us, the volcanic ash that layered on the earth turning the melting snow a mysterious pink as the sun struck it.
Later, on the hike, I felt stupid about my morning complaints. Everything had been worthwhile. It gave me enormous satisfaction to see my daughter so excited about the view from the mountain.
Yes, camping is uncomfortable. But there's also something wonderful about being so close to nature. Just as importantly, there's something about getting young children out of their increasingly technology-filled comfort zones and forcing them to encounter the non-cyber world around them.
We lose something when we spend all our time cocooned inside a carefully constructed modernity, when read about daily affronts to the environment, yet don't fully realize what is at risk, removed as we are from nature. It's a good thing to reconnect every so often with the Great Outdoors.
By Sasha Abramsky | high21850.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Peach Springs"
},
"options": [
"Travertine Falls",
"Peach Springs",
"Diamond Creek",
"Grand Canyon West"
],
"question": "Where do whitewater rafting tours start?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Experience the Colorado River the Hualapai Way!
River Runners offers the ONLY One Day Whitewater trip ANYWHERE at the GRAND CANYOU!
Since1973,Hualapai River Runners has been conducting whitewater rafting journey to the Colorado River. Our experienced guides expertly sail along the river and share the history of the Canyon and the Hualapai people with you.
Visitors experience the excitement of whitewater rapids and then stop to enjoy the impressive beauty of Travertine Falls and a tasty lunch.No charge for children 2 years and under.
One-Day Trip
Retail$249.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)
Whitewater rafting tours begin in Peach Springs.Hualapai River Runners transports you to Diamond Creek, which is the starting point for the 37 mile rafting tour. Lunch is included and upon arrival at the rafting tour termination point ,fly out of the Grand Canyon by helicopter to Grand Canyon West.
Two-Day Trip
Retail$549.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)
Two-day rafting trips with one night on the Colorado River. All supplies and meals are included. Two days in the Grand Canyon,on the Colorado River allows more time to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Tours Include:
*Round-trip transportation from Peach Springs to the starting point and from the termination point back to Peach Springs.
*Snack, drinks and lunch(vegetarian meals available upon request)
*Waterproof dry bags for storing your cameras, sunscreen, dry clothes, etc.
*The helicopter part of transportation is weather permitting. If the helicopter transportation is cancelled because of bad weather, the raft will continue an additional two hours to South Cove and a maximum $20.00 per customer will be given back.
Special Website booking rate 15% off rafting in April 2010. So book now!
Call us Toll Free Today! Tel: 1-888-868-9378 | high2112.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A gift ark"
},
"options": [
"$5.000 in cash",
"Farm animals",
"A gift ark",
"Lemon Hands Bakery"
],
"question": "What did Alex Wood donate to Heifer International?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},... | Alex Wood began fundraising when he was four years old. He sold lemonade and cookies to raise money for a school in Haiti. Later, Alex sent 15 bags of food he collected from his neighbors to a food store near his home which asked for donations .
Alex wanted to help more people. He decided to donate to Heifer International, an organization that gives farm animals and farm training to poor people around the world. His goal: $5,000 for a "gift ark". That amount would mean that 15 pairs of animals would be given to people in need. Those families would agree to give one of their animals' young to other needy families.
Alex decided that baking was the best way to raise money. He started a business, named it Clean Hands Bakery, and now sells his baked goods year round. In his family's kitchen, he created all kinds of cookies and cakes. He says his top sellers are lemon pound cakes and chocolate cupcakes. Alex likes the baking as much as the fundraising. "I like it that you can take so many ingredients that don't taste good on their own and come up with something amazing," he says.
In September 2011, Alex reached his goal of $5,000 and bought a gift ark. "I feel absolutely overjoyed that I got to my goal," he says. "I can't help everybody by myself, but I can do my part, which I hope will inspire other people to do their part, too." One of the people Alex has already inspired is his younger brother. "He had people donate to me, instead of giving him a birthday present." Alex explains. "In the end he donated $200 toward my goal."
So now that he's met his goal of a gift ark, will Alex keep baking and fundraising? He says yes. He wants to end world hunger, one cupcake at a time. | high3218.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because they have a \"disease\"."
},
"options": [
"Because they have a \"disease\".",
"Because they are busy for the university.",
"Because it is illegal for them to work.",
"There's too much for them to learn in high s... | For Chinese students the end of their senior year is filled with studying and stress as they prepare for the college entrance exams in June.
The end of senior year is a celebration of their time in high school and involves parties, games and fun.
Senioritis is a commonly used expression. It means seniors have a disease which makes them unable to do work. This starts in April when seniors find out whether they have been accepted to university.
Unwilling to do school work, seniors have plenty of other activities to focus on.Many schools have a "Senior Show", in which only seniors are allowed to perform. Some seniors sing or dance but many of them perform skits , where they make fun of their favorite teachers or their friends. For example, a group of boys may dress up and imitate a group of their girl friends. It is all very light-hearted.The "Senior Show" is usually a part of Senior Week, which is a week specifically dedicated to seniors. During this week, seniors usually get academic or athletic awards they have won over their high school careers. The seniors also vote for one of their male and female classmates who they believe is the best-looking or funniest or most involved, etc. These are then published in the yearbook.
The yearbook is an important part of high school for seniors. It is usually dedicated to them and has all their pictures and some words from them in it. Then seniors go around and get it signed by their friends so they can always remember their time together.
Of course during all of this time, seniors are preparing for the Senior Prom , which is an important moment in American culture. It is the most important dance in a young American's life.
The end of senior year is a truly special and wonderful time for American students. It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives. | high16030.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Double the price."
},
"options": [
"Another pack of chicken.",
"Two packs of chicken.",
"Double the price.",
"A whole-hearted apology."
],
"question": "What did the friend get when he took the bad chicken back t... | Once my friend Peterson bought a pack of chicken, the brand of which was very famous at that time. But when he got home he found that the chicken had gone bad. He took the chicken back to the shop and he was paid twice of the price. We may say now he should have been satisfied but my friend would not like to stop. He decided to write a letter to Frank, president of the company, who was also the founder of the chicken brand.
About a week later he received a letter written by the president himself. In the letter he apologized to my friend for it whole -heartedly .There was also a card in the envelope ,with which my friend could get another pack of chicken in any of the shops. In the end my friend was asked to answer some questions.
1. When and where did you buy the chicken?
2. What was the real problem of the chicken?
3. What did the shop ass istant say when you took the chicken back to the shop?
4. W hat do you think is the reason for the chicken to go bad?
5. What do you suggest we should do to get away from such problems?
Two days later, my friend also received a telephone call from the president's office, asking whether he had received the letter as well as the card and then some other questions. Since then, my friend has always bought chicken of this brand whenever he wants to. | high4577.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "is looking forward to her father's return"
},
"options": [
"is looking forward to her father's return",
"feels ashamed that her father was lost",
"is unsatisfied with the government",
"can't get well with her family mem... | I am sitting in the examination hall among my classmates with a sheet of questions in front of me. The only difference between my classmates and me is that they are all busy filling out their sheets, while I am just sitting, staring at the wall in front of me. My mind silently fights to keep memories as I search for something to start this essay with--an essay about a man who was taken away from me before I was old enough to say his name.
With no words coming to my rescue, I helplessly glance down at the title of the essay: "My Father".
Since I do not have a clear recollection of him, I can only describe him on the basis of what I have heard from my mother and other s. They all told me that he was caring, hardworking, a man of his word and did everything to keep his family happy. They stop talking about him as suddenly as he disappeared from our lives. He went to work one day and never returned. My mother ran from hospitals to police stations and even to mortuaries but found no trace of him. He was gone as if he never existed.
While growing up I could never understand what actually happened to him but there were times when I heard people talking in whispers about how he was taken away by security forces because he was against the state. I do not know how far that is true but what I would like to know is how that is possible? He was an ordinary man working day in and day out to make ends meet and put food on our table. He was least concerned about the state of affairs in Pakistan.
I understand that my teachers are probably expecting me to write flowery words about him but how can I be expected to write about a man who never existed? Perhaps, it would be unfair to say he never existed. He still does in my memories. He was a fruit merchant and owned a shop. Every evening he would return from work with dates or sweets, his hands were never empty. I also remember that he took me to the Koh-e-Murad once; he told me that this was a very sacred place, asking me to fold my hands and ask Allah for whatever I wanted. I remember folding my hands and praying hard for every day to be a happy day.
Ever since I have lost him, I have been faced with a deep sense of loss--a feeling which is difficult for me to describe in words. I wish I hadn't known the truth or that my life was different and normal from that of the other girls sitting around me in this examination hall. This sense gives me heartache and makes me jump from envy to severe hatred . I dislike the girls who are taken by their fathers to school; I hate children who boast about bed time stories read by their fathers. These events constantly remind me of his absence and how different my life is from other girls of my age.
Strangely, I am just as hopeful as I am angry. Every knock on the door fills me with expectation; I immediately picture him walking through the door, a box of dates in his hands. Families get together and talk about good times but in my house, when we get together, we all gather in front of the television praying to catch a glimpse of his face. I follow every bit of news that could be connected with his disappearance. I see politicians, social workers and other influential power brokers fighting over the issue of missing persons. But do they know how long and dull our days have become under the heavy burden of this constant hope to hear news about his return? Do they care that I have spent my childhood with my sense that my father actually existed? I don't think they do. I don't think that they even understand that when he was taken away, I did not only lose him but I lost my mother as well. My mother, who does nothing all day but sit by the door in wait of his return, may as well have disappeared with my father that fateful day.
Most days I wish for his safe return. But when optimism makes me tired out, there are days when I think it would be better if we just found his lifeless body somewhere; so that we could finally stop searching, so that we could finally find peace. | high19303.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To the southwest of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean."
},
"options": [
"In the southeast part of the Atlantic Ocean.",
"In the northeast part of the Atlantic Ocean.",
"To the southwest of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.",
"... | At 2:30 December 5, 1945, five US Navy training planes took off in clear weather from the base Lauderdale, Florida. The planes flew east over the coast... and disappeared. The group was Flight 19, on a run between Florida and Bahamas. Tailor was the group leader. At about 3:40, Tailor reported that his compasses were not reading properly. The other planes followed their leaders aimlessly, first east, then west, then northeast over the ocean, as Tailor tried to make sure of the direction by radio. Then, suddenly Tailor was heard to give orders to dive...
Quickly, two giant Martin seaplanes were sent up to search for Flight 19. Several hours later, the wind became strong and visibility dropped. A return to base was ordered. But only one of the Martin seaplanes landed. Four days later, the Navy and Coast Guard _ a 100,000 square--mile area with more than 100 planes and ships. No sign was ever shown of the missing planes.
Today, people have noted the disappearance of many ships and planes in the southwest part of the North Atlantic and began to call this area the Bermuda Triangle.
The points of the triangle are Bermuda, Puerto Rico and a particular place in the Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida. It is a two--faced water world of tiny islands, bright beaches and beautiful waters. Yet thick fogs, powerful currents and sudden storms are hidden behind this smiling surface. | high20582.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "doesn't help develop leadership and group skills"
},
"options": [
"doesn't benefit the children at all",
"doesn't help develop leadership and group skills",
"makes children become more active",
"helps increase physical ... | Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and physical, cognitive , and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts.
Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity problem.
Children's development is critically influenced by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play. When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their children's vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships. Parents who have the opportunity to look at their children's world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, giving their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.
Play is essential to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to strengthen children's learning willingness. Social-emotional learning is best integrated with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children's ability to learn are improved at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning. | high5669.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Apple wanted to contribute to protecting the environment"
},
"options": [
"Apple wanted to change its public image eagerly",
"Apple wanted to contribute to protecting the environment",
"Apple wanted to cut down its expenses b... | Note: 1gigawtt =" 1000" megawatts
SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple is cleaning up its manufacturing operations in China to reduce the air pollution caused by the factories that have assembled hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads during the past eight years.
The world's most valuable company is working with its Chinese suppliers to eventually produce 2.2 gigawatts of solar power and other renewable energy.
The commitment announced Wednesday represents Apple's latest attempt to prevent the popularity of its devices and digital services from increasing the carbon emissions that are widely believed to change the Earth's climate.
Apple Inc. estimates 20 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution will be avoided as more of its suppliers rely on renewable energy between now and 2020. That's like having four million fewer cars on the road for a year.
Panels capable of generating about 200 megawatts of solar power will be financed by Apple in the northern, southern and eastern regions of China, where many of its suppliers are located. The company is teaming up with its Chinese suppliers to build the capacity for the remaining 2 gigawatts of renewable energy, which will be a mix of solar, wind and hydroelectric power.
Foxconn, which runs the factory where the most iPhones are assembled, is pledging to contribute 400 megawatts of solar power as part of the 2-gigawatt commitment. The solar panels to be built by 2018 in China's Henan Province are supposed to produce as much renewable energy as Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory consumes while making iPhones.
Apple has made protecting the environment a higher priority since Tim Cook replaced the late Steve Jobs as the company's CEO four years ago.
"Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the time for action is now," Cook said in a statement. "The transition to a new green economy requires innovation, ambition and purpose."
Apple just completed projects in China that generate 40 megawatts of solar energy to cover the power required by its 24 stores and 19 offices in the country. All of Apple's data centers, offices and stores in the U.S. already have been running on renewable energy.
"When you look at all the air pollution in China, all the manufacturing that is done there has a lot to do with it, so this is a significant step in the right direction," said Gary Cook, a senior analyst for Greenpeace, a group devoted to protecting the environment.
Apple also has a financial motivation to help make China a better place to live. The greater China region is Apple's second biggest market behind the U.S. Tim Cook has made it clear that he wants the company to make even more progress as rising incomes enable more of China's population to buy smart phones and other gadgets.
Apple can easily afford to go green. The company had $203 billion in cash at the end of June. This story has been reflected to correct that Apple and its suppliers haven't set a timetable for producing the 2.2 gigawatts of renewable energy in China. | high11987.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "people whose children like fishing"
},
"options": [
"children who are below 11 years old",
"people whose children like fishing",
"those who are good at photos",
"those whose parents like fishing"
],
"question": ... | Kids Fishing Photo Contest
It certainly isn't hard to " picture it", that is - smiles, laughs, looks of anticipation and excitement. So, join in the fun, catch the excitement of your child on film while fishing and enter his or her picture in the yearly Kids Fishing Photo Contest! The contest is sponsored by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in celebration of National Fishing Week!
