questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Giving flowers to sweethearts."
},
"options": [
"Visiting sick people of the hospital.",
"Visiting children who have lost their parents.",
"Giving friends small gifts.",
"Giving flowers to sweethearts."
],
"ques... | Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, s and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.
Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and _ , he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called "Sweetest Day". Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.
Sweetest Day is not based on any single group's religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.
Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way. | high20437.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They care a lot about what their peers think of them."
},
"options": [
"They like difficult tasks.",
"They don't care about costs.",
"They are too young to tell right from wrong.",
"They care a lot about what their peer... | Having a teenager at home can be a real headache. Many teenagers smoke, drink and even fight. They often do something dangerous.
Earlier studies have shown that teenagers are more likely to make _ decisions than people from any other age group, including children and adults. Is it that teenagers are too young to tell right from wrong? Not really. So what's the reason?
According to Laurence, a teacher from a US university, the reason is that teenagers care a lot about how their peers view them--that is "peer influence".
As children enter their teenage years, they spend more time with their friends and classmates, and also they care more about what they think of them. This makes teenagers make decisions without thinking about the costs.
In a test, a group of teenagers were asked to play a video driving game. When they played with their friends watching around them, they took more chances and drove more carelessly because that would increase their possibility of winning. But when they played alone, they drove more safely.
Why do peers have such a big influence on teens' behavior?
As Laurence sees it, a teenager's brain is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake . The "accelerator" is fully developed by teenage years while the "brake" is still not fully developed. When teenagers are watched by their peers, they usually push hard on the accelerator. With their weak brake, it is likely that they are going to end up in an accident.
But the good news is that a violent teenager doesn't necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it. "They get more self-controlled." | high5904.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "advise people to be money-smart"
},
"options": [
"advise people to be money-smart",
"persuade people to keep off fashions",
"blame people for copying others",
"criticize people for over consumption"
],
"question... | The First Rule of Finance is to live within your means by spending no more than 80% of your take-home pay.If you take home $ 100 per week, spend no more than $80.
But ever look at what people spend their money on? I have s and friends deeply in debt, spending $ 12 for every $ 10 they earn instead of the $ 8 you know they should be spending.When I see them, they're proud of their new whatever."What do you think of my new truck?" asked one from the driver's seat."Do you like my new shoes?" asked another on high heels."Check out my new big screen." said a third while holding the remote in his living room.We've all heard people fishing for compliments on their new toys.
Every one of them was proud of what they'd financed.They seem to have bought it for the purpose of being proud, of showing off, of keeping up with the Joneses."Look at my new ...?" is everybody's favorite phrase, even when the object in question isn't theirs at all and won't be new when they've finally paid for it, if they ever do.
They're proud of being stupid.They think it's cool to drive the financed car, wear the financed shoes, and watch the financed TV, but to _ , whose opinions are the only ones we should respect, these people look dumb as rocks.
The Joneses, nine times out of 10, are financially stupid.That's why they have all that stuff on borrowed money.Why try to copy them? Worse, why try to impress them? Copy and impress smart people, the ones who own their stuff.If you want to impress smart people, debt is the last way to go about it.Trying to impress a money-smart person by going into debt is like trying to impress Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps by drowning in a pool.Michael Phelps is impressed by good swimming and a money-smart person by good money management. | high21729.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because he wanted to make the neighbor return the horse."
},
"options": [
"Because the neighbor was the police officer's friend.",
"Because he wanted to make the neighbor return the horse.",
"Because the police officer was Wa... | Once a neighbour stole one of Washington's horses. Washington went with a police officer to the neighbour's farm to get the horse, but the neighbour refused to give the horse up; he claimed that it was his horse.
Washington placed both of his hands over the eyes of the horse and said to the neighbour, "If this is your horse, then you must tell us in which eyes he is blind."
"In the right eye," the neighbour said.
Washington took his hand from the right eye of the horse and showed the police officer that the horse was not blind in the right eye.
"Oh, I have made a mistake," said the neighbor. "He is blind in the left eye."
Washington then showed that the horse was not blind in the left eye, either.
"I have made another mistake," said the neighbor.
"Yes," said the police officer, "and you have also proved that the horse does not belong to you. You must return it to Mr. Washington." | high16185.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "supply and demand"
},
"options": [
"income and expense",
"invention and production",
"market and society",
"supply and demand"
],
"question": "We know from the passage that changes in the prices of product cause... | Supply and demand is perhaps one of the most basic concepts of economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. Demand refers to how much of a product or service is desired by buyers. The quantity demanded is the amount of a product people are willing to buy at a certain price; the relationship between price and quantity demanded is known as the demand relationship. Supply represents how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied refers to the amount of a certain goods producers are willing to supply when receiving a certain price. The relationship between price and how much of a goods or service is supplied to the market is known as the supply relationship. Price, therefore, is a reflection of supply and demand.
The law of demand states that, if all other factors remain equal, the higher the price of a product, the fewer people will demand that product. The amount of goods that buyers purchase at a higher price is less as the price of a product goes up, so does the opportunity cost of buying that product.
Like the law of demand, the law of supply shows the quantities that will be sold at a certain price. But unlike the law of demand, the supply relationship shows an upward slope. This means that the higher the price, the higher the quantity supplied. Producers supply more at a higher price because selling a higher quantity at a higher price increases the whole income.
Now that we know the laws of supply and demand, let's turn to an example to show how supply and demand affect price.
Imagine that a CD of your favorite band is sold for $20. Because the record company's previous analysis showed that consumers will not demand CDs at a price higher than $20, only ten CDs were sold because the opportunity cost is too high for suppliers to produce more. If, however, the ten CDs are demanded by 20 people, the price will then rise. As a result, the rise in price should cause more CDs to be supplied as the supply relationship shows that the higher the price, the higher the quantity supplied. If, however, there are 30 CDs produced and demand is still at 20, the price will not be pushed up because the supply is more than the demand. | high22220.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "drinking alcohol"
},
"options": [
"being fat",
"staying up",
"not doing sports",
"drinking alcohol"
],
"question": "According to the text, having poor social relationships is as harmful as _ .",
"question... | Having good social relationships -- friends, marriage or children -- may be every bit as important to a healthy life as quitting smoking, losing weight or taking certain medicines. U. S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
People with strong social relationships were SO percent less likely to die early than people without such support, the team at Brigham Young University in Utah found. They suggest that the government look at ways to help people keep social relationships as a way of keeping the population healthy.
"A lack of social relationships was equal to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day," psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
Her team conducted a study that examined social relationships and their effects on health. They looked at 148 studies that covered more than 308,000 people, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine at www.plosmedicine.org.
Having low levels of social relationships was equal to being an alcoholic, was more harmful than not exercising and was twice as harmful as obesity. Social relationships had a bigger effect on early death than getting an injection to prevent pneumonia ,than taking drugs for high blood pressure and far more important than living in air pollution, they found.
"I certainly don't want to _ these other risk factors because of course they are very important," Holt-Lunstad said. We need to start taking social relationships just as seriously. " But Holt-Lundstad said there was some evidence that assigning caretakers does not help improve people's health. "Naturally occurring relationships may be different than the support received from someone who is hired for that purpose." she said. | high18180.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Milk, bread, cabbages and beef."
},
"options": [
"Eggs, tomatoes and chicken.",
"Milk, bread, cabbages and beef.",
"Corn, fish, ice cream and pork.",
"Rice, beancurd ,fish and chicken."
],
"question": "According... | Car needs gas to run as your body needs food to work for you. Eating the right kinds of food is very important. A good eating habit can help your body grow strong if you take care of what you eat.
There are four main food groups altogether. The _ group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk. The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group. Each meal should have at least one food from all four main groups. With all of these foods together, you will be given enough energy during the day.
It is easy to get into bad eating habits. You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time or you may not have time for a good lunch. It may be easier to eat fish and chips for your supper all the time. But you will find yourself tired and you will not be able to think quickly.
Watching what you eat will help keep your body healthy and strong. It is also good to take some exercise. It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air. Having good eating habits with some exercise is the key to your health. | high3385.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "by chance"
},
"options": [
"by educating its citizens",
"by careful family planning",
"by developing TV programmes",
"by chance"
],
"question": "According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growt... | 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 better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil's population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas 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 soaps 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 life, women working," says Martine. "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people aware of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package." | high1592.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To offer students chances to apply their learning to practice."
},
"options": [
"To offer students chances to apply their learning to practice.",
"To strengthen students' writing and speaking abilities.",
"To encourage studen... | What is the senior project?
The Senior Project at Clark Magnet High School is a program that shows a senior's ability to apply knowledge and skills, speak, write, solve problems and practice the life skills of time management, organization and risk-taking. Clark teaching staff, community members and school district staff act as advisers, evaluators during the research, project and presentation stages.
The key parts of the Senior Project are:
1) A research paper
A six to eight page persuasive research paper on a topic chosen by the students. The research paper strengthens effective writing skills learned in English class. Because the paper is persuasive, students should choose a topic about which they have a strong opinion. They should use elements learned when debating to convince the readers of the strong opinion stated in the paper, and prove it through research.
2) A physical product and fieldwork
A physical product and fieldwork (15-hour minimum requirement) related to some aspect of the paper. The 15 hours can be obtained through community service, job shadowing, or making an actual project. Students explore topics that are academic in nature, a hobby, a passion, or a possible future career.
3) Data collection
Data collection that combines the first two parts and records hours spent on the fieldwork. The collection contains evidence of the fieldwork presented through letters from the students' advisors, pictures showing the process of the project or anything else that would show proof of the work completed.
4) Speech presentation
A fifteen minute speech presented before a review board composed of school staff, district representatives, former students, and community representatives. The speech is a chance to show the students' senior project. Students are to dress professionally and summarize their senior project journey. Students will talk briefly about their research paper, their project, and what they learned. The speech should include visual aids. If the presentation includes performing, the students must speak for at least five minutes.
The Senior Project is a vehicle that allows students to use the knowledge and skills they have acquired in a "real-world" application. It has the potential to motivate the students, connect the school with the community, and create pathways from school to career. | high23670.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The Duke of Buckingham's wife."
},
"options": [
"The Duke of Buckingham.",
"George IV.",
"The Duke of Buckingham's wife.",
"George IV's wife."
],
"question": "For whom was the original Buckingham Palace built?",... | Buckingham Palace is where the Queen lives. It is the Queen's official and main royal London home.Buckingham Palace was originally a splendid house built by the Duke of Buckingham for his wife. George IV began changing it into a palace in 1826. It has been the official London home of Britain's royal family since 1837. Buckingham Palace is also an office and used for the administrative work of the royal family.
When the Queen is at home you can see her royal flag (the Royal Standard) flying from the flag pole on top of Buckingham Palace.
The flag is divided into four equal parts. The first and fourth parts represent England and contain three gold lions waking on a red field; the second part represents Scotland and contains a red lion standing on a gold field; the third part represents Ireland and contains the gold coat of arms of Ireland on a blue field.
In flag protocol , the Royal Standard which must only be flown from buildings where the Queen is present is supreme . It flies above the British Union Flag (the Union Jack ), and other British flags. It never flies at half mast.
The guards of the Palace wear red jackets and tall, furry hats. When the first guards come on duty, there is a ceremony called the Changing of the Guard. A familiar sight at Buckingham Palace is the Changing of the Guard ceremony that takes place in the open space in front of it each morning.
The Palace has around 750 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, a cinema and a swimming pool. It also has its own post office and police station. About 400 people work at the Palace, including servants, chefs, footmen, cleaners, gardeners, electricians, and so on. More than 50,000 people come to the Palace each year as guests to dinners, receptions and Royal Garden Parties. | high9870.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She had donated blood the night before."
},
"options": [
"She had donated blood the night before.",
"She felt hot in the subway.",
"She had done a lot of work.",
"She had run a long way."
],
"question": "What wa... | Linda was kind of late. Linda, 25, had a lot to do at work, plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started to feel uncomfortably warm. By the time she got to the platform, Linda felt weak and tired -- maybe it hadn't been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.
Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.
But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, "Oh, my God, she fell in!"Frank didn't hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. "No ! Not you ! "his girlfriend screamed after him.
She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Linda, he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.
It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge. That was where Linda briefly regained consciousness, felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse.
Linda thought she'd been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn't, and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.
Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40minute train ride downtown--just as he had been seconds after the rescue, which made her think about her reaction at the time. "I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die, " she explained. | high21067.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "deal with problems rather than blame others"
},
"options": [
"deal with problems rather than blame others",
"meet with fewer difficulties in their lives",
"have responsible and able colleagues",
"blame others rather tha... | When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, "Well, it's so-and-so's fault. "or "I know I'm late, but it's not my fault; the car broke down. " It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to _ the situation. This is the winner's key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about -- creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don't have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situation to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on "whose fault it is. " Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success. | high2925.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "you may have a poor sight"
},
"options": [
"you can think and remember things clearly",
"you can still see everything very clearly",
"you can drive your car easily",
"you may have a poor sight"
],
"question": "I... | Let's do some sleep math.You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday.On Saturday and Sunday,you slept in,getting four extra hours.On Monday morning, you were feeling so bright-eyed that you only had one cup of coffee, instead of your usual two.But don't be cheated by your energy.You're still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call"sleep debt"----in this case something like six hours,almost a full nights' sleep.
Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get.It's a deficit that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly sleep."People accumulate sleep debt gradually without being noticed,"says William C.Dement,founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic.Studies show that such short--term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain,worsened vision,and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity,insulin resistance, and heart disease. A survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that we're losing one hour of sleep each night----more than two full weeks of sleep every year.
The good news is that,like all debt, with some work,sleep debt can be repaid. Adding an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up.For the long--term lack of sleep,take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern.
Go to bed when you are tired,and allow your body to wake you in the morning(no alarm clock allowed).You may find yourself catatonic in the beginning of the recovery cycle:expect to have ten hours shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however,the amount of sleeping time will gradually decrease.
So earn back that lost sleep----and follow the dictates of your innate sleep needs. You'll feel better."When you put away sleep debt, you become a superman,"says Stanford's Dement, talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested. | high16813.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "when she held her sister one last time"
},
"options": [
"when she watched her sister unload her luggage",
"when she held her sister one last time",
"when she settled hherself into her chair",
"when she was boarding the ... | All my life I had loved airports.To me,they were fl kind of magic gateway to the world,but today it seemed like a cold and heartless place.
"Well,here we are,the airport,"my sister said with fl sigh.As 1 watched her unload my luggage,I could see the sadness in her eyes.One last hug and a final good-bye and I would be on my way to a new lire abroad,leaving my beloved sister behind.
I looked at my sister and even though her eyes were filled with tears,she was trying to keep a brave face."You'd better go or you'll miss your flight,"she said.
"I am just going to walk away and not look back," I said. As I held her one last time she whispered,"Don't worry about me,I'll be fine.""I'll miss you," I replied with tears in my eyes.As I promised,I did not look back. but 1 was sobbing.To me it was the end of the world.
While boarding the plane 1 was still crying.I did not have the energy to put my bag in the overhead locker, so I put it on the empty seat next to mine.As I settled into my chair, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed me.I felt like my best friend had just been taken away from me.
The plane shook heavily and the bag fell,with some stuff spreading on the floor.When I bent over to gather the things up,I saw an unfamiliar little book in the middle of my belongings.It was not until I picked it up that I realized that it was a diary.
Immediately I recognized my sister's handwriting."Hi,Sis,What a day it has been today.First you let me know that you are moving abroad and then my boss..."My sister had been keeping a diary for the past month and she was now passing it on to me.I was to write in it for the next couple of months and then send it back to her.Even though a large ocean separated us,at some point it felt like she was actually there. | high4398.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "save some time"
},
"options": [
"save some time",
"protect her feet",
"get more exercise",
"catch up with others"
],
"question": "The author tried jogging because she wanted to _ .",
"question_type": "clo... | I am a long distance runner. When I was thirty-one, I was in a serious car accident. The doctor told me that they would try to get me to walk "normally" but I would never run again--terrible news for someone who views running as the oxygen she breathes. The doctors were right. For the next nine and a half years, I was unable to run more than twenty-five feet.
In 2006, I began self-training to take part in a 60-mile walk. Three months into preparing, I realized that walking 4-5 hours a day was too long. If only I could jog part of it--that would cost me less time. I started jogging without my knees aching. Slowly, I increased the distance. The doctor were proved wrong--it only took nine and a half years to do so.
While practicing, I suffered a loss--a dear friend suddenly died. His work had been to help women to accept themselves and reach their fullest potential . He believed that people should let nothing hold them back from achieving their goals. Soon after his death, a crazy thought entered my mind: what if I could run the LA Marathon? I knew that if I didn't train to my fullest, the doctor would win. So I trained seven days a week. And I succeeded in crossing the finish line of the LA Marathons all over the United States to the _ of my doctors. They never believed that I would achieve that.
