questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The public."
},
"options": [
"The public.",
"Glafira Rosales.",
"Qian Peishen.",
"Mark Rothlo and Jackson Pollock."
],
"question": "Who is amused and satisfied to see the rich buy forged works of art?",
"que... | Art robbery and art forgery are both major themes in crime movies and literature.In the 2012 comedy movie Gambit, British actor Colin Firth plays an art curator who cheats his abusive boss into buying a fake Monet. In reality, art crimes are no less interesting and exciting.
According to The New York Times, over the past 15 years, Glafira Rosales fooled two local commercial art galleries into buying 63 false works of art for more than $30 million.She passed off fake paintings as works by 20th century modernist masters such as American artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.But in fact, these so called "newly discovered works" were all produced by a single man, a Chinese immigrant named Qian Peishen.
The art world was shocked by Rosales' deception.But to the public, it was amusing and most satisfying to see wealthy people get tricked.
So what decides the value of a piece of art? Is it beauty? Is it the artist's talent and craftsmanship? Or is it just because the artist is famous?
We should take beauty out. If the buyers were buying paintings only for their beauty, they'll be content displaying good fakes on their walls. They wouldn't be so upset when a forgery is exposed.
The art market claims that great artists are inimitable, and that this inimitability justifies the absurd price of their works. We can't deny that most famous artists are good at what they do, but forgers like Qian show that their works are imitable.Otherwise, the difference between the original and the copycats would be obvious and Rosales would not be able to fool anyone.
According to an article in the Economist, expensive paintings are what economists call positional goods. They are valuable because other people can't have them. With other goods, a higher price reduces demand.But art turns down the laws of economics. "When the goods that is really being purchased is evidence that the buyer has paid a lot, price increases cause demand to boom," explained the article.
That's why scarcity and authenticity are so important in the art market. Artists sometimes forget this.Demien Hirst, the British pop artist, is famous for his spot paintings. But they dropped in value when it became clear that they had been produced in quantities so vast that nobody knew how many were out there.The art market lost faith in these paintings because no one could be sure which of them were authentic and which were fake. | high16352.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The world's smallest bookstore."
},
"options": [
"The world's smallest bookstore.",
"A strange way of selling books.",
"The popular books nowadays.",
"The popular bookstores in the world."
],
"question": "What's... | Have you ever been to the world's smallest bookstore?
The World's Smallest Bookstore,whose official name is just these three words,sits quietly about 100 miles northeast of Toronto.
The bookstore is about 10 feet by 10 feet,so it is easy to imagine how tiny it really is.The bookstore is open 24 hours a day.Inside the bookstore are various books,especially literary books and classic authors' works.So if you are looking for something less popular,you may get a bit disappointed there.
Another special feature of this bookstore is that each book only costs three dollars.All the expenses are paid on the honor system,which means buyers should make a note of what they've bought and leave their money by themselves.So the tools of the trade in this bookstore are quite simple: pens,papers,light bulbs and a label-maker.
In order to catch passers-by's attention,the billboards of the bookstore are several times bigger than the store itself.With these large eye-catchers,many people are willing to stop by and have a visit. | high10723.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To ask for advice from an editor."
},
"options": [
"to advise us to be careful when making friends.",
"To tell others what kind of person Mary is.",
"To tell Mary what she thinks of her.",
"To ask for advice from an edi... | Dear editor,
Mary is my friend and she is a very good-hearted girl. She's always the first to help out others. But her habits make me mad sometimes and she just won't change her ways. For most situations, that's just fine with me, as I know it's what make her who she is. However, sometimes it's just so hard for me to bear her behavior. She has recently got a cellphone, but she often borrows mine to make calls. My phone has a chain with it. She always tries to open it like her own phone. I usually open it for her, but not always, as sometimes I'm driving my car, so she needs to get it out of my purse and open it herself.
This weekend we were at a party in a faraway village. She borrowed my cellphone. As it was cold outside, I let her take it outside without opening it. Now it's broken because she didn't open it properly. I wouldn't be so mad, but over the weekend she also borrowed my car and never offered to pay for the gas, which made me very angry. She should have offered to pay for the gas. As I have mentioned, she's the type to help out others when and where she can. Perhaps because of that, she thinks others should also do the same for her. Sometimes I just think she is very childish. I don't want to hurt her, but I do want to let her know that not everyone can accept that. What should I do to let her know that?
Yours,
Lily | high2264.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "You should stay away from the kitchen."
},
"options": [
"You should stay away from the kitchen.",
"You should drive on a bridge.",
"You should turn off the power.",
"You should listen to the radio frequently."
],
... | Do you know how to prepare for and survive a major earthquake? According to Department of Conservation scientists, it is important to have the right answer to that question.
How to Be Prepared
Electricity, water, gas and telephones may not be working after an earthquake. The police and fire departments are likely to be tied up. You should be prepared to
yourself at least three days,preferably for a week. You'll need food, water and so on. It's also a good idea to decide ahead of time how and where your family will reunite if separated during a quake. You might choose an out-of-the-area friend or relative that family members can call to check on you.
_
If you're indoors, stay there. Get under a desk or table. The kitchen is a particularly dangerous spot. If you're in an office building, stay away from windows and outside walls and do not use the elevator. If you're outside, get into the open. Stay clear of buildings, power lines or anything else that could fall on you. If you're driving, move the car out of traffic and stop. Avoid parking under or on bridges or overpasses.
After an Earthquake
Check for fire. If you smell gas, shut off the main gas valve . If there's sign of damage to electricial wiring, shut off the power at the control box. If the phone is working, only use it in case of emergency . Avoid driving if possible to keep the streets clear for emergency vehicles. Be careful that things may fall out of cupboards when the door is opened, and also that chimneys can be weakened and fall with just a touch. Listen to the radio for important information and instructions. Remember that aftershocks, sometimes large enough to cause damage in their own right, generally follow large quakes. If you leave home, leave a message telling your friends and family your location. | high15883.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a sports announcer"
},
"options": [
"a manager in a station",
"a football player",
"a manager in a sports department in Dixon",
"a sports announcer"
],
"question": "The author dreamt of becoming _ .",
"qu... | "Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station and got turned down every time.
In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance," she said.
I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing job in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.
My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"
I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he put me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother's words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward. | high14545.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To have it replaced."
},
"options": [
"To have it replaced.",
"To have it repaired.",
"To get a refund for it.",
"To get their apology."
],
"question": "What was Ima' s proposed solution for the problem with the... | Dear Mr. Plant,
I am an enthusiastic camper and longtime X-Ports customer, but after being offended for the third time at your Sierra Vista location, I am writing to complain about your impolite employees.
Several months ago ,I bought a tent that leaked the first time I used it and wanted it replaced . When I took it back, your employees accused me of tearing it myself. I left not only withm1, torn tent, but no refund and no satisfaction.
A couple of weeks ago , I bought a sleeping bag that was supposed to sleep two people comfort-ably. It didn't. Your employees refused to give me my money back even though I had the receipt. I was asked to leave the store, again with no satisfaction.
To my misfortune, my latest purchase , of a piece of camping equipment at your store proyed to be another disappointment. The propane camp stove I bought didn't work properly. When I returned to exchange it, the rude clerk refused to help me because I did not have my sales receipt. It was an even exchange! He said that I was a problem and even asked if I had seen what products I-could purchase at one of your competitor's stores at comparable prices. Was he accusing me of something? Why would I have brought a receipt for an even exchange? Why would I know the price at other stores?
Furthermore, the clerk called security and forced me to leave your store-without my camp stove! How can I go camping now? The tent leaks, the sleeping bag is just wrong, and I don't have a stove to keep warm ! Who is going to refund my money for my stove? Who is going to help me get over the abuse I suffered in your store?
You, as the area manager must clear these matters up for me immediately! I am sending copies of this letter to your main office and the Sierra Vista Store.
Sincerely ,
Ima Kumpanee | high9331.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was born with a good memory"
},
"options": [
"could take care of himself",
"was born with a good memory",
"was the student of Dr. David Treffert",
"became brain-damaged at 20 months old"
],
"question": "Accordin... | Most of us have quite good memories, but our memories are limited. For example, we cannot remember everyone we have ever met or what we did on every single day of our lives. However, there are some people who do have _ memories. These people have a rare condition known as savant syndrome . Savants suffer from a developmental disorder, but they also exhibit great talents that contrast sharply with their physical and mental disabilities.
Kim Peek (1951-2009) was a savant who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. He was born with damage to parts of his brain, but it seemed that other parts of his brain, particularly those relating to memory, became over-developed.
Peek's unique abilities appeared at a very early age. When he was just 20 months old, he could already remember every book that was read to him. Peek could read two pages of a book at the same time---one page with the right eye and one with the left---in less than 10 seconds and remember everything he read. By the time he died, Peek had memorized more than 9,000 books. He could remember all the names and numbers in a variety of telephone books. He could remember thousands of facts about history, literature, geography and sports.
Dr. David Treffert, an expert on savant syndrome, once described Peek as "a living Google" because of his astonishing ability to memorize and connect facts. However, at the same time, Peek was unable to carry out simple tasks, such as brushing his hair or getting dressed, and he needed others to help him. In 1989, the movie Rain Man won the Oscar for best Picture. The main character in the movie, played by Dustin Hoffman, was based on Kim Peek's life. He started to appear on television, where he would amaze audiences by correctly answering difficult questions on different topics. Peek became world famous, and he and his father began touring widely to talk about overcoming disabilities. He inspired a great many people with his words. "Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone in the way you want them to treat you, will make our world a better place for everyone. Everyone is different." | high12652.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They are similar."
},
"options": [
"They are dying.",
"They are hopeless.",
"They are similar.",
"They are different."
],
"question": "What does the author think of cities all over the world?",
"question_typ... | American cities are similar to other cities around the world.In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture.American cities are changing,just as American society is changing.
After World War II,the population of most large American cities decreased;however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased.In the late 1940s and early 1950s,city residents became wealthier.They had more children so they needed more space.They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes.They bought houses in the suburbs .
Now things are changing,the children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults.Many, unlike their parents,want to live in the cities.They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest.Many young professionals are moving back into the city.They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there;or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as benefits.Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent.In the 1950s,many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs;now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago,people thought that the older American cities were dying.Some city residents now see a bright,new future.Others see only problems and conflicts.One thing is sure:many dying cities in America are alive again. | high8749.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They can change automatically or by pressing a button."
},
"options": [
"They can help save energy and money.",
"They can change automatically or by pressing a button.",
"They can only produce heat automatically.",
"Som... | A window is more than just an opening that you can see through. It can affect the way a building looks,how much energy a building USES and even
how you feel.
Scientists are now working on ncw technologies to create"smart windows". Unlike normal windows,high-tech smart windows can change from clear to dark and back again with the touch of a button --or even automatically as the outside light changes.
Smart windows have the power to make the world a cleaner and more comfortable place. Instead of turning on air conditioners ,people could simply _ the windows in a building's empty rooms. With the rooms less bright,they would stay cool,and people would save energy and money at the same time.
That's why smart windows are so exciting. Says Claes Granqvist. He's a professor of physics at Uppsala University in Sweden. If you think that you don't care much about windows,you should think again,Granqvist says. Most people who live in developed
countries spend about 90% of their time inside buildings and cars. You might spend even more time than that indoors during the winter if you live in a cold climate.
Imagine then what it would be like if there were no windows. You'd have no idea what's going on outside. So,the light of the nature is important for improving the way people feel when they stay indoors. The development of smart windows could mean that a lot of air-conditioning systems may no longer be needed. "In the future," Granqvist says "our buildings may look different." | high22791.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Kyiv, Pyrohovo folk museum."
},
"options": [
"Kyiv, Pyrohovo folk museum.",
"Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet",
"Zatoka village, Odesa Oblast",
"yanets-Podilsky, Khmelnytska Oblast"
],
"question": "Where can peo... | While some music festivals were canceled because the economy isn't good, plenty remain for music lovers. Here's a guide to the best rock and jazz festivals this summer.
Krayina Mriy
When and where: June20-21, Kyiv, Pyrohovo folk museum
Lineup, TNMK, Boombox, Vopli Vidoplyasova, Onuka
Krayina Mriy is an annual rock music festival that promotes modern music. Besides music, the festival will offer dances as well as literary and theatrical performances and also playing a traditional music instrument.
Alfa Fest
When and where: June 26-28, Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet
So far all tickets are booked, but a waiting list is available at _ This annual festival held in Lviv will be interesting for experienced jazz lovers. The performers on the lineup come from Ukraine, Japan, Cuba and the US.
Koktebel Festival
When and where:Aug.22-Sep.6. Zatoka village, Odesa Oblast
Koktebel Jazz is the biggest outdoor jazz festival. The Cinematic Orchestra, Parov Stelar, Nino Katamadze, Bonobo, Submotion Orchestra, Billy's Band were the gala's superstars in previous years. This year the list of festival' participants and tickets prices still remain unknown but the organizers revealed that apart from good jazz, the guests will be offered music lectures and movies screenings.
Respublica
When and where: Sep4-7, Kamyanets-Podilsky, Khmelnytska Oblast
Folk music and street art festival Respublica will take place in Kamyanets-Podilsky, one of the most beautiful cities in the west. Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at _ | high14223.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the time of batteries will be gone forever"
},
"options": [
"batteries should be greatly improved",
"petrol will be used instead of batteries",
"the time of batteries will be gone forever",
"pollution problems caused by... | A Battery's Nightmare
Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let's face it, batteries aren't very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery's energy into an equal space. That's why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life! When the fuel runs out in your mobile phone, you just fill up and go.
The engine---about the size of a ten-cent coin---starts with a combustion chamber that burns hydrogen. Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers in the same manner that computer parts are etched onto integrated circuits . The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.
But the _ in all this nice detail is efficiency. Tiny engine parts don't always behave like the bigger parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the works, according to Columbia University Professor LucFrechette, one of the engine's designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.
The scientists' goal is to create an engine that will operate 10 times better than batteries operate. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren't likely until at least the end of the next ten years. | high9457.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to examine caffeine ' s memory-strengthening effects in detail"
},
"options": [
"to survey how much caffeine people consume a day",
"to write the paper \" Nature Neuroscience\"",
"to prove caffeine has cognitive-enhancing eff... | Caffeine not only gives us a daily jump start, but new research suggests it also can strengthen long-term memory.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, nearly 90 percent of people worldwide consume about 200 milligrams of caffeine each day. That' s equivalent to about one strong cup of coffee a day. Writing in " Nature Neuroscience" , Johns Hopkins University researchers say their findings show that caffeine strengthens certain memories for up t0 24 hours after being taken in.
" We've always known that caffeine has cognitive-enhancing effects , but its ,particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has never been examined in detail in humans, " said senior author of the paper Michael Yassa. " We re- port for the first time a specific effect of caffeine on reducing forgetting over 24 hours. " Conducting a double-blind trial, the researchers worked with a test group of people who didn't regularly consume caffeinated products. Five minutes after studying a series of images, the test subjects were given either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet.
To check the caffeine levels of their test subjects, the research team took saliva samples from them before they took their tablets and again one, three and 24 hours after- wards.
Both groups of test participants ( those who took the placebo and those who took the caffeine tablet) were tested the following day to see if they could recognize the images they' d seen the previous day.
The test included showing the test subjects another series of images that included some new images , those that were shown the previous day, as well as other images that were similar, but not the same as those they had viewed earlier.
The researchers found that more members of the group who were given the caffeine tablets were able to correctly identify some of the new images as " similar" to previously viewed images rather than incorrectly identifying them as the same.
"We also know that caffeine is associated with health and longevity and may havesome protective effects from cognitive decline like Alzheimer' s disease . " said Yassa. | high6764.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "First impressions tend to last more often than not."
},
"options": [
"It's unwise to judge a book by its cover.",
"It's better to judge by logic than by instincts.",
"First impressions tend to last more often than not.",
... | THERE is an old saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover." It means that you shouldn't build your first impression of someone on his or her looks alone. But according to a new study, the famous sayingmight not be correct after all. A group of US scientists have found that the first impression we have of someone else is actually right most of the time.
In the study, scientists asked participants to look at a photograph of a person and make a quick judgment about him or her. A month later, the participant and the person in the photo were introduced, and scientists were shocked to find that their judgments oftenmatch those that they had made originally.
It's true that simply looking at someone won't provide you with as much information.But, according to scientists, when makinga first impression, people rely more on their instincts than on logic ."They focus on how that person makes them feel," Paul Eastwick of the University of Texas told Live Science. "It is very hard to get a sense of this information when simply viewing a profile .As soon as one sees another person, an impression is formed and what we see can sometimes _ what we know."