The winning pictures are those that best catch the theme "kids enjoying fishing". Children in the first through third place photographs of each category will receive different fishing-related prizes. Winning pictures will also be posted on the VDGIF website and may be used in all kinds of VDGIF publications. There is no need to be a professional photographer. Any photo will do.
Contest Rules
*Children in the photographs must fall into one of the following age groups when the picture is taken: 1--4, 6--10.
*Photos must not be more than 1 year old.
*Photos must be taken in Virginia.
*Children in a boat must be wearing a life jacket.
*Only one photo submission per child.
*Submit the photo on photograph quality paper, no CD's accepted.
*Photos must not be bigger than "4x6" size.
*Please stick a piece of paper to the back of the photo including: name, age, address, phone number and location where the photograph was taken.
*A Photo Contest Release Form (PDF) must be submitted along with the photograph.
*Photos must be postmarked on or before April 19, 2013.
*Judging will take place in May and winners will be posted on the VDGIF website.
*Prizes will be sent directly to the winning children.
*This contest isn't open to immediate family of VDGIF employees and sponsors. Immediate family members refer to children, siblings or others living in the same household with a VDGIF or sponsor employee.
To Enter:
Send your photo, with the child's name, age, phone number and address, along with the Photo Contest Release Form (PDF), to:
Kids Fishing Photo Contest
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
P.O. Box 11104
Richmond, VA 23230-1104 | high2106.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It refers to a women's certain life period."
},
"options": [
"It's a clock made of biological matters.",
"It refers to a women's certain life period.",
"It records when women need to bear children.",
"It refers to a wom... | American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby.
"Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But...we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case(law case). Meanwhile, ten years later...my niece...the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp, stomp, stomp). And the way this case is going...I ain't never getting married."
"Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God I don't need this right now."
Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman's life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out.
Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.
Make no mistake. Being a "Single Mother by Choice" is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice.
Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner.
This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner.
"Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn't meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own. | high10441.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Stronger construction will save the expense in the long run."
},
"options": [
"There are many severe weather events destroying homes, businesses and lives.",
"Stronger construction will save the expense in the long run.",
"Go... | Climate change is making it harder than usual for scientists to figure out what the future will bring and what impact weather changes will have on society and the economy. An upsurge of severe weather events has already destroyed homes, businesses and lives. Some fairly simple changes may reduce the toll.
In a laboratory test, a house built with conventional techniques is falling apart in hurricane-force winds.
The survivor has stronger shingles, thicker roof boards, and metal straps holding floors together.
Wind tunnel tests were done by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. It says stronger construction costs a little more, but holds up much better to extreme weather.
The growing number of unusually strong storms, like Typhoon Haiyan, has convinced the Chairman of the U. S. Senate Homeland Security Committee, Tom Carper, that extreme weather is the "new _ )."
"Extreme weather events have increased in frequency over the past 50 years and are expected to become even more common, more intense, and more costly," said Carper.
Hurricane Sandy hit beachfront businesses along the U.S. East Coast, including Carper's home state. Insurance companies had to pay out huge claims. To limit such losses, the insurance industry can raise premiums for businesses in vulnerable locations and offer discounts to clients who make their buildings more resilient with upgraded construction techniques.
Managing risks is the job of insurance brokers like Kevin Connelly of the Graham Company, who spoke to VOA via Skype.
"We are either going to price your insurance at a huge markup, or we are not going to write (sell it) it at all, which is just as bad obviously," said Connelly.
Drought is another suspected consequence of climate change, and dry ground means more wildfires in California. Current mathematical models of climate change do a poor job of predicting the economic impact of drought and other weather events, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Robert Pindyck, who spoke via Skype.
"I think all we can do, taking all of that into account, is come up with some very rough numbers, very rough estimates, "said Pindyck. "Consensus estimates that maybe experts provide, that give us a view of what would the catastrophic outcome look like if we don't do anything?"
To help deal with this serious problem, Pindyck says policymakers should take actions such as imposing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. A carbon tax would encourage companies and families to use less energy and generate fewer of the gases thought to be driving changes in the climate. But other analysts say it is unlikely a new tax will get approval in the U.S. Congress any time soon. | high6360.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they will possibly lose a lot of customers"
},
"options": [
"they will possibly lose a lot of customers",
"there will be less overweight people",
"people will use other forms of transportation",
"the problem of overweig... | Is pricing a plane ticket based on the passenger's weight fair? If you're taking an international flight on Samoa Air today, your fare will be based on your weight, along with that of your luggage. The cost is 93 cents to $1.06 for each kilogram.
The average American woman weighs 75.5 kilograms, far from the ideal weight for her average height. Her ticket on Samoa Air, at the $1 a kilogram rate, would cost $75.50. But let's be honest here. Since the average American woman is overweight, the ticket will cost her more.
Samoa Air Chief Executive Chris Langton said, "Planes are run by weight and not by seat. The plane can only carry a certain amount of weight and that weight needs to be paid."He believes other airlines should adopt the policy.
It' s not a new idea. I remember a newspaper columnist years ago who put forth the idea that the heavier among us should pay more for their seats on planes, trains and buses. Who hasn' t been squeezed into a middle seat between two plus-sized folks on a flight? It' s happened to me; one time my married seatmates had purposefully chosen their seats to have more space until a sold-out flight put me between them. Not one of my better flying experiences.
What if such a policy is adopted by some airlines in the United States? Could such pricing provide a much-needed motivation for Americans to reduce body weight? I hope so. But, as we know, more than one-third of us are obese and another third are overweight. The high probability is that the heavy customers will not suddenly lose weight or stop flying, but will instead choose a different airline, simply moving the supposed problem elsewhere.
There's no doubt that the heavier will suffer more discrimination . Discrimination against the overweight in the United States has increased by 66 percent over the last decade --"and is comparable to rates of racial discrimination, especially among women,"wrote Yale University researcher Rebecca M. Puhl. Your weight can affect your salary, your chances for employment, how others view you and even, now, your air fares.
"If the policy succeeds it may encourage the spread of body discrimination across different industries and the wider culture," said one British editorial writer. He holds that it is companies' duty to provide equipment that meet the needs of their customers.
And we'll see how effective it is as a business model. | high14627.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the structure of his eyes will keep the same as before"
},
"options": [
"the structure of his eyes will keep the same as before",
"it is harmful",
"the structure of his eyes will be changed",
"he will lose sight"
],... | There are many commonly held beliefs about eye glasses and eyesight that are not proven facts. For instance, some people believe that wearing glasses too soon weakens the eyes. But there is no evidence to show that the structure of eyes is changed by wearing glasses at a young age. Wearing the wrong glasses, however, can prove harmful. Studies show that for adults there is no danger, but children can develop loss of vision if they have glasses inappropriate for their eyes.
We have all heard some of the common myths about how eyesight gets bad. Most people believe that reading in dim light causes poor eyesight, but that is untrue. Too little light makes the eyes work harder, so they do get tired and strained. Eyestrain also results from reading a lot, reading in bed, and watching too much television. However, although eyestrain may cause some pain or headaches, it does not permanently damage eyesight.
Another myth about eyes is that they can be replaced, or transferred from one person to another. They are close to one million nerve fibers that connect the eyeball to the brain, so it is impossible to attach them all in a new person. Only certain parts of the eye can be replaced. But if we keep clearing up the myths and learning more about the eyes, some day a full transplant may be possible. | high9053.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the moon"
},
"options": [
"the Tuba City",
"the moon",
"the NASA research center",
"the Apollo moon mission"
],
"question": "The appearance of the Navajo Reservation is very similar to that of _ .",
"ques... | About 1966 or so, a NASA team doing work for the Apollo moon mission took the astronauts near Tuba City. There the land of the Navajo Reservation looks very much like the lunar surface. Among all the trucks and large vehicles were two large figures that were dressed in full lunar space suits.
Nearby, a Navajo shepherd and his son were watching the strange creatures walk about, occasionally being watched over by other NASA workers. The two Navajo people were noticed and approached by the NASA people. Since the shepherd and his son did not know English, they asked the NASA people who the strange creatures were. The NASA people told them that they were just men that were getting ready to go to the moon. The shepherd became very excited and asked if he could send a message to the moon with the astronauts.
The NASA officials thought this was a great idea so they provided a tape recorder. After the man gave them his message, they asked his son to translate. His son would not.
Later, they tried a few more people on the Navajo Reservation to translate and every person they asked would chuckle and then refuse to translate. Finally, with cash in hand someone translated the message, "Watch out for these guys, they have come to take your land!" | high22395.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "People will be discouraged without praise."
},
"options": [
"Praise can have people take risky actions.",
"Encouragement can make people achieve greater progress.",
"No recognition,no progress.",
"People will be discour... | Everyone needs recognition for his achievements,but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father,"Let's play darts .I'll throw and you should say 'Wonderful!'"
Fran Tarkenton,former Minnesota Vikings quarterback,once called a play that required him to block onrushing tacklers.
FEL quarterbacks almost never block.They're usually vastly outweighed by defenders,so blocking exposes them to the risk of severe injury.
But the team was behind,and a surprising play was needed.Tarkenton went into block,and the runner scored a touchdown.The Vikings won the game.
Watching the game films with the team the next day,Tarkenton expected a big pat on the back for what he'd done. It never came.
After the meeting,Tarkenton approached coach Bud Grant and asked,"You saw my block,didn't you,Coach?How come you didn't say anything about it?"
Grant replied,"Sure,I saw the block.It was great,but you're always working hard out there,Fran.I figured I didn't have to tell you."
"Well,"Tarkenton replied,"if you ever want me to block again,you do!" | high15539.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Before Games' opening ceremony and after the closing"
},
"options": [
"During the Olympics",
"Before Games' opening ceremony and after the closing",
"After the Olympics' closing",
"We don't know"
],
"question": ... | According to a survey released by the Nielson Company on Thursday, China has become a global tourist attraction after the Beijing Olympics.
The survey said the Olympics not only built up China's image but also served as an advertisement for China's tourism.
The online survey was conducted on consumers in 16 countries and regions before Games' opening ceremony and after the closing.
About 80 percent of the respondents had not been to China before the events and 50 percent of them expressed hopes of visiting China after the Games.
According to the survey, 70 percent of the respondents felt Beijing was more modern and scientific than what they had thought.
The most interested respondents were from Singapore, India, Mexico, South Africa and the Republic of Korea, as well as China's Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Pan Wen, in charge of Chinese tourism research of the Nielson Company, said the World Tourism Organization predicted that China would become the largest tourist attraction in the world with 137 million foreign tourists every year.
"This figure would be realized earlier with the aid of the Beijing Olympics," Pan said. | high12256.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Parents shouldn't entirely leave the education of children to the old."
},
"options": [
"Parents shouldn't entirely leave the education of children to the old.",
"36% of the audience of the program are female aged from 25-34.",
... | The Hunan Satellite TV (HNTV) show "Where are we going, Dad?" is a big hit. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the "how to be a good father". As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of"Lost on the way"played by nanny daddy and cute kids triggered a lot of people's emotional resonance . Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children.
The TV shows like "Children are hard to support!", "Where are we going, Dad?", "hot mom" and "cute kids" are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents' confusion in children's education and the appeal for the balance between career and family.
In real life, on the one hand, the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand, they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV show that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34. We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility for raising a child. The participation of mother in the children's education is also very low.
It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that "Where are we going, Dad?" shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go, and society will go where the children go. | high12530.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "try to fill the empty space in life"
},
"options": [
"talk to online friends",
"try to fill the empty space in life",
"create a new online name",
"ask an alcoholic for some advice"
],
"question": "If a mom wants... | For a stay-at-home mom, a computer with an Internet connection can truly be a lifeline . When diapers and baby talk become just too much, adult talk is just a click away. But for some moms, the attraction of the online world becomes too strong to resist and instead of being an occasional thing, it becomes an addiction .
Coleen Moore of the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery says she is seeing a growing number of young stay-at -home moms for whom blogs and social networking have become a passion, which will harm their real-world lives.
Now, Internet addiction is not officially recognized as a mental disorder. But a recent survey showed 14 percent of Internet users find it hard to stay away from their computers for several days at a time, and that 8 percent use the Web to escape problems. Considering this, it is probably just a matter of time before it is.
What drives a mom to the Internet is not different from what drives an alcoholic to drink: an empty place that needs filling. "In addiction treatment, we talk about the fact that there's a void ,"says Moore. "Whatever that void may be -- whether it's emotional, spiritual, physical--we're trying to fill it." So, how can you find the void? A journal tracking when and why you go online and what you may be avoiding when you do so can be helpful in finding it out.
But what makes Internet dependence special is the fact that usually it is not just a way to escape the tiring parenting or make a connection with others, but also a way to make a statement and be heard. | high23935.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "not sure"
},
"options": [
"great pressure of the earth's outer layers",
"the heat left from the time when the earth was formed",
"radioactive elements giving out heat",
"not sure"
],
"question": "The cause for t... | Geologists have been studying volcanoes for a long time.Though they have learned a great deal,they still have not discovered the cause of volcanic action.They know that the inside of the earth is very hot,but they are not sure exactly what causes the great heat.Some geologists have thought that the heat is caused by the great pressure of the earth's outer layers.Or the heat may be left from the time when the earth was formed.During the last sixty years scientists have learned about radium,uranium,thorium,and other radioactive elements.Many scientists now believe that much of the heat inside the earth is produced by radioactive elements.
Whatever the cause of the heat may be,we do know that the earth gets hotter the farther down we dig.In deep mines and oil wells the temperatures rise about 1degF for every 50 feet.At this rate of the temperature 40 miles below the earth's surface should be over 4 000deg.This is much hotter than necessary to melt rock.However,the pressure of the rock above keeps most materials from melting at their usual melting points.Geologists believe that the rock deep in the earth may be plastic,or puttylike .In other words,the rock yields slowly to pressure but is not liquid.But if some change in the earth's crust releases the pressure,the rock melts.Then the hot,liquid rock can move up toward the surface. | high7718.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because they can't stand the high water pressure."
},
"options": [
"Because they can't stand the high water pressure.",
"Because it's too cold in deep ocean.",
"Because time for experiments is too limited.",
"Because it... | The Internationa1 Space Station allows astronauts to live in space for extended amounts of time, enabling them to explore the outside universe and conduct many experiments. However, nothing like that exists for our oceans, and thanks to the high water pressure, ocean researchers are able to explore what lies undersea for very short periods of time.