The aches and pains I experience while training and racing are nothing compared to the suffering people whom I respect must accept. | high2931.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she visited the poor people"
},
"options": [
"she mended a dog's broken leg",
"she played with her dolls",
"she visited the poor people",
"she was asked to treat the sick animals"
],
"question": "Nightingale had... | Florence Nightingale was born in 1820. Growing up, she was a quiet and serious girl. She spent a lot of time playing with her dolls. She would pretend that the dolls were sick and she was their nurse. People would bring sick or hurt animals to her to look after. She even managed to mend a dog's broken leg when she was a young girl. She often went with her mother to visit the poor people. They took food and medicine to the sick. It was these visits that gave her the idea of becoming a nurse.
Florence really wanted to be a doctor but she couldn't because in those days only men were allowed to become doctors. She decided that she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were very angry;the daughters of rich people did not work at all and certainly they did not become nurses. But Florence had made up her mind to specialize in nursing.
Her chance came in 1854 when Britain went to war with Russia in a place called the Crimea. Florence was asked to take a group of nurses to look after the sick and wounded soldiers. The hospitals were dirty, and there was not enough medicine. There were not enough beds, so some people were just lying on rags in the mud. There was so much sickness that the doctors could not treat all the soldiers. Florence and her team cleaned the hospital rooms and beds. They made sure that the soldiers got enough medicine. The army was unhappy because there were women so close to the fighting. They gave the nurses a lot of trouble. Florence and her team worked hard and got over all the difficulties they had to face.
Florence became famous as "The Lady of the Lamp". At night she would go from room to room checking on the patients. There was no electricity so she would carry an oil lamp with her to see where she was going. She often stayed to talk to the patients.
After the war, Florence returned to London as a national hero. A great welcome was prepared for her, but she slipped into the country unnoticed. She opened a school to teach nurses how to look after their patients properly. She never really got better from the illness that she had in the Crimea and she died in 1910.
Now Florence Nightingale is known as the mother of modem nursing. She had devoted her whole life to patients. It is because of her work that we receive the proper care in hospitals today. | high21073.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Zurich, Munich, London, Birmingham"
},
"options": [
"Vienna, Zurich, New York, London",
"Zurich, Munich, London, Birmingham",
"London, Dusseldorf, New York, Glasgow",
"Zurich, Birmingham, Belfast, London"
],
"qu... | It is the so-called city of dreams that counts some of the greatest masters of music and art among its former inhabitants. And it seems Vienna still has plenty to feel proud of, as it has been named the best place to live in the world -- for the third year running. The Austrian capital, which was home to Mozart and Beethoven, and has a population of 1.7million, has the best living standards in the world, according to an annual quality of living survey.
European cities represent more than half of the top 25 cities in the rankings, which are based on factors such as crime, food and climate. Zurich was ranked second, followed by Auckland, and Munich and Dusseldorf. But just one UK city makes it into the top fifty, with London coming in at 38th - one place up from last year and ahead of New York in 47th. Other UK cities, including Birmingham, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Belfast, crept into the top 100.
This year, the survey included for the first time a list of the safest cities. Luxembourg topped the list, followed by Bern, Switzerland, Helsinki, Finland, and Zurich, Switzerland. London came 68th, joint with New York, highlighting the crime rates in the capital. www.ks5u.com
At the bottom of the 221-strong list, for the second year in a row, was Baghdad, in Iraq, which had the lowest standard of living and was ranked the least safe city by the Mercer survey.
Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, said: "European cities in general continue to have high standards of living, because they enjoy advanced and modern city services combined with high-class facilities. But London, high levels of unemployment and lack of confidence in political institutions make their future positions hard to predict." | high16807.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Record companies have taken action to protect their copyrights by accusing individuals of piracy on file-sharing networks."
},
"options": [
"The students should be responsible for their behavior.",
"It's too late for record compani... | Four American college students learned last week that free music downloads can carry a hidden price tag --- US $ 12,000 to $ 17,500, to be exact.
Major record companies accused the students of fueling music piracy by running file-sharing networks on campus allowing hundreds of songs to be downloaded for free.
Last Thursday, the four promised not to violate the companies' copyrights. Although they did not admit any wrongdoing, they each agreed to pay thousands of dollars to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"I don't believe that I did anything wrong," said Daniel Peng at prefix = st1 /PrincetonUniversity, one of the four. "I hope that for the sake of artists, the larger issues can soon be resolved." None appears to have made any money off the file-sharing systems they operated, which were confined to their campus's computer networks.
The payments mark the first time record companies have recovered money from individuals in the USaccused of piracy on file-sharing networks. This may be a sign of things to come, as the industry starts taking its battle against online piracy directly to users.
Many record-company executives blame the long slump in CD sales on file-sharing networks, which let users copy songs from each other's computers for free.
Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of business and legal affairs for the RIAA, said the settlements, although well below what the companies could have asked for, were "the right amount" given the situation.
He also noted that since the four lawsuits were filed, at least 18 campus file-sharing networks have been taken down by their operators. | high23664.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Hazel is being modest and understating the dangers she faces"
},
"options": [
"people have exaggerated the dangers of volcanoes in the past",
"Hazel does not really understand the dangerous situations she puts herself in.",
"... | Studying volcanoes is a demanding profession. Hazel Rymer frequently has to struggle through rainforests, climb to the top of mountains, then climb 200 metres into the crater of active volcanoes. But the 38-year-old volcanologist does her best to make it sound less alarming than it is. "Driving to work is more risky," she insists. "And the deepest I go into the crater of a volcano is about 300 metres," she adds, trying to make it all sound as ordinary as taking the dog for a walk.
Hazel has been studying volcanoes for a long time, so it's not surprising she is used to the danger. Her interest in volcanoes began at school. A teacher gave her a book about Pompeii. "I remember reading about the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of the city," she explains. "The thought of all those people just frozen in time had quite an effect on me and I am still excited by their dangerous beauty today."
Nowadays, volcanoes are getting more and more unpredictable. There have been many changes in sea level caused by global warming and melting ice caps. _ have resulted in some dormant volcanoes erupting, so studying them is more dangerous than ever before. Hazel says that although she doesn't take any unnecessary risk she has had some frightening moments. Her worst experience was on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, when she was slowly surrounded by lava. "I had a choice of walking ten hours to get around the lava flow or just walking across it," she explains. She chose to pick a path across the cooler rocks in the lava stream. "I guess it was five metres. The flow was 1,000degC, so if you hesitated your boots would begin to melt. It was scary, but it really was a practical decision --- there wasn't time to do anything else."
And what about the future? "I haven't been to the volcanoes in Indonesia yet. And I would love to spend some time working in the Antarctic," she says. "I would also like to know why quiet lava flows erupt from some volcanoes and why other volcanoes go bang." In other words, Hazel Rymer won't be exchanging her volcanoes for the relative safety of driving to work just yet. | high774.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because he thought her answer was unbelievable."
},
"options": [
"Because he thought her answer was unbelievable.",
"Because the writer was insincere.",
"Because the student was naughty.",
"Because the answer was diffic... | Many years ago my student asked me the question, "Mrs. Kindred, why do you teach?" Without taking time to reflect, I answered, "Because someday I might say something that might make a difference in someone's life." Even though I was sincere, that wasn't a very good answer and my student didn't let it slide.
"Let me get this straight," he said, "You went to college for four years so you could come here every day because you have the hope that someday you might say something that will influence someone?" He shook his head as if I were crazy and walked away looking confused. I'm one of those people who look back and wish they had said something smart or witty, or swift.
Even though that particular student might no longer wonder why I teach, there are days when I wonder. On those days, I remind myself of the real reasons I teach:
It's in my blood. My mother was my most influential teacher, and she was a 6th grade reading teacher until her death in 1990. She instilled in me a love of reading and the knowledge that education opens doors.
Teaching is a way to make a difference. If you throw a stone in a pond the ripples go on and on until they reach the shore. You can't have ripples without a "stone." Good teachers throw stones that make a positive difference, and that's what I strive to do.
I genuinely love teenagers. I want to share with others what I know and what I have learned through the years. Life is full of ups and downs, and if I can help students avoid some potholes on the road of life, I want to do so. If they'll allow me to celebrate their victories with them, I want to do too.
Teaching isn't for everyone, but I know I made the right career choice. | high7849.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "religion"
},
"options": [
"religion",
"economy",
"psychology",
"family"
],
"question": "The author believes that work first became important to Americans because of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions... | Work is a very important part of life in the United States. When the early Protestant immigrants came to this country, they brought the idea that work was the way to God and heaven. This attitude, the Protestant Work Ethic , still influences America today. Work is not only important for economic benefits, the salary, but also for social and psychological needs, the feeling of doing something for the good of the society. Americans spend most of their lives working, being productive. For most Americans, their work defines(...) them: they are what they do. What happens then, when a person can no longer work? Almost all Americans stop working at age sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire; but leaving one's job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Many retirees do not know how to use their time or they feel lost without their jobs. Retirements can also bring financial problems. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation is forcing prices higher each year; Social Security checks alone cannot cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance , Medicare(health care)and welfare(general assistance), but many senior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities.
Of course, many senior citizens are happy with retirement. They have time to spend with their families or enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time, others do volunteer work. Some, like those in the Retired Business Executives Association, even help young, people to get started in new business. Many retired citizens also belong to "Golden Age" groups. These organizations plan trips and social events. There are many chances for retirees.
American society is only beginning to be concerned about the special physical and emotional needs of its senior citizens. The government is taking steps to ease the problem of limited income. They are building new housing, offering discounts in stores and museums and on buses, and providing other services such as free courses, food service, and help with housework. Retired citizens are a rapidly growing percentage of the population. This part of the population is very important and we must meet their needs. After all, every citizen will be a senior citizen some day. | high7691.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "lack of exercise"
},
"options": [
"lack of exercise",
"serious pollution",
"high work pressure",
"poor indoor environment"
],
"question": "According to new data, the rising death rates in America are caused by ... | While engineers have made out fantastic products for sitting still--Munchery instead of walking to lunch, Uber instead of walking to the bus stop--services to make you move have been less appealing for consumers.
Fitbit's stock price fell 18% after they announced their latest Apple Watch-like product named Fitbit Force. And new data suggests that, for the first time, death rates for large parts of the American population are rising, with signs pointing to inactivity and weight gain as the reasons. Our digital lifestyles and desk-based workplaces are contributing to serious health problems and could be shortening our lives, wellness firms want us to believe.
Northrup, president and co-founder of the connected exercise device TAO-Wellness, was in Las Vegas to promote TAO's small device that encourages exercises. He lifts the device, about the size of an apple, and says workplaces should start encouraging on-site exercise.
Nick Mokey, the managing editor of Digital Trends, agrees. "I hate to break it to you, a room full of people sitting down, but sitting is killing you," he says to the audience. They shift in their seats.
In the health section of the Sands Exposition Hall, people are selling devices made by LifeSpan Fitness. They say they're the largest seller of treadmill desks in the US. At the center of their exhibition area is a Bike Desk, which looks like three gym bikes attached to a table. That's for people who just want to sit and enjoy conversation.
Treadmill desk-related shame is their biggest obstacle, they say when LifeSpan installs two in opposite ends of the same building, neither tends to get used. If the company installs two next to each other, people will use them. "You don't want to be so noticeable, especially at work," company spokesman James Lowe says. What's more, what if we get sweaty using a treadmill in the office? | high14976.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "showed great interest in science"
},
"options": [
"had to work with his grandfather on their farm all day long",
"showed great interest in science",
"didn't get along well with his brothers and sisters",
"wanted to beco... | Jeffrey Bezos, founder, president and chairman of the board of Amazon.com, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother's ancestors were early settlers in Texas, and over the generations had acquired a 25,000 acre farm at Cotulla. Jeffrey spent most summers of his youth working with his grandfather on their farm.
Jeffrey showed intense and varied scientific interests at an early age. He set up an electric alarm to keep his younger sisters and brothers out of his room and changed his parents' garage into a laboratory for his science projects.
After he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, Jeffrey Bezos found employment on Wall Street, where computer science was increasingly in demand to study market trends. He rose quickly, becoming a senior vice president, and looked forward to a bright career in finance, when he made a discovery that changed his life, and the course of business history.
In 1994, there was still no internet commerce to speak of. One day that spring, Jeffrey Bezos observed that Internet usage was increasing by 2300 percent a year. He saw an opportunity for a new circle of commerce, and immediately began considering the possibilities.
Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994, setting up the original company in his garage. The company was called Amazon for the seemingly endless South American river with its numberless branches. It started as an online bookstore but soon diversified to all kinds of products. His work with Amazon eventually led him to become one of the most excellent dot-com entrepreneurs. He was namedTimemagazine's Person of the Year in 1999. In 2008, he was selected byU.S. News & World Reportas one of America's Best Leaders. Bezos' Amazon has become "the Earth's biggest anything store". Amazon.com is now called "one of the smartest strategies in business history".
Today, Jeffrey Bezos lives north of Seattle and is increasingly concerned with charity activities. "Giving away money takes as much attention as building a successful company," he said. | high1586.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "be useful in many aspects"
},
"options": [
"be a valuable food source for animals",
"survive the fierce storms in summer",
"provide seeds and oil",
"be useful in many aspects"
],
"question": "Vetiver grass is pl... | Farmers may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can at least try their best to reduce losses.
For example, they can plant crops that are more likely to survive extreme weather. In north-central Vietnam, people with small farms do not plant rice between September and December. Seasonal rains might destroy the rice. So instead, they plant lotus seeds on raised beds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the lotus seeds _ .
Farmers in the Philippines are showing new interest in crops like winged beans, string beans, arrowroot and cassava. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center says traditional crops like these can survive the fierce storms that often strike the islands.
The United Nations says some African farmers grow bambara groundnuts during long dry periods. The seeds of this drought-resistant plant can be boiled for eating or for making flour.
In some parts of the world, farmers grow vetiver grass. Researchers in Thailand wrote about vetiver in 2007 in the journal Science Asia. They noted that the grass can absorb and control the spread of harmful waste waters, like those from pig farms.
Agricultural expert and author William Rivera says vetiver resists difficult conditions. It reduces damage from heavy rains. And vetiver planted on earthen dams may strengthen them against breaks and flooding.
William Rivera also speaks approvingly of alfalfa. Its deep roots can find and take up groundwater. Those roots also help hold the soil against winds. And alfalfa can be a valuable food source for animals.
The deep and extensive roots of sunflowers make them another good candidate for resisting extreme conditions. The tall plants have brightly color1ed heads that provide seeds and oil.
North Dakota grows more hectares of sunflowers than any other American state. But North Dakota is better known as a top wheat producing state.
Hans Kandel works at the North Dakota State University Extension Service in Fargo. He says farmers in some parts of North Dakota plant wheat that is ready to harvest in only about one hundred days. That way it can grow before the hot, dry months of July through September. | high23102.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Different styles of parenting."
},
"options": [
"Various means of transportation.",
"Funny experiences of a mom.",
"Humorous stories about parents.",
"Different styles of parenting."
],
"question": "What is the ... | Our particular parenting style reflects our own way of "looking". Here's a great piece of writing reflecting parent's particular ways on the parenting style that have become known humorously as helicopter parenting and submarine parenting.
Helicopter parents _ their children, managing every aspect of their child's life. On the contrary, submarine parents remain "hidden" coming to the surface when guidance is needed.
While helicopter parents may have the best intentions, in reality, they are raising children with few problem solving skills. Children with hovering parents never get the chance to face disappointment and build up their ability to recover from misfortune.
Think about your typical submarine. Submarines usually remain underwater. In case of a need for emergency surfacing, submarines can rise so quickly they are driven partially out of the water. Submarine parents also remain out of sight, yet able to pop up in the case of an emergency.
I admit I'm a submarine mom. My job as a parent is to have fun with my daughters while letting them explore and learn natural consequences.
My older daughter found herself acting in commercials and making more than minimum wage as a teen. To give her a sense of the real world, I insisted she spend three weeks every summer, picking strawberries and earning $3.50 on a good day.
When my youngest daughter Sondra was six, she wanted a very expensive American Girl Doll. I cut the full color1 18-inch picture out of the American Girl catalogue and had it laminated . "Here's your American Girl Doll." I said "When you turn nine, I'll buy you the 3D doll on your birthday." Sondra played with her flat doll for months, making clothes and furniture for her. She learned creativity. I saved $88.00. | high18194.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He helped in the computer laboratories."
},
"options": [
"He was offered a part-time job.",
"He was honored with a scholarship.",
"He helped his teachers build a robot.",
"He helped in the computer laboratories."
],... | Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. For Nigel, studying was a piece of cake. The reward was certainly much bigger compared to the little effort Nigel had made. It all began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories. And the peak of his school career came not when he topped the class but when he was selected for the nationwide competition.
Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join in the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them. Nigel spent two months building his robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the big prize for the competition as well as a competitive rival , Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to make friends with Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing touches to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia's and it was able to play a ball with its arm, something Alicia had failed to do.
On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything became clear the minute she saw him among the competitors. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.