Of course, no one can be right about everything and your instincts can go wrong sometimes. But even if it is proven to be wrong, once people form an opinion about someone, they have a hard time getting over that opinion later on.
The findings help explain why people always tidy themselves up before meeting guests or doing job interviews.
"Their face constantlyremindsus of that firstimpression," said Rule. People may learn more about another person over time once they get close to each other, but first impressions remain very important and seem difficult to forget. | high8991.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a coffee house"
},
"options": [
"a hospital",
"a shop",
"a coffee house",
"a restaurant"
],
"question": "A young woman lost her necklace in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | Some people were eating and drinking in a coffee house. A young woman was sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. There was an ugly man at a table not far from her. He was looking at her necklace all the time.
Suddenly the lights went out. The coffee house was in darkness. The woman started to shout. She was very frightened. A few minutes later the lights came on again. The woman was crying. Her necklace was missing.
The manager quickly closed all the doors. He telephoned the police. No one could get out of the coffee house. The policemen soon came. The police inspector told his men to search everyone. The necklace was not on anyone. They then searched the whole coffee house. The necklace couldn't be found.
The police inspector then looked at the faces of all the people in the coffee house. He saw the ugly man and looked at the man carefully. He went up to the man and picked up the bowl of soup that was on his table. He then poured the soup into a glass. The necklace fell out. The policemen caught hold of the man and took him away. The young woman was happy to get back her necklace. | high22949.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Helping them form a good habit of reading story."
},
"options": [
"Understanding the other people's feelings and problems",
"Expressing their feelings like anger.",
"Having a strong faith in their own abilities and potential.... | As a parent, you might never guess all the ways a good imagination benefits your child. It helps a preschooler.
Develop social skills
As children play pretend, they explore relationships between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people interact. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients. Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children. Imaginative play helps develop empathy for others. If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is empowering to a child. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king's castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically . This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numerals symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps boost their vocabulary, improve sentence structure and promote communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work out their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn't seem quite so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids vent confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or compete with a new sibling .
To encourage your youngster's imagination, read to him every day. Books offer children the opportunity to visit other worlds and create new ones of their own.
For generations children have enjoyed reading the story of Peter Pan because Peter takes them on fascinating adventures. Reader's Digest Young Families offers a beautiful typical Disney edition of Peter Pan, which is an iParenting Media Awards winner. Click here to find out how you can get this classic story along with 2 free books-Bambi and Pinochio. | high10045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "if certain parts of his brain were hurt"
},
"options": [
"when he got weaker in health",
"if certain parts of his brain were hurt",
"after he did a quite different job",
"when he grew older"
],
"question": "In t... | During the 19th century, scientists found that when certain parts of the brain of a person were hurt, he would lose the power of doing certain things. And so people thought that each part of the brain does a different job. But modern research has discovered that this is not so, for it is not easy to show exactly what each part of the brain does.
In the past fifty years there has been a great increase in the amount or research done on the brain. Scientists have found out that the way the brain works is not so simple as people in general may think. Chemists tell us that about 100,000 chemical changes take place in the brain every second. Some recent researches also suggest that we can remember everything that happened to us. We may not be able to think of the things we have heard and seen but it is kept there in the store-house of the human mind. Earlier scientists thought that the power of one's brain got weaker and weaker as one grows older. But it is plenty of exercise, it keeps its power. It is now thought that is not true. As long as the brain is given plenty of exercise, it keeps its power. It has proved that an old person who has always been active in the mind has a quicker mind than a young person who has done physical work without using much of his brain. | high2502.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Mrs Black and her 21-year-old daughter."
},
"options": [
"Mr Johnson and his wife.",
"A couple without children.",
"Mr Black and his 19-year-old son.",
"Mrs Black and her 21-year-old daughter."
],
"question": "W... | Cocoa Beach /Jupiter Surf Camp -- Summer Summer Surf Camp is centrally located on the Best Western seashore in Cocoa Beach & Jupiter at Carlin Beach Park with accommodations at the Holiday Inn Express in Juno Beach. Summer Surf Camp Dates:
* Surf Camp -- Session 1 May 27th--30th Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 2 June 2nd--6th Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 3 June9th--13th Teen Week (Ages 12--17)
* Surf Camp -- Session 4 June16th--20th Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 5 June23rd--27th Adults Only (18 and over)
* Surf Camp -- Session 6 June30th--July 3rd Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 7 July 7th--11th Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 8 July 14th--18th Women's Camp (18 and over)
*Surf Camp -- Session 9 July 21st--25th Family Surf Week (All Ages)
* Surf Camp -- Session 10 July 28th--August 1st Adults Only (18 and over)
* A 20% discount will be applied to the 4-Day Surf Camp Weeks.
* Parents are always welcome to sign up and join their children during the teen week surf camp sessions.
Summer Camp Details:
* Use coupon code: "CAMP5" at checkout to get the 5% discount
* Daily Rate: $125.00 / person
* Surf Camp Runs: 9:30 a.m. -- 2:30 p.m.
*Please note: We don't supervise the campers after 2: 45 p.m.
* Directions to Camp: click here | high19707.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "after the software are infected with problems"
},
"options": [
"when the hardware is stored some information.",
"until we pull out our hair in the PC",
"when the hardware gets wrong",
"after the software are infected wi... | Every few years, we buy an expensive new PC and love how fast it runs. Unavoidably though, it starts to slow down until eventually we are pulling our hair out waiting for it to do tasks.
Why is this? It turns out the answer is quite simple and you don't even need to be "technical" to understand the causes and solutions. In most cases, the hardware you have is capable of being restored to its original function and kept in fast running condition with little effort.
Spyware are software programs that are loaded on your computer without your permission. Most spyware and viruses get onto our computers through files that we download from the Internet or as attachments to emails. They tend to take up a lot of computing power and , as a result, will slow down your computer.
The simple rule to follow is to never download any free software programs from companies you do not know and trust, especially screensavers, emoticons, and the like. In addition, you should never open any attachment to an email unless you are 100 percent certain you know and trust the sender. In addition, make sure you have a good anti-virus spyware removal software running at all times.
Every time you load a program, your PC's software registry is updated with new instructions needed to operate that item. However, when the item is carried out, these instructions remain on your PC. Every time you run your computer it tries to execute these instructions but, because the related program can't be founded, it causes a registry error. Your PC is doing a lot more work than it should be and the result is a slower computer.
One of the best ways to manage this is with a neat little tool from Support.com. You can now get a free working version of the software which will quickly scan your entire PC and identify all of the registry errors. The free version also scans for junk and checks your PC. It will deal with the first 100 errors for free, and if you have more to clean up, you can easily upgrade to the full version for just $29.95. | high21298.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "unlimited source"
},
"options": [
"little power use",
"unlimited source",
"proper size",
"high production"
],
"question": "According to the author, the biggest advantage of the machine is its _ .",
"que... | A machine which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave. Using the same technology as a dehumidifier , the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water by getting it from a limitless source-the air. The company behind the machine says not only does it offer all alterative to bottled water in developed countries,but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage.
The machine works by drawing in damp air through a filter and over a cooling element which changes it into water droplets.It can produce up to 12 liters a day.The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the humidity in the air increases.In keeping with its ecodevelopment,the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three light bulbs.
Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said:"The demand for water is
.People are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable".
The machine,which is about 3 feet wide,is likely to costPS800 when it goes on sale here in the spring.Its maker, Canadian firm Element Four, estimates that a liter of water will cost around 20 pence to produce.
Environmentalists claim half the world's population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080.One in five humans is said to lack access to safe drinking water.
The Water Mill is not effective in areas with below about 30 percent relative humidity, but with average relative humidity in England of more than 70 percent that won't be much of an issue here. | high16434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a kind of glowing fish has been found there."
},
"options": [
"a teen's research is going to light it up.",
"in the deepest part, lives a swimming animal.",
"scientists are looking for a new species to light up.",
"a ki... | The deep sea is one of the most mysterious places on earth. Scientists rarely go there. Those few do discover new species all of the time. Many places of the deepest parts of the ocean, where it's forever dark, can light up. Now, a teen's research has shown new light on how one of these swimming animals behaves in darkness.
The giant flashlight fish lives in the Indian Ocean as well as in tropical parts of the central and western Pacific. It lives at depths of up to 400 meters, (about 1,300 feet). But not always. Sometimes it lives in coral reefs in shallow waters. In those shallow waters, the blackish-blue fish comes out only at night. Reef-dwelling members of this species tend to be smaller than those living in deeper waters. Those biggies can grow to lengths of 35meters (14inches). That may not sound like a giant, but they are the largest of their type of fish.
The giant flashlight fish gets its name from a small glow-in-the-dark patch found in a packet of tissue under each eye, explains Caroline Edmonds. She is a 13- year-old student from Fountain Valley, Calif. There, she attends Talbert Middle School. She said that the eye pockets in these fish contain light-producing bacteria.
These bacteria and their host fish have built a relationship that helps both. The fish use the bacteria as a way to communicate with creatures around them. The bacteria gain nutrients from the fish and a safe place to live. When a fish wants to " flash" its light, it turns the bacteria-filled pocket toward the outside of its body, Caroline explains. When a fish wants to hide its light, it turns the pocket back toward the inside. According to her data, the fish flash most often when they are being fed. They flash least often late at night, when they are resting. | high10051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Homeless Teen Graduates as a Speaker of High School Class"
},
"options": [
"So Many Homeless Students in America",
"How Does a Homeless Student Live in Society?",
"The Hardship of Fearce and Her Family in America",
"Hom... | She may have lacked a home, but now this teen has top honors.
A 17-year old student who spent much of high school living around homeless shelters and sometimes sleeping in her car-today graduated and spoke on behalf of her class at Charles Drew High School in Clayton County, Ga.,just outside of Atlanta.
Chelsea Fearce, who held a 4.466 GPA and scored 1,900 on her SATs despite having to use her cellphone to study after the shelter lights were turned off at night.
"I know I have been made stronger. I was homeless. My family slept on cushions on the floor and we were lucky if we got more than one full meal a day. Getting a shower, food and clean clothes was an everyday struggle," Fearce said in a speech she gave at her graduation ceremony. Fearce overcame her day-to-day struggles by focusing on a better day. "I just told myself to keep working, because the future will not be like this anymore, she told WSBTV.
Fearce,one of five children, grew up in a family that sometimes had an apartment to live in, but at other times had to live in homeless shelters or even out of their car, if they had one. "You're worried about your home life and then worried at school. Worry about being a little hungry sometimes and go hungry sometimes. You just have to deal with it, You eat what you can, when you can."
To our surprise, Fearce overcame the difficulties and even tested high enough to be ad- mitted into college halfway through her high school career. She starts college next year at Spelman College as a junior where she is planning to study biology, pre-"med ,"Don't give up. Do what you have to do right now so that you can have the future that you want,"Fearce said. | high5279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Nature is a good source to turn to for improving technology."
},
"options": [
"In America a self-cleaning paint was modeled on the lotus flower.",
"Zimbabwe engineers learned from termites to create highly advanced heating\nsystems... | Directions : Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage
When top engineers in Germany wanted to build a more energy-efficient car, they headed to the natural history museum to study dolphins and sharks. But it was the boxfish that interested them.
"We were surprised when this clumsy-looking fish became our model for designing an aerodynamic car",says Thomas Weber. He is the research and development chief for the car company Daimler. An aerodynamic design reduces wind drag and increases fuel efficiency.
The boxfish may look clumsy, but it can start, stop ,back up and zigzag through the water with ease. And it does all this using surprisingly little energy. Daimler's bionic car is modeled on the fish's boxy skeletal system. Like the fish, the car is fast and drives easily. It's efficient too.
The science behind nature-inspired inventions is called biomimicry . Biologist Janine Benyus came up with the term. As co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, she has worked with cereal companies,sneaker designers and others to develop products based on Nature's best ideas.
This month ,the Nature's 100 Best List will be revealed at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona ,Spain. Benyus co-authored the list of nature inspired designs with economist Gunter Pauli.
In Zimbabwe ,a country in southern Africa ,engineers designed energy-efficient buildings modeled on termite mounds . The buildings use vents to keep the air flowing and the temperature cool.
A company in Atlanta ,US ,developed a self-cleaning paint modeled on the lotus leaf. When the paint dries ,it becomes bumpy ,just like the lotus leaf. Rain drops form on the bumps and roll off ,carrying dirt along with them.
Nature has done billions of years of research. Only the best-designed products have survived. Companies owe Mother Nature a debt for all that hard work ,says Benyus.
For scientists and inventors, the possibilities for copying nature are limitless. Technology may never be as efficient as nature, or as color1ful. But that doesn 't mean we should stop trying to learn from the world around us. Take a walk outside. Watch a squirrel climb up a tree. Look closely at the veins of a leaf. Hear the birds chirping in the trees. Such small details may help solve big problems in the future. | high20192.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "software and sensors are vital for self-driving cars"
},
"options": [
"self-driving cars can give driving orders to humans",
"software and sensors are vital for self-driving cars",
"self-driving cars are specially designed fo... | Even as Google plans to test its fleet of self-driving cars on public roads this summer, its business model remains a bit of a mystery. By 2025, as many as 250,000 self-driving vehicles could be sold each year globally, according to a study by an industry research firm.
"Vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button could transform mobility for millions of people," said Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project. For now, Google has no plans to sell any of its self-driving cars. They are strictly for research. But they will hit public roads this summer near Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Previous testing has taken place only on closed courses.
The cars are built to operate without a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal. "Our software and sensors do all the work," Urmson said. "The vehicles will be very basic -- we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible -- but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button." The prototype are the first of a 100-car fleet the tech giant is building.
In the long run, Urmson sees a future of safer roads -- the majority of auto accidents are caused by human error -- and fewer traffic jams. Robotic cars could also shuttle people who can't drive because of age or illness.
Google has said that self-driving cars could launch new business models in which people buy the use of vehicles they don't own. The company has already tested other types of self-driving cars on public streets, including modified Lexus sport-utility vehicles, under a special permit program by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that requires a human driver at the controls.
The state has issued six other companies permits to operate such cars, including Delphi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Tesla, Bosch and Nissan. The vehicles that will be tested on open roads this summer will have removable steering wheels, accelerators and brake pedals to allow "safety drivers" to take control if needed.
Google says the cars are safe. The vehicles have sensors that "can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections," Urmson said. "We're looking forward to learning how the community understands and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle," Urmson said. | high19713.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they can save more money for their future business"
},
"options": [
"they can save more money for their future business",
"they can give them to charities",
"they may spend them on what they like",
"they can learn to de... | Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. Parents often give their children an amount of money that they may spend as they wish. The purpose is to let the children learn from experience at an early age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
A child may receive an allowance each week or each month. The amount is not so important. But parents should make clear what the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents should not offer more money until the next allowance is to be given.
Older children may be responsible enough to budget larger costs like those for clothing. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving.
Many people who have written on the subject say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the home, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to organizations. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require _ : you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer free savings accounts for young people with small amounts of money. | high4167.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a telephone operator"
},
"options": [
"a robot",
"the author's mother",
"a telephone operator",
"the telephone itself"
],
"question": "According to the text, Information Please is actually _ .",
"questi... | When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with great interest when my mother used to talk to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person-- her name was Information Please and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anybody's number.
My first personal experience with Information Please came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. I accidentally hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my hurting finger, finally arriving at the stairway--the telephone! Climbing up I unhooked the receiver and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear, "Information."
"I hurt my finger..." I cried. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's home but me." I sobbed. "Are you bleeding?" "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger."
After that I called Information Please for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. And there was the time that Petey, our pet canary died. I called Information Please and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said the usual things grown-ups say to comfort a child. But I was
Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers, feet up on the bottom of a cage?
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better.
Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please." "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?" I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Then when I was 9 years old, we moved to Boston. I missed my friend very much. Information Please belonged to that old wooden box in former home, and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the hall table.
Yet as I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me; often in moments of doubt and sadness I would recall the sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour or so between planes, and I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Unexpectedly, I heard again the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned this but I heard myself saying, "Could you tell me please how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess that your finger must have healed by now."
I laughed, "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."
"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls."
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do; just ask of Sally."
Just three months later I was back in Seattle.... A different voice answered Information and I asked for Sally.
"Are you a friend?" "Yes, a very old friend." "Then I'm sorry to have to tell you. Sally has been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She passed away five weeks ago." But before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?"
"Yes!"
"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down. Here it is. I'll read it. "
"
I thanked her and hung up. I did know what Sally meant. | high16420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Women Happier Than Men in Old Age."