They are therefore never able to fully explore the deep inside areas of our oceans. However, if French architect Jacques Rougerie has his way, that will change soon.
Jacques has designed a ship that will allow researchers to spend a long period of time observing the sea life and conducting experiments. The huge l67ft. ship, named 'Sea Orbiter', consists of two areas--one above the water where the scientists and crew will live, and a lower pressurized deck , where scientists will be able to spend as much time as they wish. Since it is powered by sea currents and wind, he expects it to drift along the oceans slowly, taking about two years to _ the globe.
Jacques will make their life as comfortable as possible in the ship. Besides being equipped with the latest sailing tools and communication equipment, the ship will also have a gym, a television and a DVD player! And these guys will not be eating freeze-dried food like astronauts. Instead, Jacques, an accomplished chef, plans on cooking them delicious meals every day.
The biggest problem to this giant ship is the cost, which is expected to be over $500 million--per ship! However, Jacques, who strongly believes that the secrets of our oceans may be the key to solving global warming and a vital supply for food and medicine in the future, is confident he will be able to convince governments all over the world to help out, and expects to start construction on not one, but four or five of these amazing ships soon! | high825.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Expressing the writer's idea that gene technology will benefit people"
},
"options": [
"Expressing the writer's idea that gene technology will benefit people",
"Telling people the advantages of gene technology",
"Telling the ... | Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes , or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people.
The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by _ s. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied , not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span can be prolonged.
Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial family being a good example, have hereditary diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it and a healthy child will be born.
Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture (produce) human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology. | high65.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To talk about the school reforms."
},
"options": [
"To attract people to the school.",
"To talk about the school reforms.",
"To introduce the school",
"To introduce the relationship between the school and students."
... | Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting with Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez, Principal Neddy Alvarez and her staff at Western High School, located in the Clark County School District, in Las Vegas. The school undertook a comprehensive effort to completely transform the culture of the school and added a motivated group of talented teachers. Western altered the school day to add opportunities for students to get additional credits toward graduation and created smaller learning groups. As part of these comprehensive changes, the school's leadership also focused on four main reforms to transform their school.
First, improvements started with the change in the relationship between the school and students to create a caring atmosphere at the school. Using the "Capturing Kids' Hearts" strategies, school leadership and teachers began building a trusting environment and students and families described seeing changes aimed at improving student outcomes and ensuring the success of every student. The school day was altered to add more options for students to obtain additional credits toward graduation. Students and teachers were grouped into "houses," so that smaller groups of teachers and counselors could create one-on-one relationships with students. Teachers and counselors said that the altered school day provides time to address student's individual concerns and develop individualized learning plans to put every student on a path to graduation.
The school also made changes to encourage parents to support school and encourage real dialogues between parents and the teachers and leaders at Western. Funded in part through the United Way, the school created a family engagement center to get parents more involved in their children's education, particularly parents of English language learners. Parents like Ally Gaona and Martha Mendez told me that they had a voice and the tools to engage in their children's learning and that they recognize that the main responsibility for their children's learning must rest with the parents. Parents were passionate about these positive changes and said that these changes signaled to the entire the community that the school was serious about family engagement. | high6406.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "For the efficiency and cost saving."
},
"options": [
"For the efficiency and cost saving.",
"For the peace of the whole the world.",
"For the celebration of the end of World War II.",
"For the renewal of the Chinese civ... | President Xi Jinping announced Thursday that China will cut its military by 300,000 troops, a significant reduction in one of the largest militaries in the world and a move that the Chinese leader called a gesture of peace.
"The great renewal of the Chinese nation requires efforts of one generation after another," Xi said in a speech at Tiananmen Square remembering the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. "Having created an impressive civilization of over 5,000 years, the Chinese civilization will lead to an even brighter future," he said.
Xi's announcement came as China staged a massive military parade in central Beijing, sending a stream of troops, tanks, and ballistic missiles down a major east-west street as fighter jets flew overhead with multicolored smoke.
Xi's speech kicked off the parade. An estimated 12,000 troops--about 1,000 of whom hailed from Belarus, Cuba, Tajikistan, and other countries-marched along the 10-lane Chang'an Avenue from the commercial center wangfujing to Tiannmen Square, about 1.5 miles away. They were joined by 200 fighter jets and 500 pieces of military hardware, including tanks and ballistic missiles. Representatives from 49 countries were in attendance, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, said the Beijing may have decided to cut 300,000 troops "in the name of efficiency and cost saving."
Xi conducted a "troop inspection" after his speech, riding down Chan'gan Avenue in a Chinese-made Hongqi parade car. On Thursday morning, China's popular microblogging site Sina Weibo filled up with 350 million comments related to the parade. While many users expressed their love of their country and pride, few posts were filled with criticism. "The soldiers are too serious," wrote one user. Others complained about the cloud of gray exhaust that followed a column of tanks. | high14141.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It improves one's appetite."
},
"options": [
"It improves one's appetite.",
"It's an inexpensive exercise",
"It helps to comfort the mind.",
"it can be an individual or social activity"
],
"question": "Which of ... | One important attraction of walking is its long-lasting appeal. Whereas jogging and aerobic dancing can _ quickly, walking provides a popular activity that seems to endure. Fitness foundations estimate that 35 million adult Americans walk for exercise every day, with at least 15 million walking two or three times a week. Among the most regular walkers are those 65 years and older--evidence that walking is an exercise that lasts.
In addition to its many physical benefits, walking, like other physical activities, has a comforting effect on the psyche. Walking can help you to think more clearly and feel more relaxed. It also can be a sociable activity. An early morning walk around the neighborhood provides an opportunity to chat with friends or simply admire the flowers. Or because it does not require a team or even a partner, walking is something you can do on your own time, by yourself, whenever the mood strikes.
Easily affordable, all you need to start walking is enthusiasm and a pair of comfortable and sturdy low-heeled shoes. Dr.ChristineL. Wells recommends an Oxford-style shoe with ties for better foot support; she does not recommend sneakers or other "cheapies". If you plan to walk regularly, you might want to invest in a pair of so-called walking shoes. If so, expect to spend at least $35.
For walking during the hotter months, early morning or evening hours are best. Clothes should fit loosely and be lightweight and light-colored. Elderly walkers should consider wearing long sleeves, and all Arizonans need to be particularly concerned about skin cancer. Dr. Wells suggests wearing sunscreen as well as a side-brimmed hat to protect your eyes, ears, nose and back of the neck.
Walkers also should drink an adequate amount of water. Wells advises drinking an 8-ounce glass of water before you start out, and more when you return. "If you walk four miles or more a day in Arizona, I also recommend that you carry a water bottle," she says. " And water is just fine; you don't need those fluid-replacement or electrolyte drinks." | high9735.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "on the Internet"
},
"options": [
"in a newspaper",
"on the Internet",
"in a magazine",
"a travel guide"
],
"question": "This passage most probably appears _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{... | By Zhan Lisheng
Updated: 2008-09-27 07:50
prefix = st1 /GUANGZHOU -- At least 13 people were killed and nine left missing after Typhoon Hagupit swept through the country's southern region on Wednesday, authorities said.
More than 11.5 million people in Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi provinces were affected by the disaster, with direct economic losses reaching 13.46 billion yuan ($1.97 billion), Ministry of Civil Affairs figures showed.
Hagupit, the strongest typhoon to hit Guangdong and its Pearl River Delta region in 12 years, reportedly headed south toward Vietnamon Thursday.
The typhoon killed nine people and left nine missing in Guangdongalone, causing direct economic losses of more than 7.7 billion yuan, Yang Minyi, a press official with the provincial flood, drought and wind prevention office, said yesterday.
Direct losses to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in the region were estimated at 4.2 billion yuan; industrial and transport sector, 1.5 billion yuan; and water conservancy infrastructure, 1 billion.
A total of 6.52 million people in 344 towns in the cities of Maoming, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen in the Pearl River Delta region and in the west of Guangdong _ the typhoon in the province.
More than 15,300 houses fell down and 365,800 hectares of farmland were affected, authorities said.
Wang Yugui, a pig farmer in Maoming city, said Hagupit proved fatal to his business.
About two-thirds of his 4,000-odd pigs had drowned or were left missing in the typhoon.
"The typhoon has landed me in huge debt and I really don't know how to weather the losses," Wang told China Daily yesterday.
Wang said many others in the city suffered similar losses when Hagupit hit the city on Wednesday morning.
Hagupit also hit a South Korean freight ship, named Zeus, in the waters off Jiangmen. All 17 sailors onboard were still missing, the Yangcheng Evening News reported on Friday. | high24082.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "surgeons have large hands"
},
"options": [
"patients have large organs",
"surgeons have large hands",
"large cuts take less time",
"large cuts cost less money"
],
"question": "According to the passage, the reaso... | COLUMBUS, Ohio--The heart operation taking place in the pale-green operating room at the Ohio State University Medical Center was unusual. The patient, a 62-year-old man, was made to sleep, tied with blue drapes and lying face up on a narrow table. But no one was touching him.
Instead, the operation was being performed by a robot, whose three metal arms went through pencil-sized holes in the man's chest. At the ends of the robot's arms were tiny metal fingers, with turning wrists, which held a tiny instrument, a light and a camera. The robot's arms and fingers were controlled by Dr. Randall K. Wolf, sitting at a computer in a corner of the operating room about 20 feet away.
This sort of operation, heart surgeons say, is the start of what may be the biggest change in their profession since heart bypass surgery began nearly 30 years ago. "The reason we make cuts is that we have big hands," said Dr. Wolf, the director of the surgery at Ohio State. The robot's _ fingers, no longer than a nail on the small finger, at the end of the long sticks could work better.
Eventually, surgeons believe, most heart surgery will be done by robots whose arms are put in through pencil-sized holes punched in patients' chests. Instead of directly staring into a patient's body, surgeons will view magnified images of the operation on computer screens. In theory, the doctor would not have to be in the same room, or even the same country, as the patient. | high1369.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "By analyzing differences and providing advice."
},
"options": [
"By presenting and solving problems.",
"By explaining the cause-effect relationship.",
"By giving examples and drawing a conclusion.",
"By analyzing differ... | Whether you prefer burning the midnight oil or going to bed early so you can get up at the break of dawn depends on your genes , according to experts.
I jump out of bed each morning, eager to start an active day. But I can hear my neighbour's alarm clock ringing non-stop every morning and I doubt he gets to work on time.
A lot of noise comes from his flat in the evening. He's happy to stay up watching TV till after midnight, while I go to bed early and try to sleep.
Well, it might not be his fault after all. I'm called 'a lark ' and my neighbour 'an owl '.
We all have inside 'clocks' in the brain to control all kinds of bodily functions and it is reset every day by light. These inside clocks run to a different schedule in 'larks' and 'owls'. If you have a fast clock, you like to do things early, and if you have a slow clock, you like to do things late.
Because we live in a 24/7 world, scientists believe it's important to understand a person's 'chronotype' - the time of the day when they function the best. It could help us lead a healthier life.
A US professor has studied sleeping patterns and thinks work times should be changed and made more individual to fit in with our chronotypes.
And he has advice for those who can't choose their working hours: "If that's not possible, we should be more careful about light exposure", says the professor. "You should try to go to work not in a covered vehicle but on a bike. The minute the sun sets we should use things that have no blue light, like computer screens and other electronic devices." | high10327.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It's space"
},
"options": [
"It's the clouds",
"It's space",
"It's air",
"It's nothing"
],
"question": "What is the sky? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | What is the sky? Where is it? How high is it? What lies above it? These questions are difficult to answer, aren't they?
Is the sky blue? The sky has no colour. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes cannot fly very high because when they go higher, the air gets thinner. If we go up about 1,200 kilometres from the earth, we find there is no air.
Perhaps we can answer some of our questions now. The sky is space. In this space there is only the sun, the moon and all the stars. | high17448.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "learn more new words"
},
"options": [
"improve your English grammar",
"speak English more fluently",
"gain the skills of writing",
"learn more new words"
],
"question": "According to the passage, listening to En... | English songs have been very popular for people around the world for many decades. Songs from Elvis Presley to Ricky Martin, from the Beatles to Eminem and from Natalie Cole to Britney Spears have all been enjoyed by people around the world, even for people who don't speak English, and even for people who speak zero English.
From my experience, some people listen to English songs for 20-30 years but still don't achieve any good English skills. Some people choose English songs to be their main learning method, but most of them fail.
Listening to English songs does not help you to speak English fluently. It does help you gain some vocabulary, but most of these words are unusual ones that you don't use in everyday life. You won't learn the sentence "It is a difficult project. We really need to meet the deadline." in any English songs. All you will hear are love, passion, affection, hate and blue, for the feeling, not the color1.
People like using English songs to practice English skills because it's easy and enjoyable. They think that sitting in the car listening to English songs day after day will improve their English skills. It actually will not.
You will definitely not improve your listening skills because normal people don't speak with a tune. People don't talk like Eminem's songs. You can't get yourself familiar with English pronunciation or accent just from listening to English songs. The words that they pronounce in the songs are not the words that you will hear in your everyday life. They can even confuse you more about how English is pronounced.
I would fully encourage you to watch English movies and listen to radio news or other normal talks, but not music. Of course, you can consume it for fun but not with the aim of improving your English skills. Having good English skills is not that easy. Remember you should work hard to improve your English step by step.ks5u | high16756.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Bright Future"
},
"options": [
"Bright Future",
"Her talent.",
"Her mother",
"Her school"
],
"question": "According to the text, what is the major factor that can help Genzeb Tibeb continue her school?",
"q... | Genzeb Tibeb is very bright. At only 11 years old, her future is looking promising. She is ranked 2nd Out of 56 students at her govemment school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she has been seleeted for a special program because of her talent. She knows she is special and proudly shows off her certificate and book signifying her accomplishments in this special program.
But her future hasn't always looked so bright. While her mother, Bekelech, sacrificed immensely for Genzeb, she would not have been able to continue sending her to school. When her husband died, Bekelech was the sole provider for their five children. In order for them to survive, she began the daily routine of walking approximately 8-10 miles a day collecting sticks to sell near her 8' x 10' home in Kichene. It wouldn't have been long before Genzeb would have been, forced to quit school in order to help her mom. But Bright Future changed all that.