The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel's face. The robot had performed actions so unique and different that the specialists' judgments were the same. Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never have won the competition. | high21715.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "25 million people have graduated with success."
},
"options": [
"Full 30-day money-back guarantee.",
"Eight fluency-focused lessons on four audio CDs.",
"30-minute lessons are perfect for your daily commuting, lunch break, or... | Learn a new language as quickly as possible.
Learn like a spy! Be mistaken for a native.
Pimsleur courses help people who need to speak another language quickly. Our courses took 40 years to develop and are now used by the FBI, CIA, and business professionals everywhere. They're so effective; you have nothing to lose!
You will get:
*Language instruction that is proven to be effective
*No boring repetition, charts or meaningless formulas
*Eight fluency-focused lessons on four audio CDs
*Audio instruction with a 25-year history of success
*Full 30-day money-back guarantee (just in case)
*Special offers on our more advanced courses
Reasons to learn using the Pimsleur Approach:
*Speak without an accent so that you sound like a native.
*Practice what's natural to you in English.
*Feel safe and confident. You'll know how to deal with any situation.
*Protect your busy life. 30-minute lessons are perfect for your daily commuting, lunch break, or workout.
*Remember without trying. Material is scientifically arranged so that you learn without pain.
*Join 25 million people who have graduated with success since 1980.
The entire Pimsleur Approach is what language learning should be: quick, fun, and easy! Each lesson is the foundation for the next. You'll keep building on what you've learned. | high2110.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "who have made valuable contributions to society."
},
"options": [
"who have invented deadly explosives.",
"who have made valuable contributions to society.",
"who have had much experience in promoting world peace.",
"wh... | The Nobels are the originals, of course. Alfred Nobel, the man who invented deadly explosives,decided to try and do something good with all the money he earned, and gave prizes to people who made progress in literature, science, economics and ---perhaps most importantly---peace.
Not all rewards are as noble as the Nobels. Even though most countries have a system of
recognizing, honoring and rewarding people who have done something good in their countries, there are now hundreds of awards and award ceremonies for all kinds of things.
The Oscars are probably the most famous--a time for the (mostly)American film industry to tell itself how good it is and an annual opportunity for lots of big stars to give each other awards and make tearful speeches. As well as that there are also the Golden Globes, evidently for the same thing.
But it's not only films---there are also Grammies, Brits, the Mercury Prize and the MTV for music. In Britain, a writer who wins the Booker Prize can expect to see their difficult, literary novel hit the bestseller lists and compete with the Da Vinci Code for popularity. The Turner Prize is an award for British contemporary artists---each year it causes controversy by apparently giving lots of money to artists who do things like displaying their beds, putting animals in glass cases or---this year---building a garden shed.
Awards don't only exist for arts. There are now awards for Sports Personality of the Year, for European Footballer of the Year and World Footballer of the Year. This seems very strange---sometimes awards can be good to give recognition to people who deserve it, or to help people who don't make a lot of money carry on their work without worrying about finances, but professional soccer players these days certainly aren't short of cash!
Many small towns and communities all over the world also have their own award ceremonies, for local writers or artists, or just for people who have graduated from high school or, got a university degree. Even the British Council has its own awards for "Innovation in English Language Teaching".
Why have all these awards and ceremonies appeared recently? Shakespeare never won a prize, nor did Leonardo Da Vinc or Adam Smith or Charles Dickens.
It would be possible to say, however, that in the past, scientists and artists could win _ form rich people--a king or a lord would give the artists or scientists money to have them paint their palaces or help them develop new ways of making money. With the change in social systems across the world, this no longer happens. A lot of scientific research is not either funded by the state or by private companies. Perhaps award ceremonies are just the most recent face of this process.
However, there is more to it than that. When a film wins an Oscar, many more people will go and see it, or buy the DVD. When a writer wins the Nobel Prize, many more people buy their books. When a group win the MTV awards, the ceremony is seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the world. The result? The group sell lots more records.
Most award ceremonies are now sponsored by big organizations or companies. This means that it is not only the person who wins the award who benefits---but also the sponsors. The MTV awards, for example, are great for publicizing not only music, but also MTV itself! On the surface, it seems to be a "Win-win" situation, with everyone being happy, but let me ask you a question---how far do you think that publicity and marketing are winning here, and how much genuine recognition of achievement is taking place? | high21852.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they live too far away from one another"
},
"options": [
"they live too far away from one another",
"they do not like school",
"they are not old enough to go to school",
"their families are too poor"
],
"questio... | Robert is nine years old and Joanna is seven. They live at Mount Ebenezer. Their father has a big property. In Australia they call a farm a property.
Robert and Joana like school very much. At school they can talk to their friends, but Robert and Joanna can not see their friends. They live 100,perhaps 300,miles away and like Robert and Joanna, they all go to school by radio.
Mount Ebenezer is in the centre of Australia. Not many people in "The Centre", there are no schools with desks and blackboards and no teachers in "The Centre". School is a room at home with a two-way radio. When all students answer, lessons begin.
Think of your teacher 300 miles away! | high10457.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it is too simple for adults to read"
},
"options": [
"it is too simple for adults to read",
"the author aims to insult them",
"there are many wrong ideas in it",
"the author's intelligence is too high"
],
"quest... | The story of "Who Moved My Cheese?"was created by Dr. Spencer Johnson to help him deal with a difficult change in his life. It showed him how to take his changing situation seriously but not take himself so seriously.
When his friends noticed how much better life had become for him, and asked why, Dr.Johnson shared his "Cheese" story. Many later said how greatly the story had helped them to keep their sense of humor, to change, and to gain something better, too.
Twenty years after the story was created, "Who Moved My Cheese?" was finally published. It soon became a No.1 international best seller, with one million hardcover copies in print within the first sixteen months and over ten million copies within the next two years.
Some critics do not understand why so many people find the book so valuable. They say the story is simple enough for a child to understand, and it insults their intelligence. Some even fear it suggests that people should mindlessly accept unnecessary changes forced upon them by others, although that is not in the story.
The author said that both the fans and the critics are "right" in their own way. It is not what is in the story of "Who Moved My Cheese?" but how you understand it and apply it to your own situation that gives it value.
Hopefully the way you understand the story of "Who Moved My Cheese?" and the way you put it into action in your life will help you find and enjoy the "New Cheese" you deserve . (278words) | high20594.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "23%"
},
"options": [
"6%",
"23%",
"1%",
"20%"
],
"question": "The number of Chinese students at American colleges and universities has increased by _ compared to the year before.",
"question_type": "cloz... | A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States. It also notes a large increase in the number of international students form China. These findings are from the latest edition of the Open Doors Report.
The report tells the record number of international students in the United States during the 2011-2012 school year. It says more than 764,400 such students were attending American colleges and universities during that period. That means an increase of almost 6% compared to one year earlier. By comparison ,the number of Americans who are studying overseas increased by 1%.
The report says 194,000 students at American colleges and universities are from China. That is an increase of more than 23% over the year before. Peggy Blumenthal is an assistant to the president of the Institute of International Education. She says many Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children. The children mainly choose to study in America." We know many of them have enough income to be able to afford to send them anywhere in the world that they want to go. And for the most part, looking around the world, Chinese students still prefer to come to the United States as their destination of choice." She says.
Chinese students are not the only ones who want to attend American colleges and universities . After China, India sends the second largest number of students to the United States for higher education. India has about 100,000 students in American schools. South Korea is third with about 70,000 students.
Why do so many foreign students study in the United States ? Peggy Blumenthal provides one reason. " The advantage America has is that we have a huge system and a very diverse system. So there are over four thousand universities and colleges in the United States, and what it tells us is that there is still a lot of room to contain international students." | high17338.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was curious about what Africa was like."
},
"options": [
"He was curious about what Africa was like.",
"He was concerned about the Africans' miserable life.",
"He wanted to get an idea of the area's wildlife.",
"He h... | I'd always dreamed of exploring Africa, ever since I read my first Tarzan(<<>> )comic as a child. Finally, in 2004, to celebrate my 60thbirthday, I went to Tanzania to experience a safari and climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Seated next to me on the flight was Tanzania's minister of water and wildlife development. We talked for thousands of miles, and he arranged me to visit a school. When I toured the school, I was shocked. The leaky roofs turned the dirt floors into mud during the rainy season, and the walls couldn't keep out the heat, cold or bugs . The school was in need of all material goods, but the kids possessed great human spirit.
It broke my heart that these children had to struggle to survive, so I asked the headmaster what it would cost to feed them. As little as 20 cents per child per day, he told me. Immediately I got home, I founded Kids of Kilimanjaro. Since then we've grown to provide hot lunches for nearly 13,000 schoolchildren every day. The free lunch program has eased a major problem the youngsters face.
I know a good education could really make a difference in these children's lives. My parents always stressed the importance of education. I paid my own way through college in Tokyo by teaching English to students and businesspeople. After attending university I moved to San Francisco, when I was 25 years old. In 1978 I realized my American dream when I founded my own company. My success all started with a good education.
It's amazing that something as simple as a nutritious lunch can change and enrich so many lives. Giving young people a better, healthier life can inspire them to go all the way through college and lead a movement that transforms their country. | high4561.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "20% parents thought old classics aren't fit for modern children."
},
"options": [
"Steve Hornsey General Manager of Watch led the research.",
"20% parents thought old classics aren't fit for modern children.",
"People like mo... | Is traditional fairytales good all the time? Recent research found one in five parents have abandoned those old classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Hansel and Gretel and they're in favor of more modern books.
One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the terrible details of Little Red Riding Hood. The survey of 2,000 adults was carried out to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9:00 pm on Watch, and sees six series based on traditional fairytales. The research found a quarter of parents wouldn't consider reading a fairytale to their child until they had reached the age of five, as they cause too many awkward questions. And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn't send a good message to their children as it portrays a young woman doing housework all day. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it condones stealing.
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to relax the children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see in GRIMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic tales so it's understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children. As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five year old with an over active imagination could think they are true. Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales, as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story."
Though half of parents said traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, two thirds of mums and dads said they were no longer appropriate to soothe youngsters before bed. On the contrary, they might give their children nightmares. | high19315.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Plant the spirit of trust into others and you will create valuable memories for each other."
},
"options": [
"The author thinks the relationship with his daughter is so simple that he can't describe with plenty of words.",
"If you ... | Sitting by her Pinocchio lamp, she smiled at me as her tiny hands' shadow danced on the bedroom wall."A rabbit!" she laughed with all the delight of a four-year old.Her blue eyes shone with pride as she showed me the animated image she had created."Daddy, will you show me how to make a tiger?" she asked."Sure," I said, "and then we'll read a story and tell your angels goodnight."To my youngest daughter, that meant her bedtime prayer.
Today my daughter is seven, and I no longer get to read the story.She reads it to me, complete with expressive accents for the story characters.
To say I'm proud of our relationship would be an understatement.We have shared days of joy as well as tragedy.Our time together has strengthened the relationship of love and special " _ " that is all our own.
I am richer for having planted the spirit of trust in this gentle little person; we have grown together spiritually, learning much from each other.The special times we spend together, like nights by a Pinocchio lamp, create memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.
So it is with all of our relationships.The trust factor is vital for relationships to develop.Think of one of your fondest memories, and you will no doubt find a remarkable relationship at its center--one with a spiritual quality that shines outward from the heart.
Time together, caring acts, and unconditional love build trust.I suggest that we each spend plenty of time with our personal "Pinoechio lamps"--those special ways that we choose to strengthen our relationships.
Relationships take time to develop and maintain.It is not always easy, but the results are priceless."Nights by a Pinoechio lamp", wherever those might be for you, will create enduring relationships of golden "life stuff", spiritual gifts that no one can take away. | high11749.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "China is ready for the launching of SHenzhou 7."
},
"options": [
"Shenzhou 7 is better equipped than the last two spaceships.",
"Shenzhou 7 will be more successful than the last two launches.",
"All the systems involved in th... | JIUQUAN, Gansu Province, Sept. 6(Xinhua) ---- China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 will be launched at an appropriate time between Sept. 25 and 30 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province, a spokesman said here on Saturday. The mission will accomplish the first spacewalk by Chinese astronauts.
"All the major systems involved in the launching are now in the final preparation. The main tests for the spacecraft, the Long-March II-F rocket, suits for the space walk and a satellite accompanying the fly have also been finished, " said the spokesman.
In addition, the ground control system is fully prepared, including the launch site, the landing site, and the communication for observation and control.
When Shenzhou-7 enters its orbit, one of the three taikonauts will conduct a space walk, said Zhao Changxi, a senior scientist with the project, earlier.
According to Zhao, cameras would be fixed outside and inside of the ship for live broadcasting of the space walk.
While the last mission of Shenzhou-6, with a crew of two, was aimed at several days of manned flight, this time the task might be more stringent as one of its main goals is the space walk.
Earlier reports said a crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes.
China successfully put two manned spacecrafts into orbit in 2003 and 2005 respectively, becoming the third country to send an astronaut into space after the United States and the former Soviet Union(now Russia). | high12240.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "necessary"
},
"options": [
"the most important thing",
"necessary",
"all we should remember",
"almost enough"
],
"question": "In order to master a foreign language, words and grammatical rules are _",
"que... | Once Lu Xun spoke to the young men about the study of foreign languages. He said: " You must not give up studying foreign languages for even a day. To master a language, words and grammatical rules are not enough. You must do a lot of reading. Take a book and force yourself to read it. At the same time, turn to dictionaries and memorize grammatical rules. After reading a book, it's only natural that you won't understand it all. Never mind. Put it aside, and start another one. In a few months or half a year, go over the first book again; you are sure to understand much more than before ... Young people have good memories. If you memorize a few words every day and keep on reading all the time, in four or five years, you will certainly be able to read works in the foreign language. | high22383.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he lost all the money he got from gambling"
},
"options": [
"he first entered the college",
"he was lucky enough to earn $9,000",
"he learned about all forms of gambling",
"he lost all the money he got from gambling"
... | While in college, Tim started to look for easy ways to make money. One of the opportunities he saw was gambling . He started learning about all forms of gambling. He got lucky enough to make $9,000, but sadly it didn't last long and over the next year he lost all of that money. It was at this point that Tim realized that he needed to stop gambling and focus on learning about finance.
One day, he was talking to one of his friends about creating a business, and his friend turned him onto Quick Sprout. So he started reading every blog post on Quick Sprout in the hope that he could learn about how to become a successful businessman and meet some people through Quick Sprout that he could partner up with.
A year ago Tim read a blog post on Quick Sprout about another businessman by the name of Timothy Sykes. Tim visited Timothysykes.com and learned about his Millionaire Challenge program that taught people how to buy and sell penny stocks . Tim thought it would be worth giving a try.
Tim spent the next few months learning from Timothy Sykes on how to trade stocks. After he felt that he had learned enough, he wanted to start trading. Within the first 6 months of using what he learned in the Millionaire Challenge program, he made over $40,000. At one point he even made $11,000 in 15 minutes.
Over the next 12 months Tim is on track to make even more money. So far things are looking good and he is already ahead of schedule. The Millionaire Challenge program has worked out so well for him and he is now starting to enjoy the finer things of life. | high14631.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The experts are trying to find out the cause so as to protect the Sphinx."
},
"options": [
"The reason why the Sphinx was set up.",
"The great importance of the Sphinx in Egyptian history.",
"The detailed course and cause of... | The most famous statue-the Sphinx in Egypt has been damaged. The experts are trying to find out the cause to protect it.
As we all know, the Sphinx has the body of a lion and the face of a man. It was cut from limestone near Egypt's pyramids about 4, 500 years ago. Not long ago a large piece of stone fell from the Sphinx's right shoulder.
In order to protect the statue from more harm, a computer was placed on it to measure rainfall, wind speed and air temperature. The computer also measured the amount of water and air pollution, the direction of wind and the temperature of the statue itself. The effects of age, wind, water and pollution have greatly weakened the Sphinx. Sunlight, wind, water and pollution have been eroding the outside of the statue for centuries. The experts hope that the information from the computer will help protect it from more damage. They say the more they know about what is destroying the Sphinx, the more they can do to protect it. | high9045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "remind people of the real sense of folk music"
},
"options": [
"gather people with different musical tastes",
"remind people of the real sense of folk music",
"exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music",
"co... | -For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it's easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug. 4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug. 8. | high1419.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was buried together with her nurse"
},
"options": [
"was the only queen ever ruling Egypt",
"died of cancer and diabetes",
"lived between 1503 and 1482 BC",
"was buried together with her nurse"
],
"question": "A... | Egyptian researchers believe they have recognized the mummy of Hatshepsut, the most famous queen to rule ancient Egypt, found in an average tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Researchers said the mummy was one of two females found in 1903 in a small tomb believed to be that of Hatshepsut's nurse, Sitre In. In fact, there has been the idea over the years that one of the mummies may be that of the queen, who ruled from between 1503 and 1482 BC - at the height of ancient prefix = st1 /Egypt's power.
