questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in a newspaper"
},
"options": [
"in a letter",
"in a book",
"in a newspaper",
"in a magazine"
],
"question": "You may read the passage _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Chinese government has decided to give up the rules of food with no checking .According to the Xinhua News, from September 17th , 2008, Chinese government decided to give up the rules of food with no checking. Many people said yes to it. The officer said that these days, the food safety accident about children milk of Sanlu made the government decide to give it up. In order to keep the food safe and people healthy, Chinese government said that all the food must be checked. The rule of food with no checking made in 1999 was given up from that day.
"I think if the companies get the food with no checking, they will never check their food. It gives them the chance of making the food of poor quality," an old man said in the shop. " I hope our government not only gives it up, but also makes some strong rules to manage the companies," a young woman told us. " The important point is our government should send officers to the companies and check their food every time," a shop owner said. A young expert of food safety said, " The department of government should take the food from the shop or supermarket and check, not ask them to send. In that way, we can get the real checking."
But in order to keep people's health, the government asks the officers to check all the food before they are sent to the shop or supermarket. That means all the food must be checked before they are sold. | middle406.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "see beautiful peacocks"
},
"options": [
"do some shopping",
"see beautiful peacocks",
"play on Dongfeng Square",
"eat nice food"
],
"question": "Many visitors come to the writer's city to _",
"question_type... | NO.4 Middle School
Kunming, Yunnan
April 2nd, 2004
Dear editor
I live in a beautiful city. Many visitors come to my city. There are so many colorful peacocks here .The peacocks mostly live on the grass land of Dongfeng Square
They are given food freely by visitors ,They usually throw food to them ,and don't think about at all whether the food is right or not. Some of the peacocks became ill, some even died after eating the bad food given by the visitors . I'm sure most of the visitors who throw food to the peacocks really like the birds ,but don't realize that they may be doing them harm .The visitors should be told that what have done is very harmful to the birds , and this kind of thing must be stopped from happening Perhaps we can build some small shops beside Dongfeng Square to sell peacock food .For us every person, it's our duty to give more love to these beautiful birds and to look after them carefully.
Yours,
Sun Yan | middle1192.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "math"
},
"options": [
"dancing",
"math",
"singing",
"English"
],
"question": "Jane has difficulty in learning _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Jane Scott is fourteen and the year before last she began to study in a middle school. She likes dancing and singing and spends a lot of time on them. But she hates math and does not work hard at it. She thinks it difficult to learn. She falls behind her classmates and once failed the math exam. She decides to drop it. Her father is angry with her when he knows about it.
It was Sunday. Mr Scott gave a call to his sister, who teaches math in another school. He hoped she would come and tell his daughter how to learn math. The woman came quickly and said. "You're a clever girl, Jane. I'm sure you'll soon do well in math if you work hard at it."
"I'm afraid I can't, Aunt," said Jane, "Girls can't be good at math."
"I don't think so," said the woman. "I was good at it when was a girl. You must do more exercises and practice a math problem again and again until you master it. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Well, it's a math problem. Think about it and practice it again, and you'll work it out."
"OK," said the girl, "Let me try."
About an hour later, Jane took the exercise book to her aunt and said, "I've done the problem ten times."
"Well done!" her aunt said happily, "What result did you get?"
"Ten answers." | middle360.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "know about Michael Jackson and his music"
},
"options": [
"enter a college",
"be an English teacher",
"sing English songs",
"know about Michael Jackson and his music"
],
"question": "The author started to study ... | I started to study English when I was a child because of Michael Jackson. He has been my idol since 1991. I really wanted to understand him and his music. I used to use a dictionary to learn the meanings of words of songs written by him.
There was a lot of work to do to learn English, but I never felt tired. At first I learned about pronunciation, which was the hardest part for me. Because music was my
only source of spoken English, sometimes I had to use a pronunciation dictionary. Then I made lists of words in order to remember them and their meanings. I would spend hours learning English grammar. What's more, I read a lot. I also tried to translate texts, dialogues and songs.
Because of my hard work, my English improved a lot. In the end, I entered a college and had a great chance to further improve my English. Now I am an English teacher. And I am still making progress in English. | middle7285.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "17"
},
"options": [
"17",
"18",
"19",
"20"
],
"question": "If a British friend is raised up and down to the floor 18 yimes on his birthday,he is most likely to be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Birthday Traditions in Different Countrles[
England
Certain symbolic objects are mixed into the birthday cake as it's being prepared. If your piece of cake has a coin in it,then you will be rich. Also, when it's your birthday,your friends give you the"bumps".They lift you in the air by your hands and feet and raise you up and down to the floor;one for each year you lived,then another one or two for luck.