},
"options": [
"Why Women Are Happier Than Men in Old Age .",
"How to Live Longer.",
"Women Happier Than Men in Old Age.",
"The Difference between Women and Men in Old Age"
],
... | Researchers questioned nearly 9,800 people over the age of 50 about their lives and found women were happier than men and enjoy life more in old age.
Dr Elizabeth Breeze, one of the researchers, said that women could become happier as they get older as they no longer have to worry about looking after their families.
She said:"There is a difference between the way men and women view their quality of life and they are influenced by slightly different things. Women are affected negatively by caring for someone else or if they are not in employment but if they see their children and family more they are positively affected."
"A strange thing happens to male actors, especially movie stars, in my experience," said Helen Mirren, a 62-year-old Hollywood actress."A young male actor feels that all the girls want him-he's a star. As actors get older they bad-tempered for they have lost that sense of being in control of their destiny ."
Wealth also helps you live longer with the poorest people more than twice as likely to die earlier than the richest, researchers at University College London discovered. In some age groups. the difference was even greater. The poorest women between 60 and 74 are six times more likely to have died than the richest women of the same age.
According to the study, you have more chances of living longer if you are married, educated to certain degree or a professional. single people are twice as likely to die early as those who are married or living with a partner. | high3608.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Confidence"
},
"options": [
"Money",
"Shoes",
"Confidence",
"Chances"
],
"question": "What do the women get besides clothes at Career Closet?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Patricia was worried.She had a job interview, and she wanted to look good.She decided to get some new clothes.The store owner, Pallas Hansen, helped Patricia find a suit.But when she left the store, she didn't pay for the suit!
How could Patricia do this? She was in a special store called Career Closet in San Jose, California.Pallas Hansen and Charlotte Krumwiede started this nonprofit store to help women.They knew that many women don't find jobs because they don't have the right clothes for a job interview.Women who don't have a lot of money have to use their money to buy food and clothes for their children.They can't buy clothes for themselves.
Pallas and Charlotte started the store in 1992 after they heard about a store like this in Chicago.Volunteers work in the store.Working women donate most of the clothes to the store.This makes it possible for the customers at Career Closet to get clothes for free.
Career Closet has helped 2,500 San Jose women, but clothes aren't the only things women get at the store.They also get confidence.Patricia is 36 years old.Her husband was hurt in an accident, and Patricia needed a job to support her seven children.She went to Career Closet and got a jacket, a skirt, and a blouse."The whole day made me feel special," she said.Patricia was a success at her interview, and she got the job.One reason why she got it was that she was wearing the right clothes for the workplace.
Pallas says," I love this job.Sixty percent of the women get jobs.It's like being a fairy god-mother." | high12646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He should telephone to explain his being late."
},
"options": [
"He should find an excuse.",
"He should ask for excuse.",
"He should say \"Sorry\".",
"He should telephone to explain his being late."
],
"question... | Social customs differ from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or the right of a woman in your country? Or doesn't it matter? What about table manners? Should you use both hands when you are eating? Should you leave one in your lap, or on the table?
The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs. For example, in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also, most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman, and so will most Americans. Promptness is important both in England and in America. That is, if a dinner invitation is for 7 o'clock, the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay.
The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable - especially if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. The other guests were amused or shocked, but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable. | high22785.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "enjoy different sports activities after class"
},
"options": [
"study English in some regular schools.",
"learn how to deal with dangers in the wild",
"enjoy different sports activities after class",
"experience the tra... | Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch offers a unique outdoor adventure camp for inter- national students.
Students who come to Skinner Creek have the opportunity to learn English in an environment entirely different from a regular school setting. English classes are designed to meet the academic and spoken levels of each student. All English classes will be taught by instructors qualified in Teaching English as a Second Language. All levels of English are available.
After class, students can enjoy many outdoor activities in a controlled safe environment. Experienced managers and camp teachers will prepare each activity to the level appropriate for each student.
Students' safety is a priority for the staff of Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch. Students are monitored at all times and supervisors are in the cabins with the students at night. An emergency clinic is nearby and accessible 24 hours.
English Classes:
Class hours are from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a. m.-- 2:00 p.m. with a one-hour break for lunch.
Students are challenged in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary building and conversational English.
Vocabulary is specific to related outdoor activities in some classes.
Fun after-class outdoor and evening activities:
Great after-class activities on site include: horseback riding lesson, hiking, base ball, volleyball, badminton, mountain hiking, bonfires and much more.
Time to watch videos and TV and play games.
Experience Canadian family life.
Weekends:
Special all-day and overnight weekend activities include: camping, days at the lake (fishing, swimming, boating), church and more.
Travel Information:
Students will be picked up in cars at Vancouver airport and dropped off again for their individual flights. Transportation to and from the ranch will be provided as well as overnight stays in Vancouver.
Please contact the ranch directly for prices: skinnercreek@telus, net. | high15129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countries"
},
"options": [
"observers are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the future of euthanasia",
"similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada ... | It was 3: 45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on-line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history.
The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia-where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part-other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia . In the US and Canada, where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.
Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death-probably by a deadly injection or pill-to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a cooling off period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks, he says. | high9443.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Handsome men have an advantage in their jobs."
},
"options": [
"Male workers pay more attention to their appearance.",
"Handsome men have an advantage in their jobs.",
"Appearance plays an important role at work.",
"The... | A handsome man can earn a fifth more than an average-looking colleague but a beautiful woman is not paid a penny more than her average-looking colleague, new research has shown.
The study by senior economists found that being good-looking meant male workers could earn 22 percent more than average-looking colleagues. Researchers said good looks did not give women a similar advantage.
Andrew Leigh, a former economics professor at the Australian National University who co-authored the report, said: "Beauty can be a double-edged sword for women."
"Some people still believe good looks and intelligence are incompatible in women, so a good-looking women can't be that productive, but it doesn't affect men's pay."
He said that although he believed good-looking women may also earn more, the research did not support his theory.
The research found that handsome men in all jobs, from manual labour to highly-paid professional careers, can earn 22 percent more than their colleagues doing the same work.
Men with below-average looks face a battle in the office, with ugliness reducing a man's earnings by 26 percent compared to an average-looking worker.
Former male model, Caitlan Mitchell, 28, who has a first class degree in history from Edinburgh University and now works for a cosmetics company, told theSunday Times:' It gives you confidence, and I suspect people tend to warm to you more quickly."
The study, named Unpacking the Beauty Premium, was the largest exercise of its kind and repeated a survey from 1984 to see if the beauty premium had changed.
Leigh said the research showed people in the workplace were "lookist "and he hoped the findings would encourage employers to remove their prejudice. | high14237.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "encourages ordinary people to help cut the carbon footprint"
},
"options": [
"has been tested for months",
"aims to reduce the cost of the service",
"employs environmentalists to help with deliveries",
"encourages ordin... | BERLIN (Reuters)--Germany's postal service has announced plans to explore improved service and help protect the environment by getting "fetch friends"--ordinary people traveling across cities--to deliver parcels on their way.
It is hoped that the move, which will be tested in the coming months, might lessen traffic in inner cities and reduce CO2emissions . This should help DHL, a division of the German postal service, reach its target of improving the company's carbon efficiency by 30 percent before 2020.
"As the world's biggest logistics provider, we recognize a special responsibility to reduce the impact on the environment as much as possible," said Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL, in a statement referring to a variety of measures being considered.
The "fetch friends" find out online about parcels that need delivering to people who live or work along the way that they are planning to travel through the city. They then select the ones that they want to take.
Codes sent to their mobile phones tell the volunteers where to pick the packages up. Parcels can be taken part of the way or passed on to another volunteer but all volunteers need to have the right code on their mobile phone so the track and trace system can be updated.
Logistics companies will be responsible for looking after the operation to make sure that the privacy of post is respected.
It's hoped that this could be done using mobile phones but DHL says it recognizes that some security issues remain to be worked out. | high6770.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because they wanted to steal something from Oliver."
},
"options": [
"Because they were of the same age.",
"Because they liked Oliver at the first sight.",
"Because they were required to do so.",
"Because they wanted to... | For some reason Dodger did not want to enter London during daylight, so it was nearly eleven o'clock at night when they got near the centre. Oliver had never seen a dirtier or more miserable place. The streets in this district were narrow and muddy, and there were terrible smells everywhere. Children wandered around even at this time of night, in and out of the many shops, playing and screaming. The pubs were full of people fighting, and big, evil-looking men stood in the doorways or at dark corners. Oliver almost wanted to run away, but just then Dodger pushed open a door and pulled Oliver into a dark hall.
"Who's there?" a voice cried out.
"It's me," said Dodger. The faint light of a candle appeared in the hall.
"Who's the other one?"
"A new friend."
They went up some dark and broken stairs. Oliver could hardly see where he was going, but Dodger seemed to know the way, and helped Oliver up. They entered a room with walls that were black with age and dirt. In front of the fire was a table with a candle stuck into a bottle of beer, and an old man, with a horribly ugly face and red hair, stood next to the fire cooking. He was wearing a dirty old coat and seemed to divide his attention between his cooking and a number of silk handkerchiefs, which were hanging near the fire. There were several rough beds in the room. Four or five boys, about the same age as Dodger, sat round the table, smoking and drinking like middle-aged men. They all looked up when Dodger and Oliver entered.
"This is him, Fagin," Dodger said to the old man. "My friend Oliver Twist."
Fagin smiled and shook Oliver's hand. Then all the young gentlemen came up to him and shook both his hands very hard, especially the hand which held his few possessions. One of the boys was particularly kind. He even put his hands in Oliver's pockets so that Oliver would not have to empty them himself when he went to bed. The boys would probably have been even more helpful, but Fagin hit them on their heads and shoulders until they left Oliver alone.
"We're very glad to see you, Oliver," said Fagin. "I see you're staring at the handkerchiefs, my dear. Aren't there a lot? We've just taken them all out to wash them, that's all! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
This seemed to be a joke, as the old gentleman and all his young friends gave loud shouts of laughter. Then supper began. Oliver ate his share of the food and was then given a glass of gin-and-water. Fagin told him to drink it fast. Immediately afterwards, Oliver felt himself lifted onto one of the beds and he sank into a deep sleep. | high13558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "her father wanted her to marry a rich man while she didn't"
},
"options": [
"she thought her father didn't love her at all",
"her father thought her boyfriend was too materialistic",
"her father wanted her to marry a rich man... | When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. "Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, " he said. My boyfriend didn't have much money, but I loved him. "What?" I cried. " How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money." " But why not marry someone you love who has money?" he asked. "Rich men are materialistic . I'd rather marry a poor man who loves me," I said and he gave in.
And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a "poor" man.
I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I'd ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly "Mother's Day" gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check . And another young mother tried to "help" me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. " For a small cut," she said, " I could return my 'purchase' for cash." It made me sick. How poor was I?
I had a college education but wasn't using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children's childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn't enough. But somehow we made it.
The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the "poor". They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad.
We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we'd nest under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn't leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community with good schools for the kids. And soon, we'll face a new challenge with wealth. But we'll never give up.
My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I'm proud of my decision. | high1779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Taking part-time jobs is permitted by hospitals while moonlighting is-against"
},
"options": [
"Doctors can earn more money by moonlighting than by taking part-time jobs.",
"Doctors pay fewer taxes for the money made by moonlightin... | Doctors' moonlighting is becoming popular in hospitals around China. It has not only raised a lot of heated discussions in the media, but also caught the attention of the central government in Beijing.
On December 26, a spokesman of the Ministry of Health stressed that the ministry was firmly against doctors' moonlighting, while strict regulations should be applied to doctors taking part-time jobs, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Last year, the Ministry sent out a notice to a variety of health organizations to speed up the reform of their personnel system. According to the notice, medical organizations can hire medical experts as part-time doctors but such activities should take place under the hospital's management and regulations .
As for moonlighting--meaning that the doctor provides medical service without the permission of the original hospital--such activity goes against China's Practicing Doctor Law, Xinhua reported.
In China, doctors used to be controlled by hospitals and they could work for only one hospital. However, as China's medical personnel system reform developed, it has been recognized that medical human resources, just like human resources in other areas, should be shared by the whole society. But on the other hand, doctors' taking part-time jobs should follow the relative regulations applied in the medical field.
First of all, they should follow relative government laws and regulations. They should also follow the rules and regulations set by the medical organizations they work for. In addition, they should pay taxes for their income from the part-time jobs. What matters most is that they should first finish their regular jobs as required and be responsible for patients to ensure qualified and safe medical treatment. | high15897.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They want to enjoy better things in life."
},
"options": [
"They want to show off their wealth.",
"Food can show off their social position.",
"They want to enjoy better things in life.",
"They are wiser than any other p... | People express their personalities in their clothes, their cars, and their homes. Our diets can also show our personalities because we might choose certain food to tell people something about us.
For example, some people mainly enjoy high quality food, such as caviar and lobster , and they eat only in expensive restaurants - never in cafeterias or bars. They know about the "better things in life".
Some people choose not to eat meat. Vegetarians often have more in common than just their diet. Their personalities might be similar too. For instance, vegetarians in the United States and Canada may be creative people, and they might not enjoy competitive sports or jobs. They worry about the health of the world, and they are probably strongly against the war.
Some people eat mostly fast food. One study shows that many fast-food eaters have a lot in common, but they are very different from vegetarians. They are competitive and good at business. They are also usually in a hurry. Many fast-food eaters might not agree with this description of their personalities, but it is a common picture of them.
Some people also believe that people of the same astrological sign have similar food personalities. Aries (born under the sign of Aries, between March 21 and April 20) usually like spicy foods, with a lot of onions and pepper. People with the sign of Taurus (April 21 to May 22) prefer healthful fruits and vegetables, but they often eat too much. Sagittarius (November 22 to December.22) like traditional food from many different countries.
What is your food personality? | high9325.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "introduce the topic of the text"
},
"options": [
"show the importance of exercise",
"introduce the topic of the text",
"show the popularity of soccer",
"tell us how to control asthma"
],
"question": "The story o... | Rick Garcia is going to play outside with his friends. He is taking out his reliever inhaler and taking two puffs . Five minutes later, he's on the field with his friends, running after a soccer ball. Rick has asthma , but he knows how to control it.
Asthma is a lung disease. A person with asthma may cough or suffer from shortness of breath. Asthma can begin at any age. Childhood asthma, often beginning when a child is younger than 10 years old, is one of the most common childhood diseases. Doctors report that the number of young people with asthma is increasing. It is the number one cause of absence from school. If parents have asthma, their children are more likely to develop the disease. Children in homes where an adult smokes are more at risk.
It is important to find out the _ for asthma. As we know, dust, pollen, or animals often make people suffer from asthma. Once a child learns the triggers, he can help prevent future attacks. About half of all children outgrow asthma and then asthma attacks stop when they are teenagers. However, many people live with the disease into adulthood.
Children often take control drugs once or twice a day to help prevent asthma attacks, if a child begins to have an asthma attack, a quick-relief drug is also necessary. This is often an inhaler. School-aged children usually carry their inhalers with them. This medication works quickly and children begin to breathe more easily in a few minutes. If a child has a serious asthma attack, he may need full-time care at a hospital or a doctor's office. | high14551.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The climate there was warmer and wetter."
},
"options": [
"The trees were taller and stronger.",
"The soil was softer for seeds to develop.",
"The climate there was warmer and wetter.",
"The temperature was lower along ... | Redwood trees are the tallest plants on the earth,reaching heights of up to 100 meters.They are also known for their longevity,typically 500 to 1000 years,but sometimes more than 2000 years.A hundred million years ago,in the age of dinosaurs,redwoods were common in the forests of a much more moist and tropical North America.As the climate became drier and colder,they declined to a narrow strip along the Pacific coast of Northern Califomia.
The trunk of redwood trees is very strong and usually forms a single straight column.It is covered with a soft bark.This bark can be pretty thick,well over two feet in the more mature trees.It gives the older trees a certain kind of protection from insects,but the main benefit is that it keeps the center of the tree harmless from moderate forest fires because of its thickness.This fire resistant quality explains why the giant redwood grows to live that long.While most other types of trees are destroyed by forest fires,the giant redwood actually prospers because of them.
Moderate fires will clear the ground of competing plant life,and the rising heat dries and opens the ripe fruit of the redwood,releasing many thousands of seeds onto the ground below.
New trees are often produced from shoots,little baby trees,which form at the base of the trunk.These shoots grow slowly,fed by the root system of the "mother'' tree.When the main tree dies,the shoots are then free to grow as full trees,forming a "fairy ring" of trees around the original tree.These trees,in turn,may give rise to more shoots,and the cycle continues. | high6016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "intellectual"
},
"options": [
"exciting",
"dramatic",
"intellectual",
"violent"
],
"question": "The writer thinks about computer games all of the following except _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Every afternoon hundreds of thousands of youth fill Internet cafes, switch on a game console , or otherwise sit down to enter fantasy worlds. I'm talking about video games. These games can be fun and exciting, but we need to look out when this pastime becomes an addiction.