The decisive truth-telling fact was a tooth in a wooden box marked with the queen's name, Hawass said. The box was found in 1881 in a hiding place of royal mummies collected and hidden away at the Deir al-Bahari temple about 1,000 metres away from the tomb.
Checking all the mummies which might be Hatshepsut's, Yehya Zakariya, a medicine professor, found that the tooth was a perfect fit in a hole in the upper jaw of one of the two females, a fat woman believed to have suffered from cancer and diabetes. "The recognition of the tooth with the jaw can show this is Hatshepsut," Hawass said. "A tooth is like a fingerprint."
Another researcher Elizabeth Thomas _ many years ago that one of the mummies was Hatshepsut's because how the right arm was put over the woman's chest suggested royalty .
It was guessed that the mummy might have been hidden in the tomb for safekeeping because her stepson and successor , Tuthmosis III, tried to wipe out her memory. Hatshepsut stole the power from her young stepson. After her death, records were destroyed and her body was dug out. | high24094.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "began to make clothes on her own"
},
"options": [
"wore the latest fashions",
"was fond of hand-painted clothing",
"began to make clothes on her own",
"dressed in the same way as her classmates"
],
"question": "... | Looking good, feeling good
Born to a model mom and a suit maker dad, fashion was actually in my blood. I always had a strong desire to dress in a certain way and to stand out from the crowd.
I made my own toys when I was a young child and sewed my first skirt at just 10 years old. A friend's mother took one look at my skirt and told me that I should be a patternmaker. In high school I started making my own clothes, mostly changing other things because I never liked anything how it was when I bought it. During the last two years of school, I worked part-time for a small business that made hand-painted silk clothing and bags. The owner became the teacher who got me into design in the first place. Another useful bit of work experience then came when I worked at a showroom during fashion week and found it very exciting. From there I worked at a top clothing store while I got my business started.
For my business I started out with the idea that everything I did would be hand-made and one-of-a-kind, specially made for one individual who hopefully had the same tastes as me. Every morning I jumped out of bed, went to my studio and worked on my projects. This just showed how enthusiastic I felt about my work. And at night I even dreamed of new designs!
Fashion design is _ art. What I mean is that it's something close to you and something you can touch and feel, and actually interact with. My advice to any young person who wants to be a fashion designer is to get the basic skills early on, such as sewing and pattern-making. Even if you end up specializing, it's really important to understand all aspects of design in order to make high-quality clothes.
Also, if you dream of having your own clothing line, the best thing to do is start wearing your clothes. You have to try and do this because that's the way you're going to develop something that's all yours and unlike anyone else's. I passionately believe that the right clothing can make people feel better and give them more confidence. | high13638.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Air pollution by sources ranging from cooking fires to auto fumes caused an estimated seven million deaths worldwide in 2012."
},
"options": [
"In the past, the WHO did not take into account the overlap between exposure to both forms.",
... | Air pollution by sources ranging from cooking fires to auto fumes contributed to an estimated seven million deaths worldwide in 2012, the UN health agency has said.
"Air pollution, and we're talking about both indoors and outdoors, is now the biggest environmental health problem, and _ is affecting everyone, both developed and developing countries," said Maria Neira, the World Health Organisation's public and environmental health chief.
Globally, pollution was linked to one death in eight in 2012, new WHO research found.
The biggest pollution-related killers were heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
The hardest-hit regions of the globe were what the WHO labels Southeast Asia, which includes India and Indonesia, and the Western Pacific, ranging from China and South Korea to Japan and the Philippines. Together, they accounted for 5.9 million deaths.
The global death toll included 4.3 million deaths due to indoor air pollution, chiefly caused by cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves. The toll from outdoor pollution was 3.7 million, with sources ranging from coal heating fires to diesel engines.
Many people are exposed to both indoor and outdoor pollution, the WHO said, and due to that overlap the separate death toll attributed to the two sources cannot simply be added together, hence the figure of seven million deaths. The new figure is "shocking and worrying", Ms Neira told reporters.
When it last released an estimate for deaths related to air pollution, in 2008, the agency had put the figure related to outdoor pollution at 1.3 million, while the number blamed on indoor pollution was 1.9 million. But a change in research methods makes comparison difficult between the 2008 estimate and the 2012 figures, Neira said.
In the past, for example, the WHO did not take into account the overlap between exposure to both forms, and only assessed urban pollution. Satellite imagery has made it easier to assess rural pollution, and new knowledge about the health impact of exposure has enabled a better count. "The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes," said Neira. "Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution. The evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe."
According to the WHO, some 2.9 billion people in poor nations live in homes that use fires as their principle method of cooking and heating. Carlos Dora, the WHO's public and environmental health coordinator, said that turned homes into "combustion chambers". Simple measures to stem the impact include so-called "clean cook stoves", which are a low-tech option, as well as improved ventilation, he said.
Countries also need to rethink policies, Mr Dora said, pointing to the impact in the developed world of a shift to cleaner power sources, more efficient management of energy demand, and technical strides in the auto industry. He also said transport policies needed a shake-up. With air pollution having sparked a recent scare in France, leading to restrictions on car use and the temporary scrapping of public transport fees in Paris, Mr Dora said such measures could be applied in the longer term. "You can't buy clean air in a bottle," he said."The air is a shared resource. In order to breathe clean air, we have to have interventions in the areas that pollute air." The WHO said it planned by the end of this year to release a ranking of the world's 1,600 most polluted cities. | high6410.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "someone's feelings can be read by their facial expressions"
},
"options": [
"someone's body language has an effect on their feelings",
"reading someone's face alone cannot tell their feelings",
"someone's body language is the... | Contrary to popular belief, looking at someone's face alone is not enough to tell us whether they are roaring in celebration or screaming in frustration, researchers claimed.While people may believe they have the ability to read each other's faces, body language is the real clue that shows whether strong emotions someone is feeling are positive or negative.
In a study, groups of participants were shown a series of facial expressions such as tennis players photographed just after winning or losing a point.
In some cases the volunteers were able to see the player's full body, but in others they were only shown either their face or their body with the other removed.
Participants could clearly tell whether the players were winning or losing when they were shown the full picture or just the body, but their guesses were no better than chance when based on the face alone.
Those who were allowed to see the full image were convinced they had made their judgment based on the players' facial expressions even though results from the two other groups suggested otherwise.
The researchers carried out a second study where participants were shown a wider range of faces showing emotions including joy, pleasure, victory, pain and defeat.
Using photoediting software, the researchers attached the faces to bodies expressing the opposite emotion, and asked participants to act out the emotions they saw in the photos.
The resulting poses were like the body poses in the photographs but not the facial expressions, demonstrating that people base their interpretation of strong emotions not on the face but the body.
Dr Aviezer, who led the study, said, "These results show that when emotions become extremely intense, the difference between positive and negative facial expressions becomes unclear.The results may help researchers understand how our body interacts during emotional situations.For example, individuals may fail to recognize facial expressions, but if they are trained to process important body language, their performance may significantly improve." | high14157.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He always spoke by singing opera."
},
"options": [
"He always carried a big suitcase.",
"He always spoke by singing opera.",
"He always greeted people gladly.",
"He always wore an old suit."
],
"question": "Why ... | One day, a train was approaching the small town of Cheekyville. On the train was a young man with a big suitcase. He was called William Warbler, and he looked very common indeed. What made him most unusual, though, was the fact that whenever he needed to communicate he did it by singing opera . It didn't matter to William whether it was simply a matter of answering a brief greeting, like "good day". He would clear his voice and respond, "Gooood dayyy to youuuuuuuu... toooooo!"
No one could get a normal spoken word out of him and no one knew how he made his living. As he lived quite simply, always wearing his same old second-hand suit, people often looked down on him.
William had been in Cheekyville for some years, when, one day, word spread round town like wildfire: William had played a role in a very important opera in the nation's capital. Everyone in the capital went to see it, and it was a great success. Everyone in Cheekyville felt it was a surprise. But something more surprising was, when William was being interviewed by reporters, he answered their questions by speaking rather than singing. And he did it with great manners, and with a clear and pleasant voice.
From that day, William gave up singing at all hours. Now he did it only during his stage appearances and world tours. Some people suspected why he had changed, but others continued believing him to be somewhat mad. They wouldn't have thought so if they had seen what William kept in his big suitcase. It was a large stone, with a hand-carved message on it. The message said: "Practice, my boy. Practice every second, for you never know when your chance will come."
Little did people realize that he only got the role in the opera because the director had heard William singing while out buying a newspaper. | high9723.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The user can build the shape they like via computer instructions."
},
"options": [
"It is easilyavailable, low cost and harmless.",
"It mainly produces children's favourite toys.",
"The user can build the shape they like via ... | A chocolate printer that allows sweet lovers to create 3D desserts by themselves is to go on sale at a cost of 2,500 pounds.
The machine squirts out chocolate and, via computer instructions, allows the user to build any shape they like out of the food. But makers Choc Edge have missed the Easter rush. Even so, they hope the printer will be snapped up by retailers immediately they come to the market. Britain's biggest chocolatiers Thornton's have already said they are interested. Because of the high cost, however, few individuals are likely to buy one. But the devicecould one day allow people to design their own 3D objects after submitting their designs on a website. Dr Hao, founder of Choc Edge came up with a prototype last year and has only just perfected it so that it can now go on sale. "We've improved and simplified the machine, so now it is really easy to use," he told the BBC. "You just need to melt some chocolate, fill a syringe that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing of your chocolate."
3D printing is a technology where a three dimensional object is created by building up successive layers of material. The technology is already used in industry to produce plastic and metal products, but this is the first time the principles have been applied to chocolate. The research has presented many challenges. Chocolate is not an easy material to work with because it requires accurate heating and cooling cycles. Dr Hao said, "What makes this technology special is that users will be able to design and make their own products. From reproducing the shape of a child's favourite toy to a friend's face, the possibilities are endless. It could be developed to help consumers design many products from different materials, but we've started with chocolate as it is easily available, low cost and harmless." "There is also no wastage as any spoilage can be eaten." Dr Hao added, "Eventually we may see many mass-produced products replaced by unique designs created by the customer."[:]
EPSRC chief executive Professor Dave Delpy said, "This is a good example of how creative research can be applied to create new manufacturing and retail ideas. By combining developments in engineering with the commercial potential of the digital economy,We can see the new market prospect --creating new jobs and, in this case, the chocolate printer is called sweet business opportunities." | high833.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "you can do an operation on the chest and head"
},
"options": [
"you can deal with common animals' bites and stings",
"you can do an operation on the chest and head",
"you can give first aid when someone hurt his leg badly",
... | Senior First Aid
Registration Details: PARASOL EMT Pty Limited (ABN 39 072 488 914)
Recognition Period: 01/01/1997 to 30/03/2008
Purpose: The aim of this course is to develop a student's competence and confidence in providing emergency first aid. This includes calling for help, the ability to respond to first aid situations, decision-making, and basic life support functions. This course covers adult and child conditions.
_ This course is suitable for anyone requiring a first aid certificate for the workplace, recreational purposes, sporting, or home use.
Format : A mixture of theoretical and practical elements , with at least 50% of time spent on practical skills.
Requirements: Be at least 14 years of age.
Learning Objectives:
* Apply Life Support Skills
* Apply First Aid Management Skills for Burns
* Demonstrate the identification and management of bleeding and wounds.
* Describe the recognition and management of internal bleeding
* Manage an Emergency (Basic)
* Apply First Aid Management for bone and joint injuries
* Manage Emergency Situations
* Apply First Aid Management skills for bites, stings and poisoning.
* Manage an acute illness
* Describe the recognition and management of an eye injury
* Describe the basic structure and function of the human body.
* Apply First Aid Management skills for chest, abdominal and head injuries | high15249.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "visit the park free of charge for one year"
},
"options": [
"win a camera and a free ticket to the park",
"get a T-shirt with your own photo on it",
"visit the park free of charge for one year",
"receive a half-a-year p... | We need a logo that will be the perfect symbol of our new Wheelsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are _ until the opening of the park to design a proper logo.
LOGO REQUIREMENTS
#Designs must be original and easy to recognize.
#They should include no more than two colors in addition to black and white.
#Artwork should be reproducible at different sizes from business cards to posters.
#The words " Wheelsville Skate Park" must appear in the logo.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
#Competitors are required to be 18 years old or younger.
#There is no limit to the number of submissions.
#The name and address of the designer must appear on the back of the logo design.
#Competitors need to include a one-page written explanation describing the key features of the design.
#All submissions sent to Wheelsville Skate Park will not be returned.
#All works must be sent to skateman4x@comlink.com no later than May 15.
#Files should be .jpg, .gif, .png, .pict, or Photoshop files.
#The winning design will be posted on our website at www.wheelsville.skatepark.com on May 20, one week before the opening celebration.
PRIZES
#First Prize: Digital camera, one-year pass to Wheelsville Skate Park, and two T-shirts with the prize-winning logo.
#Second Prize: Six-month pass to Wheelsville Skate Park and a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo.
#Honorable Mention: One free ticket to Wheelsville Skate Park and a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo to two competitors from grades 6-8, and two from grades 9-12.
JUDGES
#Among the judges are a professional designer, two technology teachers, four local skaters, and three members of Wheelsville Skate Park Board of Directors.
#The judges' decisions are final. | high12526.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Hurtful nicknames"
},
"options": [
"Powerful nicknames",
"Hurtful nicknames",
"How to make fun of other?",
"How to give others a nicknames"
],
"question": "What is the best title of the passage?",
"question_... | Sometimes people give us nicknames in order to be mean or make fun of us, which can really hurt.
Four eyes. Metal Mouth. Dumbo, Slow Poke, Crater Face. We've all heard kids calling unpleasant nicknames like these. Maybe you've even used similar nicknames on other kids, or been stuck with one yourself.
A playground _ or cut usually disappears after a couple of days, but the pain and anger coming from being called a cruel nickname can last a lot longer than that. If you've ever picked on another kid by making up or using a tease nickname, or of you've ever been on the receiving end of one, you know that names like Fatso, Smelly, and Short Stuff can be very hurtful. Plus, they have a habit of sticking to us like glue!
People use negative nicknames as a way of keeping someone out of a group of gaining power over someone, or of making themselves feel more important. You may know a kid in your class who always comes up with nicknames for the other kids. This student likes to feel cool by acting like the official "nicknamer." This can give a student a feeling of power, but that power comes at the cost of making other kids feel bad. Kids who give others hurtful nicknames are often trying to cover up the fact that they really feel bad about themselves.
Like other kinds of insults , a cruel nickname can be used to make a kid feel being left out or angry. Sometimes they're even nastier than most ways of being mean, because they can be so hard to shake off. | high23923.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "cheerful"
},
"options": [
"boastful",
"shy",
"competent",
"cheerful"
],
"question": "We can infer from the passage that an employer might tolerate his secretary's occasional mistakes if the latter is _ .",
... | It often happens that a number of applicants with almost identical qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates . How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview.
There are many arguments about the interview as a selection procedure. The main argument against it is that it results in a wholly subjective decision. As often as not, employers do not choose the best candidate, but the one who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a sound assessment of each candidate's likely performance.
Those in favor of the interview insist that the well-structured procedure is valid in assessing a candidate's ability, an essential guarantee for the future job. They also argue that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate's ability, but with the suitability of his or her personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional inefficiencies from their secretary so long as she has a pleasant personality. Perhaps the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assessable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the more intangible (, ) things, such as personality, character and social ability.
Today, interview is still the key section of the entire selection procedure, though different employers have different standards for competence . Generally speaking, candidates who interview well tend to be confident, but never boastful ; direct and straight-forward in their questions andanswers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be at either end of the spectrum (, ) of human behavior. They are either very shy or over-confident. They show either a lack of enthusiasm or an excess of it. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over-polite or rudely abrupt . | high16740.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Two Kinds of Different Education"
},
"options": [
"Traditional Education",
"Open Education",
"The Students Are Human Beings First",
"Two Kinds of Different Education"
],
"question": "Which is the topic for the p... | In tradition education, the teacher may feel that the students are not very grown up. Usually, teachers are older than students, and teachers feel that students are young and do not know much about the world. The teachers feel that they must tell the students what to do most of the time, and that they must also make the students study specific things. In open education, the teacher's methods are very different. These teachers feel that the students are human beings first, and students second. They expect the students to be responsible for the things that they do, just as adults are. A student's ideas and feelings are just as important as the teacher's. The teacher allows the students to decide what they want to do, and does not make them study what they do not want to. The teacher lets them decide what to study and how much to study. It's very important for the teacher to show how he or she feels about students. | high4207.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "needed an examination for her baby"
},
"options": [
"tried to see her husband",
"wanted to look perfect",
"was a little worried about her appearance",
"needed an examination for her baby"
],
"question": "Sam vis... | Samantha, or Sam, as her husband, John, called her, had left the doctor's house looking perfect, satisfied with her appearance.
The year was 1862. It seemed that the war with the North would never come to an end. Sam's father had left as soon as possible, swearing that he'd fight for Virginia, for their land, for their new government, for God, for the South.