Denmark
A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in that house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child's bed while he/she is sleeping,so he/she will see them at once upon awakening.
Holland
Special year birthdays such as 5,10,15,20,21 are called"crown"years.The birthday child receives an especially large gift on a crown year birthday.The family also decorates the birthday child's chair at the dining room table with flowers,paper streamers and balloons.
Canada
The birthday child's nose is greased with butter for good luck.The greased nose makes the child too slippery for bad luck to catch him/her.In some parts of Canada,the birthday person even receives a punch for each year he/she is alive and then one for good luck.
Brazil
The birthday child receives a pull on the ear for each year he/she has been alive.The birthday person also gives the first plece of cake to his/her most special friend or relative,usually mom or dad.
Korea
There is a big family party on the first birthday.The table is set with food,and four items:a pencil,a ruler,thread,and money. The item that the baby chooses is said to forecast his/her future:excellent student,good with hands,long life or riches.
South Africa
On the twenty-first birthday,a key made of anything from paper to silver to gold is presented by the parents as a sign that the child is ready to unlock the door to their future. | middle5492.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "less serious"
},
"options": [
"less serious",
"less relaxed",
"more stressed",
"more nervous"
],
"question": "Lu Dongping thinks students are _ on micro blogs.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{... | Micro blogs like Weibo are nothing new for the young Chinese. A newspaper in Chengdu did a survey last month. It found that 90 percent of junior high school students use micro blogs.
They give students an outlet for emotion. "I use micro blogs to record my life. I let everyone 'see' my feelings and complaints ," said Liu Fangyue, 14, from Xiamen No. 1 Middle School. They have fun with classmates even after school. "I would send a message to praise someone who came first in the exam," said Liu.
Teachers also join in the fun. "When I sit down to talk to my students, they may not tell me their real thoughts," said Lu Dongping at Nanning No. 2 Middle School. "But on micro blogs, they are more relaxed. They even make fun of me."
You would be wrong if you think micro blogs are all about fun. Zhong Yun from Xiamen Haicang Experimental School sees it as a tool to learn English. The 13-year-old girl follows foreign stars such as Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber.
"In order to understand their English posts, I have to check the dictionary and learn many new words," said Zhong.
"Micro blogs widen students' perspectives , but there are rules to follow," said Shi Zhongying, a professor from Beijing Normal University. He shares some of them with micro bloggers.
"Manage your time, and don't let micro-blogging affect your studies and health," said Shi. "Don't give out your name, family address or phone number on micro blogs. You should also respect truth and other people's privacy ." | middle4954.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in the bushes"
},
"options": [
"at home",
"in the forest",
"in the bushes",
"in his kitchen"
],
"question": "Fred found the bone _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Fred is a dog. He always wants to have everything for himself. He doesn't like to share his food or toys with other dogs.
One day, he was running in a field, and found a large bone in the bushes. He was so happy! He thought, "Wow! This is the biggest bone in the world! And it's all mine! I should put it somewhere. Another dog may try to steal it."
"I'll run very far," he thought. "That way, no other dogs will find my bone." One hour later, he saw a small river and a bridge, "I'll cross the bridge, and put my bone on the other side," thought Fred. Then, he began to cross the bridge.
He looked down, and saw a dog with a bone in the water. He thought it was another dog with another bone! "There is a dog in the water. I want his bone too!" thought Fred. Then, he opened his mouth and tried to grab the other bone.
Splash! His bone fell into the water. "Oh, no! My bone is gone!" he thought. "Now I have nothing." | middle4798.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In 2012."
},
"options": [
"In 2012.",
"In 2013.",
"In 2014.",
"In2015."
],
"question": "When did Mo Yan get the Noble Prize for Literature?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Mo Yan,the winner of 2012 Nobble Prize for Literature ,is very popular around the world. He is famous as one of the greatest writers in china.