Games are often quite exciting and dramatic, but they generally aren't very intellectual. We don't learn as much from them as we would only reading a book. Spending too much time playing them can take away our study time. We need to remember that we are students first. Nothing should ever get in the way of proper studying.
Video games can also be a bad effect on younger children who may be watching. Many video games are violent and the object in most of them is to kill the other player(s). This does not send the right message to the children who need to be told that violence is not acceptable and need to be taught how to deal with situations maturely. Even if we do need to sit down and play a violent video game, we need to make sure that it is not affect the younger people around us.
Playing a computer game in our spare time is not a bad thing. Games can be a great way to relax after studying, to connect to our friends, or just to help our creativity. However, games should not become the focus of our life. We need to make sure that laying games never interferes with our studies and that we aren't thinking about them all day. If we ever find ourselves playing them too much, we need to break the addiction. If that happens, we need to step away from the computer or television screen and learn to spend our time more productively. | high7308.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To discuss problems related to designing robots."
},
"options": [
"To introduce the newly-invented robot, Roboy.",
"To discuss problems related to designing robots.",
"To explore the roles robots will play in our future lives... | IMAGINE that your parents have bought you the most advanced robot. He looks like a real person. He talks to you and plays with you. He can even think for himself and figure out what you need.
It may feel as if you have a considerate new brother who keeps you company all the time. But come to think of it, can you really trust him?
Ever since the first robot was created decades ago, scientists have kept thinking about the task of making robots more like humans. However, as they have gotten closer to that goal, doubts have grown. According to the BBC, Japanese robot designer Masahiro Mori argues that the more lifelike robots become, the more humans feel a connection to them. But once they become too similar to humans, people begin to feel uncomfortable.
This theory is what led to the creation of a brand new robot in Switzerland earlier this month. Roboy, as the new machine is called, has various human-like abilities such as hand-shaking and bicycle-riding, but instead of a skin-like covering, Roboy is wrapped in shiny white armor that clearly shows its robot status.
"As long as people can clearly see that the robot is a machine, even if they project their feelings into it, then they feel comfortable," Rolf Pfeifer, the creator of Roboy from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, told the BBC.
But the problem that people have with robots is not just with the way they look. It also has to do with the roles that they play in our lives.
A survey last year of European Union countries showed that 88 percent of those interviewed agreed that robots are "necessary as they can do jobs that are too hard or dangerous for people", such as space exploration and war fighting. But when it comes to taking care of children, 60 percent said that robots should not be allowed to participate, because as robots become more advanced and complicated, parents may tend to hand over too much responsibility to them.
No matter what, robots will soon enter our homes, Pfeifer said. What is not yet clear is whether they will act more like servants who work for us or companions who live with us. | high12120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A rebirth for 33 rescued miners in Chile"
},
"options": [
"Rescued miners speak out",
"Miners' life deep underground",
"A rebirth for 33 rescued miners in Chile",
"Chilean president honors rescued miners"
],
"qu... | IQUIQUE, Chile (Reuters) -- Rescue workers at the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile had reason to sing this week. A small hole drilled into the earth became a passage to freedom for 33 trapped miners, who spent 69 days underground. "Never have people been trapped for so long so deeply," says a doctor at NASA, the American space agency, which helped in the rescue.
But the chief medical officer for the miners said most are in good enough health to leave the hospital within a day or so. The first three recovered and went home Thursday night.
For much of the day the miners relaxed with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. The 32 Chileans and 1 Bolivian still wore special sunglasses to protect their eyes.
A partial mine collapse on 5th August trapped them more than half a kilometer underground. They had to stretch a two-day food supply. For two weeks no one knew if they were alive or dead. Later, they received supplies.
The first miner rescued on Wednesday was Florencio Avalos. The second was Mario Sepulveda, who talked about how the experience tested his faith. The last miner up was Luis Urzua, who was the shift leader when his crew became trapped.
Rescuers used a metal cage to pull the miners to safety in less than 24 hours -- faster than expected. The rescue capsule was a half-meter wide and known as the Phoenix, an imaginary bird from ancient stories. It bursts into flames but is continually reborn and rises from the ashes.
Chile's Navy built the capsule with advice from mining experts and NASA engineers. It worked like an elevator, traveling up and down on a cable through a shaft drilled 622 meters into the rocks.
Millions of people around the world watched the rescue. More than one thousand journalists traveled to the mine in the Atacama Desert to report on the rescue. They joined family members of the miners and rescue crews housed in an area of tents known as Camp Hope. | high11429.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Buying used books."
},
"options": [
"Driving your own car.",
"Renting an apartment.",
"Buying used books.",
"Attending activities."
],
"question": "Which of the following ideas can be financially wise?",
"qu... | You put a great deal of effort into reaching the college of your choice. It' s time to get started. But what' s next? Beginning college can be an exciting but awkward time. Follow these tips to adjust to your new life rapidly and make the most of your college experience.
* To save time and money, use the college' s bus system. Taking the bus to school is quick, easy and free in most college towns. You won' t have to locate or afford a place to park either. It' s also a good way to be environmentally aware.
* Save pennies on books by waiting until class starts. You might not even need all of the recommended books. New textbooks cost an arm and a leg. Try buying used textbooks -- it' s a surefire way to save money and serves the purpose as well.
* Do never look at college life as an endless series of parties and social activities. But there is a whole lot more to college if you're serious about graduating. Having a good college experience is all about balancing work and fun.
* Be mindful of your diet. Make healthy food choices and watch what you eat. Avoid foods that are processed or high in sugar. The "freshman 15"is real. Many college students gain at least 15 pounds during their freshmen year.
* While electives can be helpful when figuring out your major, you shouldn't entirely rely on them. Clubs and other organizations exist around. Get involved. Make sure, though, that you still have time to study. Having too much on your plate can hurt your grades. | high19075.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "prove that people could walk out of the desert see"
},
"options": [
"prove that people could walk out of the desert see",
"how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert",
"tell people not to walk in circles",
"show ... | Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis , from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.
When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn't the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.
Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn't escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, "As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert." Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.
Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel's bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words: _ . | high4601.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "embarrassed"
},
"options": [
"excited",
"satisfied",
"embarrassed",
"displeased"
],
"question": "After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt _ .",
"question_type": "clo... | He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.
At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed.
They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, "Please let me go home."
Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee."
Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.
She asked him curiously, "Why do you have this hobby?"
He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there."
While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility.
Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.
They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but
!
Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life...And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.
After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee."
"Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead."
"I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything."
"Now I'm dying, I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!"
"Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."
Her tears made the letter totally wet.
Someday, someone asked her, "What's the taste of salty coffee?" "It's sweet," she replied. | high16346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she is ready to have a baby because of her age and body"
},
"options": [
"she should have a baby according to the cultural requirement",
"she needs to have a child because of the family pressure",
"she has to give birth to a ... | British researchers found that men are almost as likely as women to want children, and they feel more lonely, depressed, angry and sad than women if they don't have them.
Childless women were more likely to mention personal wish and biological urge as major influences, compared to men. Men were more likely to mention cultural, societal and family pressures than women.
Robin Hadley, of Keele University, found that 59 percent of men and 63 percent of women said they wanted children. Of the men who wanted children, half had experienced loneliness because they did not have any children, compared with 27 percent of women. Thirty-eight percent of men had experienced depression because they did not have any children, compared with only 27 percent of women.
One in four men had experienced anger because they did not have any children, compared with 18 percent of women, while 56 percent of men had experienced sadness because they did not have any children, compared with 43 percent of women. However, no men had experienced guilt because they did not have any children although 16 percent of women had.
Mr Hadley said, "My work shows that there was a similar level of wish for parenthood among childless men and women in the survey, and that men had higher levels of anger, depression, sadness, jealousy and loneliness than women. This challenges the common idea that women are much more likely to want to have children than men, and that they always experience all kinds of bad emotions more deeply than men if they don't have children."
He carried out his survey of 27 men and 81 women who were not parents using an online questionnaire among people aged 20 to 66, with an average age of 41. | high17058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They used to come back when spring came."
},
"options": [
"Farmers depend on them to tell the time.",
"They used to come back when spring came.",
"They used to predict the change of weather.",
"They usually migrate when... | Starving polar bears are eating one another in the Arctic. Flowers are blooming too soon and die. The ice caps are melting so fast that rising water levels will threaten coastal towns along Florida within several decades. These are just a few examples of the terrible consequences of climate change supported by a new analysis inNature.
In the past three decades, average global temperatures have risen about 0. 6degC and are _ to jump by about 1. 7degC by the end of the century, says Cynthia Rosenzweig, who leads the Climate Impacts Group at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University in New York. "We've already seen that a relatively low amount of warming," she says, "can lead to a broad range of changes. "
The unnatural warming caused by man-made greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide produced by cars and coal-powered plants, brings trouble for entire ecosystems. In North America alone, scientists have identified 89 species of plants, such as the American holly that have flowered earlier in the spring. In Spain, apple trees bloom 35 days ahead of schedule in response to the higher temperatures. Other wildlife, like the insects that use certain plants for food and the birds that feed on the insects, must then move forward their seasonal stirrings and mating patterns to survive.
To try to follow this time shift, some birds such as robins, the classic symbol of winter'sthaw , are returning to Colorado from their migrations some two weeks earlier than in years past. All these changes can throw a food chain in disorder. Some bird species that arrive before the insects reappear may starve to death.
"Around the world, plants and animals are waking up to an earlier alarm clock than they used to," says Terry Root, a biologist from Stanford University. | high10737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To live a different life from her parents"
},
"options": [
"To go back to school",
"To go to the best university",
"To survive",
"To live a different life from her parents"
],
"question": "What decision did Liz ... | When other nine-year-old kids were playing games , she was working at a petrol station.When other teens were studying or going out , she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street.But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholar and gain entry to Harvard University.
Her amazing story has inspired a move , " Homeless to Harvard : The Liz Murray Story ", shown in late April.
Liz Murray , a year- old American girl , has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination.
Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted.There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house.Liz was the only member of the family who had a job.
Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old.The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life.Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died , she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school.She threw herself into her studies , never telling her teachers that she was homeless.At night , she lived on the streets.
" What drove me to survive had to do with understanding , by understanding that there was a whole other way of being.I had only experienced a small part of the society , " she wrote in her book " Breaking Night ".
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on.She used the benefits that come easily to others , such as a safe living environment , to encourage herself that " next to nothing could hold me down ".
She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University.But Liz decided to leave her top university for a couple of moths earlier this year in order to take care of her father , who has also developed AIDS." I love my parents so much.They are drug addicts.But I never forget that they love me all the time."
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is " as simple a making a decision." | high2270.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Italy"
},
"options": [
"Italy",
"America",
"Spain",
"China"
],
"question": "Jeans were first made in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answe... | In Eastern Europe, blue jeans symbolize American culture and "the good life". In Spain they are known as "cowboys". In China, jeans are known as "niuzaiku", also, "cowboy trousers", which means they are connected with the American West cowboy culture and outdoor work.
Jeans are usually made from denim , but may also be made from other materials. The earliest known cloth for jeans was a thick cotton cloth from the Indians. At first they were working clothes. They became popular among teenagers in the 1950s. Today jeans are a very popular form of casual wear around the world and come in many styles and colors.
Jeans were first made in Genoa in Italy. The trousers were made for the Genoese navy because they needed trousers which could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could be easily rolled up while the men were cleaning the ships. These jeans would be washed by pulling them in large fishing nets behind the ship, and the sea water would make them white.
In the 1850s Levi Strauss, a business man living in San Francisco, was selling blue jeans under the "Levi's" name to the coal workers of California.
During World War II, the coal workers liked jeans very much because they were strong and did not tear easily. In the 1950s, jeans became popular with young people in the United States. Wearing of blue jeans by teenagers was the symbol of rebels in TV programmes and movies. Some cinemas and restaurants refused to let people in if they wore blue jeans. In the 1980s, jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up. | high11359.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "future travel"
},
"options": [
"future travel",
"big ideas and dreams",
"advanced technology",
"the influence of travel"
],
"question": "The passage is mainly about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions... | The way we get about has a deep influence on the way we live-affecting where we set up home, work and holiday. So what changes might come in the way we get around? What big ideas are out there, and do they have any chance of coming true?
Personal Air Travel
The idea: flying cars
Developments in light small plane technology will make it possible for everyone to own what are, in fact, flying cars. They will have closed cabins, heating, stereos and room for two people.
You will take off from a field near your home and fly to towns and cities. After landing, you will take off the fixed wing and continue your journey by road just as if you were traveling by car.
Fuel efficient engines and the advantage of being able to travel in the sky will keep costs and the environmental influence down.
Flying for Fun
The idea: Jet Packs
The idea was a hit when a stuntman flew around on one during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which was very successful.
You'll be able to use the equipment-roughly the size of two scuba tanks fastened to your back-for short journeys.
They will be handy for cleaning hard-to-reach windows, arriving in style at a party and shopping.
Taxis
The idea: driverless taxis
These computer-controlled taxis will take you wherever you want along a fixed route, whenever you want to go.
For the price of one person's bus fare, several people can ride at speeds of up to 25 mph, and there will be fences to guard against accidents.
There will be little, if any, wait for the use of the taxis, which will leave from stations and will be used by prepaid cards.
The taxis, which will travel on a 1.5 m-wide track, will use 75% less energy per passenger than a car and 50% less than a bus. | high4171.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To protect himself."
},
"options": [
"To show off his gun.",
"To protect himself.",
"To hunt some animals for food.",
"To play with it for fun."
],
"question": "Why did the boy always carry his gun with him wher... | I knew I was all right now. Nobody else would come ahunting after me. I got my traps out of the canoe and made me a nice camp in the thick woods. I made a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them. I caught a catfish and towards sundown I started my camp fire and had supper.
When it was dark I sat by my camp fire, feeling pretty satisfied; but by and by it got sort of lonesome, so I went and sat on the bank and listened to the current crashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that came down, and then went to bed; there was no better way to
when you are lonesome; you can't stay so, and you soon get it over.
And so for three days and nights. No difference--just the same thing. But the next day I went exploring around the island. I was boss of it; it all belonged to me, and I wanted to know all about it; but mainly I wanted to spend the time. I found plenty of strawberries and green summer grapes; and the green blackberries were just beginning to show.
Well, I went fooling along in the deep woods till I judged I wasn't far from the foot of the island. I had my gun along, but I had shot nothing; it was for protection. About this time I almost stepped on a goodsized snake, and it moved quietly and smoothly through the grass and flowers, and I was after it, trying to get a shot at it. I clipped along, and all of a sudden I bounded right on to the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking.
My heart jumped up among my lungs. I never waited to look further, but unlocked my gun and went sneaking back on my tiptoes as fast as I could. Every now and then I stopped a second among the thick leaves and listened, but my breath came so hard that I couldn't hear anything else. I moved quietly along another piece further, then listened again; and so on. If I saw a stump , I took it for a man; if I stepped on a stick and broke it, it made me feel that a person had cut one of my breaths in two and I only got half, and the short half, too. | high16436.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the company wants to gain some consumers who pay attention to their health"
},
"options": [
"the first international fast food company says they are too big in size",
"the health-minded customers complain they don't taste delicious... | McDonald's Corp, founded in 1940 with a restaurant opened by Dick and Mac McDonald, which was bothered by criticism of its fatty foods, says it will remove Supersize French fries and soft drinks by the end of the year, to please health-minded customers.
McDonald's Supersize option, which includes a 7-ounce fries carton and 42-ounce fountain soda, has also been targeted by critics as contributing to a growing obesity crisis in the United States where more than half the population is considered _ .
From a neighborhood restaurant established in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955 to today, more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries worldwide, McDonald's is the largest quick service restaurant organization in the world, selling primarily variations on meals consisting of hamburgers, carbonated drinks besides French fries. As the first international fast food company, McDonald's has become a focal point in public debate about rising obesity rates and consumer responsibility.
Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating. The larger McDonald's grows, the more sensitive it becomes to negative customer understanding. According to this, McDonald's has tried to cater to varying cultural requirements, such as by customizing its menu to each country. The company, which began offering Supersize portions widely in 1994, said it is making the menu changes to "support a balanced lifestyle" approach that is in keeping with other recent moves to promote healthier behavior. These include a planned national launch of a Happy Meal for adults called Go Active! In the past year, it has introduced several health-oriented foods, such as entree-sized salads and healthy alternatives in children's Happy Meal, including milk and fruit.