At last, Samantha reached the house that she and John owned. It was a cold, rainy night, and she was glad to be home. She stepped into the sitting room. John rested in an armchair, reading a book. He glanced at her, put the book down, and stood, reaching his arms out for her. They kissed briefly. He put a hand to her now slightly round belly and asked, "What did the doctor say?"
"He said the baby was fine and that I seemed healthy. Do you have any news?"
"Surprisingly, yes." John hesitated for a moment, as if deciding how he would phrase what he was about to say, and then unwillingly continued, "I've been demanded to join the army."
Sam screamed, "What?" She was near tears. "But-but we're just starting out." Her voice shook. "I thought that after two years of begging my mother to let the two of us get married that our life would finally be happy. Isn't there any way you can get out of this?"
John answered, "I'm afraid not."
"Please. Please, John, if you love me, please get out of this. Break a leg, fake an illness,
do something." She began to sob. John comforted her, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Sam."
"What?"
"Name the child after me; name it John or Joanna. I'll come back as soon as I can. I promise."
Sam smiled into his collar bone, knowing that John lived by his word. He never broke a promise. She pressed her hand to her belly, and, unknown to her, the baby was a girl.
And unknown to both of them, the promise that John had just made would be the only promise he would ever break. | high16998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "American National Education Standards under Consideration"
},
"options": [
"Local Control of Education Standards out of Date",
"American National Education Standards under Consideration",
"Education Standards in Each State--G... | Americans are thinking about national education standards recently developed by teachers and other education experts. The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the effort.
The United States, unlike other nations, has never had the same school standards across the country. What is the reason? Education is not discussed in the Constitution. That document limits the responsibilities of the federal government. Other responsibilities, like education, fall to each state.
Local control of education probably was a good idea two hundred years ago. People stayed in the same place and schools knew what students needed to learn. But today, people move to different cities. And some people work at jobs that did not exist even twenty years ago.
Many American educators say that getting a good education should not depend on where you live. They say that some states have lowered their standards in order to increase student scores on tests required by the No Child Left behind Act.
Kara Schlosser is communications director for the CCSSO. She says the new standards clearly state what a student should be able to do to be successful in college and work.
Forty--eight states have already shown approval for the standards. Two states refuse to accept the idea. Critics say that working toward the same standards in every state will not guarantee excellence for all. Some educators in Massachusetts say adopting the national standards will hurt their students because the state standards are even higher. Others say the change will be too costly, requiring new textbooks and different kinds of training for teachers. Still others fear federal control.
Supporters say the standards are goals and do not tell states or teachers how to teach. They also say the federal government is not forcing acceptance. However, approving the standards will help states qualify for some federal grant money. | high2676.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Surprised"
},
"options": [
"Embarrassed",
"Surprised",
"Excited",
"Disappointed"
],
"question": "How did the author feel when he was offered bottled water?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Last Saturday on the way to the mall, two children, a boy and a girl, came running towards me with bottles on their hands, asking if I wanted bottled water. It was a surprising gesture. I was wondering if they were doing fund-raising. I knelt and asked them where their parents were and how much a bottle of water cost. Then two adult women came up to me explaining what the children were doing. "We are teaching the children to give without anything in return. We are teaching people to accept without giving in return. "
Two mothers had bought bottled water and placed a sticker on all bottles with five different quotes :
1. Smile at everyone. You'll never know when someone may need it.
2. If Plan A does not work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabets.
3. Have a thirst for life. Every day is filled with possibilities.
4. In your thirst for knowledge, be sure you don't drown in all the information.
5. Dig your well before you're thirsty.
The bottle I have has quoted No.5. A sudden change of attitude opened up between me, the mothers and the children. We are no longer strangers to each other. We were having such a great time chatting and I ended up helping them give away the rest of the bottled water.
One young lady was so thankful that she happily accepted the water and said it was the best thing that happened to her all day since she had a bad day at work. A man refused and walked away saying "no thanks". A couple kept on bowing to us in gratitude. When it was all done, the children and I were giving each other high-five. It was so much fun. I think I had more fun doing this than the mothers and the children. | high10331.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "whose wartime photos well interpret the suffering of wars"
},
"options": [
"who is only addicted to wartime photography",
"whose wartime photos are anything but concrete",
"whose wartime photos well interpret the suffering of... | Where Virtual Reality Takes Us
No matter how enlightened any one of us may be , we are fundamentally limited to our own points of view--but it is human nature to try to broaden our perspective . For me , that's where V.R. comes in . I have found that the medium has an extraordinary ability to convey the kinds of feelings of presence and place I've always desired to capture through photojournalism .
As a young photographer , I was shocked by the wartime images of great photographers like Robert Capa and James Nachtwey . Their vision of the world is far better than my own . Hoping to imitate their effect , I trained myself to follow in their footsteps , covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a photojournalist for The New York Times and Newsweek . But I found that my photographs were not having the impact that I had hoped . There was something too abstract and flat about them , a quality that allowed anyone viewing them to remain distant from images of suffering . Frustrated by the barriers , I built a camera that could shoot steady , cinematic video in a war zone , and I made a feature-length film in Afghanistan .
While the film provided a glimpse into the cruel reality of war , it was only a small window into that world . I wanted to go further , to pull people through that window onto the front lines and let them witness it firsthand . I started the technology company Condition One in order to build a new camera to shoot in 3D , 360-degree video . We want to introduce a new generation of viewers tired of flat images into the emotions of being immersed in a whole new world .
The power of virtual reality is its command of presence--its ability to transport the viewer into another world , and have him feel present in it . These experiences are technically difficult to create and require significant computing power , but once presence is achieved and maintained , it is breathtaking .
In V.R., we instinctively feel empathy for those whose experiences we are immersed in . The suffering of people in war zones becomes our suffering , just as the killing of animals in the wild becomes a source of our pain as well .
Mentioning his own limitations of perspective , Einstein once wrote with sadness , " Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of sympathy to hug all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty . "
Through V.R., we now have a chance to do just that . | high19467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Obese smokers are more likely to suffer from cancer"
},
"options": [
"Obese smokers are less likely to suffer from cancer",
"Obese smokers are more likely to suffer from cancer",
"Obese smokers .tend to gain fewer body mass i... | Risk of death is 3.5 t0 5 times greater for obese smokers than it is for people who have never smoked and are at a normal weight, according to a study published in the November, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study, which began with a self-administered questionnaire taken between 1983 and 1989, asked more than 80,000 radiologic technologists aged 22 t0 92 questions about age, height, weight and smoking behavior.
BMI (body mass index) was calculated, with a BMI of 30 t0 34.9 being considered obese, and 35 and over being very obese. Smoking behavior was analyzed by looking at a person's tobacco consumption level, number of years smoked, and current smoking status. Researchers then followed participants through December of 2002, noting the number of deaths that occurred.
The study involved researchers from the National Cancer Institute, the University of Minnesota and the American Registry of Radiolegic Technologists.
Key Findings:
20 percent of obese adults in the United States smoke.
Obese smokers face a greater risk of death from cancer and circulatory disease.
Current smoking is a greater risk factor for death by cancer than obesity is, generally speaking.
The higher a person's pack-years (number of packs smoked per day times the number of years smoked) are, the greater the risk of death.
Men and women of all ages faced an elevated risk of death due to circulatory disease as BMI increased. And for those who were both obese and currently smoking, risk of circulatory disease increased 6 to 11 times under the age of 65, as compared to their never-smoking, normal weight counterparts.
While it's not surprising that obesity coupled with smoking is a recipe for trouble, it is important to highlight this growing health concern in America today.
Taking Charge of Your Health
Making healthy choices can be difficult when we're constantly bombarded with products that are hazardous to our health, but it's not impossible. With education and some motivation, we all have the ability to make lasting changes for the better. If you're an overweight smoker worried about gaining weight due to quitting, take heart. It's never too late to change your course and even reverse damage to some extent. | high4213.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Listening to too much and too loud music."
},
"options": [
"Listening to music frequently.",
"Listening to music at concerts.",
"Listening to too much and too loud music.",
"Listening to music from poor audio devices."
... | People should listen to music for no more than one hour a day to protect their hearing, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests.
It says 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of permanently damaging their hearing by listening to "too much, too loudly".
It said audio devices , concerts and bars were causing a "serious threat".
WHO figures show 43 million people aged 12-35 have hearing loss and the number is increasing. In that age group, the WHO said, half of the people in rich and middle-income countries were exposed to unsafe sound levels from personal audio devices. Meanwhile 40% were exposed to damaging levels of sound from clubs and bars.
The proportion of US teenagers with hearing loss went from 3.5% in 1994 to 5.3% in 2006.
"What we're trying to do is raise awareness of the problem that is not talked about enough, but has the potential to do a lot of damage that can be easily prevented," said Dr Etienne Krug, the WHO's director for injury prevention.
The full report argued: "While it is important to keep the volume down, limiting the use of personal audio devices to less than one hour a day would do much to reduce noise exposure."
Dr Krug said: "That's a rough recommendation, it is not by the minute, to give an idea to those spending 10 hours a day listening to an mp3-player. But even an hour can be too much if the volume is too loud." | high10325.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "deserted"
},
"options": [
"unpleasant",
"dirty",
"noisy",
"deserted"
],
"question": "Which of the following words is NOT properly used to describe Coketown ?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Coketown was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but in fact it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of savage . It was a town of machinery and tall chimney, out of which smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill smelling color1, and large piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the steam-engine worked up and down like the head of an elephant in a state of madness. The town contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another.
A sunny midsummer day. There was such a thing sometimes even in Coketown. Seen from a distance in such weather, Coketown lay covered in a smoke of its own. You only knew the town was there, because you knew there could have been no such a place upon the view without a town.
The streets were hot and dusty on the summer day, and the sun was so bright that it even shone through the smoke over Coketown, and could not be looked at steadily. Workers appeared from low underground doorways into factory yards, and sat on steps, wiping their face sand looking at coals. The whole town seemed to be frying in oil. There was a smell of hot oil everywhere. The atmosphere of those places was like the breath of hell , and their inhabitants wasting with heat, walked lazily in the desert. But no temperature made the mad elephants more mad or more sane . Their tiresome heads went up and down at the sane rate, in hot weather and in cold, wet weather and dry. The measured movement of their shadows of wood; while for the summer noise of insects, it could offer all the year round, from the dawn of Monday to the night of Saturday. | high24080.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Long periods in space will affect the health of astronauts."
},
"options": [
"Long periods in space will affect the health of astronauts.",
"Scientists are trying to find out how to protect astronauts.",
"Space is dangerous t... | Human beings have a natural desire to explore the unknown. People with a strong interest in space like to say it is the last place left to explore. But scientists are warning that space exploration for long periods is not going to be easy. They say the human body is not designed to stay in space over an extended period.
The New York Times recently published a report about scientists who are preparing astronauts for a trip to the Moon. The newspaper said the scientists want to make sure that their crews return home in good health. But there are many problems to be solved before people are ready for long trips to the Moon, an asteroid or even the planet Mars.
Humans developed on a planet with a surface that is more than 70 percent water. Our bodies are also about 70 percent water. When there is no gravity that water moves up toward the head, raising pressure in the skull. Arms and legs grow weaker at what is called zero gravity because they no longer need to push against the force of gravity.
Five years ago, astronauts who spent weeks in space reported a change in their eyesight. These astronauts were members of the crew on the International Space Station. Research showed a change in the shape of their eyes. Normally-round eyeballs had become flat during time in space. The research also showed that the right eye was affected more than the left, and that men were more affected than women. Scientists could not find an explanation for the differences.
Bone loss was one of the problems first reported by astronauts returning to Earth after longer stays in space. So scientists designed exercise machines to use on the space station. Tests showed that the exercise equipment helped space travelers keep their bones almost as strong as when they left Earth.
There are other health issues for astronauts who spend a long time in space. They may have problems eating and sleeping. But the biggest health issue is exposure to radiation. On Earth, human beings are protected by the atmosphere and the planet's magnetic field. In outer space, there is no such protection. | high6404.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It is designed for kids."
},
"options": [
"It is designed for kids.",
"It can teach kids how to behave well.",
"It offers all kinds of stories and videos.",
"It shares lessons on plants, soil, energy and animals."
]... | If you want your children to develop an environmentally conscious attitude, you have to start teaching them while they are young. Wondering where to send your kids to learn more? Here are some good choices for you.
Recycle Zone
Website Address: _
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the UK actually pays money to build this site. It provides lots of great information on the level for kids. The site is brightly colored, and it's easy for kids to use, and interactive to get them active in learning. You'll find many great jokes, songs and games on the site that will keep your kids happy while they are learning.
National Geographic Kids
Website Address: _
This is an excellent site for kids, with all the great choice that you'd expect from National Geographic. It is excellent for kids and it has information on different kinds of topics, including the environment and how the environmental problems affect the world and animals around it. You'll find stories, quizzes, games, tips, and videos that your kids will enjoy while learning more about the environment and recycling.
Children of the Earth
Website Address: _
The site helps to provide information that will allow your kids to understand and respect the world around them. Lessons are taught on plants, soil, energy and animals. It helps them to learn about how their actions can either have negative or positive influence on the environment. | high14143.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "why the roots of plants grow into the soil but not above it"
},
"options": [
"why the roots of plants grow into the soil but not above it",
"how the roots of plants grow into the soil but not above it",
"the process of plants... | Have you ever wondered why the roots of the plants always know which way to grow--into the soil but not above it? Some British scientists have recently solved this mystery.
It turns out that roots have special hairs that tie them into the soil and help them grow their way past obstacles, a team at the John Inners Center in Norwich reports in the February 29 issue of Journal Science.
"The key is in the fuzzy coat of hairs on the roots of plants," says professor Liam Dolan. "We have found a growth control system that enables these hairs to find their way and to become longer when their path is clear."
Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they make their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. In the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip the soil.
The hairs are guided by a clever chemical trick. A protein at the tip of the root hairs called RHD2 helps them to take calcium from the soil. Calcium makes the hairs grow, and produce more RHD2, and take more calcium.
But when an obstacle blocks the hair's path, or the hair reaches the surface of the soil, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another direction.
This system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to live in even the most unpromising soils, says Dolan.
In poor soils such as in parts of Australia and Africa, native plants have adapted by producing enormous numbers of root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow scientists to develop hairy rooted crops that can grow in unfriendly environments.
According to Dolan, "Research in the John Inners Center is taking a breeding approach to increase hair length in wheat but it will be some time before new cultivars are developed." | high827.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "provide readers with several choices of traveling."
},
"options": [
"introduce some of the famous scenic spots",
"introduce the hottest spots to snowboard",
"provide readers with several choices of traveling.",
"provide... | Winter Travel Adventures
"Let it snow, let it snow!" You have found your home for all adventures, icy, snowy and white! Discover breathtaking sights while cross-country skiing and snow mobiling, or uncover new lands for skiing, and find the _ to snowboard. Informative links below will get you on your way to a winter wonderland journey.
Seniors Head South for Winter
A feature article on the annual migration of Winter Texans and Snow Birds heading to warmer places for the winter. Resources for Texas, Florida, Southern U.S and international destinations are included.
Skiing and Snowboarding adventures
You either love it or hate it, strapping a pair of boards to your feet and thrusting yourself down a snow-covered mountain at a speed of 60 miles per hour. If downhill running is your adventure game, connect with the best resources for adventures, vacations, ski trips and destinations.
Cross-country Skiing Adventures
All ages can find pleasure and exercise on a good pair of cross-country skis. Discover the winter back-country on your next adventure. Connect with adventure opportunities, outfitters, equipment sources, destinations and more.
Snowmobile Adventures
Take to the snow-covered backcountry and discover white adventures where only snowmobiles can take you. You can find information from a resource center about adventure tours, group tours, clubs, equipment, destinations, best trails and more.
Snowshoe Adventures
Foot power proves to be the ultimate dependable transportation, and that applies to winter trekking through the backcountry. A good pair of snowshoes can get you to places when nothing else can. | high12532.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "advise people not to become managers"
},
"options": [
"explain reasons for firing managers",
"advise people not to become managers",
"express dissatisfaction of some managers",
"encourage managers to be more competitive... | Today's career assumption is that you can get a lot of development, challenge and job satisfaction and not necessarily be in a management role.
Managing others is always a tough task, but in the past that stress was balanced by hopes for career mobility and financial rewards. Along with a sizable pay raise, people chosen as managers would begin a nearly automatic climb up the career ladder to successful executive private benefits: company cars, club memberships, plus the key to the executive washroom.
But in today's global and more competitive showground, a manager sits in an insecure chair. More companies has begun to take less management as they come to view their organizations as collections of talents rather than hierarchies . There are far fewer steps for managers to climb. Also, managerial jobs demand more hours and headaches than ever before but offer slim, if any financial paybacks and perks.
Now managers must manage many people who are spread over different locations, even over different continents. They must manage across functions with, say, design, finance and marketing.