Mo Yan is fifty-nine years old in 2015,and his real name is Guan Moyue.The name of Mo Yan means"Don't speak".The writer said close the name to remember to close his mouth from getting himself in trouble. Mo Yan began to write in 1970s, and his first novel was"Falling rain on a Spring Night ",published in 1981.Then his second and more books were published.including "Red Sorghum"and "Big Breast and Wide Hips."
CCTV reporter Dong Qian once said to him,"I always feel that a writer is like a hen,and his works are like eggs. We may not always wonder what the hen looks like while we eat eggs. But this time, it's a golden egg. So naturally, everybody wants to know this hen who laid a golden egg. That's why so many people pay much attention to you ."
China was celebrating the success of this native son soon after he got the Prize, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan in their own ways. | middle5486.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "sucking his fingers"
},
"options": [
"biting his fingers",
"biting his nails",
"sucking his nails",
"sucking his fingers"
],
"question": "When Andrew was a little boy, he had a bad habit of _ .",
"question... | When he was a little child, Andrew had a serious bad habit of sucking his fingers all day long, especially when he had nothing interesting to do: when he was sleeping, when watching TV, when sitting on the sofa and so on. At the beginning, his parents didn't think it was a bad habit.
Therefore, as time goes by, the boy couldn't give up his habit. Now, in his twenties, Andrew seems to have developed the bad habit into another one: he always bites his nails . He cannot stop biting his nails all the time. There're moments when he even doesn't know that he is doing it. He realized it was a problem and this worried him a lot. Some of his friends told him about this bad habit, and he stops for a while. But then, if he isn't busy doing something, he starts biting his nails again!
In fact, there're a lot of bacteria in your nails and they can cause some disease. Also, the nails will become ugly and hard to _ . The worst thing is that this bad habit will bring the mental illness . If people cannot correct it in time, it can affect man's mental health.
In short, bad habits are very worrying, especially when the person with the habit is in public and cannot stop himself or herself doing it. Still, there must be ways to give up these bad habits and these people should try their best to stop doing them. | middle4940.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "weight that first-year university students can gain"
},
"options": [
"weight that high school students gain",
"weight that first-year university students can gain",
"fifteen pounds of food that first-year students eat",
... | You may not have heard the words "freshman fifteen" before, but they are very important for students who are entering university. A freshman is a first-year college student. "Fifteen" refers to fifteen pounds--the fifteen pounds added to a student's weight in his or her first year. There are a number of reasons why first-year university students gain (n) weight; but it's encouraging to know that freshmen don't have to add these harmful fifteen pounds.
Mistakes choosing food
University kitchens serve many kinds of food. Some students choose unhealthy food,because now their parents are not nearby to help them choose. Some students visit the kitchen many times while studying. Late at night, some students get harmful fast food such as fish and chips with Coke to drink. Students also have less time for walking, running, and doing sports because of their schoolwork.
Eating right
If you,re careful, you don,t have to add fifteen pounds. Here are some ideas:
l Think more about what you eat.
l Eat plenty of vegetables and healthy meats.
l Don't eat desserts full of sugar; have fruit after dinner.
l Try not to eat so much unhealthy food while you study.
l It,s all right to have a little fast food sometimes--but not often.
l Write down the foods you eat.
l Walk, run, do sports--move and you will feel better!
Remember that the "freshman fifteen" can happen to anyone. Talk to your friends about it. Together, try to eat healthy food and not to eat unhealthy food. Walking, running, and playing sports is always more fun with friends. Help each other and you can have a healthy and happy freshman year. | middle374.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He's a dog."
},
"options": [
"He's a dog.",
"She's a shy girl.",
"He's a quiet boy.",
"She's a teacher."
],
"question": "Who is Frank?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Today I took Frank to have a training class . We got there earlier than most of the other dogs and _ .
Mr. Brown helped us teach our dogs some skills . When the dog did it, he said, "Good dog!" He was a serious man but he laughed a lot with dogs. He said Frank was smarter than other dogs.
Next to Frank was also a smart dog. His name was Sam. His short legs made him look funny, but he could run faster than many of the bigger dogs. His owner was a quiet girl and looked a little shy. So I said hello to her first. I hoped she could be my friend.
At the end of the class, Mr. Brown told me that Frank did the best this class and he would give him a ball. | middle1838.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a radio program"
},
"options": [
"a story book",
"a radio program",
"a science magazine",
"a news report"
],
"question": "The text is most probably from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Today, we'll visit a place of strange and silent beauty. As beautiful as this place is, its name provides evidence of very real danger. We are exploring Death Valley National Park .