Genzeb has been at Bright Future for 3 years. Since Ethiopian schools let out early, Genzeb walks to the facility right after lunch. Because of her high ability, she even helps teach the younger children there, building confidence and locking in important foundational academic skills. There's also other meaningful opportunities Genzeb experiences which allow her eyes to be opened to the different opportunities that are available to her if she completes her studies. Field trips are one of her most favorite activities of all. She especially loved the one to Addis Ababa University.
She knows it goes beyond fun trips, though. "I am happy because I get extra help for school from Bright Future," Genzeb shares. At so many levels, her involvement with Bright Future allows her to receive a better education, which she values. For one day she wants to help people in need by becoming a doctor. And now she knows, that with a lot of hard work, that dream might just become a reality. | high4211.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Kentucky"
},
"options": [
"Tennessee",
"Kentucky",
"Texas",
"New York"
],
"question": "If you are interested in the cave adventure , you can go to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Last week , US President Barack Obama visited upstate New York's Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in an effort to highlight some of the United States' most-loved destinations and increase international tourism . " When it comes to tourism , we have a great product to sell , " he said . " Nothing says ' Made in America ' better than the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam . "
According to statistics , a record 70 million international visitors travelled to the US in 2013 . But that was still only 13% of the world's travelers--a smaller market share than the 17% that visited the United States in 2000 .
Beyond the country's iconic locations--which travelers know all too well--the US is home to a great many charming and fascinating sights that often fly under the radar . Here are some of our favorites :
The wild woodlands of the Great Smoky Mountains
One of the oldest mountain rages in the world , this tranquil national park , which stretches across the Tennessee-North Carolina border , has a rich biodiversity that's equaled by few other places on the planet .
Texas : Home to the world's largest bat colony
Take nature watching to the extreme in the Lone Star State , where 1.5 million bats take flight over Austin every summer night .
Idyllic beach towns--without the crowds
Hidden away from the flood of summer travelers , these five little beach towns offer excellent surf spots , scenic views and Victorian charm .
Philadelphia's mosaic masterpiece
The city's downtown offers a one-of-a-kind artistic exploration , with 50,000sqft of tunnels , caves and walls covered in a bright and strange display of glass tiles , poetry and toys .
Kentucky : An adventure heaven
This state has one of the most amazing environments in the country , featuring both a rock climbing resort and the world's longest known cave system . | high19465.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The number of the subjects in the experiment was 29 in all."
},
"options": [
"Scientists have partly understood the nervous system.",
"Whoever has worn a cast for long may have difficulty in muscle recovery.",
"Scientists hav... | Anyone who has worn a cast knows that rebuilding muscle strength once the cast is removed can be difficult. Now researchers at the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI) at Ohio University have found that the mind is _ in maintaining muscle strength following a long period of not moving and that mental imagination may be key in reducing the associated muscle loss.
Strength is controlled by a number of factors----the most studied by far is skeletal muscle. However, the nervous system is also an important, though not fully understood, determining factor of strength and weakness.
Brian C. Clark and colleagues set out to test how the system functions in strength development. They designed an experiment to measure changes in wrist muscle strength in three groups of healthy adults. Twenty-nine subjects wore a hard cast that extended from just below the elbow past the fingers, effectively preventing the hand and wrist from moving, for four weeks. Fifteen subjects who did not wear casts served as the control group.
Of the 29 people wearing a hard cast, half were asked to regularly perform an exercise, imagining they were strongly contracting their wrist for five seconds and then resting for five seconds. This was repeated four times in a row followed by a one-minute break for a total of 13 rounds per session and five sessions per week. The other half performed no imagination exercises.
At the end of the four-week experiment, both groups who wore casts had lost strength in their unmoving limbs when compared to the control group. But the group that performed imagination exercises lost 50% less strength than the non-imagination group. The nervous system's ability to fully make the muscle recover also returned more quickly in the imagination group compared to the non-imagination group. | high11039.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "approving"
},
"options": [
"approving",
"disapproving",
"questioning",
"inactive"
],
"question": "We can know from the passage that the author' s attitude towards \"mixed-ability teaching\" is _ .",
"ques... | We find that bright children are rarely _ by mixed ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming(......) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all,it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
Besides, it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively in order to have the ability to become leaders. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs;sometimes they work on individual tasks , and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is suitable. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work:it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal. | high5090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "missed the beauty of winter"
},
"options": [
"didn't work in winter",
"stayed up late in winter",
"missed the beauty of winter",
"enjoyed the seasons except winter"
],
"question": "According to the story A Winte... | Looking for some inspiration or the "write" kind of ideas for your creative stories? To start with, some writers describe winter by using their five senses or their imagination. Others write on their favorite winter activity. Whatever you choose to write about, working on a winter story can always help to improve your writing skills. Now read the following story and see if it helps get rid of any icy writing block you' ve been struggling with.
A Winter Adventure
Beep, beep. Beep-beep: the alarm clock rang. Slowly, I got out of warm bed down onto the wooden floor which the winter had thrown its cold upon. The bitter cold temperature penetrated my socks and I hurried to put my feet in shoes.
Looking out of the window, I watched the white snow, soft and thick, drop onto rooftops and trees. Half an hour later, finishing the last of my hot chocolate, I prepared to enter the _ that waited for me outside. I buttoned my jacket and fastened my boots. Hat on, I opened the door and was greeted by the winter coldness.
In the depths of winter, the early morning did not have the rush of the rest of the year. Most of my neighbours were put off by the cold, and stayed in bed until the sun had climbed higher into the sky.
Unseen by those who remained locked inside their homes, warm in their beds, I enjoyed being alone with the beauty of the wintertime. Those indoors were unable to appreciate the snow-scapes, ice crystals, frost and the crisp breeze. For them, the coming of winter meant just the arrival of the cold.
Appreciation depends on contrasts. One cannot love the warmth of April if one has not known the freezing cold of winter. Later that year, the heat of the sun on my skin would be all the more wonderful for my memories of that cold morning and others like it. | high2927.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Incredible things from the nature"
},
"options": [
"Trees and grass",
"Incredible things from the nature",
"The whole world",
"Walking, fishing and camping"
],
"question": "What are the world's wonderful gifts i... | Have you ever wanted to enjoy the world's wonderful gifts? This earth is a beautiful place. If you look at nature, and see just trees, and grass, do you realize what incredible things you are missing?
Go outside. If you want to feel more connected to the earth, the first step is to experience it for yourself. Choose a place that you think that you could thoroughly enjoy. A quiet place set away from civilization is best. One of the key things is that it must be calm and quiet. Any natural setting will do, whether it is a forest or grassland, lake or mountain.
Sit down on a rock, some dry leaves, or simply on the ground. Get comfortable with your surroundings, and really take in the sounds and the feel of everything around you. Try not to focus on "the big picture"--stead, notice the little details of things; for example: how many ridges are there on a leaf? Do you see any animals around you? If so, pay attention to kinds of things that happen lower to the ground.
Next, close your eyes, and picture in your mind the nature that surrounds you. The point is to sense that you are in a beautiful place.
Do something peaceful, such as fishing or meditating in the woods. You will be amazed at how relaxing it is to just sit back and enjoy the natural sounds of the woods and birds.
Go on a hike. Walking is great exercise and the pace of it will allow you to see and hear the little things. Don't let time or distance scare you. There are hikes of all lengths and difficulties.
Go camping or backpacking. Don't forget to look at the stars, whether you know anything about them yet or not. Often, they will appear brighter and more numerous when you are away from the light and smog of cities.
Practice primitive skills while in the woods to share a connection with our ancestors, if you want to go further. See the external links for suggestions.
Doing these kinds of things will bring about an appreciation of nature, and make you realize how beautiful it is, and that we too, are creatures of this earth. | high21065.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "School students."
},
"options": [
"School students.",
"Cambridge locals.",
"CSF winners.",
"MIT artists."
],
"question": "Who can take part in the Curiosity Challenge?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge
Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!
The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.
Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue, Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.
Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speakers will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will be exhibited and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in the celebration and brunch will be served.
Between March 10th and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration. The program guidelines and other related information are available at: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org. | high13969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "more challenging"
},
"options": [
"more interesting",
"more possible",
"easier",
"more challenging"
],
"question": "Going inside the earth is _ than going into space.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"... | An annoying problem for humans, who like to boast about all the distant planets and moons we have explored, is that we've never taken a good look right under our noses. The inside of the earth is relatively close, but how can we get there?
The deepest oil well enters a mere six miles into the crust (the center of the earth is about 4,000 miles deeper). Russian scientists dug the deepest hole in Siberia, but bottomed out at about 7.5 miles below the surface. The Mohole project, a U.S. plan in the 1950s, called for drilling a hole 25 miles down to the boundary between the hard rocks of the crust and the soft mantle . Sadly the project involved government supporting.
It gets harder and harder to drill deep into the earth because rocks get softer and softer. Hard but easily broken at the surface, rocks become plastic at depth, and the pressure caused by the weight of the overlaying crust --- about 52,800 pounds per square inch at a depth of ten miles, makes further drilling impossible.
What little we know about the inside of the earth (like the fact that there's a crust, a mantle, and a core) comes from indirect evidence, such as the analysis of earthquakes.
So maybe it's time for a thorough new method to explore the earth's inside. Scientist David Stevenson says we should forget about drilling holes. Instead, we should open a crack .
Stevenson suggests digging a crack about a half mile long, a yard wide, and a half mile deep (not with a shovel) but with an explosion on the scale of a nuclear bomb. Next, he'd pour a few hundred thousand tons of molten iron into the crack, along with a robot. The iron, thicker than the surrounding crust, would move downward at about 16 feet per second, carrying the robot with it and opening the crack deeper and deeper. The iron mass would drop for about a week and 2,000 miles to the outer edge of the earth core, the robot sending out data to the surface.
Stevenson compares his idea to space exploration. "We're going somewhere we haven't been before,"he says. "In all possibility, there will be surprises."
This idea can probably be put in the drawer marked with Isn't Going To Happen. The robot would have to survive temperatures that would melt pretty much anything. But Stevenson's idea may inspire a new look at an old problem. Great things can come from what seems like impossible ideas. | high7687.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "was untrustworthy"
},
"options": [
"was an Asian-American",
"didn't perform as perfectly as the second one",
"was untrustworthy",
"showed no respect for authority"
],
"question": "In Tiffany's view, the first ca... | As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company. During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.
He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said "untrustworthy," so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. "It wasn't until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person." Tiffany admits. What she hadn't known at the time of the interview was that the candidate's "different" behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. "I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural," Tiffany says. "I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again."
Many of us have had similar experiences with behaviors we describe as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions .
Hire Advantage
At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases from the process have an obvious advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate agent we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make .
"During my Mindsets coaching period, I was taught how to own a diversified workforce. I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to make use of their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession."
Blinded by Gender
Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops in charge of a diverse workforce. "Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias." he recalls. "I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences." In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.
"I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel." Dale's assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization's ability to promote the full potential of a diverse workforce. "I learned from the class that instead of forcing my gender biases into the situation, I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision." Dale sings high praise for the workshop, "because it helped me make decisions based on fairness."
A better Bottom Line
An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales." Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn't until my boss received Mindsets' training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased."
Once we start to see people as individuals, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities and about building better communities and organizations. When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers, family, friends, etc, we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are imperfect or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone. | high9872.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "personality"
},
"options": [
"age",
"belonging",
"personality",
"culture"
],
"question": "The degree of intimacy of friendship mainly depends on _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Friendship is one of the basic bonds between human beings. While the characteristics of friendship might vary from one country to another, people from all cultures not only enjoy friends but need them.
Many studies have shown that teenagers who have no friends often suffer from psychological disorders. It has been shown that teenagers, perhaps more than any other age group, need companionship and a sense of belonging. The negative consequences of loneliness have also been observed among the elderly. The death of a spouse often leaves a widow or a widower totally bereft . If, however, they are surrounded by friends and relatives and if they are able to articulate their feelings, they are more likely to recover from their grief.
"No man is an island." In other words, we are all parts of society. We all need the love, admiration, respect and moral support of other people. If we are fortunate, our friends will provide us with all of these necessary aspects of life.
As most people observe, there are many levels of friendship. The degree or intensity of friendship varies depending on the personality of the individuals involved and the context of the relationships. Extroverts enjoy being surrounded by many people whereas introverts are perhaps content with fewer but more intense friendships.
Everyone is not equally open with all their friends. The degree of intimacy is determined by many factors. Close friends can be formed at any stage in one's life but they are usually very rare. Not very many people have more than a few really close friends. Irrespective of the level of intimacy, all friendships are based on reciprocity , honesty and a certain amount of love and affection. | high762.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The Earth Pledge may be an environmental organization."
},
"options": [
"Green roofs will take the place of all asphalt or tar ones.",
"The Earth Pledge may be an environmental organization.",
"It's better to live on the top ... | One person can make a difference -- purchase your copy of For America and discover simple ways to improve your life, your country, even the world. But a simple and attractive way to cut energy costs, improve air quality, and ensure public health is to grow a garden in the sky.
Each time a city building is set up, the grass in that spot and trees that once reached up to the sky are replaced by a layer of asphalt or a tar roof . The lost green space can have a very real effect on a city's air temperature, air quality, and energy costs. On a summer day in most American cities, a tar roof can feel like the inside of an oven . But what if we could replace the hot roof of each skyscraper or building in a city with grass or a garden?
Whether it holds vegetable gardens, wildflowers, or grasses, a green roof can lower the temperature above a building by 60 degrees, which can reduce the building's energy costs and, if used more widely, could decrease a city's total energy costs, and improve air quality and public health.
But that's not all -- green roofs are a great way to handle water management in urban areas by taking in much rainfall, provide shelters for urban wildlife, and actually extend the life of the roof itself. And green roofs also do something else: they beautify the city -- whether you're on the 3rd floor or the 30th. Now that's a brilliant achievement.
The non-profit group Earth Pledge is promoting a Green Roofs Program. To learn more about a green roof, just click here: EarthPledge.com. | high23672.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The staff used baby talk with her because they assumed her mind had aged as her body had."
},
"options": [
"The staff at the nursing home mistreated the elderly people.",
"Nursing home workers sometimes stole items from her drawers... | This is my world now; it's all I have left. You see, I'm old. And, I'm not as healthy as I used to be. I'm not necessarily happy with it, but I accept it. Occasionally, a member of my family will stop in to see me. He or she will bring me some flowers or a little present, maybe a set of slippers--I've got eight pairs. And then they will return to the outside world and I'll be alone again. Oh, there are other people here in the nursing home. Residents, we're called. The majority are about my age. I'm 84. Many are in wheelchairs. The lucky ones are passing through--a broken hip, a diseased heart, something has brought them here for rehabilitation . When they're well they'll be going home.