In many companies, when the most praised people in business are those launching something new, management seems like an invisible, thankless role. Employers are looking for people who can do things, not for people who make other people do things.
Moreover it may not pay to be a manager, at least not the way it once did. Ms. Chmielewski says, "The emotional rewards can be great, and there were times when I enjoyed management. But a 10-to-11-hour day and one weekend day a month is the norm ".
With more people cautious of joining management, are companies being hurt or worrying about developing future leaders? Not many are. While employers have fired a lot of managers, they believe many more candidates linger on at many companies. "Another reason why companies aren't short of managers," argues Robert Kelley, a business professor, "is that so many workers today are self-managed, either individually or via teams, they don't need a manager." | high23937.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it can make groundwater become less"
},
"options": [
"it can make groundwater become less",
"it can prevent the sand moving freely",
"it can stop crops growing well",
"it can get the soil to become poor"
],
"que... | To prevent the deserts coming near, China has planted billions of trees---to replace destroyed forests and as barriers against the sand. This isn't a cure, though, say experts, as thirsty trees can make the problem worse by taking in groundwater.
"Planting tress is one way, but it isn't that simple. It doesn't solve the basic issue of water resources," says Wu Bo, a professor. "We need to calculate how much water the trees will absorb, or else it could have a negative effect."
Villagers in Zhengxin have taken on this challenge, with limited success. When the irrigation channels began to run dry, Lu Xianglin switched from wheat to cotton on his land. He also planted trees to protect his fields from sandstorms. He says he still gets good yields using flood irrigation and earns a good income for his family.
Other farmers haven't stuck it out : about one in three have left Zhengxin in the past 10 years after their wheat crops died. Young people who can find jobs in the towns rarely return.
Last week, Mr Lu joined the other men in his village on a government-arranged trip to see the land that has been set aside for their relocation, nearly 40 miles to the south. The next day, he was back, shaking his head at the plan. The idea of uprooting his family troubles him, as does the idea of giving up the land that fed his forefathers. He prefers to stay and keep up the fight.
"With enough water, this problem can be solved," Lu says. "We can plant trees and grass, and they will grow bigger. That will stop the desert."
Experts say that farmers could switch to drip irrigation to lessen their water intake for growing crops. Elsewhere in the region, farmers have built brick greenhouses as part of a plan to grow vegetables using less water. Roadside signs urge farmers to "Save Water, Protect the Environment". | high12254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "loudly"
},
"options": [
"as loudly as possible",
"in a low voice",
"loudly",
"forcefully"
],
"question": "When you speak to the class,you should speak _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Every day we go to school and listen to teachers, and the teacher will ask us some questions. Sometimes,the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class. When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying. You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends--you are in a situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say. You must speak so that they can hear you loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself.
Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you. The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease ordinary conversation but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation. You must take special care that you can he heard. | high22397.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The number of undergraduates in Uk has decreased due to the higher fees ."
},
"options": [
"The number of undergraduates in Uk has decreased due to the higher fees .",
"The government says undergraduate numbers have 'returned to re... | There was a 17% fall in the number of first year undergraduates at UK universities in the first year of higher tuition fees, official figures show.
In 2012-13 UK universities were allowed to _ their yearly fees to PS9,000.
England saw a 12% fall in new full-time undergraduate students overall.
The government acknowledged the fall but stressed that demand for full time higher education has already "returned to record levels".
A spokesperson for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the figures were influenced by a higher number of students taking up places the previous year, rather than having a gap year.
"A reduction in entrants in 2012 was well documented and the numbers were affected by the significant number of students who opted not to defer their place from the year before," she said.
'Direct consequence'
The decline had not continued into the current year, she added.
"Application rates for some of the most disadvantaged young people have risen to an all time high in England and more students than ever before are being successful in securing a place at their first choice institution."
The figures, collated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), are official confirmation of other indications that there was a fall in the number of people going to university last year.
Previously released figures had shown declines in applications and offers of places, and the admissions body Ucas also reported a fall. | high6362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the place where you can find your family."
},
"options": [
"the phone number of your friend who lives near your home.",
"the place where you can find your family.",
"the time when a dangerous earthquake may happen.",
"t... | Earthquakes strike suddenly at any time of the day or night, but there's no way to tell them. If an earthquake happens, it may cause many deaths and injuries and great damage. Decide how and where your family will get together if separated. Choose an out-of-state friend or that the family members can call after the quake to report where they are and how they are. Know the safe place in each room: under the strong tables, desks, or against inside walls. Keep enough food, water and other things, including a flashlight, a radio, medicines and clothing.
During the earthquake, you should keep a clear head and never be too nervous to know what to do. Protect your head and neck with your arms. If possible, take a book, a pillow or any other things to protect yourself from falling glass and ruins. If you are indoors, you must immediately lie under any strong furniture. If outdoors, move to an open area away from trees, buildings, walls and power poles. If you are in a narrow valley, move to the centre of it and look out for falling stones. If you are in a car, move to the side of the road and stop the car. Do not stop near buildings, power lines or under bridges. Stay in your car until the shaking stops.
Do not move a badly injured person unless he is in great danger after the earthquake. Do not use the telephone immediately unless there is a serious injury or fire. Turn on your radio for instructions and news report. Be prepared for aftershocks. If you want to leave your home, post a message inside your home telling family members where you can be found. | high23089.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "turn to her teacher for help"
},
"options": [
"report the situation to the police",
"ask the local-fight-crime committee for advice",
"hire a detective to catch them",
"turn to her teacher for help"
],
"question... | When Ann, a grade two student at a well-known school, was pestered by her classmates to join their group to steal from shops, she was shocked. She was a quiet, well-behaved girl and she did not understand why the girls had approached her.
They showed her some of the things they had stolen and said that shop theft was great fun and very exciting. Then they threatened to beat Ann if she did not join them.
Ann was deeply troubled. She did her best to avoid the group of the girls after classes, but they often waited for her outside the school and tried to persuade her to come with them.
This problem is one which many school students in Hong Kong face. We asked the chairman of the local-fight-crime committee what Ann should do in these cases.
"First of all, she could try to _ . Being caught stealing from shops could ruin their futures and it is simply not worth the risk," he said.
"Young people may think that it is easy to get away with stealing from shops, but more and more stores now have plain clothes detectives who are dressed like customers. I would say shop thieves have a more than ninety percent possibility of being caught.
"If they won't listen to her, Ann should turn to someone in charge in school, who can then decide if the matter can be dealt with by her." | high9051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He narrowly escaped death thanks to his grandfather."
},
"options": [
"He felt less pain than he had during the previous one.",
"He realized what it was and shouted for help in time.",
"He narrowly escaped death thanks to his... | I was in my first year of college, making friends and enjoying life, but then my whole world turned upside down. I had a heart attack. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a knife over and over again.
After three months of rest I went back to college, but then things took a turn for the worse. I was staying at my Nana's house and woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible pain in my chest. I knew I was having a heart attack again.
I couldn't even shout for help. Luckily my grandpa was going to the toilet and heard me falling out of bed. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be here.
The two holes in my heart were causing the problems and I needed an operation immediately to repair them. Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go well and they only managed to repair one of the holes.
When I woke up from the operation, I had a really dry mouth and couldn't wait to have something to eat and drink. The biggest shock of all came when I was told that I needed a heart transplant and was put on the register. The doctors were stunned at how quickly heart failure came on - it usually takes years, but it took my heart less than six months to get to that stage. My whole world came crashing down, but I stayed strong. It was a choice between crying every day and getting on with my life.
As time went on, life became even harder. I hated feeling weak all the time and needing help with everything. It got to the point where I thought I would never get a new heart. I was diagnosed with depression.
Even though I thought that Christmas 2008 would be my last, I really enjoyed it and even had a good New Year. Everyone was crying for me when the clock struck midnight and they told me to keep fighting.
A week later, I got a call from the doctors saying they'd found a suitable donor . My wish came true and thankfully the operation went well. I spent four hours in surgery where they took out my old heart and put a new one in. When I woke up I burst out crying. I had a second chance at life. | high14625.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "More time is structured and scheduled."
},
"options": [
"Our sense of time changes.",
"We spend less time at the beach.",
"More time is structured and scheduled.",
"Time is structured with too many appointments."
],... | Time and how we experience it have always puzzled us.Physicists have created fascinating theories, but their time is measured by a pendulum and is not psychological time, which leaps with little regard to the clock or calendar.As some-one who understood the distinction observed, " _
Psychologists have long noticed that larger units of time, such as months and years, fly on swifter wings as we age.They also note that the more time is structured with schedules and appointments, the more rapidly it seems to pass.For example, a day at the office flies compared with a day at the beach.Since most of us spend fewer days at the beach and more at the office as we age, an increase in structured tune could well be to blame for why time seems to speed up as we grow older.
Expectation and familiarity also make time seem to flow more rapidly.Almost all of us have had the experience of driving somewhere we've never been before. Surrounded by unfamiliar scenery, with no real idea of when we'll arrive, we experience the trip as lasting a long time. But the return trip, although exactly as long, seems to take far less time. The _ of the outward journey has become routine. Thus taking a different route on occasions can often help slow the clock.
When was become as identical as identical as beads on a string, they mix together, and even months become a single day. To counter this, try to find ways to interrupt the structure of your day--to stop time, so to speak.
Learning something new is one of the ways to slow the passage of time. One of the reasons the days of our youth seems so full and long is that these are the days of learning and discovery. For many of us, learning ends when we leave school, but this doesn't have to be. | high199.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the students can be anywhere to take them"
},
"options": [
"few people can take these courses",
"distance learning is the only way to study now",
"MOOCs are effective in all the subjects",
"the students can be anywhere ... | Last week.we talked about Massive Open Online Courses.also called MOOCs.Tens of thousands,or even more,people Can take these classes all at once.You can be anywhere in the worht to take a MOOC.All you need is a computer and a network connection.
MOOCs add to a tradition of what is known as distance learning.For years,many colleges have offered classes that are taught partly or mostly online.MOOCs are available in subjects like comlmter science,engineering or mechanics.Can MOOCs in subjects like arts or the humanities be as effective?
Scott Anderson teaches philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Canada.He sees both good and bad sides to MOOCs.Scott Anderson says,"There are pails that will be tine,insofar as mostly when students listen to a lecture. there is no special reason why they need to be physically present to hear and get it."Mr.Anderson says increased numbers of students in MOOCs can mean less communication between them and teachers.He says two ways to deal with this are.by adding more teachers and setting up online discussion groups.
Lisa Jadwin teaches English and American literature and writing at St.John Fisher College in New York.She says online education has some weaknesses for her subjects.
She says,"What's lost in online education is face-to-face interaction.And that old-fashioned approuch is not going to be replaced very quickly by computer--aided instrnction."Professor Jadwin says some students could learn very well from talks and reading assignments,blogs and discussion groups.But she believes that hybrid courses work best.She describes hybrids as mixing face-to-face course elements with computer-aided teaching and writing proiects.
Bill Pogue teaches communications at the University of Houston-Downtown.He sees good value in online education.He noted a strong sense of communitv in an online ciyrse he once took.He said the students worked together on a project while living on four continents. | high21846.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "its spirit of goodwill"
},
"options": [
"its convenient location",
"its great variety of goods",
"its spirit of goodwill",
"its nice shopping environment"
],
"question": "The author loves the charity shop mainly... | I love charity shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity's appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful that it had been flooded with donations. They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favorite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children's books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don't encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs, and all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than PS110 million a year, funding medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better places to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and step lightly on the environment. | high11985.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Not liked by our classmates or workmates."
},
"options": [
"Not liked by our classmates or workmates.",
"Not doing what we want.",
"Not showing any interest in anything.",
"Not so happy."
],
"question": "What do... | What to do if you don't feel popular?
*Try to take part in activities. Call your friends. Plan to do something. The worst feeling is staying home alone, because it makes you feel even more lonely.
*Try to make new friends. Choose friends carefully, not just because you think they're popular. And remember, making good friends takes time. Choosing a popular person to be friends with is okay. If they are nice.
*Be yourself . If you want to become friends with someone who's popular, don't make yourself into someone you are not just to impress that person.
*Be nice. Be friendly. Be outgoing . But don't overdo it!Talk to trusted friends if you are feeling really bad. Or you might want to write it down in a journal or diary.
*Do something special for yourself. You could take pictures of your friends, or collect their school pictures, and take a collage to hang on your wall. This will remind you, when you are feeling unpopular, that you really do have friends.
*Think up your own ideas. These suggestions might not work for everyone.
What to do if you have a problem with your teacher?
*Talk to your parents, or another adult who will listen to you and perhaps can help. Talk to your friends. Maybe they have had problems with the same teacher, too.
*Don't give the teacher a reason to have problems with you. Do your work, complete your task, attend the class seriously and take notes. Maybe you just need to give the teacher a chance .
*Try to find out what the problem is.
*Talk to the teacher if you feel comfortable doing this. Don't be nasty , but express your concerns . Listen to the teacher, as well.
*Just accept the fact that you're not going to love all your teachers. | high16032.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "All staff members in the company."
},
"options": [
"Only the management staff of the company.",
"Employees who had previously received a warning.",
"All staff members in the company.",
"The managers who wrote the policy... | Last year, the management set up new rules to encourage employees to cut down on unnecessary printing fees. However, there has been a rash of abuses of the printing policy. Therefore, in order to control the cost, the management has decided to put forward more stringent regulations that are required to be followed by everyone, including the management.
Starting today, the management staff will meet to discuss and begin drafting up the new policy. We will post new rules outlining the new printing policy as soon as it becomes available. Once it is completed, please read it carefully. Anyone in violation of the new rules will be considered behaving in a disorderly manner and will be punished accordingly.
Your cooperation and self-discipline is highly requested. Thank you.
The Management Team
2014.8.14
NEW PRINTING POLICY
Effective as of 08/18/2014
Due to the fact that our costs have far exceeded our budget, we had to get to the root of the problem. Shockingly, most of our costs came from printing. A further, detailed look made us realize that too many of our 1,000 employees were wasting paper by making unnecessary copies. This, of course, has increased our paper usage, but it has also resulted in our using more of the very expensive ink cartridges as well as the repair work that has followed. Over the past month, this has occurred at a rate that is not acceptable. Therefore, the following rules will go into effect immediately starting tomorrow for everyone in all departments. This problem is serious, so anyone caught in violation of the rules below will be punished, suspended, or even dismissed. Your full cooperation is requested.
(1)All departments will be assigned an access card. It will record the date and time to keep track of the number of copies your department staff makes. Managers in each department are responsible for keeping track of who uses the card by keeping a record book.
(2)For bulk copies over 100, you must get advance approval from your department head.
(3)Any department believed to be making unnecessary copies will be approached. Upon investigation, a warning may result in the person being accused.
(4)A second warning may result in suspension without pay or, in this worst case, being dismissed from your position.
(5)Each department may pick up an access card from the reception desk after filling out a form.
*With second warning, your manager and the general manager will meet to discuss the proper handling of the situation. | high19301.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "can be caused by flying over several time zones in an airplane"
},
"options": [
"can cause difficulties in speaking",
"can make people feel tired for a few weeks",
"is the illness only found in people who work on the airplane... | A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. Jet lag interferes with a person's normal times for sleeping and waking. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They also may have problems thinking clearly and remembering.
Kwangwook Cho is a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain. He reported the findings of his jet lag study in the publication Nature Neuroscience.
The study involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. The women had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.
Mister Cho took some fluid from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains using magnetic resonance imaging. This is a way to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes.
It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.
Mister Cho says he believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.
Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory. | high4575.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Technology."
},
"options": [
"Advertisements.",
"Technology.",
"Education.",
"Entertainment."
],
"question": "Which section is the passage most likely to appear in?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answ... | NEW YORK---Booksellers and technology companies are diving into the world of digital books. Sony Corp is selling the Reader Digital Book for $299, while giant online shopping company Amazon.com offers the Kindle for $399.
The digital books are light, easy on the eyes and let readers carry around as many as 200 titles in hardware that weighs less than a pound.
But to some people, there's something missing.
"It's , I guess, the feel of holding a book that someone really put a lot of effort into writing," said Katy Farina, 21.
Farina, a college student who was browsing at a bookstore, said, "It feels real, while the reader separates you a little bit from the story."
Harry Howe, a professor, said he might use an e-book reader in search of materials while away from home, but not for reading a novel. "It's just not a physical experience that I'm yet comfortable with. On the other hand, I didn't grow up reading things on websites."
Farina said she would like a reader for travelling because she would not have to transport so many books. "To put 10 books on your Sony reader or on your Kindle is a lot better than carrying 10 books," she said.
Neither Sony nor Amazon would say how many machines they have sold, but enough people are interested in trying them out. An Amazon official at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week said the Kindle sold out on its first day in 6 hours.
And for people hesitating between paper and e-books, Sony does offer a compromising -- an optional paper cover. "I think it's a clever move." Said Howe. | high8367.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They like summer."
},
"options": [
"Summer is warm.",
"They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm.",
"They can do many activities outside.",
"They like summer."