A new documentary film, called Super Size Me illustrates the negative effects of over-consumption of McDonald's food. The film has been released, but a McDonald's spokeswoman said that the menu changes are not related to any impact of the film on public awareness.
McDonald's recognized that to be successful, it would have to be flexible and adapt to social changes. The company has been reducing complexity of its menu, part of a broader push to improve operations and service in its more than 13,000 US restaurants. Analysts said the change will allow McDonald's to continue its emphasis on foods with higher-quality elements and more money-earned, such as entree-sized salads and all-white-meat Chicken McNuggets. | high20184.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "contribute to lives in developing countries and develop themselves"
},
"options": [
"have an opportunity to help all the people in developing countries",
"travel to many foreign countries to learn more about the world",
"cont... | Americans who volunteer for the Peace Corps get a chance to help improve lives in developing countries. They also get a chance to learn more about the world, and about themselves. This week this program is celebrating its 50th anniversary .
President John Kennedy set up the Peace Corps soon after he took office in 1961. It was the time of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union . The new program gave Americans a chance to answer the call to service that the president made in his inaugural speech. "Ask not what your country can do for you," he said. "Ask what you can do for your country." Kennedy told Peace Corps volunteers that America's image in the countries where they were going would depend largely on them.
On August 30th, 1961, the first group of 51 Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Accra, Ghana, to serve as teachers. They had agreed to work for almost no pay. They would spend two years in Ghana helping its people and learning the reality of life in a developing country. Most of the volunteers had just completed college. About half of them taught English or health care. In the 50 years since then, more than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers. They have worked in 139 countries.
The Peace Corps is a government agency that was created to promote world peace and friendship. There are three goals: First, to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. Second, to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served. And, third, to help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.
Today, the Peace Corps has more than 8,000 volunteers and trainees in 77 countries. They work in agriculture, economic development, education, the environment and health care. Some work in programs related to youth development.
Fifty percent of current Peace Corps volunteers are women. The average age of a volunteer is 28. But the ages of Peace Corps volunteers range from 18 to 86. Some Americans join the Peace Corps after they retire . Today seven percent of volunteers are over the age of 50. And 19 percent are members of minority groups. | high17728.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "we can not often be sure what people mean when they describe their feelings in words or gestures"
},
"options": [
"we can hardly understand what people's gestures mean",
"we can not often be sure what people mean when they describe... | We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be understood in different ways. It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feelings. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because they are born with those behavior patterns.
Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like "he went pale and begin to tremble" suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese "surprise" can be described in a phrase like 'they stretched out their tongues!' Sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to recognize or understand body language than younger people do. | high10047.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Handing out leaflets to each student."
},
"options": [
"Conducting checks to find out the students' depression.",
"Offering counseling to the students.",
"Setting up notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers' menta... | It's a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST): within a week,two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings.,:,.
Officials from the university are _ to give interviews..
"We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides," said Zhang Jingyuan,one official of HUST.
"Media coverage may arouse some students' negative emotions again.Suicide can be contagious," Zhang said.,",. "
The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23.1023,.
Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression.Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them.,. ,.
Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers' mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings.Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm.,. .
However,the second suicide came seven days later.,,.
Both students were described as men of few words.Their schoolmates didn't see anything to indicate suicide.,. .
Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders.But the school didn't know this until the students' close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides.,. ,.
According to Zhang,there are only three full-time counselors working in the university's counseling center for its 60,000 students.He complained: "It's unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students' mental problems.",,. :",. "
Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency,said Hu Yi'an.Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University.He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life.,, . . .
"Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won't resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties," said Hu.", ,,," .
According to Hu,the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching.,.
Hu is also concerned that some universities are conveying discriminatory message that will hold back students from seeking help..
When HUST conducted the dorm-to-dorm examination,students with poor academic performance were paid special attention.In March,Peking University also released a controversial policy,which required teachers to have a chat with students "with biased thinking".,. ,,"".
However,Hu suggested that students step out of their comfort zone to seek real-life communication. | high1009.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It is a problem that can be solved once it is recognized."
},
"options": [
"It is a reality both people and politicians are unaware of.",
"It is a phenomenon that causes us many inconveniences.",
"It is a problem that can be ... | Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but--regardless of whether it is or isn't -- we won't do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.
Al Gore calls global warming an "inconvenient truth," as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. But the real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and--without major technological breakthroughs--we can't do much about it.
From 2003 to 2050, the world's population is estimated to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly, CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. But that's too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the world's poor people to their present poverty and freeze everyone else's living standards. With modest economic growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.
No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show they're "doing something." Consider the Kyoto Protocol . It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn't. But it hasn't reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories didn't adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it's really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we don't solve the engineering problem, we're helpless. | high9455.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "uneasy"
},
"options": [
"depressed",
"uneasy",
"curious",
"amused"
],
"question": "If one is looked at by a stranger for too long, he tends to feel _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Exchange a glance with someone, and then look away. Do you realize that you have made a statement? Hold the glance for a second longer and you have made a different situation, there is a permissible time that you can hold a person's stare without being friendly, rude, or aggressive. If you are on a lift, what stare-time are you permitted? To answer this question, consider what you typically do. You very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up and to assure them that you mean no harm. Since being close to another person signals the possibility of interaction, you need to send out a signal telling others you want to be left alone. So you cut off eye contact----what sociologist Erving Goffiman calls "a dimming of the lights". You look down at the floor, at the indicator lights, anywhere but into another passenger's eyes. Should you break the rule against staring at a stranger on a lift, you will make the other person extremely uncomfortable, and you are likely to feel a bit strange yourself.
If you hold eye contact for more than 3 seconds, what are you telling another person? Much depends on the person and the situation. For instance, a man and a woman communicate interest in this manner. They stare at each other for about 3 seconds at a time, and then drop their eyes down for 3 seconds, before letting their eyes meet again. But if one man gives another man a 3-second-plus stare, he signals, "I know you", "I am interested in you" or "You look peculiar and I am curious about you". This type of stare often produces hostile feelings. | high12888.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They traveled by raft to Fiji and Tonga."
},
"options": [
"They were once discovered in America.",
"They traveled by raft to Fiji and Tonga.",
"They could survive in poor living conditions.",
"They moved to Fiji and Ton... | Scientists have long puzzled over how iguanas, a group of lizards mostly found in the Americas, came to live in the isolated Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga. Some scientists used to suppose that they must have traveled there on a raft, a journey of around 5,000 miles from South America to the islands. There are documented cases of iguanas reaching remote Caribbean islands and the Galapagos Islands on floating logs. But new research in January by Brice Noonan and Jack Sites suggested that iguanas may have simply walked to Fiji and Tonga when the islands were still a part of an ancient southern supercontinent.
The ancient supercontinent was made up of present-day Africa, Australia, Antarctica and parts of Asia. If that's the case, the island species would need to be very old. Using "molecular clock" analysis of living iguanas' DNA, Noonan and Sites found that, sure enough, _ has been around for more than 60 million years--easily old enough to have been in the area when the islands were still connected by land bridges to Asia or Australia.
Fossils uncovered in Mongolia suggest that iguanid ancestors did once live in Asia. Though there's currently no fossil evidence of iguanas in Australia, that doesn't necessarily mean they were never there. "The fossil record of this continent is surprisingly poor and cannot be taken as evidence of true absence," the authors write.
So if the iguanas simply walked to Fiji and Tonga from Asia or possibly Australia, why are they not also found on the rest of the Pacific islands? Noonan and Sites say fossil evidence suggests that iguana species did once inhabit other islands, but went extinct right around the time when humans settled in those islands. But Fiji and Tonga have a much shorter history of human presence, which may have helped the iguanas living there to escape extinction.
The researchers say that their study can't completely rule out the rafting theory, but it does make the land bridge theory "far more reasonable than previously thought." | high6766.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Top English, your smart choice!"
},
"options": [
"Top English, your smart choice!",
"If you want to learn English, we can teach you!",
"Top English, the best English!",
"We have what you want!"
],
"question": "W... | Part I
If you are hunting a chance to improve yourself in English, TOP ENGLISH CITY will be a smart choice. We are members of "the International Language Workshop" and enjoy both of the good honor in English teaching and high quality of our teaching team. We are devoted to providing affordable, excellent English training programs for those who want to improve both their English knowledge and their language skills.
In TOP ENGLISH CITY, you will be a top English-speaker among your competitors and enjoy the advantage that your competitors have not. You will be proud of being a member of TOP ENGLISH CITY.
Courses designed:
Basic Studies... Sat. 8:00-10:00 a. m.
Intermediate Spoken English... Sun. 8:00-10:00 a. m.
Standard Spoken English... Sat. 8:00-10:00 a.m.
Basic Business English... Sun.8:00-10:00 a.m.
Intermediate Business English... Sun. 7:00-9:00 p.m.
TOEFL Super Studies... Sun. 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Children's Weekend... Sat. &. Sun. 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact:
Room 806 American Plaza Tianhexi Rd, 510150 Guangzhou
Tel: 86668888-8806
Part II
ENGLISH SALON
A place for you to practise your English, to exchange your English learning experiences, to know more about the culture of English-speaking countries, to make more friends who can speak very good English.
You will have free talks, famous English films and songs appreciation, English lectures and games; all are for you to improve yourself in English in the special, full-of-fun Salon.
How to Join:
We are a group with membership system, so if you want to join our group, please make an application to the Tianhe Office of Top English City, filling in the applying forms. You will be given a salon ID card, and becomes our member.
The Qualifications :
You must be fluent in English-speaking or / and an English lover. Those who are now learning English in the Top English City will be advantageous.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Jiu Chan at: 47129198
English Salon, your best friend! Join Right Now! | high7478.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "4."
},
"options": [
"3.",
"4.",
"5.",
"6."
],
"question": "How many opinions do the teachers have on \"homework\"?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | People hold different views on what or how much homework should be. It is partly due to the fact that people can't seem to agree on the purpose of homework.
Some teachers think that homework is necessary to reinforce what is learned in school. And so they ask their students to memorize what was discussed in class through homework. Some teachers think the point of homework is to cover material that the class didn't have time to get to, so their homework is to let students learn additional things. Other teachers like homework simply because they want students to form work habits and still others believe homework is necessary because it's the best way for parents to learn what their children do in school.
However, many parents seem to have different ideas. Elisa Cohen, who has twins at Lafayette Elementary School, doesn't like the fact that third-grade students in DC elementary schools are asked to write about 25 book summaries a year. She said, "They do the same thing over and over without really getting into alternate ways of thinking about books, reading and writing."
Some education reformers , such as Howard Gardner, a Harvard University professor well-known for his theory on multiple intelligence, think that Cohen is on the right track. But it's often hard to persuade overworked teachers to give much thought to homework tasks. | high12650.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Hopeful"
},
"options": [
"Unconcerned",
"Pessimistic",
"Hopeful",
"Unworried"
],
"question": "What is Emily's attitude towards treating Cystic Fibrosis?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Raising Money to Find a Cure, One Ribbon Barrette at a Time
How many times a day do we tell our kids that we're proud of them? Probably not nearly enough. As a daughter of Chinese parents, it's not in our culture's nature to celebrate incredible accomplishments by announcing them to the world, but I'm going to break the rule and announce that I'm so proud of my 10-year-old daughter and all that she has done to raise money to support research to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis(CF,)
"Mommy, " said Emily as we rushed around the house packing our things for another day at the pool last summer. "I'm going to bring my ribbon barrettes to sell during adult swimming"
Emily's best friend is one of the 30,000 children and adults living in the United States with Cystic Fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. In the 1950s, very few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Although great progress in understanding and treating CF has led to great improvements in the length and quality of life for those with CF, there still isn't a cure.
Last spring, Emily donated $ 140 CFF's Great Walk in honor of her best friend living with Cystic Fibrosis. She had no idea what the summer would bring for her CFF ribbon barrette fundraise when school ended for the year. Fortunately, every time I shared a photo of Emily's ribbon barrettes on the Internet, we received orders that privately message me or email me with requests for barrettes in their favorites colors.
Three weeks into the summer, Emily had raised $ 297 and I was spending a lot of time running her to the craft store to restock her supplies for a very good cause while my husband was packing and shipping orders all over the country. My social media accounts have served as the most powerful tool for Emily to spread the _ . People notice kids doing great things and want to help the girls who are raising money to help find a cure, one ribbon barrette at a time.
Emily and her best friend have named their activity Ribbon Barrettes for Research. They have business cards and a brand new shiny website developed on a free platform, to show that any kid can do what she has been doing.
To my daughter, each sale is a victory and each order that goes out is an opportunity to spread awareness about CF. The handwritten thank-you note included in each order further shows the importance of teaching kids and parents how much their purchase support research that we hope will one day find a cure for CF.
As a parent, I love that Emily has found the power in her own voice and she has inspired others to advocate causes they care about. | high12136.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "yellow, orange, or red"
},
"options": [
"yellow, orange, or red",
"yellow, black, or red",
"orange, blue, or black",
"black, red, or orange"
],
"question": "An active person may like _",
"question_type": ... | What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, or red? If you do, you must be an active person who enjoys life. Do you like blue? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and would rather follow than lead.
Colors do influence our moods . A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing . There was a black bridge over the Thames River, near London. The number of people who killed themselves on that bridge used to be larger than on any other bridge in the area -- until it was repainted green.
Light and bright colors make people not only happier but also more active. In the factory, the workers will work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black. | high15659.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "show us something about animal behavior"
},
"options": [
"ask us to take good care of wild animals",
"encourage us to learn more about animals",
"entertain us with interesting animal stories",
"show us something about a... | Just like children, baby animals spend countless hours at play. After studying animal play for many years, scientists recognize that young animal play is practice for adult behavior. Today this play is roughly divided into the following groups.
Locomotor play refers to the movements animals carry out in their play. Running, leaping, turning, and kicking are some of the most common examples of locomotor play. An adult deer may run, leap, and twist to escape its attackers. Play movements like these surely make young animals _ Someday these skills might help save their lives.
Moving forward slowly, attacking suddenly .and biting are examples of predatory play that help young predators prepare for a life of running after and taking hold of other animals. Wild cats, wolves, and bears are predators. It is very common to see these young animals play this kind of games which sharpen their skills and teach them about their strengths and limitations.
For children, playing with toys is both fun and educational. It helps improve their hand and eye movements as well as develop hand skills to accomplish tasks. It is the same with animals. Young chimpanzees improve their hand skills while playing with sticks. Birds also play with things in ways that teach. Swallows drop and recover feathers in mid air. Diving suddenly to catch the feathers is good practice for catching flying insects.
Social play helps animals learn how to behave when they run into other animals. And it teaches animals about communication. An animal gives signals to let another animal know it wants to play. Many animals give signals by showing a " play face" . In some ways this face is like a human smile; the animal holds its mouth in a relaxed and open manner. During play-fights, some animals may step backwards to signal that they are playing and not acting seriously.
Until now, scientists have understood playful acts help prepare animals for their serious adult situations. But the numbers of playful species and examples of animal play are vast. The purpose of animal play may have meanings scientists have not discovered yet. | high9333.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "spend your holidays abroad economically"
},
"options": [
"take a plane without waiting for long",
"spend your holidays abroad economically",
"eat in a pricey restaurant at the smallest expense",
"save money to buy eatab... | A carefree summer vacation can be yours with these easy tips.
1.Fly into Alternate Airports
Most major destinations are served by more than one airport.Flying into a less popular one can result in cheaper tickets.Another added _ of quieter airports? Shorter check-in and security lines,and less waiting around.
2.Use Public Transportation for City Travel to Save Time and Money
When possible,take public transportation from the airport to your hotel.For example,the London-Heathrow express train takes just 15 minutes to get from airport to city and costs under 20 pounds.By contrast,"A taxi costs about 70 pounds and takes 40 minutes,"reports DiScala.
3.Eat Smart,Explore...and Save
Look for ways to take your order in pricey restaurants and you can avoid "Are we about to run out of money?""Don't order an appetizer.Don't drink a lot of booze," says DiScala.
Also,cover more ground by spreading out your snack places."Have dessert at a cafe or ice cream stand, instead of at the dinner restaurant," suggests DiScala.You'll see more of the city and decisions about where to go for dinner will be less worrying.
4.Hit the Market
Much like reading the local newspaper,visiting a market gives context to a foreign country.
Even the smallest villages tend to have a weekly open-air market(often on Saturday mornings) , while in larger towns and cities,expect additional market days,as well as big supermarkets.