The help here is basically pretty good, although there's a large turnover of staff. Just when I get comfortable with someone he or she moves on to another job. I understand that. This is not the best job to have. I don't much like some of the physical things that happen to us. I don't care much for a diaper . I seem to have lost the control acquired so diligently as a child. The difference is that I'm aware and embarrassed, but I can't do anything about it. I've had three children, and I know it isn't pleasant to clean another's diaper. My husband used to wear a gas mask when he changed the kids. I wish I had one now.
Why do you think the staff insists on talking baby talk when speaking to me? I understand English. I have a degree in music and am a certified teacher. Now I hear a lot of words that end in "y". There is little need for anyone to position their face directly in front of mine and raise their voice with those "y" words. Sometimes it takes longer for a meaning to sink in; sometimes my mind wanders when I am bored. But there's no need to shout.
I'd love to go out for a meal or travel again. I'd love to go to my own church, sing with my own choir. I'd love to visit my friends. Most of them are gone now or else they are in different "homes" of their children's choosing. I'd love to play a good game of bridge, but no one here seems to concentrate very well. My children put me here for my own good. They said they would be able to visit me frequently. But they have their own lives to lead. That sounds normal. I don't want to be a burden. They know that. But I would like to see them more. One of them is here in town. He visits as much as he can.
Something else I've learned to accept is loss of privacy. Quite often I'll close my door when my roommate--imagine having a roommate at my age--is in the TV room. I do appreciate some time to myself and believe that I have earned at least that courtesy . As I sit thinking or writing, one of the aides invariably opens the door unannounced and walks in as if I'm not there. Sometimes she even opens my drawers and begins searching around. Am I invisible? Have I lost my right to respect and dignity? I am still a human being. I would like to be treated as one.
Back to my semiprivate room for a little semi-privacy or a nap . I do need my beauty rest; company may come today. What is today, again? The afternoon drags into early evening. This used to be my favorite time of the day. Things would wind down. I would kick off my shoes. Put my feet up on the coffee table. Pop open a bottle of Chablis and enjoy the fruits of my day's labor with my husband. He's gone. So is my health. This is my world. | high6599.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Environmental Damage and the Human Future"
},
"options": [
"The Causes of Planetary Changes.",
"The Influence of Ecological Devastation",
"The Ways of Building a Sustainable Future",
"Environmental Damage and the Human ... | Planetary changes which will have an influence on many are drawing near because of the poor ecological state of the planet. Actually change has already begun through climate changes, but most humans haven't noticed this yet. Climate change has begun to influence the world already and will begin to worsen within the next few years. Around 2020 most people will begin to see that the results of climate change will be far more serious than now understood.
As the planet is under big geological stresses, which are continuously increasing, it will in the future no longer be able to support its population. Scarcity of resources, over-farming, lack of clean air, not enough clean drinking water and drought are some of the issues that will all play a much greater role in the near future.
Humans have caused large ecological devastation . The lifestyles of many people are improving at a fast speed; however, this will finally result in a lack of some precious resources. When this scarcity begins to happen, people will no longer be able to have sustainable lifestyles.
It's important to understand that everyone plays a role in the whole process of life. Each person's decision can finally affect the future. These decisions, all combined, can have good effect on what the future will be like for humans. So the future depends on the choices we make at the present moment.
While more and more people are becoming aware of climate change and other environmental problems related to global warming, not all are fully understanding how far-reaching its effects will be. Unfortunately, most of the humans are aware that the planet isn't functioning well, but they don't understand that this is creating a major problem for the future survival of humans.
So, every person should make the necessary changes to reduce their influence on the environment and help create a more sustainable future. | high23114.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Dad had thought one outsider had cut the flowers from the stems."
},
"options": [
"No one knew what my sister had done with the carnations.",
"My younger sister told my father the truth about the carnations.",
"Dad asked my s... | When I was young, my father used to grow carnations ----- a kind of flower which was red, pink and white. He took care of them with much love and devotion. Every day he came back home from work, he would enjoy watching them. Everyone who saw them admired them for their beauty. And he used to tell us, "No one should touch my flowers."
One day, my younger sister Clemence, who loved dad very much, wanted to help him. So she cut the carnations from their stems one by one and arranged them on the ground. She believed that dad would be very pleased to see them that way.
When mom and I realized what my sister had done, we became completely speechless. However, my sister had no idea why no one showed her any appreciation. When my dad arrived, he went straight to see the flowers as usual. Seeing his flowers lying on the ground like dead animals, he was shocked at first. He looked towards the street to see if it was any of the neighbor's children who could have done it. Then he looked at mom in silence. Finally mom, who always taught us to tell the truth no matter what, said, "No bad neighbors did this great job, only your lovely daughter Clemence."
Dad's face changed into a smile and then he said, "Do I have a better flower than my lovely daughter?" My younger sister smiled and hugged dad strongly. | high1590.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "75"
},
"options": [
"50",
"75",
"78",
"84"
],
"question": "How old was Li Qiujun when she died?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "... | Master painter Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) was well known for having a large number of friends and students. Among them, painter Li Qiujun was special.
They got to know each other through Li's elder brother, who was one of Zhang's best friends.
They admired each other's artistic talent and became _ , which resulted in a romantic relationship.
In 1948, Zhang produced Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape, a mountain-and-water ink painting featuring gongbi (meticulous brushwork), as a gift for Li's 50th birthday.
A year later, Zhang permanently departed from the mainland, and traveled and exhibited around the world before settling down in Taipei in 1976.
After leaving the mainland, he often said that he missed Li, who died in Shanghai in 1973.
Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape will be auctioned in Hong Kong on Oct 4.
The painting not only marks a friendship between the two painters, but it deserves special attention because it shows Zhang at the top of his game as he sought to master the mountain-and-water style, according to C.K. Cheung, head of Sotheby's Chinese painting department.
Sotheby's will auction the work at its major autumn sale, which runs from Oct 1 to 5.
Cheung says the painting's composition and Zhang's attention to details reflect his incorporation of traditional touches, especially from Song Dynasty (960-1279) paintings, while also developing his own style. | high14960.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Hemingway Days."
},
"options": [
"Cheese Rolling Festival.",
"Roswell UFO festival.",
"Hemingway Days.",
"All of the above."
],
"question": "Which festival takes place in mid-July every year?",
"question_typ... | We all love festivals. But since culture develops differently in many places, some festivals are, to us, very strange. Let's take a look at some unique festivals around the world.
Cheese Rolling Festival (England)
The festival started in the 15thcentury in May. When a round cheese is rolled, competitors run down the hill and try to catch it before it reaches the bottom. As the cheese can reach speeds of up to 112 km/h, it's rare that someone catches the cheese. First to the bottom wins the cheese. But running down a very steep hill behind a cheese can be dangerous. Eight people were injured in 1992.
Roswell UFO festival (New Mexico, US)
The Roswell UFO festival celebrates the anniversary of the "Roswell Incident", when a UFO was said to have crashed nearby. Every year in July, experts, authors, researches and lecturers come to discuss the incident. The celebration also includes an alien parade, an alien costume contest, and an alien hot air balloon ride.
Hemingway Days (Florida, US)
This festival has normal stuff (,) like short-story readings and exhibits about the author. But the highlight of the festival is definitely the Hemingway look alike contest.
Imagine walking into a bar and being greeted by 20 middle-aged men who all look alike: stocky with thick white beards. The festival takes place in mid-July every year. | high3387.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "for I felt it quite natural to do so"
},
"options": [
"even though I hated to do so",
"because I was told to do so by my mother",
"as I was named president of the Ford Motor company",
"for I felt it quite natural to do ... | My father and I were very close. I loved pleasing him, and he was always proud of my success. If I won a spelling contest at school, he was on top of the world. Later in life whenever I got a promotion , I'd call my father right away and he'd rush out to tell all his friends. In 1970,when I was named president of the Ford Motor Company, I don't know which of us was more excited.
Like many native Italians, my parents were very open with their feelings and their loves not only at home, but also in public. Most of my friends would never hug their fathers. But I hugged and kissed my dad at every opportunity for nothing could have felt more natural.
He was a curious man who was always trying new things. He was the first person in Allentown to buy a motorcycle. Unfortunately, my father and his motorcycle didn't get along too well. He fell off it so often that he got rid of it just a month after buying it. As a result, he never again trusted any vehicle with less than four wheels.
Because of that motorcycle, I wasn't allowed to have a bicycle when I was growing up. Whenever I wanted to ride a bike, I had to borrow one from a friend. On the other hand, my father let me drive a car as soon as I turned sixteen. | high2099.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and led it to great success."
},
"options": [
"Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in the world.",
"IKEA is the world's largest furniture retailer.",
"The advantage of IKEA's furniture is dissemb... | IKEA is the world's largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs.Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman.As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community.When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades.Naturally he used it to start up a business--IKEA.
IKEA's name comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up ('E'and 'A').Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist furniture, but it was not a furniture company in the beginning.Rather, IKEA sold all kinds of miscellaneous goods.
Kamprad's wares included anything that he could sell for profits at discounted prices, including watches, pens and stockings.
IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order catalogue in 1947.The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad's home.Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line.Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became solely a furniture company in 1951.
In 1953 IKEA opened its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden.IKEA is known today for its spacious stores with furniture in attractive settings, but in the early1950s, people ordered from catalogues.Thus response to the first showroom was overwhelming: people loved being able to see and try the furniture before buying it.This led to increased sales and the company continued to thrive.By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture.
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling a table to make it easier to transport.Kamprad was inspired.The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging.Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers.IKEA tried it and sales soared.The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA.Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having connotations of self-sufficiency.This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion.
Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries.Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company.In 2004 he was named the world's richest man.He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA.IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing. | high11818.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "devices that supplies food for wild birds"
},
"options": [
"animals that feed on some little birds",
"people who enjoy feeding birds outside",
"devices that supplies food for wild birds",
"hunters who hide themselves in... | Passage 1
Does the early bird catch the worm? No, he saves it for tea: Animals seek out food in the morning but don't tuck in until afternoon. The early bird,strategy was revealed in an experiment in which over 2,000 birds were fitted with tiny radio tags which activated when they landed on feeders hidden in the woods. The feeders were moved around over the course of the day and the researchers noted when the birds landed on them. This revealed that the birds were much better at finding the feeders' new locations in the morning. However, they waited until the afternoon to get tucked in. The researchers said the complex strategy acts as an insurance policy, with birds remaining light yet still able to get enough fat to survive the night. It is particularly important in winter when the risks of predation are high and just one day without food can make the difference between life and death for small birds.
Passage 2
What is a place where you could find old pictures of camels carrying people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and also books about ancient Aztecs in Mexico? It is all found in the World Digital Library (WDL). Its collection is available on the Internet. The library has 8,000 items from whole books to ancient writings, to music and photographs. James Billington, who launched the WDL in 2009, says he wanted it to include items that are both interesting and important. Every item is explained in the 6 official languages of the United Nations: English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian plus Portuguese. 25 million people have visited the website from 250 places since. Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, kind of document or area of the world. The website is www.wdl.org. | high18182.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "live or work far away from where they were born or grew up"
},
"options": [
"become more independent whenever they graduate or grow up",
"live or work far away from where they were born or grew up",
"live near their own homes... | There is no place like home--as long as it is far enough away, it seems.
Britain has become a nation of nomads ,with nearly half of us living more than 100 miles from the town or village where we grew up, research shows.
The trend is being fuelled by the Internet, better communications and property wealth.
People who move away fit into four separate categories--Sheep, Hens, Cows or Pigs.
Sheep are people who change home for economic and emotional peace. Hens are home and environment care-seekers. Cows are career or work shifters, while pigs are people caught up in grand parental support. It is far from the common believed idea of Coronation Streets, where close-knit generations of the same family live within a few streets of each other throughout their lives. Less. Than 20 percent of people now live in the town where they were born. Instead, young adults move away to find work, get married or seek adventure.
Many use the Internet to work from a home which need not be within easy traveling distance of their workplace.
Also joining the moving crowd are older people who either move to be near grandchildren or retire to new homes.
One in ten of those who do make away makes a complete break, and now lives 500 miles or more from where they grew up.
Women are likely to leave as men, a sign of independence that would not have excited in the 1950s and 60s.
People in the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and prefix = st1 /Scotlandare the most likely to live in the community where they were born, the study found. | high19288.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "all foods consist of chemical substances"
},
"options": [
"all foods consist of chemical substances",
"it is right to reject chemicals in food",
"food additives are harmful to our health",
"natural foods are much safer ... | A food additive is any substance that is added to food. Many people are put off by the idea of "chemicals in food". The truth is that all food is made up of chemicals. Natural substances like milk, as well as man-made ones like drinks on sale in the market, can be described by chemical formulas . Some chemical substances are indeed harmful, but a person who refused to consume any chemicals would find nothing to eat.
The things we eat can be divided into natural and man-made substances. Some people feel that only natural foods are healthy and that all man-made ingredients are to be avoided. But many natural chemicals, found in plants and animals, are harmful when eaten, and some laboratory----made substances increase the nutritional value of food.Other chemicals have natural and man-made forms that are exactly alike: vitamin C is vitamin C, whether it comes from a test tube or from an orange.Like "chemical", "man-made" doesn't necessarily mean "not fit to eat".
Food additives are used for many reasons. We add sugar and salt and other things to foods we prepare at home to make them taste better. Food producers have developed a range of additives that stabilize, thicken, harden, keep dry, keep wet, keep firm, or improve the appearance of their products. Additives can make food more convenient or nutritious, give it a longer shelf life, and make it more attractive to the consumer, thus increasing the sales and profits of the producers.
Food additives are presently the centre of a storm of serious argument. Food producers have been known to use additives that have not been proved safe; some substances in common use have been proved unsafe and have been taken off the market. Many people feel there's a risk of eating food to which anything has been added. But food additives are now regulated by the FDA of the federal government, and new additives are subjected to strict testing before they can be placed on the market. For most people, the chances of developing serious side effects from the long-term use of presently approved food additives are very slim. | high21717.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "are to some degree connected with our feelings"
},
"options": [
"are imagination of our daily life",
"are man's curious look into the future",
"have nothing to do with our feelings",
"are to some degree connected with o... | Let us begin by saying what causes our dreams. Our dreams do not come from another world. They are not messages from some outside source .They are not a look into the future, either.