],
"question": "Why did people write and ... | If you ask most Americans, they would say their favorite season of the year is summer. The weather is warm. They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. Young people do not have to go to school. They can do many activities outside, like playing sports and swimming at the beach or the pool. They like the sunshine during the day and the warm summer nights. People have written and recorded hundreds of songs about summer. These are some of our favorites.
One of the most famous songs about summer is from George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess". He wrote the music in nineteen thirty-five. The opera takes place in the southern United States. It opens with these words: "Summertime and the living' is easy. Fish are jumping' and the cotton is high." Leontyne Price sings the song.
The nineteen fifties and sixties produced many songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. The songs are about having fun, swimming in the ocean, driving in cars. However, for some teenagers, summer vacation was not all fun and games. Some of them had to work to earn money. | high15513.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The importance of a good first impression"
},
"options": [
"How to make friends with others",
"How to enjoy yourself in your life",
"The importance of a good first impression",
"Good measures to communicate with others"... | A good first impression is important. So, how do you, when you're meeting someone for the first time, make certain he or she doesn't get the wrong image of you?
A study concluded that the first 30 seconds make or break the connection between two people when they meet for the first time. Another study conducted by UCLA found that "people evaluate one another by using the three V's: visual (appearance), vocal (voice) and verbal (what you say)."
Before you head out on your next date to meet someone new, let's concentrate on these areas:
*How others will see you. (Visual) Are you dressed well? Do you look like this date is important to you? Did you take some time with your appearance? Watch your manners: people don't like bad manners.
*How others will hear you. (Vocal) Is your voice too soft? You might come across as insecure. If you speak softly, make an effort to speak clearly -- don't make your date have to work to hear you.
*What others will hear you say. (Verbal) People have a natural desire to connect -- let them know you're interested in what they have to say by repeating it back to them. Don't say the same thing everyone else is saying. | high7054.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "hoped to have the food first and pay later"
},
"options": [
"promised to obey the store rules",
"forgot to take any money with him",
"hoped to have the food first and pay later",
"could not afford anything more expensiv... | Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it's not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash , had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
Icouldn't help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn't allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. "Charge it to me," was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion. | high1425.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "rising to the top in scores at everything"
},
"options": [
"realizing imaginative and creative ideas",
"achieving individual accomplishment",
"winning scholarships to top schools",
"rising to the top in scores at everyt... | Looking up at the ceiling, Na He Jeon pours porridge into her mouth. She carefully dips the bowl forward, dropping the porridge directly down her throat, careful not to touch the 15 ulcers in her mouth. But it was the week before midterms, so she still had to study. Jeon was 1st out of 330 students on her exams that year. "Thank god I did," she says. "If I hadn't done well I would have been regarded as a failure." By the end of the week, 14-year-old Jeon weighed only 83.6 pounds.
Like Jeon, there are countless numbers of first generation Asian-Americans who make great efforts to go beyond at everything. Yet the children themselves cannot all be put to blame for their efforts. Typically, it is the parents who are designing a life which they see as perfect for their children. One such occurrence is when I was at my hotel in Beijing. It was roughly around 8:00 p.m. when I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner. I jumped into the pool that was already spotted with a few Chinese children and I hadn't realized what was going on until I took notice of the parents calling out orders and instructing their children. I saw various children all under the age of 10 taking laps across the pool trying various styles. If a child's foot was too bent, her parent would demand that she straighten it. If a child was kicking too slowly, his parent would order that he go faster. I couldn't help but pity the children whose parents were taking the opportunity to give a swimming lesson, rather than just let them enjoy their time during the holiday.
Either because of their parents or their own desire, first-generation Asian-Americans put forth their 110% in order to be accepted into one of the best American colleges. Asian-American students want to see A's, 100%'s, and perfect scores. According to Jeon, Asians complain that students with a 4.0 GPA and 2400 SAT simply cannot be rejected from top schools. To their disappointment, however, they often are.
The ethic of this aggressive work also exhibits itself via sports and other after-class activities. What sets Asian-Americans apart, however, is that they fight to be excellent in whatever it is that they do. Be it playing the piano or performing in math competitions, Asian-Americans look to be in first place. Although it may cause unnecessary stress, such a driven work ethic is a _ quality. Often blamed for lacking in creativity, Asian-Americans can actually make up for the absence of imagination with their determination. The average American can dream creative dreams, but that only matters if he or she can make it happen in reality. Asian-Americans, instead, can gather creative ideas to produce something concrete.
Yet with such a drive to succeed, Asian-Americans have somehow twisted their definition of success. Rather than looking at personal achievement, they refer to numbers, statistics and scores to rate their success. It seems as if desire and the sense of free will are nonexistent in certain Asian-American students as they mercilessly drive themselves to an inevitable burnout. Their desire to be the most-talented is an impossible dream. In a fruitless attempt, they try to be the best in a world already full of winners. | high13162.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People with HIV in rich countries need not worry about anything."
},
"options": [
"Most people with HIV live in poor countries of the world.",
"People with HIV in rich countries need not worry about anything.",
"Lack of educa... | Now AIDS has become one of the most dangerous killers for human beings. The whole world is in danger of AIDS. But the situation in rich countries is not the same as that in poor countries. According to a research, the most serious area is Africa.
Throughout Africa, whole communities are being _ by AIDS. Mothers, fathers, teachers and farmers are dying in thousands, day after day.
Why is it that most people with HIV live in the world's poorest countries? Lack of education and health care makes people easy to be infected ; poverty and the constant search for work and food keep them on the move; casual work and casual sex leave women particularly easy to be infected. As a result, the disease spreads to even more people. Those who are already malnourished very soon become sick. Parents die, leaving children who are infected. It's a dangerous circle.
When Pep Bonet visited Nchelenge in northern Zambia in 2003, he found one person in four was HIVpositive(HIV). There was a closed and fearful atmosphere. No one wanted to admit to their HIV identity, and women who were HIV positives were often beaten or driven out of their home. Mothers left home and children became orphans. People lost hope, and the light went out of their eyes.
In rich countries, anti-HIV drug treatments can keep people with HIV healthy for many years; in poor countries where 95% of people with HIV live, only a few can afford to get these drugs. Do you think that's fair? | high18037.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "confidence"
},
"options": [
"good looks",
"white teeth",
"confidence",
"race"
],
"question": "In the writer's opinion, attractiveness is determined by a person's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | It's not about how much money you make, and it's not about who your daddy is. And no, it's definitely not about whether you look like Tom Cruise or his wife Katie Holmes ... What it is about is these simple things, things that maybe even a person like Tom Cruise does not have.
We're talking about being attractive in general, whether it's on a job interview or just gaining the respect of your colleagues.
Ask lots of questions
In other words, be humble. If you come across as a know-it-all (even if you really do know it all!), it really pushes people away. Rather, asking lots and lots of questions (even dumb ones) makes people feel like you care, you can be trusted, and you are... humble.
Stay busy
Do you really know the power of this? We're told to stay busy to prevent depression and feelings of anxiety. But did you know you should also stay busy to be really attractive? It's true. Always have something to do. Have you ever seen someone just sitting around, doing nothing? How unattractive. Always be busy with something, even if for some reason you have to make something up.
Show your pearly whites (or just smile)
Smile more, no matter how ugly your teeth are. I'm not kidding about this one. It's not all about the teeth. If you are smiling genuinely, you can draw everyone for 100 meters around to you.
Be interested in other men
Be interested in the other person. Again, ask them questions. Don't talk about yourself... remove attention from yourself. If you are truly interested in the person, it will come across. And if you want to talk about yourself, you'll find that putting the other person first actually opens him up to return the favor and ask you questions. See how fun this is?
So, yes it is possible to be the most attractive person in the world. If you've noticed the ring throughout the article, it has a lot to do with just being confident in who you are. Nobody needs to look like Tom Cruise or Will Smith or their wives, or anyone else for that matter. Every person, of every race, of every nationality, of every background, can be the most attractive person in the world. | high17304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she felt that she might have a high IQ"
},
"options": [
"ail people around thought that she was smart",
"she felt that she might have a high IQ",
"her parents strongly wanted her to do so",
"the grammar school advised h... | Lydia Sebastian achieved the top score of 162 on Mensa,s Cattell III B paper, suggesting she has a higher IQ than well-known geniuses Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. The comparison doesn't sit well with the British student, who's currently in Year 8 at Colchester County high school, a selective girl's grammar school in Essex, England.
"I don't think I can be compared to such great intellectuals such as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. They've achieved so much. I don't think it's right," Lydia told CNN.
Lydia sat the test in her summer holidays, after raising the idea with her parents and pestering them for the best part of a year. It turns out the test wasn't that hard after all.
"I was really nervous before the test and I thought it was going to be really hard. But as I started the test, I thought it was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be," she said.
Lydia's not quite sure what she wants to do when she leaves school, although she's leaning toward something "based around Maths, because it's one of my favorite subjects. " "All I,m going to do is work as hard as I can, and see where that gets me," she said.
To explain Lydia's mark's level, the top adult score in the Cattell III B test, which primarily tests verbal reasoning, is 161. A top 2% score which allows entry to Mensa, the club for those with high IQs would be 148 or over. Lydia scored 162, placing her in the top 1% of the population. | high19329.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "A soldier"
},
"options": [
"An official",
"A soldier",
"A worker",
"A teacher"
],
"question": "What was Joshua Baker when he died in motor vehicle accident in California?",
"question_type": "factiod_question... | Years after throwing a bottle-up note into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man's childhood message was found and returned to his mother.
Eleven years ago, a then 10-year-old boy, Joshua Baker, wrote the message, folded and put it in an empty container, his mother, Maggie Holbrook said. He died last February in a motor vehicle accident in California. He had recently returned after a serving in the Middle East as a US marine. "I think he was just letting us know he was OK and keep doing what we are doing." Holbrook said.
The message surfaced in White Lake in late April, just days after the 11th anniversary of its being thrown into the lake. It was found by one of Baker's closest friends, Steve Lieder, she said. Lieder and two friends were chatting near the lake when Lieder looked down and saw the bottle. He broke it open and found the note inside.
"My name is Joshua Baker. I am 10. If you find this, put it on the news. The date is 4/16/98." They immediately took it to Holbrook, who said she is now having the note preserved and will display it in her home.
She can remember when her son wrote the message for the school project. She said she always wondered why he didn't put it in the nearby Wolf River, which has a much stronger current.
"I still remember the day he wrote it, " Holbrook said. "I couldn't understand why he threw I in the lake. No one would never see it again. Now I know." | high11775.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "His success in helping his cousin learn math."
},
"options": [
"His success in helping his cousin learn math.",
"His discovery that many students found learning math difficult.",
"A suggestion made to him at a local high scho... | A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan's voice is heard every day on the net -- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on You Tube --lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his "Khan Academy" four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan's help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. "It feels like my voice in their head. You're looking at it and it feels like someone's over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you," he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person--he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. "I think the teachers are good, but they can't teach at a speed that's perfect for everyone," she said. "I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it."
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. "Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off," he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he's ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well. | high3232.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In a newspaper"
},
"options": [
"In a science fiction.",
"In a newspaper",
"In a medical magazine",
"In a guidebook."
],
"question": "Where do you probably read the article?",
"question_type": "factiod_quest... | INTEX Giant Dolphin Inflatable Swimming Pool Ride-On Raft
Price:$88
*Great design is as impressive as it is comfortable !
*Handles are great for maintain control
*Dimensions:79" x 30"
Product Description
Great for pools and the beach, the INTEX Dolphin Ride - On Raft is sure to catch some eyes! This impressive raft features heavy duty handles and a uniquely large design. Get out there and enjoy the water this summer on the INTEX Dolphin Ride-On Raft. Enjoy a restful day on the water, lying in the comfort of this soft, durable , colorful inflatable ( ) raft from water product maker Intex. Made of special material, its as durable as it is soft and comfortable, and has two handles for easy on-and-off. It will bring a lot of fun to both adults and children.
About Intex Recreation:
Intex Recreation makes above-ground swimming pools, air beds, inflatable toys, pool and lake boats. The company has been in business for over 40 years, and is a global leader in designing and producing innovative products for indoor and outdoor recreation. Intex products meet the most strict safety standards, taking testing to ensure years of safety and satisfaction.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Hello, my name is Mike Smith. I bought the raft for my family. It worked perfectly. It is a great size for the three of us. We hit many rocks and low tree branches drifting down a river, but the raft came out safety. This is an excellent raft. It's durable and floats like it should. Great for kids or adults. And great for family use.
Contact Information of intex Recreation: Tel:800-876-0987 E-mail: In texrecreation@hotmail.com | high11013.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He was right to pick the paper up because it was important."
},
"options": [
"He was lucky to notice the paper on the roadside.",
"He was happy to do shopping in the district for it was convenient.",
"He was right to pick the... | Recently, I experienced a wonderful lesson in how little things still mean a lot. My brother, mother and I live in a very rural district on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our farm is at least a dozen miles from the most basic of services. Consequently, we take weekly trips to COSTCO to procure fuel and supplies. About a month ago, we'd finished loading up the SUV and prepared to leave. As I settled into my seat, I glanced down at the roadside, when a piece of paper caught my eye. I picked it up and read it carefully. Instantly, I was grateful I did.
The form turned out to be a receipt from the State Motor Vehicle Division, documenting the owners' payment of their Vehicle's Registration fees. Quickly, I put myself in their shoes and figured: no one would throw this out, especially if it was current. I also looked over the form for contact or any personal data, perhaps a license tag or telephone number. But that seemed impractical. Although the form had been born on the wind, where in the busy, crowded parking lot would I find the owners? Had it been lying there for a few minutes or a week? So I checked the date, the fees paid, noted the names of the owners and pocketed the receipt. Recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan, I concluded that the best and easiest step to take was to put the form in an envelope addressed to the couple and send it to them by post. Further, I imagined how crazy I'd be if I had misplaced my receipt. Much easier to attempt returning it than to leave them angry, upset, etc. over the loss.
By the end of the week, I received a beautiful thank-you letter from a very grateful and happy couple containing a hand written message and a gift card to use at any Starbuck's. In her note, the wife explained how a gust of wind snatched their receipt from a pocket in her car's passenger door. They had panicked and searched crazily for quite some time before giving up. It felt great to know I'd helped someone avoid a major loss by doing something that at first glance seemed minor or even unimportant. | high3554.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "provide answers raised by the people who have no access to the Internet"
},
"options": [
"help improve the living standard of the people in poor areas",
"promote the computer technology",
"provide answers raised by the people... | When you have a question about something, where do you go? For many people the answer is simple. They go online to a search engine like Google or Yahoo. But what about people in rural or underdeveloped areas who may have no way to get on the Internet? Luckily, Rose Shuman, a business and international development consultant in California, has found a way for them. Her amazing solution is "Question Box".
Question Box is a service that provides answers--free of charge--for people who cannot search the Internet directly. They might not be able to read, or they simply have no access.
Question Box began two years ago in India.People use a metal call box with a pushtotalk button to connect to a live operator, as Rose Shuman explains, "You just push a button, a big green button, and that will connect you directly to our operators who are sitting in front of computers, and speak your language. And you can ask them any sort of question you want, and they'll look it up in English or in Hindi, or whatever the main language is, and translate the answer right back for you."
The service is currently offered in two villages. The latest version of the box uses mobile phone technology and solar panels in case the electrical power fails. Rose Shuman says the aim was to make the box as easy as possible for users.
"Rather than try to bring a lot of infrastructure to them and expect them to learn how to use the Internet, the idea was to make a technology that even Grandma could use, figuring that Grandma could probably walk up to a box and push a button," added Shuman.
In April, Question Box expanded to Uganda.Forty community workers with mobile phones connect villagers to call center operators in Kampala.The community workers go around telling people about the service. They wear Tshirts that say "Ask Me."
But Internet service in Uganda proved slow and undependable. So Question Box teamed up with a local technology company to store information on a local server. That way, the researchers in Kampala can quickly search the database for answers when users ask about current events and many other subjects.
Rose Shuman continued, "When was Mahatma Gandhi born and how long is the Nile River? What's the tallest mountain? The funniest one I think we got was, 'Did the pyramids ever move to another place?', which we found pretty funny. But we did look it up, and they haven't moved." | high18751.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It fell onto Venus."
},
"options": [
"It was floating in space forever.",
"It flew into heavy clouds.",
"It returned to the Earth.",
"It fell onto Venus."
],
"question": "What happened to Magellan in the end?",
... | Scientists know of more than 1,000 volcanoes on the surface of Venus, Earth's "sister" planet. A big question has been: Are they still active? The scientists say yes.
Their evidence for recent volcanic activity on Venus comes from a lava flow in the planet's northern hemisphere. The flow is hotter than the rocks around, which means the lava might still be cooling off. "The flow we studied seems to be very young---it is still warm inside," Nataliya Bondarenko said.
Venus is a difficult planet to study from Earth because it is surrounded by thick clouds. Telescopes on Earth can't see through these clouds, so the best information about Venus comes from spacecraft orbiting it.