Markets also sell amazing,wallet-friendly souvenirs.Think about sea salt,local spices or sauces,and regional oils and vinegars. Eatable gifts are almost always appreciated,saving you the stress of finding the"perfect"gift for each person on your list. | high6000.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "land in the west was hard to manage ."
},
"options": [
"small towns along the railways became abandoned .",
"some railroad stops remained .",
"land in the west was hard to manage .",
"land grants went into private hands... | As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electhical generating and transmission systen for the 21
century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the suurouding community. The same is true of big solar ppants and the power lines that will be laid dowm to move electricity around.
The 19
century saw land grants offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads ,leaving public land in between privately owned land . In much of the west ,some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped ,and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management ,with the completion or the interstate highway system ,many of the small towns which sprang up as railway stops and developed well ,have lost their lifeblood and died .
Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the west .this is not an argument against building then ,we need alternative energy badly .and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now .
So trade-offs will have to be made .some scenic sport will be sacrificed .some species will be forced to move ,or will be carefully moved to special accommodations ,deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects .
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter .the 21
century development of the American west as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money to do a lot of good .but it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind ,just like the railroad and the highway .
The money set aside in negotiated trade -offs and the institution that control will shape the west far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines .so let's remember the effects of the railroad and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the west . | high15881.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She is soft and tender to others."
},
"options": [
"She is soft and tender to others.",
"She is independent of others in daily life.",
"She is more tolerant to stress.",
"She can solve problems usually for men."
],
... | A tender woman, or an independent one, which one would you prefer? Arecent research shows that most people would choose the latter.
This type of woman is called a nuhanzi ("tough woman"). Experts believe these characteristics have social and psychological roots among young femalesin China. Su Hao's friends all call her a tough woman, because she can finish tough tasks usually carried out by men. For example, she carries 10-litre water to her dormitory on the 5th floor. "I depend on no one but myself," she says.
According to a recent survey by China Youth Daily, tough women have become rather common in society. Of the 21,265 respondents, 78.5 percent said they are familiar with a tough woman. About 50 percent said they like women with tough characteristics, while less than 29 percent expressed the opposite view.
Why are tough women gaining popularity? Shen Meng, a psychological consultant, believes the fierce competition in society is contributing to this trend. "Women are often in a disadvantaged position compared to men," Shen says. "In order to survive, they have to be independent, strong and tough." Liu
Xiao lin, professor of psychology at Wuhan Mental Health Center, believes tough women are brought up this way. They are often on close relationship with their fathers, who teach their daughters to be brave and decisive," he says. As a result, these women are more likely to be psychologically healthy and more tolerant to stress, according to Liu.
Though Liu believes that this is a good trend, Hu Shenzhi, a psychologist at the Guangdong Sunflower Counseling Center, says the popularity of tough woman indicates an unclear line between gender identities, which can lead to relationship problems. "Some women with characteristics that differ from the traditional female image may have a difficult time finding Mr Right," he says."Even if they get married, their manly characteristics might cause family conflicts. | high10721.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "financial concerns"
},
"options": [
"travel fees",
"financial concerns",
"poor exam results",
"worries about living far away from home"
],
"question": "Mike may give up Notre Dame because of _ .",
"questi... | Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.
"Notre Dame," it said. " _ !"
Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.
This year, money is the driving factor for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending.
"We're excited that Mike got into eight great schools," said Mike's father, an engineer at Microsoft. "But if you consider going to school out of state, you've got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You're looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel."
As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.
Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.
"The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD," said Rachel, 17. "My mom doesn't want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don't want that either. I'd have to take out a loan of $15,000. I'll check and see if there's any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid."
More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year.
This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000. | high2266.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "attend education programs"
},
"options": [
"learn to give lectures",
"attend education programs",
"design a working uniform",
"develop a common hobby"
],
"question": "We loam from Paragraph 2 that employees in G... | Travis is the manager of G&G where he is responsible for forty employees and profits of over $2 million per year. He's never late to work. He does not get upset on the job. When one of his employees started crying after a customer screamed at her, Travis took her away. "Your working uniform is your shelter," he told her. "Nothing anyone says will ever hurt you. You will always be as strong as you want to be."
Travis picked up that lecture in one of his G&G training courses, an education program that began on his first day and continues throughout an employee's occupation. The training has, Travis says, changed his life. G&G has taught him how to live, how to focus, how to get to work on time, and how to master his emotions . Most importantly, it taught him willpower.
At the center of that education is an extreme focus on an all-important habit; willpower. Dozens of cases show that willpower is the single most important habit for a person's success.
And the best way to strengthen willpower is to make it into a habit. "Sometimes it looks like people with great self-control aren't working hard--but that's because they've made it automatic," Angela Duckworth, one of the University of Pennsylvania researchers said. "Their willpower occurs without them having to think about it."
The company spent millions of dollars developing programs of study to train employees on self-control. Managers wrote workbooks that serve as guides to how to make willpower a habit in workers' lives. Those courses arc, in part, why G&G has grown from a sleepy company into a large one with more than seventeen thousand stores and profits of more than $10 billion a year. | high16350.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Platonic friendship can be fun and liberating."
},
"options": [
"Platonic friendship can be fun and liberating.",
"Platonic friendship can take the place of boy-or-girl friendship.",
"Man friendship is far more exciting than ... | It's a Friday night. Your girl friends are out at a bar and your boyfriend is playing soccer with his mates. Two text messages later, you're eating pizza and watching action movies with three guy friends. Perfect.
"Guy friends" have the potential to enrich your life in ways that female friends and boyfriends just can't. For starters, they provide an insider's perspective on how men think, feel and behave. When dealing with male relatives, coworkers and even boyfriends, another man's point of view can be incredibly useful. Three hours spent analyzing a situation in a cafe with your girlfriends can't compete with a quick chat to a guy friend.
Many women find that time spent with male friends can be a liberating and somewhat refreshing break from spending time with the girls. Without the judgmental gaze of other females, there is less pressure to dress up and compete for attention.
Traditionally, girl-guy friendships are seen as hard to maintain. Most relationships between males and females that we come across in our day-to-day lives, whether in movies or books, are romantic by nature. These cultural images make girl-guy friendships seem impossible.
Yet in reality, as gender roles loosen and equality becomes a norm in the workplace, it has become much more common for platonic friendships to blossom.
"The belief that men and women can't be friends comes from another era in which women were at home and men were in the workplace, and the only way they could get together was for romance," explains psychologist Linda Sapadin to Psychology Today magazine. "Now they work together and share sports interests and socialize together."
"My boyfriend has met all of my guy friends so he's quite accepting of me hanging out with them," says Nellie. "Because we've been dating so long, there's a level of trust where he knows I will make the right decision when choosing who to be friends with.
"He understands that the kind of time that I spend differs between guys and girls. When I'm out with the girls, we're gossiping or talking about clothes but when I'm spending time with the guys, it's different. I think their carefree and 'whatever goes' attitude can sometimes be exactly what I need." | high3178.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "because of an accident"
},
"options": [
"after he had an operation on his eyes",
"because of an accident",
"because he met with a serious traffic accident",
"when he was 57 years old"
],
"question": "Bob McNicho... | Probably many of you know the idiom "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But do you believe a tooth for an eye? That's something a little bit different.
This strange exchange is neither a form ofretribution nor an unexpected gift from the Tooth Fairy --- it's actually a very generous gift from a young Irishman, Robert McNichol, 23, to his formerly blind father, 57-year-old Bob McNichol.
In 2005, Bob McNichol's sight was destroyed in an accident when his eyes weredoused(......)with liquidaluminum . Doctors predicted that he would never be able to see again.
But McNichol never liked to take no for an answer: when he heard about a unique operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, he knew he had to _ , even though the success rate was a mere 65 percent.
In the technique, the eyesocket is rebuilt and implanted with a human tooth and part of the jawbone, to provide support for an artificialcornea . Luckily for McNichol, Robert was willing to sacrifice one of his teeth to help his father regain his sight.
The technique isn't simple: McNichol's first stint on the operating table lasted ten hours, with a five hour follow-up session at a later date. But thanks to his son's gift, he's already seeing astonishing results.
"Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness." he told his friends. | high10735.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the concept of teamwork is still alive and no longer the same as the past"
},
"options": [
"teamwork requires more use of computers than that of human beings",
"teamwork will be completely replaced by computers",
"the concept... | Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may _ for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations---often thousands of miles apart---can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer-assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network."
Sometimes a computer-aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high-technology team work, the future seems limitless. | high2272.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Laughter"
},
"options": [
"Joke",
"Laughter",
"Fun",
"Humor"
],
"question": "The best title of the passage is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Bill Gates and the president of General Motors have met for lunch, and Bill is going on and on about computer technology. "If automotive technology had kept pace with computer technology over the past few decades, you would now be driving a V-32 instead of a V-8, and it would have a top speed of 10,000 miles per hour," says Gates. "Or you could have an economy car that weighs 30 pounds and gets a thousand miles to a gallon of gas. In either case, the sticker price of a new car would be less than $ 50. Why haven't you guys kept up?"
The president of GM smiles and says, "Because the federal government won't let us build cars that crash four times a day."
Why is that funny (or not funny, as the ease may be)? Human beings love to laugh, and the average adult laughs 17 times a day. Humans love to laugh so much that there are actually industries built around laughter. Jokes, siteoms and comedies are all designed to get us laughing, because laughing feels good. For us it seems so natural, but the funny thing is that humans are the only species that laughs. Laughter is actually a complex response that involves many of the same skills used in solving problems.
Laughter is a great thing--that's why we've all heard the saying, "Laughter is the best medicine." There is strong evidence that laughter can actually improve health and help fight disease. When we look at laughter--what it is, what happens in our brains when we laugh, what makes us laugh and how it can make us healthier and happier, there's a huge amount about it that no one understands yet. | high18369.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "harm its own purpose by becoming too popular"
},
"options": [
"harm its own purpose by becoming too popular",
"save the environment by becoming more popular",
"harm its own purpose by becoming less popular",
"save the e... | If your idea of a good time is to sleep in a hut, carry your own rubbish, and eat insects and wild animals, then ecotourism may be just for you. But is it also for people who want to fly over a rainforest sky before checking into a comfortable and expensive hotel in the middle of a national park? Whatever ecotourism is, it is hot--perhaps too hot for its own good.
The World Tourism Organization claims that the industry looked after 592 million travelers last year who spent $423 billion, and of all the types of tourism, ecotourism seems to be the fastest growing. By the broadest measure -- a trip with some sort of nature or wilderness element -- ecotourism already accounts for perhaps a third of these travelers. On a stricter definition favored by the Ecotourism Society, it is "responsible travel that preserves natural environments and keeps up the well-being of local people," which accounts for no more than 5% of tourism.
Ideally, ecotourism helps both people and nature. Before the disastrous civil war, Rwanda's Mountain Gorilla Project was one such model. Visits to the gorillas were limited, local guides ensured good behavior or on the part of the humans, and the high admission charge - $170 a day -- paid for salaries and presentation of the gorillas' living areas. As this made the gorillas worth more alive than dead, poaching decreased. As another example, preservation Cooperation, Africa's largest ecotour operator, uses only local labor, buys products 5om local farmers, and supports building projects: such as clinics and schools. This contribution to social advance is also good business sense. Projects from which local people benefit directly are less likely to be affected by poaching and theft.
Ecotourism's biggest problem is labeling. Going on an eco-tour is no guarantee of good ecology. So far, only Australia has an official system to grade tour operators and tourist attractions on the basis of their "greenness". Another issue is how eco-tourists damage the environment. Dolphin-feeding, for instance, is innocent and enjoyable, but after too many free meals, the dolphins forget how to catch their own dinners.
Keeping prices high is one way to limit enthusiasm. But measuring the effect of ecotourism on human environments is trickier. It is common, for villagers to see ecotourism as a source of new income. Hence, the very tourists who venture in search of traditional cultures end up breaking them up. As ecotourism becomes more popular, it will finally threaten the very things that are good for business. | high4603.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To keep atomic clocks in time with the slowing of Earth' s rotation."
},
"options": [
"To change the world' s atomic clocks.",
"To keep atomic clocks in time with the world' s computers.",
"To keep atomic clocks in time with ... | On July 1 at exactly 7:59:59, Bejing time, the world' s atomic clocks will pause for a single second, or, more precisely, change to the unusual time of 7:59:60. The addition of a leap second , is to keep our clocks in time with the slowing of Earth' s rotation and astronomical time as measured by the sun.
Just one extra second could affect the way computers and websites work, however. When the last leap second was added back in 2012, the community website Reddit crashed. For Reddit, the problem was that a Linux system got confused when it checked the network time and found an extra second.
Speaking to Wired about the problem back in 2012, Linux creator Linus Torvalds commented:"Almost every time we have a leap second, we find something. It' s really annoying, because it' s code that is almost never used, and thus not tested by users under their normal conditions. "
Companies have thought of their own solutions, and Google' s"leap smear"may be the best- known example. As company engineer Christopher Pascoe explains in a blog post, companies usually try to turn back the clocks by one second at the end of the day so that they play that second again. However, Pascoe believes this creates problems. He asked:"Does email that comes in during that second get stored correctly?"Google has a solution: Cut the extra second into milliseconds and then put these tiny amounts of time into the system throughout the day."This means that when it became time to add an extra second at midnight."Says Pascoe."Our clocks have already taken this into account over the course of the day."
For many companies without Google' s money, however, the leap second will likely still cause some crashes. | high19077.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Acting bravely and fight back."
},
"options": [
"Giving the bullies a satisfactory reaction.",
"Putting up with the bullies' behavior.",
"Turning to grown-ups for help.",
"Acting bravely and fight back."
],
"que... | A bully is a boy or a girl who acts mean (unkind) or hurtful to others, especially weaker persons bullies sometimes hit, kick, or push people, and they sometimes use words to call names or scare them. A bully might say mean things about someone, take a kid's possessions or make fun of someone on purpose. Some bullies force people to do things they don't want to do.
Why do bullies act so badly? Just to look for attention. They might think bullying is a way to be popular or a way to get what they want. Most bullies are trying to make themselves felt more important-when they pick on someone else, it makes them fell big and powerful. Some bullies come from families where everyone around has a normal way to act. Some bullies are copying what they've seen someone else do. Some have been bullied themselves.
Bullying can be a big pain, but you don't have to let bullying
you. Sometimes just acting bravely is enough to stop a bully. If you walk by and hold your head high as though you're not afraid, a bully may be less likely to give you trouble. Bullies want a big reaction to their meanness. Acting as if you don't notice and don't care is like giving no reaction at all, and this just might stop a bully's behavior. If you are being bullied, it's very important to tell an adult. Teachers, principals, parents, and lunchroom helpers at school can all help to stop bullying. Don't hit, kick, or push back to deal with someone bullying you or your friends. Fighting back just satisfies a bully, and it's dangerous, too, because someone could get hurt. | high16344.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A living creature in his brain."
},
"options": [
"Dirty food eaten in August.",
"Travelling for a long way,",
"A living creature in his brain.",
"Uncooked meat eaten by him."
],
"question": "What caused Luis Ort... | A California man who was feeling sick almost died recently from a shocking cause.
26-year-old Luis Ortiz went to a hospital because of a headache and nausea(,). When doctors examined him, they were shocked to find a tapeworm larva in his brain. The story gets stranger. The larva was still alive.
The creature had caused a cyst to form inside his head. The cyst was restricting the flow of liquids to different areas of his brain. The situation was so serious that doctors said they had to perform an emergency operation to remove the larva.
A doctor who operated on Ortiz told him he had only 30 minutes to live. When the doctor pulled the worm out of his head, it was still moving.
Luis Ortiz was a student at California State University in Sacramento. He began experiencing headaches in late August. But Ortiz said he did not think the headaches were serious.
In September, he visited a friend and his parents in another city. That is when the pain got worse. His mother saw Ortiz throwing up and took him to a hospital emergency room.
The doctors saved Ortiz's life. However, the surgery also affected him. Ortiz had to drop out of school and move back home. For now, he is not permitted to work or drive a vehicle.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has about 1,000 reported cases of tapeworms each year. The CDC adds that tapeworms are more common in developing countries with poor public health systems.
The best way to avoid a tapeworm infection is to wash fruits and vegetables. Also, make sure meat is cooked thoroughly. The CDC suggests cooking all meats to an internal temperature of at least 63 degrees Celsius. | high12122.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To argue that no human being is likely to live forever."
},
"options": [
"To analyze the possibility that animals and plants die out.",
"To explain why scientists will create living areas for humans.",
"To argue that no human... | _ Countries would probably pass 'no reproduction' laws to keep population balanced, but obviously not everyone would observe. The world's population would grow very quickly at that. Animals and plants would die out, because humans needed the food.