All our dreams have something to do with our feelings, fears, longings, wishes, needs and memories. If a person is hungry, or tired, or cold , his dreams may include a feeling of this kind. If the covers on your body, such as a quilt or a blanket, have slipped off your bed, you may dream that you are sleeping on ice or in snow. The material for the dream you will have tonight is likely to come from the experience you have today.
So the subject of your dream usually comes from something that has effect on you while you are sleeping(feeling of cold, a noise, a discomfort, etc.)and it may also use your past experiences and the wishes and the interests you have now. This is why children are likely to dream of fairies, older children of school examinations, hungry people of food, home-sick soldiers of their families and prisoners of freedom.
To show you how this is happening while you are asleep and how your needs and wishes can all be joined together in a dream, here is the story of the experiment. A man was asleep and the back of his hand was rubbed with a piece of soft cotton. He would dream he was in hospital and his charming girlfriend was visiting him, sitting on the bed and feeling gently his hands!
There are some scientists who have made a special study of why we dream, what we dream and what those dreams mean. Their explanation of dreams, though a bit reasonable, is not accepted by everyone but it offers an interesting approach to the problem. They believe that dreams are mostly expressions of wishes that did not come true. In other words dreaming is a way of having your wishes carried out. | high18196.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "8580-5080"
},
"options": [
"139-100-25516",
"138-101-33998",
"8580-5080",
"8457-2772"
],
"question": "One interested in life of ancient Chinese is more likely to contact _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_quest... | Great Wall Xmas BBQ
Beijing Hikers is organizing a three-hour hike on a rarely-visited part of the Great Wall and will celebrate Christmas afterwards with a Christmas barbecue dinner in a small hotel at the foot of
the Great Wall.Meet at 8:30 am.Dec 25 in front ofStarbucks at Lido Holiday Inn, Jiangtai Lu.Please
write to _ or 139-100-25516.Pingyao tour
High Club will guide a weekend trip to Pingyao, an ancient-walled town near Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi Province.The town is among one of the best-preserved featuring a number of courtyard buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties(1368-1911).Among them is the Qiao family courtyard house, the shooting location of Zhang Yimou's " Raise the Red Lantern (')".Leave on Friday (December 23) night by train and back to Beijing on Sunday morning.For sign-up and more information, contact
Lucy at _ or 8580-5080, 130-11171326.
New year Harbin trip
The Chinese Culture Club is running a new year trip to Harbin, to catch a fresh view of its yearly ice and snow lantern festival.
As the temperature is expected to fall between minus 20 degC to 30 degC, visitors are warned to prepare well with down jackets, masks, fur gloves and boots.The trip sets out by train at night on December 31 and gets back on the morning January 2.The cost is 2,300 yuan (US $284).Reservation is required at 8457-2772 or 138-101-33998. | high20409.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "took a fancy to a unique food culture"
},
"options": [
"made up her mind to be a farmer",
"learned about cooking delicious food",
"took a fancy to a unique food culture",
"opened Chez Panisse, a Berkeley restaurant"
... | It was 1963, in Paris. While walking through the fruit and vegetable market Alice Waters was struck by the display of brilliant color1s, the music of farmers selling their produce, and in the middle of a great city. She felt "directly connected to the land." Chez Panisse, a Berkeley restaurant, which was founded upon Waters' ecological philosophy, has been named "The Best Restaurant in America" by both the James Beard Foundation and by Gourmet magazine, many times in the past. Only the food grown in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture was used in the restaurant. Menus offered nightly at Chez Panisse have consisted only of fresh ingredients, harvested in season, and purchased from local farmers.
Alice Waters has successfully demonstrated how a restaurant can develop successfully while contributing to the general welfare of the farming community. Sharing a meal between the people was one of the wishes of Alice Waters as she would love her customers to know each other. In 1996, inspired by the Garden Project at the San Francisco County Jail , Waters decided to apply her principles to education. The project was first started at the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley with the idea to transform some land near the school into a garden and, in the process, to teach local school children about food and agriculture. In 1999, over 120 people came to help plant the first cover crop, which prepared the field for farming by adding nutrients to the soil.
The student garden staff has had several years' worth of harvest, and has started growing gardens like herb and tea. Here, agricultural practices are continually being revised and updated and every year the Schoolyard staff attends the Ecological Farming Conference in Monterey. A kitchen classroom has also been created, where students learn about main foods eaten in other parts of the world.
"I believe that every child in this world needs to have a relationship with the land...to know how to nourish themselves...and to know how to connect with the community around them," says Waters. The middle school has become a model in itself. The students work the land and harvest the crops, while the cafeteria buys and prepares the produce for school lunches. This program will go a long way in teaching kids to value fresh food and their own contributions. This project is sure to inspire a national change in school curricula . In fact, many middle and high schools in California and Ohio have launched similar projects. In 1997, Alice Waters received the Humanitarian Award from the James Beard Foundation in recognition of her dedication and contribution towards environment. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary, Richard Riley, honored her with a John H. Stanford "Education Hero" award. | high23100.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "enjoyed himself in the bar"
},
"options": [
"worked extra hours",
"enjoyed himself in the bar",
"borrowed books",
"attended a few lectures"
],
"question": "Fred often went to the Students' Union where he _ .... | When I was at university, I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn't do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time drinking in the Students' Union than working in the library. Once, at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write "True" or "False". While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching television. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan. "It's very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I'll take a coin into the examination room. I haven't studied a chemistry book for months, so I'll just toss the coin. In that way, I'm sure I'll get half the questions right." The next day, Fred came cheerfully into the examination room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left half an hour before the rest of us. The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor.
"Oh good," he said, "Have you got the results of the test?"
The professor looked at him and smiled.
"Ah, it's you, Baines, just a minute."
Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
"I'm terribly sorry, Baines," he said, "You failed!" | high1584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They didn't have enough time to give birth to and raise babies."
},
"options": [
"Many Adelie penguins died from the cold weather in Antanctic.",
"They didn't have enough time to give birth to and raise babies.",
"The iceberg... | Most penguins died after a huge iceberg grounded near their habitat in Antarctica,forcing them to make a long way to find food, scientists say in a newly published study. The B09B iceberg, measuring about 100 square kilometers, grounded in Commonwealth Bay in East Antarctica in December 2010, the researchers from Australia and New Zealand wrote in the "Antarctic Science" journal.
The Adelie penguin population at the bay's Cape Denison was measured to be about 160,000 in February 2011 but by December 2013 it had decreased to about 10,000, they said. The iceberg's grounding meant the penguins had to walk more than 60 kilometers to find food, preventing their breeding attempts, said the researchers from the University of New South Wales' ( UNSW) Climate Change Research Centre and New Zealand's West Penguin Trust.
"The Cape Denison population could disappear completely within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the fast ice within the bay breaks out,"they wrote in the research published in. Fast ice is sea ice which forms and stays along the coast. During their survey in December 2013 , the researchers said "hundreds of abandoned eggs were noted, and the freeze-dried dead bodies of previous season's little penguins lay everywhere on the ground."
"It's strangely silent,"UNSW's Chris Turney , who led the 2013 exploration , told the"Sydney Morning Herald Friday"."The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were terribly low-spirited , almost unaware of your existence . The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling. They can hardly survive themselves , let alone give birth to the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground."
In contrast, penguins living on the eastern edge of the bay just 8 kilometers from the fast ice edge were full of _ , the scientists said. The researchers said the study had important influence on the wider East Antarctic if the current situation of increasing sea ice continued. Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing, in contrast to the Arctic where global warming is causing ice to melt and icebergs to decrease. Scientists believe the growth in Antarctic sea ice is likely to be driven by changes in wind and local conditions before long. | high14974.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were a couple"
},
"options": [
"Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were a couple",
"Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were very satisfied with their life",
"When they fail in Hollywood, the beautiful h... | _ . Very attractive people tend to form partnerships that are less stable and satisfying than those enjoyed by _ .
According to research by Dr John Blaine of the University of Southern California, relationships between people whose professions largely depend on their appearances, such as models or actors, tend to end much faster than those between lawyers, doctors or students.
Blaine said the beautiful felt different from childhood. They are treated as special, which may create botharrogance and insecurity. All too often, beauty can be used as an alternative to education. Often they are pushed out of their class or town, told to go off and make their fortune in Hollywood or London and, when the majority fail, they have fewtalents to make a living.
Blaine added that beautiful people score poorly on the "big five" -- the key factors American experts consider when helping distressed couples. These areneuroticism , including anger and anxiety;extroversion ; openness to new experiences; agreeableness; and conscientiousness, or sticking by agreements they have made. Attractive people often see no reason to try to change until their looks start to fade.
Krista Sutherland, of the University of California Los Angeles, said partnerships that appeared to be perfect from the outside, such as the former "dream teams" of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise or Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, where backgrounds andaspirations are often shared, did not necessarily lead to happiness. | high7693.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "many families were using lamps"
},
"options": [
"people had realized the importance of pinnipeds",
"pinnipeds were hunted for their meat",
"pinnipeds had a better life than today",
"many families were using lamps"
]... | The future of pinnipeds looks much brighter today than it once did. At one time, about 100 years ago, it seemed certain that many pinnipeds in the world would be destroyed by human hunters. Today, it appears that most species( ) of pinnipeds are out of danger.
Hunting was not controlled during the 18th and 19th centuries, because little was known about the lives of pinnipeds. Whales and pinnipeds were hunted for the oil from their body fat. This oil was used in lamps before electric lights were invented. Millions of seals and other pinnipeds were used to provide oil for the lamps of the world. As a result, the numbers of many pinniped species fell rapidly.
Several things happened that helped to save pinnipeds. First, species that were hunted to near extinction were left alone because their numbers were too low and the cost of hunting them went up greatly. At the same time, electric lights were invented and the market for seal oil became smaller. Finally, governments around the world made laws to protect pinnipeds.
As a result of all these things, the numbers of most pinniped species have grown in recent years. With some species, such as Northern fur seals, there may be as many animals alive today as there were before all the hunting began.
However, oil is still a danger to pinnipeds and all sea animals. But this time it's not because they are hunted for their oil. The oil that puts them in danger is from oil spills in the sea. The oil covers their fur and reduces their body temperatures. Oil also sticks to the foods they eat. This modern danger to pinnipeds and their environment is one we must work to prevent. | high9866.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It reduced injuries at textile plants."
},
"options": [
"It is still used today.",
"It brought her great profit.",
"It was made when he was 20.",
"It reduced injuries at textile plants."
],
"question": "What do ... | As a young girl, Margaret "Mattie" Knight never played with dolls, preferring to make toys for her brothers instead. In 1849, Knight went to work in a cotton factory where she witnessed a "shuttle," a device that carries thread back and forth across a textile loom , fly off the machine when the thread broke, striking and killing a young boy about her own age.
The 12-year-old Knight developed a safety mechanism that made it impossible for a shuttle to leave the loom. The design was so effective, soon virtually every new power loom carried her invention, saving countless workers from injury or death. Being so young, she didn't bother to patent the device, so she never received payment.
Knight wouldn't make the same mistake later in life when she invented a machine that could produce flat-bottomed paper bags. Knight had built a small wooden model in her home, but she needed a metal version to show it could hold up to the stress of mass production. So she hired Charles Annan to make the full-sized machine for her, only to have him try to claim the patent for himself. When Knight sued , Annan's argument was that the design had to be his, because no woman could possibly understand the complex mechanics. Knight proved him wrong when she brought back her wooden prototype and explained how every part worked. She won the case in 1871, making her the second woman to hold an American patent. Over a hundred years later, her design is still used as the basis for many modern flat-bottom bag machines.
But that wasn't the last the world heard of Mattie Knight. During her lifetime, she made about 90 inventions and received 26 patents, becoming one of the most productive female inventors of the 19th century. | high776.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People feel many awareness weeks are just for marketing exercises."
},
"options": [
"Too many awareness weeks make people feel bored.",
"People feel many awareness weeks are just for marketing exercises.",
"People have a weak... | Awareness Weeks have become a regular part of Britain's cultural landscape over the past few years. They started back in 1957,when one charity , Christian Aid, decided to make all its money-raising efforts on one time of year. It was thought that by doing this they would get more publicity for their cause.
They were right, and soon other charities and campaign groups followed them. These days, most donations to charity are not collected on the streets. So instead of just asking for money, charities prefer to spend their time "raising awareness"--spreading knowledge of the work they do or the cause they support. They also compete with businesses and trade groups who use awareness weeks as marketing campaigns for their products.
There are now 500 awareness weeks held every year in the prefix = st1 /UK. No week goes by without one group or another trying to make the British public aware of something, with most held in May or October.
The danger with all these awareness weeks is that people start to become cynical .Take National Smile Week, it seems like a great idea. Let's all make each other's life a little bit happier with a friendly smile. But really it's just a group of dentists and cosmetics companies trying to sell us toothpastes. It's enough to make you want to start National Forget About It Week."People feel that many awareness campaigns are just marketing exercises," says Ms Ormiston, who edits the Awareness Campaign Register, a newsletter which encourages people who run Awareness Weeks to become more aware of each other."But 90 per cent of campaigns are run by traditional charities or not for groups to make money." "There's still no official group for awareness campaigns," says Ms Ormiston."People can do what they like, whatever the size of their budgets or their public relations machines allows."
This situation has led to calls for laws to stop real charities having their efforts overshadowed by marketing campaigns. This could be done by making the two groups hold their weeks at different times or stopping businesses running imitation charity campaigns. But there is another way. Maybe it's time for National Weak Awareness Week, especially for people whose awareness of Awareness Weeks is weak. | high24109.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Solve a problem calmly."
},
"options": [
"Make others more upset.",
"Feel happier about yourself .",
"Solve a problem calmly.",
"It is no help at all."
],
"question": "What does letting out your frustration help... | Expressing emotions is important rather than hiding them or keeping them inside. Everyone feels negative emotions such as anger and needs to deal with them. But there are healthy ways to express anger and ways to control it.
Shouting bad words at someone will hurt the other person or make them angry too. If you feel angry, it is best to think before you speak. Some people in the UK use the expression "take a deep breath and count to 10", meaning take a pause, breathe deeply and let yourself calm down instead of getting angry.
Another expression people use to say they are controlling their anger is "biting their lip". This means not letting the bad words come out of their mouth. If you cannot think of anything but bad words, it is probably best to "bite your lip."