Bondarenko and her colleagues studied the lava flow using data from NASA's Magellan mission. That spacecraft spent four years in orbit around Venus and used radar to make a map of 98 percent of the planet's surface. On October 11th, 1994, the mission ended, and the spacecraft plunged through Venus' heavy cloud cover and crashed onto the planet below.
While in orbit, the Magellan craft sent microwaves, which can go through Venus' clouds, to the surface. Microwaves are invisible and can be as long as three feet. These waves are a kind of energy, like light. And like light, they bounce off surfaces. The way the waves bounced off the Venus' surface and back to the craft supplied information that the scientists used to estimate the temperature of various parts of the planet's surface. Bondarenko's team found that the lava flow was hotter than its surroundings---which may mean the lava flow is in the process of cooling.
The scientists say the lava flow can't be very old because if it were, it would have cooled off enough that Magellan wouldn't have noticed the difference in microwaves. She adds that the flow appears in a 1978 view of the surface that a craft called the Pioneer Venus Orbiter captured. | high5125.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She is grateful"
},
"options": [
"She is fearful",
"She is grateful",
"She feels trapped",
"She feels hateful"
],
"question": "How does the author now feel when remembering what her parents did for her in the pa... | It's not easy growing up. Growing up can be a real "pain" for some of us. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we feel sad, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don't understand why we can't stay young forever. But we should take a look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude and learn from them. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time. We should realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!
Throughout our lives we are going to face many challenges and pains, but we should never let these _ keep us from following our dreams. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time.
As a young girl, my parents forced me to do so many things that I didn't like. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music and I also hated them. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music hasenriched my life in so many ways. I now realize that my parents and teachers wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.
We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just part of our life. They might seem so huge at the time, but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no challenges and lived a life like that. Life would be really boring and meaningless. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just smallbumps on our road to success, we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains! | high1343.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "animals"
},
"options": [
"boys",
"tools",
"dead men",
"animals"
],
"question": "Most of the drawings in the caves are about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_... | Imagine looking for your lost dog. You step into a cave . But instead of the dog, you find beautiful cave paintings. You see paintings of horses, deer, and bison that are drawn in black, brown, red and yellow. Your first question would probably be "Who did this?"
This is what happened to four French boys in 1940. They found the Lascaux caves. The paintings the boys discovered in those caves are 17,000 years old. They were drawn by the ancient people called Cro-Magnons.
Cro-Magnons looked much like people of today. They used tools, such as fishing nets. But their art was extremely good. The main cave at Lascaux is called the Great Hall of Bulls, which has a picture of bulls and horses in many colors. The largest animal is 18 feet long. There are smaller animals, such as bison, stags and a bear. There is also a strange spotted two-horned animal.
To the left of the main cave are the most famous paintings that are the drawings of multicolored animals. One painting is called Little Horses. On the ceiling are horses and cows. The most unusual sight may be in the Shaft of the Dead Man where there is a thinoceros , a carefully drawn dead man, a wounded bison and a bird.
Why did Cro-Magnon artists do these beautiful drawings on cave walls? Did the drawings call upon some magical power? Did the Cro-Magnon people hope that the drawings would bring good luck? There is one thing the paintings seem to tell us. The Cro- Magnons were interested in the world. They looked at beauty and they understood it. | high13604.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To show their religious belief."
},
"options": [
"To indicate their social rank.",
"To show their financial status.",
"To show their religious belief.",
"To highlight their family background."
],
"question": "Wh... | The majority of Indian women wear a red dot between their eyebrows. While it is generally taken as an indicator of their marital status, the practice is primarily related to the Hindu religion. The dot goes by different names in different Hindi dialects, and "bindi" is the one that is most commonly known. Traditionally, the dot carries no gender restriction: Men as well as women wear it. However, the tradition of men wearing it has faded in recent times, so nowadays we see a lot more women than men wearing one.
The position of the bindi is standard: center of the forehead, close to the eyebrows. It represents a third, or inner eye. Hindu tradition holds that all people have three eyes: The two outer ones are used for seeing the outside world, and the third one is there to focus inward toward God. As such, the dot serves as a constant reminder to keep God in the front of a believer's thoughts.
Red is the traditional color of the dot. It is said that in ancient times a man would place a drop of blood between his wife's eyes to seal their marriage. According to Hindu beliefs, the color red is believed to bring good fortune to the married couple. Today, people go with different colors depending upon their preferences. Women often wear dots that match the color of their clothes. Decorative or sticker bindis come in all sizes, colors and variations, and can be worn by young and old, married and unmarried people alike. Wearing a bindi has become more of a fashion statement than a religious custom. | high8401.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She is worried that people's self-esteem might be affected by how others react to their selfies."
},
"options": [
"She thinks they are a good form of self-expression and documentation.",
"She believes the disadvantages of selfies o... | Many of us enjoy doing it: you turn on the camera on your mobile phone and hold it at a high angle, making your eyes look bigger and your cheekbones more defined. You turn to your best side and click. There it is -- your selfie.
Over the past year, "selfie" has become a well-known term across the globe. This August the Oxford dictionary added the word to their online dictionary and defined it as: "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and up-loaded to a social media website."
Today it's not difficult to find social networking pages full of photos people have taken of themselves and their friends. And selfie culture has become especially relevant for young people. As many as 91 percent of teenagers have posted photos of themselves online, according to a recent survey by the US Pew Research Center.
So what are the reasons for the rise of selfie culture?
"The cult of the selfie celebrates regular people," Pamela Rutledge, a professor at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, told Vogue magazine. "There are many more photographs available now of real people than models."
Posting selfies also allows you to control your image online. "I like having the power to choose how I look, even if I'm making a funny face," Samantha Barks, 19, a high school student in the US, told Vogue.
In addition to self-expression and documentation, selfies "allow of a close friendship for long-distance friends, because you can see each other's faces every day", wrote Casey Miller at The Huffmgton Post.
But US psychologist Jill Weber is concerned that selfies might lead to social problems, "There's a danger that your self-esteem may start to be tied to the comments and 'likes' you get when you post a selfie, and they aren't based on who you are -- they're based on what you look like," Weber told Vogue. "When you get nothing or a negative response, your confidence can _ ." | high7732.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "one's blood type"
},
"options": [
"one's picture",
"one's fingerprint",
"one's signature",
"one's blood type"
],
"question": "The new passport photos will probably contain all EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type"... | The passport photographs of the future could turn out to be more than just another pretty picture if a new computer technique developed by Israeli scientists catches on.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, have invented a way to hide information such as a fingerprint or signature in color images. They believe this could improve passport safety or be used to produce product bar codes or designs that cannot be seen.
"The papers can be faxed, scanned and reprinted without hidden data disappearing," New Scientist magazine said last week.
Joseph Rosen and a team of scientists worked out the new instrument by creating a mathematical model.
The model turns a fingerprint or signature into a series of numbers which are used to shape the dots that make up a color picture.
"Each dot can be forced out of the usual place slightly without noticeably changing the final appearance of the image," the magazine said.
Several images that can be hidden in a single picture are scanned into a computer which does the work.
The hidden images or fingerprints cannot be shown until the picture is scanned again.
The computer rebuilds the fingerprint by measuring the displacement of the dots in the picture.
The magazine said that if he model is used for passport checkpoints the picture can be unscrambled to show the fingerprint or signature and checked against the person holding the passport.
The researchers are now working on a handheld, and instrument which could make unscrambling the hidden information easier. | high1357.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "may enjoy unexpected views on the way"
},
"options": [
"will be lost in the tropical forest",
"may enjoy unexpected views on the way",
"can be bitten by the tree snakes occasionally",
"need to follow the track of ants i... | Design your own adventure spent at IZE's Blue Creek Field Station by choosing activities per day from the list below.
Short Cave Hike: 2-hour activity where you will be exposed to the ultimate tropical rainforest experience. At every turn along the trail,a novel experience awaits. Perhaps it's a trail of leaf cutter ants or a delicate tree snake. You will follow your Maya Guides up a steep incline to the entrance of one of the most wonderful limestone caves in Belize.
Ethnobotany Walk: 3-hour activity where you will explore the medical and cookery uses of the local herbs,plants and trees. The Mayans were masters in using the jungle's natural resources for their medical needs. You will learn about the vines that store drinking water and other remarkable remedies that nature offers. You will get a first-hand look at the crops the Maya harvest such as cocoa,mango , rice, beans, etc.
Hokeb Ha Cave Hike:Spend time in one of the most spectacular limestone caves in Belize. The name of this cave means "where the water enters the earth". Stalactites hang from the ceiling, and colonies of bats live in the darkest gaps. You can also search for Mayan artificial crafts over l,000 years old.
Lizard Hike: 2-4 hour activity where you will swim and hike along the clear blue river as you look for lizards in the tall trees. Can you identify which species? Is it the spectacular dinosaur that looks like green lizards? Belize is home to many of the 3,800 species of lizards in the worldi | high13610.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "our society asks far too much of teenage girls"
},
"options": [
"our society asks far too much of teenage girls",
"teenage girls shouldn't be so perfect at school",
"boys are always lazy ones rather than girls",
"Americ... | In the Harry Potter films, Hermione Granger is better than her male friends and is considered the brightest pupil in her grade. Isn't it often the same in schools of our real world? A great many boys fall behind their female classmates.
"It's surprising but true that most of the top students have been girls since primary school. Girls are class leaders, club presidents and the top ones in exams," said Wang Feixuan, 15, who studies at a Chengdu school. By any measure, Wang herself is a high-achiever. She is a top student, a team leader in her school's sports club and a winner in national English and IT competitions.
But why do so many girls _ their male peers ?
In Sun Yunxiao's latest book Save Our Boys, he points out that the education system is "more suited to girls, who are good at memorizing and like to sit quietly and read." Yet he also says that girls have to do so much more when they compete with males for honors, top universities and later good jobs. They can feel great pressure nearly every day.
This seems to be the same in most countries in the world. Young women in the United States are also reported to feel the same pressure to be perfect.
"Let's look at what we ask of our teenage girls," says an American professor Stephen Hinshaw in an interview.
He thinks that it's no longer enough that a girl does well in school and is a caring friend. On the TV, on the Internet, and everywhere, girls see images of impossible perfection .
Today's young women must be good learners, good athletes, and fill their after-school lives with other activities. But they're also asked to have the styles and looks of popular stars. "Be pretty, sweet and nice. Be athletic, competitive and get straight. Be impossibly perfect." Stephen Hinshaw sums up. | high6438.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The oriental countries."
},
"options": [
"The oriental countries.",
"The East Indonesia.",
"The Old World.",
"The African mainland. ."
],
"question": "What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fift... | The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (,) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis . Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers. | high15261.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "There is no exact answer up to present."
},
"options": [
"It'll get drier and continue to remove CO2.",
"It'll remain steamy, warm, damp and thick.",
"It'll get warmer and then colder and drier.",
"There is no exact ans... | Walk through the Amazon rainforest today and you will find it is steamy, warm, damp and thick. But if you had been around 15, 000 years ago, during the last ice age, would it have been the same? For more than 30 years, scientists have been arguing about how rainforests like the Amazon might have reacted to the cold, dry climates of the ice ages, but until now, no one has reached a satisfying answer.
Rainforests like the Amazon are important for _ CO2from the atmosphere and helping to slow global warming. Currently the trees in the Amazon take in around 500 million tons of CO2each year: equal to the total amount of CO2giving off in the UK each year. But how will the Amazon react to future climate change? If it gets drier, will it still survive and continue to draw down CO2? Scientists hope that they will be able to learn in advance how the rainforest will manage in the future by understanding how rainforests reacted to climate change in the past.
Unfortunately, getting into the Amazon rainforest and collecting information are very difficult. To study past climate, scientists need to look at fossilized pollen, kept in lake muds. Going back to the last ice age means drilling deep down into lake sediments which requires specialized equipment and heavy machinery. There are very few roads and paths, or places to land helicopters and aero-planes. Rivers tend to the easiest way to enter the forest, but this still leaves vast areas between the rivers completely unsampled . So far, only a handful of cores have been drilled that go back to the last ice age and none of them provide enough information to prove how the Amazon rainforest reacts to climate change. | high8415.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "There is a link between eating speed and energy intake."
},
"options": [
"There is a link between eating speed and energy intake.",
"Eating at a slow speed may help feel hungry.",
"Eating too fast may damage your stomach.",
... | Eating at a slow speed may help reduce hunger, the U.S. researchers said on Monday. Previous research suggests that the ability to control energy intake may be affected by the speed at which we eat, and a high eating rate may damage the relationship between the sensory signals and processes that control how much we eat.
In order to learn more about the link between eating speed and energy intake, researchers examined how eating speed affects calories consumed during a meal in both normal-weight subjects as well as overweight or obese subjects.
In the new study, a group of normal-weight subjects and a group of overweight or obese subjects were asked to consume two meals in a controlled environment. All subjects ate one meal slowly, took small bites, chewed thoroughly, and paused and put the spoon down between bites, and ate a second meal quickly, took large bites, chewed quickly, and did not pause and put the spoon down.
At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found only normal-weight subjects had a statistically significant reduction in caloric consumption by eating slowly. "A lack of statistical significance in the overweight and obese group may be partly due to the fact that they consumed less food during both eating conditions compared to the normal-weight subjects," Professor Meena Shah said, "it is possible that the overweight and obese subjects felt more self-conscious, and thus ate less during the study."
Despite the differences in caloric consumption between the normal-weight and overweight and obese subjects, the study found some similarities. Both groups felt less hungry later on after the slow meal than after the fast meal, which indicates that greater hunger suppression among both groups could be expected from a meal consumed more slowly. Also, both the normal-weight and overweight or obese groups consumed more water during the slow meal. "The higher water intake during the slow eating condition may have affected food consumption," said Shah. According to Shah, slowing the speed of eating may help suppress hunger levels and "may even improve the enjoyment of a meal".
The findings were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. | high11007.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Choose to Be Happy"
},
"options": [
"Choose to Be Happy",
"Choose Your Emotions",
"Pretend to Be Happy",
"Find Happiness"
],
"question": "What's the best title of this passage?",
"question_type": null
},
... | You have the ability to decide if you are happy or not. Happiness is a choice.
You can't depend on someone else to make you happy. That is a lesson I learned early on in my marriage. I realized that I couldn't rely on my husband as my source of happiness. I learned that my happiness depended on me and not my husband's actions. I learned that you have to choose to be happy.
You can choose your emotions. True happiness comes from within; it can't be forced by outside forces. So how do you choose happiness? The same way you choose to smile or choose to wear a certain outfit. You choose it because that's what you want to experience in your life.
You want to buy a new pair of shoes so you choose a pair that you like and feel good. You wouldn't buy a pair of shoes that you don't like or that don't fit well, right? So why do we keep choosing emotions and feelings that don't make us feel good?
Choosing to be happy after you realize your anger has shown up (or even choosing to be calm) can be beneficial. We choose our feelings; no one can do that for us. If we let others get to us, influence our emotions - we are giving them power over us. When others cause us anger or pain, we are giving them our power.
We need to keep our feelings in check and not react automatically to what is thrown at us. We need to think our actions out instead of just reacting to what someone says or does.
Remember that we can always choose happiness. At first it will be difficult to just switch your thoughts and feelings from anger, self-doubt, or fear to joy and happiness. But it is only a thought away. Don't dwell on what happens to you unnecessarily but realize what is causing you to feel that way. Realize that thoughts, feelings and emotions can change. Then move on and choose to be happy. | high2886.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They enjoyed playing with fire and not for any other reason."
},
"options": [
"They enjoyed playing with fire and not for any other reason.",
"They wanted to make fun of their parents.",
"They were not satisfied with the surr... | L'HAY-LES-ROSES, France: Three teenage girls admitted starting a fire in a suburban Paris housing project over the weekend that killed 17 people, including three children, police said yesterday. A fourth girl was held yesterday morning.
The fire in a 19-storey building south of Paris was the third fatal blaze in the Paris area in nine days. The death toll rose to 16 after a man died late Sunday in a hospital, where seven others were being treated for serious injuries.
Three teenagers taken in for questioning on Sunday admitted having started the fire for fun, police said. Two of the suspects were 18 years old, the other was 16. Further details were not available.
Witnesses claimed to have seen a group of youths who lived in the building start the fire, said Patrick Seve, mayor of the town of L'HAY-LES-ROSES, near Orly airport, where the building was located.
The first is believed to have broken out in the lobby of the building before raging up a stairwell at least three floors. Some residents jumped from windows as the fire spread through the building's entrance.
Authorities were investigating possible criminals in an August 26 fire that killed 14 African children and three adults in a Paris apartment building. Three days later, another fire killed seven in a building. k*s*5u
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy suggested on French television on Sunday night that copycats were at work. "Each time there is a new story, sometimes that gives ideas to people who then turn into criminals," Sarkozy said, promising severe punishment for anyone found guilty of arson . | high16768.txt |
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