There would be no room for more people in the world. Scientists would most likely try to create living 'communities' underwater, on the moon, and in space stations. The state of starvation and lack of space would be difficult to deal with. Natural selection would happen with humans, which is when certain types of animals or plants are selected for, or selected against. For instance, rich humans and strong, tough humans would be more likely to live, because the rich could afford to buy the limited food, and the tough humans could kill people for their food, and steal the food. This possibility relates directly to the assumption that humans would not die of diseases and such, but must be killed or run out of the necessities for living.
If you mean that no one could ever die, even if they were shot, burned, starved and eaten, then that would never ever happen; _ . However, if that were the case, then at some point, if there were not more areas to live than the land that humans live on now, then we would end up so packed that it would be virtually impossible to move, and humans would be forced to be on top of other people. It would be ridiculously crowded.
Although, if humans lived forever, then I assume that we would all be extremely smart, and would have figured out solutions to the living situations, like on another planet, on the moon, under water, etc. | high8039.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Those who plan to live in one place for a few days."
},
"options": [
"Those who dislike small hotel chains.",
"Those who want an adventure trip.",
"Those who plan to live in one place for a few days.",
"Those who don't ... | Wouldn't you want to travel more often without breaking the bank? If you are interested, read on to find out how you can do simple things to save money next time you go on vacation.
Airfares
Plan in advance and visit discount websites to see if there are better deals. If you are planning to stay in two countries and an airline makes you change planes on those countries anyway, you might be in luck. Check pricing on the flights to see if you can stay a few days at the country of the flight change instead of changing planes right away since airlines often let you do that for the same price.
Accommodations
Sometimes the smaller towns close to where you are going have hotels that are much less expensive. If you don't mind the 15-minute ride, you might just save a large amount of money. Home exchanges are pretty cool and popular especially in Europe. If you are of the adventure type, this could be exciting and refreshing. Sometimes smaller hotel chains are willing to give you free upgrades or even free nights. If you are staying at a destination for at least a few days, consider a vacation home instead of hotels. They are often more comfortable and your cost will probably be cheaper.
Eating
Figure out where you will be and eat before you actually go out. Avoid breakfast from the hotels because chances are good that the breakfast from the hotel is expensive and isn't great. It probably pays to walk out the front door in the morning and find a local cafe. You might just discover the local favorite unexpectedly. Want a breakfast that costs nothing? Ask for some bread to-go at the restaurant the night before. In addition, fancy lunches are often much less expensive than dinners. If you eat a big lunch and a light dinner, it's also healthier. | high14553.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He will leave for a new job."
},
"options": [
"He will pass away.",
"He will leave for a new job.",
"He will get married.",
"He will stay with us forever."
],
"question": "What will happen to Mark soon?",
"q... | Please excuse me if I'm a little sad today because Mark is leaving.You probably don't know Mark,but you might be lucky enough to know someone just like him.He's been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years combining professional skills with a sweet and gentle nature.He's never been all that interested in getting _ for the terrific work he does.He just wants to do his job,and to do it extremely well.
And now he's moving on to an exciting new professional opportunity.It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime,and we're sincerely pleased for him.But that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.
Life has a way of throwing these curve balls at us.Just when we start to get comfortable with a person,a place or a situation,something comes along to change the recipe.A terrific neighbor moves away.Someone in the family graduates.A child finds new love and loyalties through marriage.The family's bread-winner is laid off.Our ability to cope with change and disruption determines our peace,happiness and contentment in life.
But how do we do that? According to the author of Ecclesiaste,comfort can be found in remembering that "to everything there is a season,and a time to every purpose under heaven.Let today embrace the past with remembrance,and the future with longing.''
"Change,indeed,is painful,yet ever needful,"said philosopher Thomas Carlyle."And if memory has its force and worth,so also has hope."
We're going to miss Mark.But rather than lose ourselves in the sadness of our parting,we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future----for him,and for us.And then we'll go out and do everything we can to make that future happen.Until our plans change----again. | high6014.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Poverty and family problems contribute to child begging"
},
"options": [
"Premier Wen Jiabao chatted with Yu Jianrong online.",
"One Foundation has set up a hotline for missing children.",
"ACWF promised to offer Ren Fangfang... | Civil Affairs and Public Security Departments have been urged to take comprehensive steps to help children who are begging on the nation's streets and are often abused. Premier Wen Jiabao said during his online chat with netizens, China Daily reported.
Wen said he has paid close attention to the ongoing micro blog campaign that calls on concerned netizens to post photos of children begging on the streets in the hope that police will rescue them and return them to their families. There are many reasons why children turn to begging, including poverty and family problems. Joint efforts will help end the problem.
His remarks were welcomed by Yu Jianrong, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who starts the online campaign to
on child begging.
The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) also released a statement encouraging people to contact the police if they find any suspect who abuses, or forces juveniles to beg on the streets. People can either call 110 and or dial 12338 and connect with a hotline set up by the ACWF. The statement was reported by Xinhua News Agency.
The micro blog campaign has gained support from charities, and other social institutions since it was launched in January. One Foundation, a Shenzhen-based charity, set up a fund on Feb 19 for a database for sharing information about missing children So far, One Foundation has raised 720,000 yuan ($109,500). Meanwhile, Shanghai Time Plastic Surgery Hospital has offered free plastic surgery to Ren Fangfang, an 8-year-old girl who suffered physical abuse at the hands of a man who used her to beg for him. | high15895.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he was impressed by the way Arcaro stuck to his dream"
},
"options": [
"Arcaro had shown great talents in horse racing",
"he thought all that Arcaro needed was a bit of luck",
"he had sympathy for Arcaro for his unfortunate e... | You must know what BYD stands for? Yes, Build Your Dream. Have you built your dream and spare no effort to achieve it? Here is an inspiring story from http//www.naijamotiveation.com
Eddie Arcaro dreamed of becoming the world's greatest jockey . But after watching him ride a horse for five minutes, reality reflected a rough contradiction. He was awkward and clumsy, and in his early years in the saddle( )he couldn't do one thing right.
In his first 100 races he never even came close to winning. Still, he got right back on and trained again. Even as a schoolboy, Arcaro had set his own track in life. Because he was only a little over five feet tall (1.5 meters) and weighed barely 80 pounds (36kg), the other students _ him. So he skipped school, hanging out at the local race track where a trainer let him ride horses.
His father reluctantly agreed to let him pursue a career as a jockey. The trainer had told him so. "Send him back to school," he said. "He'll never be a rider." In spite of that, Arcaro was determined not just to ride, but to become the world's greatest jockey. But first someone would have to give him a chance.
He finally got to ride in a real race. Before it was over, he'd lost his whip and his cap and had almost fallen off the saddle. By the time he finished the race, the other horses were on their way to the stables . He'd come in dead last. Nevertheless, Arcaro went from track to track, looking for any opportunity to ride.
Finally, a trainer who pitied him took him in and gave him a chance. One hundred losses later, he was still giving him chances. He saw something in this unlucky jockey, something he couldn't define.
There were many brushes with death and several broken bones. Every time he would return to the saddle. Then Arcaro began to win. In thirty years of riding, he won 4, 779 races, becoming the only jockey in history to win the Kentucky Derby five times. By the time he retired in 1962 he was a millionaire and a legend in his own lifetime. | high8987.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The love from our parents is real and deep though sometimes it doesn't appear so."
},
"options": [
"The love from our parents is real and deep though sometimes it doesn't appear so.",
"The love from our parents is awkward sometimes... | My friend got married. His mother carried two bags of cotton from the countryside by bus and train to his city. After arriving at the city, there was still a long way to his house without any bus passing by the house. His mother walked to his home breathlessly for 40 minutes without taking a taxi in order to save money.
My friend felt bitter as well as funny at his mother's deeds. He pointed to the cashmere and silk quilts and said, "So long as you have money, you can buy anything in the supermarket. There is no need for you to carry so much cotton here in such a long way."
But his mother insisted and said, "The cotton of this year is light and warmth-keeping. Have a try and you will know!"
Maybe every parent is the same, caring for their children with stubborn love without caring about whether they know or like it.
This early spring, I went to visit my grandmother. We had dry beans stew , eggplant salad bar, sauce radish for our dinner, all of which were dried by my grandmother last autumn and tasted wonderful. I loved the dishes to my heart's content and could not help praising them again and again.
After a few days, my grandmother, who seldom visited us, came to my home and unpacked her bag, smilingly taking out bags of dried eggplants, dried beans and dried vegetable. She told me that I left so hastily last time that she forgot to give me some of these foods, so she took this chance to bring me what I liked.
I was speechless at that time. Due to my casual complimentary her food, my grandmother, a nearly 70-year-old lady, by taking three buses from the west of the city to the east, came to my home with the food I liked. But she was bus-sick in life and even seldom went strolling in the street.
My pretty girlfriend had a failed marriage in the past. After divorce, her parents shed the deepest protection and care to her by helping her attend to the child and offering financial aids. Her parents' love made her pull herself together and forgot the man who had hurt her before.
Nonetheless, her father, an honest and upright old man, after hearing his ex-son-in-law got promoted in his company, felt terrifically irritated and went to his company to question his boss why a philandering man with corrupt conducts could get promoted. The whole office fell into a mess immediately and many staff just watched on the sidelines. Some people even whispered lightly, "It is a new era now and the relationship between men and women is very open. No one would care about that anymore!"
The old man stood silently in the office with his hands shivering and eyes tearing.
That night, my girlfriend cried heavily in front of me. I asked her whether it was her father's stupid deeds that made her feel _ But she said that she felt guilty for her dad and that though the rest of the whole world betrayed her, her old father would still back her up and help her get the justice she deserved, just as when she was young and the neighboring boy grabbed her ball, her father would get it back for her. However, this changed world was no longer the stage for her old father and his deeds became funnily obsolete. No one managed to see the real and ever-lasting love to his daughter behind his seemingly rude behaviors.
Now we have grown up so much so that we could support our family and have our own children. But in our parents' heart, they are still worried that we do not have sufficient quilts and dried vegetables. They would not feel troubled to bring all these to us regardless of long tough journey. They even would not like us to suffer a bit and try all means to protect us without caring about whether what they do is awkward and stupid or not.
Who in the world would love us so deeply and relentlessly without asking for any repay? Only our parents! | high589.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "test chimps' social tendencies instead of tool skills"
},
"options": [
"show that chimps are only good at using implements",
"see whether chimps are willing to share food with others",
"find out if chimps are likely to reward... | Chimpanzees, long considered reluctant to share, apparently can display selfless tendencies, revealing one more key way our closest living relatives are like humans, scientists find. These findings could shed light on the evolution of _ in humans.
Previously, a belief was widely held that human altruism evolved only after humans split from their ape cousins about 6 million years ago. In recent years, however, research has revealed just how much chimpanzees have in common with us. They can hunt with spears, play with dolls and mourn their partners' death.
"Most of the earlier studies had presented the apes with a complex implement that helped them deliver food to themselves or others, often so complicated that the experiments tested tool skills rather than social tendencies," De Waal told Live Science. "Ours is the first study that uses no such implement at all."
In addition to using complex food-delivery systems, past experiments often placed the chimpanzees so far apart that they might not have realized how their actions benefited others. In these new, simplified experiments, two apes were housed next to each other with a screen through which they could see each other. Then, one chimpanzee had to choose between two differently colored tokens from a bin, one of which represented a pro-social option, the other a selfish option. The pro-social option would cause both chimpanzees to receive a piece of banana wrapped in paper. The selfish option only rewarded the ape who made the choice.
In a study with seven adult female chimps placed into various pairs, the scientists found all the apes showed a definite preference for the pro-social option. "For me, the most important finding is that like us, chimpanzees take into account the needs and wishes of others," researcher Victoria Horner, said.
The chimpanzees behaved especially altruistically toward partners who either patiently waited or gently reminded them that they were there by drawing attention to themselves. They were less likely to reward partners who pressured through making a fuss, begging persistently or spitting water at them. This is opposite to a long-standing view that the chimpanzees only share food under pressure. | high9441.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "go travelling abroad"
},
"options": [
"divorce her husband",
"be a wedding photographer",
"pay off all her debt",
"go travelling abroad"
],
"question": "After the author quit her job, she decided to _ .",
... | When I decided to quit my job as a wedding photographer, I was in my late twenties, fresh from my divorce from Bob who had left me empty and confused. I decided to leave the US and travel. I had no savings, plus more than $5,000 in debt. What I did have were two sponsored tasks as a travel photographer- and with that along, I thought, it would be easy.
My first experience was a road trip from Toronto to Las Vegas, paid for by a car delivery service. Other trips followed and then I started a travel blog . It was intended to be my calling card for assignment travel photography. Yet even with my blog and past experience, email after email I sent to publications, trying to get work, went unanswered. When they did get in touch, editors told me that I had no chance of making a career with travel photography. While I struggled to get on the path that I wanted, and as I expanded my blog to help get me there, I found myself wearing the hat of a full-time blogger.
Luckily, I got in at the right time. It was 2010,and the travel industry was just starting to turn its attention to bloggers. As I never could have predicted, my blogging-not my photography-did take me around the world successfully. At first,I thought it was for personal reasons, but I realized later that it was for free marketing for my blogging.
Within two years, I was being asked to speak at travel blogging conferences, which helped me to raise a network of friends around the world. Even more meaningful, however, was when I saw that my travels were also helping other people. My blog and social media followers saw that I chased my dreams and told me over and over again how they needed that kind of example, which was absent in their lives elsewhere. | high6772.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "4."
},
"options": [
"2.",
"3",
"4.",
"5."
],
"question": "How many animal characters in E.B.White's books have been mentioned in his letter?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Dear Reader:
I receive many letters from children and can't answer them all -- there wouldn't be time enough in a day.That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter.I'll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte's Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse.That's how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours.One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die.This made me sa
So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life.I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving.Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm.Three years after I started writing it, it was publishe
(I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)
Sometimes I'm asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write.I started early - as soon as I could spell.In fact, I can't remember any time in my life when I wasn't busy writing.I don't know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures.I was no good at drawing, so I used words instea
As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.
Some of my readers want me to visit their school.Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book.And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets.Much as I'd like to, I can't go visiting.I can't send books, either - you can find them in a bookstore or a library.Many children assume that a writer owns (or even makes) his own books.This is not true - books are made by the publisher.If a writer wants a copy, he must buy it.That's why I can't send books.And I do not send autographs - I leave that to the movie stars.I live most of the year in the country, in New Englan
From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains.I live near my married son and three grandchildren.
Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events.In real life, a family doesn't have a child who looks like a mouse; in real life, a spider doesn't spin words in her we
In real life, a swan doesn't blow a trumpet.But real life is only one kind of life - there is also the life of the imagination.And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too - truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.
Yours sincerely,
White | high12644.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "photography technology then was not advanced"
},
"options": [
"being humorous was considered inappropriate",
"they found it quite funny to smile before camera",
"not smiling for photographs was the fashion",
"photograph... | Something that has always interested me about Abraham Lincoln is, not surprisingly, his sense of humor. As far as I can tell, he's the first American President to have one.
That's because the term"sense of humor" really wasn't in common usage until the eighteen-sixties and seventies. In the eighteen-forties and fifties, it was called"the sense of the ridiculous," and didn't have the positive connotations that"sense of humor" has today. Back then, what was ridiculous was what invited ridicule . Funniness and cruelty went hand in hand. Of course, they still do a lot of arm-in-arm walking in our day as well.
Lincoln's humor was very different because, for one thing, it was actually "humor"as what the word meant in his time. We don't make the distinction between "wit "and "humor"anymore; but in the nineteenth century people did. Wit was unpleasant and offensive while humor was pleasant and sympathetic. It's the difference we note now when we distinguish between "laughing with" and "laughing at". Lincoln was much more about "laughing with" than "laughing at". And when "laughing at, " it was often himself he was teasing.
In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, when Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced, Lincoln replied, referencing his plain looking, "Honestly, if I were two-faced, would I be showing you this one?"And, in a way, Lincoln's face itself tells us much about his sense of humor.
You can comb through thousands of photographs of politicians, soldiers, and the like from Lincoln's time and not find a single smile.
True, the long exposures required for photographs of that time made smiling difficult. Yet Lincoln alone, as far as I can tell, overcame that difficulty.
Interestingly, while having a sense of humor, or at least the appearance of one provided by comedy writers has become a necessary characteristic for an American President in our time, in the nineteenth century, too much humor was considered problem. And that was the case for Lincoln. A journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates commented that "I could not take a real personal liking to the man, owing to an inborn weakness. . .that he was extremely fond of jokes, anecdotes and stories." | high19711.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In 1990."