But sometimes letting all your anger out can be cathartic , as long as you do it at the right place and time. If you have just had a bad day, you could go into a room by yourself and scream or yell very loudly. Or if you want to hit someone or smash something, you could hit a pillow instead. Then after you let your frustration out this way, you'll be able to deal with your problems more calmly.
If you do lose your temper with someone and swear at them, though, you need to apologize. One way to do this is to say "pardon my French". This expression has been used for many years as an apology for bad language. Then you can calmly explain what made you upset. | high5084.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Care for your dream"
},
"options": [
"Care for your dream",
"Dream and reality",
"Nothing is impossible",
"Efforts to be a ballerina will pay"
],
"question": "Which of the following can serve as the best title f... | My dream ended when I was born. Although I never knew it then, I just held on to something that would never come to pass. Dreams really do exist. But in the morning when you wake up, they are remembered just as a dream. That is what happened to me.
I always had the dream to dance like a beautiful ballerina turning around and around and hearing people applaud for me. When I was young, I would turn around and around in the fields of wildflowers that grew in my backyard. Reality woke me up when I heard someone saying, "I don't know why you bother trying to dance. Ballerinas are pretty and slender girls. Besides, you don't have the talent to even be a ballerina." I remember how those words hurt every feeling in my body. I fell to the ground and wept for hours.
I enjoyed hanging out by the water. I would sit there for hours and stare at my reflection . There I was, looking nothing like a pretty ballerina dancer. Reflections don't lie. Once the waves would come, my reflection was washed away just like my dream to dance. www.ks5u.com
As I grew older, I began to realize that the reason my dream was even born was because it was something that was inside of me. The dream I had was never nurtured and cared for, so it slowly died. It's not that I wanted it to die, but I allowed it to die the day I started listening to the words, "You can't do it." When I finally woke up from many years of dreaming, I realized that you can't only settle for dancing in the wildflowers, you have to move on to the platform. | high16805.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "should not stop people from looking for a job"
},
"options": [
"takes job opportunities from people",
"prevents many people from changing careers",
"should not stop people from looking for a job",
"does not mean the U.S... | As you are probably aware,the latest job markets news isn't good:Unemployment is still more than 9 percent,and new job growth has fallen close to zero.That's bad for the economy,of course.And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now.But it actually shouldn't matter to you nearly as much as you think.
That's because job growth numbers don't matter to job hunters as much as job staff-turnover data.After all,existing jobs open up every day due to promotions,resignations,and retirements.(Yes,people are retiring even in this economy.)In both good times and bad,staff-turnover creates more openings than economic growth does.Even in June of 2007,when the economy was still booming along,job growth was only 132,000,while staff-turnover was 4.7 million!
And as it turns out,even today--with job growth near zero--over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.
I don't mean to imply that overall job growth doesn't have an impact on one's ability to land a job.It's true that if total employment were higher.it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from(and compete for).And it's true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening,regardless of whether it's a new one or not.
But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don't is their ability to stay motivated.They're willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills;be creative about where and how to look;learn how to present themselves to potential employers;and keep going,even after repeated rejections.The Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn't hunted for it within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.
So don't let the headlines fool you into giving up.Four million people get hired every month in the U.S.You can be one of them | high18828.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The Earrings"
},
"options": [
"Long Way",
"A Box Full of Affection",
"Thought",
"The Earrings"
],
"question": "Which of the following films is not directed by Romina?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"an... | 12-year-old Romina Mohaqqeq, believed to be Iran's youngest filmmaker, is dreaming of winning an Oscar someday.
"I will not regard myself a filmmaker until I win an Oscar," she remarks. Born in 1998, she has so far directed several documentaries and short films and has received several awards at national and international festivals.
"I made my first documentary when I was eight years old. The idea came to my mind when I saw an Afghan boy who was collecting paper in a dustbin near our house. I thought it might be a good topic for a documentary," she said.
"I asked my dad to make a movie about this boy but he said that it would not be an interesting topic. He told me to work on the topic myself if I liked it, so I made my first documentary and named it Long Way".
Romina's "Long Way" took the best film award at Roshd International Film Festival in 2007, encouraging her to continue filmmaking. "Next, I adapted a story published in a magazine and made the short film A Box Full of Affection".
She is now working on Thought, a new documentary about positive thinking.
Romina admits that her dad has been her only advisor all these years.
"When Romina decided to work on a topic herself at the age of 8, I taught her the whole process of filmmaking within 6 to 7 months. I even worked as a cameraman in some of her productions." her father said.
"We also reviewed the book Film Directing Shot by Shot. We read all the sections together where she learned the entire process from pre-production to post-production."
Romina also played in one of her dad's productions when she was 6, and acted in the
movie The Earrings. She was among the judges of 39th edition of the Roshd International
film Festival. | high21071.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his foot and leg injuries"
},
"options": [
"his age",
"his bad conducts on the court",
"his foot and leg injuries",
"his poor health"
],
"question": "Yao Ming has retired from basketball because of _ .",
... | Chinese star Yao Ming has retired. Yao made it official Wednesday, telling a news conference that a series of foot and leg injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.
"I will formally end my career,'' said Yao, who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 2002. Yao played eight seasons in the NBA.
"Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future,'' Yao said. "I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were a painful wait. I have been thinking about my future over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening.''
Yao said he would return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He already owns the club and wants to contribute more. "My playing career started with the club. I hope I can do something for it,'' Yao said.
He later appeared with his family on the stage to the applause and cheers of the crowd. He thanked a lot of people -- his family, former coaches, even players like Shaquille O'Neal -- "for making me a better player.''
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was among those attending the farewell conference Wednesday. Morey made the long trip from Houston. Morey said 20 hours on planes was tiring but "I would be sorry if I wasn't here." "It's a big moment,'' Morey added. "Yao had a sense of humor, a great attitude and sense of responsibility. I hope we can continue his culture in the NBA.'' | high2933.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "how roller skating began"
},
"options": [
"a strange man",
"an unusual party",
"how roller skating began",
"how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century"
],
"question": "The text is mainly about _ .",
... | Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball . He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forget Merlin's grand entrance for a long time! | high8588.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Its result is consistent with(...) the previously established ideas."
},
"options": [
"It is led by Susan Turk Charles.",
"It focuses on the relationships between small talk and happiness.",
"Its result is consistent with(...... | Small talk is part of everyday life, but it's the deep conversations that may make you happy. That's one possibility suggested in a new study which examined how conversation is related to happiness.
Researchers, led by Matthias Mehl at the University of Arizona, looked at the different types of conversation that happy and unhappy people participate in. The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, was somewhat small, involving 79 undergraduates, but meshes well with established ideas that happiness and social life are connected.
Experts found that the happiest people in the study engaged in 33% more small talk than the unhappiest participants . Happy people tended to have twice as many deep conversations, and spent 25 percent less time alone than the unhappiest participants.
These insights fit with what psychologists have seen previously: that loneliness leads to depression , and that feelings of social connectedness are important for happiness, said Susan Turk Charles, a psychologist at the University of California, who was not involved in the study.
Deep conversations create a feeling of belonging that leads to happiness, she said. On the contrary, people who suffer from depression tend to withdraw from others.
The method that the researchers used was creative, Charles said. Instead of bringing people into a lab, as is traditionally done in these sorts of studies, they had participants wear a recording device for four days, picking up conversations that they had. The recorder sampled 30 seconds of sound every 12.5 minutes, giving researchers a broad range of conversations to examine in terms of "small talk" vs. "deep conversation".
The bottom line is that maintaining friendships can help with emotional well-being(,). Friends buffer the effects of negative events and provide support, Charles said. Don't be too busy to have a deep conversation, she said. "It really is important. It should be something that you should pay just as much attention to as your career," she said. | high22550.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "About 460 people in the telephone survey often use Facebook."
},
"options": [
"85% of Americans 50 plus choose the Internet over print media.",
"About 20% of adults aged 50 plus have access to the Internet.",
"About 460 peopl... | Social networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.
"The latest data tells us that more and more social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report.
Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren. "They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report. She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and those in the same age group. Almost 50 percent of older adults were introduced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild. "Just under one-fifth of adults aged 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report.
The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults. In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are aware of the latest technology. Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one.
Despite the popularity of the Internet among the over 50s, they still mostly go to print newspapers and magazines for news. Only one percent said they followed blogs. | high986.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They find some lessons and teachers uninteresting."
},
"options": [
"They feel they have fallen behind in their studies.",
"They have no interest in school education.",
"They now have more interesting things to do.",
"T... | "I had a test and didn't want to do it, so I pretended to be ill", says 13-year-old Mary. But Mary did not enjoy her day off. "It was boring. I wished I had gone to school."
Mary's story is not unusual in Britain. According to the latest government figures, pupil absences are rising, despite schools _ truancy .
Dr Philip James from Cardiff University thinks she knows why: "As schools make more efforts to find and punish missing students, students find better ways to avoid being caught."
For several years, James has researched teenager truancy and discovered that most truancy was "a response to factors within the school". Students that skip school are not necessarily less advanced or less intelligent. They complained of teachers who failed to engage them, and of "boring" lessons. "Many of them really enjoy school and believe in education, but drop out when aspects of it are ineffective." James says.
The views of students like Adam, who believes that skipping lessons has little impact on his schooling, are common. "I only take off for a lesson, or a couple of days. It doesn't affect my education," he told James.
James believes that schools need to address the question of why pupils want to leave in the first place. "Pupils need help from the start." she says. "Schools need to look at the reasons for truancy rather than the number, so that instead of walking away from school, students have the skills and chances to talk through problems and make a change." | high12493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "anxious"
},
"options": [
"anxious",
"disappointed",
"frightened",
"ashamed"
],
"question": "At the gas station the family might feel _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | It was raining as I ran out of the church, eager to get home and play with the gifts Father Christmas sent me. Across the street was a gas station, which was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing under the narrow overhang to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I couldn't wait to see my gifts.
Once I got home, there was hardly any time to enjoy my gifts. My grandparents were still waiting for us to have Christmas dinner together at their house. As we drove down the highway, I noticed that the family was still there.
The closer we got to my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned and said, "I can't stand it!" "What?" asked my mother. "It's those people back there at the gas station, standing in the rain."
When my father pulled into the station, I saw there were five of them: the parents and three children--two girls and a small boy. Then we learned that the family was waiting for the bus to Birmingham, where the man planned to find a job.
"Well, that bus won't come along for several hours. Winborn's just a few miles away, and there is a shed with a cover there," my father advised. "I will run you up there."
Then they climbed into our car,. My father looked back and asked the children if Father Christmas had found them. Three sad faces gave him his answer.
"Well, Father Christmas said he was having trouble finding you, so he just left your toys at my house this morning. Let's go to get them first," my father said. All at once, the three children's faces lit up.
When we arrived at our house, one girl spied a lovely doll, that little boy took a ball, and the other girl picked up something else. That was the Christmas when I learned the joy of making others happy. | high9696.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A clever and active mind."
},
"options": [
"A critical attitude toward established claims.",
"A strong desire for logic.",
"A clever and active mind.",
"A strong desire for evidence."
],
"question": "Which of th... | Bruce Alberts, the former President of the National Academies (USA), has now taken over as Editor-in Chief of Science. Judging by his editorial in this week's issueConsidering Science Education there could be some interesting times ahead inScience offices.
Here's part of what Bruce has to say about science education...
I consider science education to be critically important to both science and the world, and I shall frequently deal with this topic on this page. Let's start with a big-picture view. Science has greatly advanced our understanding of the natural world and has enabled the creation of countless medicines and useful devices. It has also led to behaviors that have improved lives. The public appreciates these practical benefits of science, and science and scientists are generally respected, even by those who are not familiar with how science works or what exactly it has discovered.
But society may less appreciate the advantage of having everyone acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that are central to practice of successful science: scientific habits of mind. These habits include a critical attitude toward established claims and a strong desire for logic and evidence. As famous astronomer Carl Sagan put it, science is our best detector . Individuals and societies clearly need a means to logically test the constant clever attempts to operate our purchasing and political decisions. They also need to challenge what is unreasonable, including the intolerance that led to so many regional and global conflicts.
So how does this relate of science education? Might it be possible to encourage, across the world, scientific habits of mind, so as to create more rational societies everywhere? In principle, a strong expansion of science education could provide the world with _ , but only if scientists, educators, and policy-makers redefine the goals of science education, beginning with college-level teaching. Rather than only conveying what science has discovered about the natural world, as is done now in most countries, we should provide first all students with the knowledge and practice of how to think like a scientist. | high20347.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "news report"
},
"options": [
"opening address",
"historical book",
"news report",
"science report"
],
"question": "The passage is most probably taken from a(n) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education, announced some measures to reform the NCEE, known as Gaokao, for this year in a media conference.
The first measure is to balance the recruiting quota around the nation, with particular emphasis on recruiting more students in central and western provinces.
In addition to this, Yuan said that 200,000 places would be available in the universities in eastern China for students from western China.
The third measure is to cancel some policies that allow students with special talents to receive extra points on their final result of the NCEE. "All national-level bonus marks for Gaokao will be cancelled in 2015, while over 60 percent of the province-level bonuses will be cut. Ten provinces have already canceled the policies while other provinces have cut down 63 percent of the policies," said Yuan. The policy was originally introduced to be aimed at making Gaokao fairer because some students have special abilities but fail to get high scores in the national exams. Yet, it has been abused by corrupt officials to get the bonus marks for their children. This is a good example of corruption ruining a good policy.
Additionally, all students can recommend themselves for independent recruitment in some education institutions without any restrictions. Schools can also recommend their students to some universities.
The date for independent recruitment is scheduled for after the NCEE in 2015, and universities will be required to publicize their recruiting requirements, processes and results.
The last measure mentioned by Yuan is to gradually unify the NCEE around the nation. Students in three more provinces will sit for the same exams in 2015. Seven more provinces, totaling 25 provinces, will use the same exam format in 2016. | high10284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "3"
},
"options": [
"3",
"4",
"5",
"6"
],
"question": "In the experiments,if a rat was 0.25 kg,it may have been fed about _ grams of fructose every day for a year.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | Rats that eat high levels of a natural sugar known as fructose seem to age faster than other rats.and the same could be true for people who eat too much sweet junk food,Israeli researchers said Monday.
Fructose,found naturally in honey and fruit,is used widely in foods ranging from soft drinks to yogurt.But while its sweet taste is popular,the sugar could cause wrinkles,the researchers said.Dr.Moshe Werman and Boaz Levi of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology fed large amounts of fructose to laboratory rats.Writing in the Journal of Nutrition,they said the fructose-fed rats showed changes in the collagen of their skin and bones.Collagen basically holds the body together.The loss of collagen is what causes loose skin and deep wrinkles in older people.
The process affected,Werman's team said,is known as"cross-linking "."Too much cross.1inking makes the skin stiff, and these are the conditions that encourage wrink1ed skin,"Werman said in a statement.He said the same could be true of people,although this has not been shown."Americans are eating more and more processed foods such as baked goods,canned fruits,jams is and dairy products that contain fructose,"Werman said.Other studies have shown that taking in high fructose may cause diabetes .
The rats Werman worked with were fed much more than the average adult person might eat in a day,which is standard in such experiments.The rats were fed 12.5 grams of fructose per kg of weight everyday for a year. | high18800.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "there is something about family for Americans to learn from China"
},
"options": [
"family plays a very important role in America",
"there is something about family for Americans to learn from China",
"a proper balance betwee... | One of the United States' social problems is the breakdown of the two-parent family. Today, millions of American children grow up without fathers. Too often, these children lack the love and help they badly need and which they would ordinarily receive from not one but two parents. In the old days, American parents placed the needs of their children above their own. At present, however, nearly one half of all new marriages end in divorce, with often troubling results for their children. Worse, every year, thousands of teenage, unmarried Americans become mothers outside marriage, with generally terrible results for the mothers and children alike and for American society more generally. However, Chinese continue to value whole marriages. This is not to say that Chinese marriages are all perfect. They certainly are not, judging from increasing rates of divorce and extramarital affairs-but the willingness of Chinese to set aside their own needs and stay together for the sake of the children is admirable and worthy of study.
Families, in whatever form they may take, are important to Americans. If one was to ask a group of Americans what is the dearest to them, the majority would say"family".And yet, so many Americans spend much more time at work, that is, beyond the formal forty-hour work week-than they do with their own families. Obviously, the USA is one of the most powerful in the world, owing in large measure to"workaholism" .
It seems to me that Chinese generally find a better balance between work and family needs than many Americans do. I don't see the number of workaholics in China that I do in the United States(or American organizations in China).Instead, average Chinese usually head home right after work(in the office or field),have meals together, and spend time with their family members. What's more, Chinese try to make more time for grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins than many Americans; in many cases, multigenerational families live together.
Of course, like many facts of Chinese society, this is all changing; increasing numbers of"New Chinese"are working longer hours and spending less time with their families than ever before. Still, while Americans do value their loved ones, I think we have something to learn from the Chinese about finding the proper balance between work and family. | high21059.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To introduce some educational websites to parents for their kids."
},
"options": [
"To introduce some educational websites to parents for their kids.",
"To let parents distinguish between good and bad websites.",
"To attract ... | The Internet can provide a wealth of educational resources for small children, if you know where to look. This article will offer some educational websites to small children. You may need to assist your children in navigating the pages until they understand where their favorite activities are.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted learning is a great website for children, and I know several teachers who rely on it for materials for their classrooms. Most of the information is free, but for $20.00 per year, you can purchase a membership that allows you to have access to the site without the advertising. The pages here are great. There are colored pages and worksheets for toddlers and school-age children. They focus on learning language, science, animals, geography, astronomy, explorers, music, art and nursery rhymes.
Starfall
Starfall is another good educational website for small children. Teachers often use this website in classrooms. It emphasizes reading skills for early learners. The website is aimed at first grade level learners, but it has tools that can help all children from pre-K to second grade. The website has reading activities, worksheets to download, and a store where you can purchase educational materials for your children.
Sesame Street Workshop
Kids love Sesame Street, and it is always educational. This is one of the funniest websites online for children because it is very well animated and has great sound effects. The website has games and stories for small kids, and they can create letters at the post office and mail them to their favorite characters.
Sprout Online
Sprout has features on its television network, which are just for children. There are games, colored pages, recipes, music, videos, sign language activities and exercise videos for children. There are also online activities based on Sprout television shows. These include Roary the Race Car, the Wiggles, the Mighty Jungle and many others.
These are just a few of many educational websites for children. Small children love to use computers, so help them find some websites that contain fun and learning at the same time. | high5912.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Drinking Helps Increase Income"
},
"options": [
"Income Differences Between Man And Woman",
"To Build Social Capital, Drink!",
"Anti-alcohol Policy is Reasonable",
"Drinking Helps Increase Income"
],
"question":... | People who drink alcohol earn more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital " gained from drinking.
The study concluded that drinkers earn 10-14 percent more than _ and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.
"Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward String ham, an economics 'professor, "Social drinkers are outgoing, building relationships, and keeping in contacts, which results in bigger paychecks."
The researchers said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities.
"Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers ;an advantage in important relationships.Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills."
They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at controlling alcohol use in university and public places.
"Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said, "One of the consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private behavior.By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies ignores one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital."
The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women.They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than non-drinkers and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than non-drinkers.
However, unlike men, who get a 7 percent income increase from drinking in bars, women drinkers who visit bars frequently do not show higher earnings than those who do not visit bars. | high20421.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He needed some kind of human care."
},
"options": [
"He was a greedy man",
"He took on a sign of poor manners.",
"He was in poor health.",
"He needed some kind of human care."
],
"question": "What was the author... | It was such an extremely freezing day that I decided to get a cup of hot drinking first after work. As my colleague, Ricky, and I were making our way to a coffee shop, I noticed an old gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby. Obviously he was frozen, seemingly one of the homeless or someone like that.
We joined the line and waited to be served. Ricky handed the server a twenty-dollar bill, ordered three cups of hot coffee, and gestured the sever to give one to the old gentleman outside on the bench as a favour. The server looked at Ricky, a little _ , without full comprehension of the request. Afterwards, there was a wonderful exchange between the server and the old man in need of some attention. I only wished I had taken a photo of the smiles on the both faces.
As I was thinking about this event later on, I wondered to myself why Ricky didn't perform this act of kindness himself. I suspect that deep down in his heart he was hoping that this act of kindness might inspire others to do something for this old man as well. Absolutely beautiful!
There are many ways of thinking when we met someone as the old man in need of kindness and attention. Perhaps he needs a little helping hand and thanks God for my colleague who inspired the others to goodness as well. Oh, by the way, the last words Ricky told the server was,
"There go I, but for the Grace of God." | high11824.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a crab doesn't feel pain as a chicken or a pig does"
},
"options": [
"it is not guilty to treat a crab cruelly",
"it is too hard to kill a crab",
"a crab doesn't feel pain as a chicken or a pig does",
"the crab is a pop... | Do lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans feel pain? We certainly act as if they don't.Most chefs cook lobsters and crabs alive, usually by dumping them in boiling water.Along with melted butter.That's the appeal of crustaceans-there's no fresher food.We may feel a bit of guilt, or maybe just discomfort, when we hear the creatures rattling around the inside of the pot as the water boils.But that feeling usually _ for lobster lovers by the time we crack open a claw and dig out the delicious meat.We wouldn't dream of doing the same thing to a live chicken or pig which are dead well before die cooking process begins, but those crustaceans are different.They don't even feel pain.Right?
Actually, they just might.That's the conclusion of a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.Robert Elwood and Barry Magee of Queen's University in Belfast examined the reaction of common shore crabs to small electrical shocks.
Ninety crabs were placed in a brightly lit area and were given the choice of moving to one of two dark shelters.(Shore crabs like to hide in dark, tight spaces.) Once they'd made their choice, the crabs in one of the shelters were exposed to an electric shock.After a rest period, the crabs were returned to the lit tank.Most of the crabs went back into the dark shelters, and then the same crabs were given another electric shock.When they were placed back into the lit tank for the third time, the majority of the shocked crabs instead went to the other dark shelter, avoiding the one where they had repeatedly been shocked.
As Elwood put it, the crabs' choice indicated they wanted to escape the shocks: Having experienced two rounds of shocks, the crabs learned to avoid the shelter where they received the shock. They were willing to give up their hideaway in order to avoid the source of their probable pain. | high23128.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "due to river flows over millions of years"
},
"options": [
"as a result of a sudden break of volcanoes",
"due to river flows over millions of years",
"owing to the burst of artificial dams",
"thanks to our ancestors' cr... | How the Grand Canyon was created remains one of the geology's greatest mysteries. Some evidence suggests that the process was a gradual one in which the Colorado River (which runs through the canyon) slowly cut deeper and deeper into the ground over millions of years. But volcanic rock samples taken from the canyon now suggest that the canyon was down-cut instead.
Down-cutting is when a flood of water rushes over a landscape with enough force to cut deeply into the ground and leaves behind a canyon. Such a flood is usually released when a natural or man-made dam bursts.
Robert Webb, a research geologist, says natural dams seem to have formed and broken across the Colorado River several times during the last million years. The dams were built when lava from the eruptions of nearby volcanoes flowed into the river. The lava hardened into hard rocks and blocked the river, causing it to back up and form a lake. Each time the lake grew so huge that it broke the rock dam, releasing a flash flood that furthered the down-cutting process and deepened the canyon.
Down-cutting is not just an earthly event. Satellite photos sent back from Mars suggest that the process has happened there, too, say many other researchers.
The photos, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor, indicate that an enormous lake existed on Mars 3.5 billion years ago. The lake spilled into a large nearby hole. One edge of the hole broke, releasing a flash flood that quickly carved out a grand canyon.
The existence of down-cutting on Mars is just one more piece of evidence that the cold, dry planet was once warm and wet. | high14784.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Graduating from a good university."
},
"options": [
"Getting on well with other people.",
"Being able to overcome difficulties.",
"Graduating from a good university.",
"Taking positive attitudes towards whatever happens... | I happened to think about IQ and EQ on my way home this afternoon. So, I'd like to try to say something about them.
Due to the nation's family planning policy, usually a couple only has a kid. Young father and mother pay much attention to the smooth and healthy growing of their baby even when it is still in its mother's womb . So, traditionally speaking, most of the kids have quite higher IQ. The difference of IQ between kids are quite limited.
As EQ is concerned, I think the later experience of a kid in the society (home, schools, companies etc.) is of vital importance to shape his or her character. Even two kids have similar IQ, there could be a larger gap between their EQs if they have varied life experience.
What kind of people could be more possible to succeed? No doubt, the type of people with quite good combination of IQ and EQ! In my opinion, higher EQ at least includes the following aspects: 1. The ability to stand difficulty and setbacks; 2. Being optimistic towards any uncertainty ahead and having confidence to overcome difficulties facing him or her; 3. With rich inside world to feel others' blue moods and know how to help them solve their problems; 4. Skillful in communicating with _
When I observe colleagues and friends around, I do get my view. Even, I could predict that those people who could perfectly combine their IQs and EQs will be the winners in the society! Those talented graduates from famous colleges and universities couldn't achieve a lot if they don't know how to get along well with their colleagues! Individualism is far away from success in the integrated world. Team work needs cooperation consciousness which is an important element of EQ.
To be honest, I still have a long way to go to improve my EQ to perfect myself! How about you? | high22236.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "wants to encourage him to go further"
},
"options": [
"wants to encourage him to go further",
"doesn't know the exact distance at all",
"wants to help the man to decide whether to stop and have a rest",
"tries to play a... | "How far is the next village?" the American asks a man standing by the edge of the road. In some countries, because the man realizes that the traveler is tired and eager to reach his destination , he will politely say "Just down the road." He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the wanted answer. So the American drives through the night, getting more and more angry, feeling "being tricked". He thinks the man on purpose lied to him, for obviously he must have known the distance quite well.
Had conditions been reversed , the American would have felt he was "cheating" the driver if he had said the next town was not too far, and if he would be sorry to the weary driver, he would say "You have a good way to go yet, it is at least fifteen miles." The driver might be disappointed, but he would know what to expect.
Whether to be accurate or polite leads to many misunderstandings between people of different cultures. If you know the situation in advance, it is sometimes easier to recognize the problem. | high14790.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The thick grass covering the bridge."
},
"options": [
"There being no cars passing by.",
"So much food offered by Australian producers.",
"So many people dining at the same time.",
"The thick grass covering the bridge."... | SYDNEY (AFP) -- Thousands of people sat down to breakfast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge on Sunday after the bridge was closed to traffic and carpeted with grass for the first time for a giant picnic.
About 6,000 early riser were on the steel bridge from 6:30 am to take part in the two-hour event designed to show Sydney's best food and outdoor lifestyle.
As music performers provided the background music, those who had won tickets to the picnic in a random lottery began to feast on fruit, pastries, muesli, yoghurt ...
"It's amazing to see the bridge in this perspective ," said Don Fuchs who lives near the bridge, which is used by about 100,000 cars daily.
"Usually you sit in the car, you cross it, and that's it."
"It was beautiful," said Linda Curnow who attended the picnic with her family. "The grass was so thick that it was like being in your backyard."
New South Wales state Premier Nathan said the event was set to become a mark of an annual Sydney's month-long October food festival.
About 45,000 people applied for tickets to the breakfast for which people brought their own food but were able to taste samples from some of the state's best producers.
Organizers used about 40 percent of the grass on Sydney parks. The bridge reopened at about 1:00 pm. | high16187.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Supermarket"
},
"options": [
"Supermarket",
"Theater",
"Parking lot",
"Food court"
],
"question": "Which of the following doesn't make up the basic structure of a shopping mall?",
"question_type": null
},
... | prefix = st1 /Los Angeles' Shopping Malls
Let's take a look around the mall . You will find various malls inLos Angeles. Stores vary by mall . To better understand shopping at the mall , let's take a look at the basic structure of malls.
Basic Structure
Most of the malls are two or three layer buildings including their parking lots. _ ), but some malls like Beverly Hills Center are located on top of the parking lot . Most of the malls have pathways between the department stores and a food court , a central place for dining . You can also find theaters in malls.
Services of the mall
It's easy to find the places you want to go from the directories in each mall.
Usually the directory is located in several places throughout the mall . You can also carry printouts of the directory while shopping . If you have questions , ask employees for more details.
Most shops do not wrap gifts so you will have to use the department gift service center for wrapping . Make sure you have your receipts when you go to have the gifts wrapped . Each mall has a variety of service facilities including restrooms . public phones , diaper changing rooms . ATM machines , stamp machines and vending machines. | high17299.txt |
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