},
"options": [
"In 1990.",
"In 1991.",
"In 2013.",
"In 2014"
],
"question": "When did Zoe Lemon write the letter?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | More than two decades ago, a 10-year-old schoolgirl threw a bottle into the sea off the coast of Hull as she went on a ship on a family holiday, hoping to get a response from a stranger in a faraway land. Inside the bottle was a scrawled letter from Zoe Lemon, a youngster with a love of "ballet, playing the flute and the piano", who had just boarded a ship heading for a holiday in Germany.
She told her expected recipients of her pet hamster and fish, both called Sparkle, and her parents who were both teachers.
Miss Lemon, of Salford, Greater Manchester, soon forgot about her act of fantastic, eventually marrying and having a child herself.
But this Christmas she was extremely surprised to receive a reply after 23 years.
It turned out to be a reply to her letter from Piet and Jacqueline Lateur from near Rotterdam. Mr Lateur was walking his dog in the Oosterschelde dykes , near where he and his wife live in Serooskerke, when he found the bottle with Zoe's letter inside.
Mrs Averianov, 33, who works in a jewellery shop, said: "It's been a bit crazy really. My parents came to visit on Christmas day and they had this letter from Europe addressed to my
, Lemon.
Since receiving the letter, Mrs Averianov has been in contact with Mr Lateur via email and asked to see photographs of where the bottle was found.
He told her: "I am keeping your little letter on my piano. I know you are no longer a little girl but you asked me to write you so I have."
Mrs Averianov's father, John Lemon, 68, had encouraged his daughter to throw the message into the sea on a family holiday and now she is considering doing the same for her five-year-old son Maksim.
She said: "I'll probably wait until he's a bit older and can understand and write a letter, but maybe we'll do it by attaching it to a balloon."
From
, (Jan,2014) | high16422.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "haven't yet found effective measures to control their population"
},
"options": [
"haven't attached much importance to birth control",
"would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate",
"neglected the role of TV plays ... | With its 190 million inhabitants, Brazil has the largest population in Latin America and ranks fifth in the world.
However, Brazil's population growth rate has dropped greatly and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. This achievement really becomes the envy of many other Third World countries. Brazil has become one of the developing world's great successes at reducing population growth-----but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had a better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Martine _ , among other things, soap operas(TV series) and installment plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil's most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most TV series are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities. "Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction , they describe middle and upper class values-----not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working," says Martine. "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package."
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. "This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and showed that consumption was in contradiction with unlimited reproduction," says Martine. | high20190.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Kids who want to improve their skills."
},
"options": [
"Kids who want to improve their skills.",
"Kids who intend to make new friends.",
"Kids who expect to find pleasure in art.",
"Kids who mean to become professional... | Welcome to Art Camps
Art classes are generally taught in all public and private schools ,but not all children are considered artists or enjoy art. For those kids who show talent or are interested in furthering their skills, many camps are available to enhance creative talent.
Camp Jam Chicago
Kids learn instrument-specific techniques, as well as how to play with a band. There's also an overnight option.
Lake Forest Academy, 1500 W Kennedy Rd, Lake Forest
800-513-0930,campjam.com.
Jul.9-Jul.20 $399-$1595 Aged 12-17
Child's Play Touring Theater
Drama loves will get to be writers, actors-and lots more -at this drama camp. Child's Play Touring Theater focuses on ensemble building, artistic thinking and problem solving while training kid's skills in acting writing and more.
2518 W Armitage Ave
773-235-8911,cptt.org
Jun.18-Jul.20 $250 Aged 6 -13
Language And Music School
Kids learn Spanish via music-based and performance- based activities. Weather permitting, there are field trips to the bread store down the street and other nearby places.
150 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park
708-524-5252,lmschool.com
Jun.18-Jul.21 $42-$76 Aged 2-9
Chamber Music Camp for Piano & Strings
Young pianists get coached by institute faculty while marking friends with other piano enthusiasts. Kids who are interested must submit a DVD.
Music Institute of Chicago, 40 E Old MILL Rd, Lake Forest
847-905-1500,musicinst.org
Jun.20-Jun.24 $380 Aged 10-18 | high10053.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The violin"
},
"options": [
"The piano",
"The violin",
"The trombone",
"The accordion"
],
"question": "Playing which of the following musical instruments can help increase a person's IQ most?",
"question_typ... | To learn an instrument such as the violin or accordion takes years. The job opportunities for musicians are scarce and competition is fierce. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good cash to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?
The secret lies in the influence of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person's IQ over time. Different instruments and different trypes of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string family coming out on top, potentially increasing you IQ by up to 12 points!
When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional to the amount of practicing.
Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki proposes that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be "unmusical". Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.
Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as an added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Ceilidhs (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It has been established that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.
So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra, dust off your old trombone or take your first real six-string down from the attic ; get out there and play! | high2514.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It lasts a few weeks or more."
},
"options": [
"It happens in November and December.",
"It was named by some Spanish fishermen.",
"It only happens in South America.",
"It lasts a few weeks or more."
],
"question... | One day, around Christmas time, fishermen off the west coast of Peru started on their traditional fishing trip. Much to their surprise, there were no fish! They knew immediately what had happened. Tales from years gone by had told them this was the result of El Nino which sometimes stop fishing for many months!
El Nino is a warm _ that comes and goes along the west coast of South America. It got its name from fishermen in Peru more than a century ago. Every few years, they noticed a sudden warming in the normally cool Pacific water where they fished. Because this warming often came about around Christmas, they called it El Nino, which is Spanish for the "Christ Child". Generally, El Nino occurs every three to seven years and lasts only a few weeks to a month or more.
El Nino warms the water it flows through. Because the fish and sea birds need cold water to live, many of them die when El Nino comes through. El Nino also causes both floods and droughts. It is believed that El Nino may have caused the 1993 Mississippi and 1995 California floods. And at the same time, it may have caused droughts in South America, Africa and Australia.
El Nino has occurred thirteen times within the last fifty years, bringing natural disasters to many countries such as Indonesia and Peru. However, El Nino does not often trouble China. During this period China was badly hit by El Nino only once. In 1998, North China had a terrible drought, while South China was troubled by floods. | high13572.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "fifteen"
},
"options": [
"fourteen",
"fifteen",
"serving in the Navy",
"working in clinic"
],
"question": "Tim decided to be a doctor when he was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon . "That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it." In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities to go on working as a life-saver. | high1035.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Those who want to make friends."
},
"options": [
"All the middle school students.",
"Both parents and children.",
"Those who want to make friends.",
"Those who want to make money."
],
"question": "Who is the pas... | If you want to make friends and form strong, lasting friendships, consider these suggestions.
To make friends, you first need to put yourself out there somehow. Friends seldom come knocking on your door while you sit at home watching TV.
Join a club with people who have common interests. You don't necessarily have to have a lot of common interests with people in order to make friends with them. In fact, some of the most rewarding friendships are between two people who don't have much in common at all, but if you have something in common with people, it can make it a lot easier to start a conversation and plan activities together.
Use the web and get out! Websites like Meetup.com are aiming to bring people together with common interest. You can join any group or just start your own. If you don't know of a specific topic, try searching for just a location. It's a great way to meet new local people!
Join a sports team. A common misconception about this is that you have to be really good at playing a particular sport in order to make friends with others on the team, but not all teams are so competitive. As long as you enjoy the sport and support your teammates, joining a local team with a laid-back attitude could be a great way to make new friends.
Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way for people of all ages to meet others. By working together you build bonds with people, and you might meet others who have a passion for doing things the way you do.
To make friends, besides spending more time around people, you also need to talk to people. | high22977.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet"
},
"options": [
"introduce a tiny file in a computer-a single code",
"show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet",
... | When you're surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters to record the computer user's age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company, uses sophisticated software called a " beacon" to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers. Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
The Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The "cookie" a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your. preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news. There are new and more complex tools such as "beacons " which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage. These beacons instantly assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented threats. Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don't know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers. These include MSN. com and Yahoo. com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you've been planning to buy, don't be amazed that your computer can read your mind. | high9469.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Computer defeats man in chess!"
},
"options": [
"5,000 dollars goes to a computer!",
"New invention:a laughing computer!",
"World's best chess player beaten!",
"Computer defeats man in chess!"
],
"question": "Wh... | Moscow, Russia (Space news)... "The,computer is a better chess player, " insisted Viktor Prozorov, the loser. "It seemed as if it were laughing after every good move, I know I should have beaten it for the sake of mankind , but I just couldn't win," he announced and shook his head sadly.
Prozorov's disappointment was shared by sereral grand masters who were present, some of whom were so upet that they shouted at the machine. Many chess players said that this meant the end of chess championships around the world, since the fun had been taken out of the game.
The computer walked or rather, rolled-away with 5,000 dollars in prize money and limited its remarks to a set of noises and lights. | high7444.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "some famous singer, film stars and other music entertainers"
},
"options": [
"some best-known names in the USA",
"some famous singer, film stars and other music entertainers",
"People who tried to save others from the burning... | Some of the best-known names in the entertainment industry have taken part in an unprecedented _ to help victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States.
The benefit , called "America: a Tribute to Heroes," was sponsored by all four major U.S television networks, ABC,CBS, FOIX and NBC. It was broadcast by three-dozen television, cable and radio networks across the country and aired live to more than a hundred countries around the world.
Hollywood stars joined music entertainers in asking listeners and viewers to pledge cash donations to charities helping the victims of the September 11thattacks.
Actors, including Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood, told stories of heroic acts by people who tried to save others from the burning World trade Center and the Pentagon. Former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali made a rare public appearance in show of support. The appeals alternated with performances by such popular entertainers a Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Steve Wonder, Paul Simon and the rock band U--2. They appeared on stages in New York, Los Angeles and London, decorated with hundreds of burning candles.
Singer Billy Joel sang " New York State of Mind" with a New York City firefighter's hat on his piano. Sting dedicated his song " Gragile" to a friend who died in the World Trade Center. Stevie Wonder condemned hatred in the name of religion before singing his song " Love's in Need of Love today". Pledge phones were manned by dozens of other celebrities, including Jack Nicholson, Meg Ryan, Whoopic Goldberg, Cindy Crawford, Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone.
Organizers say the two-hour telethon raised millions of dollars. All participants, from stars to stagehands, worked without pay. | high15103.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "By giving examples."
},
"options": [
"By giving examples.",
"By cause and effect.",
"By following the order of time.",
"By making comparison."
],
"question": "How does the author develop the text?",
"questio... | In recent months, a catchy song, A Little Apple, has become such a hit that it has even inspired square-dancing troupes to mimic its music video.
When Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon, an adventure comedy featuring the song, was released on July 10, the unusual publicity strategy was applauded. Ticket sales of Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon surpassed 150 million yuan in the first week of hitting the big screen.
Interactive online campaigns involving fans have become a popular way to promote a movie. The first two episodes of Tiny Times, the directing debut of author, Guo Jingming, made 800 million yuan at the box office last year, in spite of criticism for its portrayal of lavish lifestyles. Before the third episode was shown, fans donated a small sum of money online as "investors" in the movie. Some of the people who donated received film souvenirs, or the chance to visit the film set.
Han Han, Guo's major competitor, has just released his directorial debut, road-trip comedy, The Continent. Han has over 38 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's major micro-blogging platform. He has broadcast the filming process of the movie to his followers since he began shooting. The film's trailer was released online in May, only three days after shooting and it has been viewed 4.7 million times.
"I don't care too much about the surprising numbers online, and what matters more is whether the movie is good or not," Han once said.
However, when he invited popular singer, Pu Shu, to write the closing song for the movie, he must have had another idea in mind.
Pu, who has been away from the public eye for some 11 years, also brings a new element for the movie claiming to be devoted to young people. The song became very popular as soon as it was released online.
No one knows what other trump cards will be thrown on the table during the tense online campaign this summer. | high8777.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Unhappy."
},
"options": [
"Unhappy.",
"Helpless.",
"Useless.",
"Meaningless."
],
"question": "What does the writer think of their senior high school life?",
"question_type": null
}
] | It was about six years ago.We were at senior high school.Those days in school were gray to most Chinese students because of the college entrance examination pressure.Not our parents and teachers didn't love us,but they loved us too much.Our only happiness was a high grade in the exam.
One afternoon after the final exam,we four girls came to a small wood and we felt _ only belonging to us that afternoon.We talked and laughed.We played all the games that we could think of.We felt we were on the top of the world for the first time in our life.We totally forgot the unhappiness in our life and we threw the homework and the endless exams far away out of the wood.
In the middle of the wood ran a small and peaceful stream.Now and then,we could see some wild ducks on the water looking for food.The water weeds danced happily while the water passed beside them.The air was so fresh that we breathed it freely.
The sun had set before we knew it.We had to leave the place which brought us much happiness.We agreed to come back again every time we felt bored.
Years later,we went there several times.But,every time we went there to find that great feeling,we failed.Strangely,the feeling was different from that of several years ago.
I know that wonderful experience was just for once.We can never find that kind of happiness again which only belonged to the special afternoon in our life.That was a release of our uneasy heart.We can never go back to that young age or that simple life.It was our golden ages.No matter how boring and hard the life was,it gave us something worthy to recall.We'll treasure it forever. | high6982.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To advertise some goods."
},
"options": [
"To advertise some goods.",
"To show how fashionable the items are.",
"To teach how to operate the items.",
"To compare some goods."
],
"question": "What's the purpose o... | Item 78431 The Video Camera Pen
$129.95; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone: 1-800-321-1484
This is the pen that has a built-in video camera, capturing (,) videos or still images with a click of its button.Ideal for use while secured in a pocket, it can capture up to five hours of video. Its battery provides up to two hours of power before requiring a recharge.
Item 78098 The Wristwatch Camcorder
$149.95; Available for 3-day shipment; Order by Phone: 1-800-321-1484
This is the men's watch with an unnoticeable camera located at the two-o'clock position, yet the watch's hands never make it covered.So you'll be always ready to capture a famous person or a pet's ridiculous actions. The camera's rechargeable battery provides up to two hours of use from a four-hour charge.
Item 77918 The only 55 Inch Widescreen Personal Movie Theater
$249.95; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone: 1-800-321-1484
This is the only personal media viewer that provides a private viewing experience just like watching a widescreen 55 inch television from 10 meters away.It connects to a video iPod, iPhone, portable DVD player with two AA batteries providing up to six hours of continuous operation.
Item 77281 The Digital Phone Album Watch
$99.95 Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone: 1-800-321-1484
This is the watch that vividly displays 120 of your favorite digital photographs.You can download digital photographs to the watch.The watch can be viewed in the Photo Album mode or digital mode (time and date view).A six-hour charge provides up to 10 days of use | high3622.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "get some financial knowledge"
},
"options": [
"cut their living costs",
"learn to plan for the future",
"earn a living when young",
"get some financial knowledge"
],
"question": "Giving children an allowance can... | Children's allowance. Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance . The purpose is to let them learn from experience at an age when financial (;;)mistakes are not very costly.
In any case, parents should make clear what the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If so, they'll learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget . Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. It is to show them that a budget demands choices between spending and saving.
Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience what they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or give it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it. Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: They have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children learn about personal finance. | high11365.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To add fun to his exercise bike routine*"
},
"options": [
"To invent a new kind of bicycle.",
"To participate in a competition.",
"To satisfy the needs of the public.",
"To add fun to his exercise bike routine*"
],
... | Riding on an exercise bike at home may keep you in physical shape, but it can get pretty boring after a while. Aaron Puzey had been on his exercise bike for half an hour a day for years when he decided to look for a way to make it a bit more fun.
With virtual reality technology widely available nowadays, all be needed to do was find a way of applying it to his needs. So he set out to build an app for the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR headset which would allow him to hook it up to Google Street view and make it seem like he's cycling through different real-life locations.
Building the app to download the 3D data from Street View and make it viewable in the VR headset was the toughest part of his project. Other than that, all he
needed to do was tape a Bluetooth monitor to his exercise bike. Although the quality of the images sometimes leaves a lot to be desired,leaving complex scenes like trees looking like a mess,Aaron has been having a lot of fun on his journey.
Aaron's project is obviously no substitute (> for real outdoor cycling as it Lacks things like the wind blowing in your face or the pain of battling an uphill climb, bul it has given him a goal, as well as the chance to take in the beauty of places he might have otherwise never seen. It definitely beats staring at a wall or at the TV for 30 minutes, anyway.
Obviously, Aaron's setup theoretically allows him to ride a bike anywhere around the world. He says he ba6 always wanted to see Japan, so once his ride comes to an end, he plans to start another one across the Land of the Rising Sun. | high19739.txt |
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