Death Valley is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California into the neighboring state of Nevada. Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous desert and mountains. There are mountains that reach more than 3,000 meters into the sky.
Much of Death Valley is flat and dry. In some areas the ground is nothing but salt. Nothing is able to grow in this salty ground. However, it would be wrong to think that nothing lives in Death Valley. The valley is full of life. Wildflowers grow very quickly after even a small amount of rain. Several kinds of birds live in Death Valley, as do mammals and reptiles. Many different snakes live there too.
The area got its name in 1849. That was the year after gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people from around the country traveled to the gold mining areas of the state. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. But there was a lack of water and there were too few plants for their work animals to eat. The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the valley. Slowly, they began to suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the valley. As they left, a woman in the group looked back and said, "Goodbye, death valley." The name has never been changed.
Death Valley became a national park in 1994. More than one million people visit the park each year. | middle7291.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Three"
},
"options": [
"Two",
"Three",
"Four",
"Five"
],
"question": "How many inventions are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer... | Inventions named after people
Many new things are invented each year. Interestingly, some inventions are named after the people who invented them, making the inventions and inventors easier to be remembered.
The bowler hat is named after London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler. The brothers received an order from Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2ndEarl of Leicester. They were asked to design a hat for Coke's gamekeepers to protect _ heads from branches while on horseback. Later, the stylish hat became popular in Europe and the United States.
Another invention that is named after its inventor is Braille, a writing system used by blind people. French educator Louis Braille developed a new system of reading and writing after learning the cryptography of French Captain Charles Barbier during the war. The captain had come up with a code of dots on paper that allowed soldiers to communicate in the dark.
The diesel engine is also named after its inventor----German engineer Rudolf Diesel. After a few dangerous tests, he invented a new and more efficient engine in 1892 and the engine was later called the diesel engine. The engines were widely used in buses, trucks, trains and ships, and Rudolf Diesel became a millionaire. | middle6831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Four"
},
"options": [
"Four",
"Six",
"Five",
"Three"
],
"question": "How many ways are there if you travel around London ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | London is a very large city with about 7 million people. How do so many people move on their way to work or school?
In London you can travel around the city by subway, bus, taxi or private car. The subway runs under the city. It goes to all parts of the city. Traveling by subway is the fastest way to get around the city.
The second way to travel about the city is by bus. It is a slower way to travel. This is because the road traffic is always heavy.
You can also travel around the city by taxi. This is very expensive, but the taxi will take you to the every place you wish to go to. If traffic is heavy, the taxi will be slow. During the mornings and afternoons, there is the _
The last way to get around London is using your own car. It is inconvenient if you are driving in the "rush hour". If there is an accident on the road, you will have to wait for a long time.
The best time to travel around the city is from 9 am to 4 pm. This is the time after the morning "rush hour" and before the evening "rush hour". Traffic will be less heavy during this time. | middle1186.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They built a farm of ants."
},
"options": [
"They built a farm of ants.",
"They bought a few ants.",
"They caught a lot of ants.",
"They found an ant city."
],
"question": "What did the writer's family do for hi... | When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive. After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels . I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.
On the fifth day a tragedy happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner the farm. My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.
Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more.
Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork. Working together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work.
But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, we cannot give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we must build another.
Giving up, I say, is not a good choice. | middle412.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Christopher's parents."
},
"options": [
"LVS Ascot Junior School's teachers.",
"The local government.",
"LVS Ascot Junior School's students.",
"Christopher's parents."
],
"question": "Who set up Christopher's Sm... | In many British schools, the pupils usually wear their school uniforms to school on weekdays.However, recently the students at LVS Ascot Junior School in England wore something quite different.What they wore was what people wear when they go to bed--pyjamas .They did this not only for fun, but for a local charity called Christopher's Smile.
Christopher's Smile was set up in 2008 by Karen & Kevin Capel whose only son Christopher died of cancer at a young age.They hope their charity will help pay for more research into children's cancers.Since then, the charity has raised a lot of money and gotten more and more volunteers.Every year, thousands of people take part in different activities such as charity walk or run to show their support for Christopher's Smile.
The students of Grade 6 at LVS Ascot Junior School also wanted to do something for the sick children.They organized the event "Pyjamas Day" to support Christopher's Smile."We wanted to raise money for our charity in a way that the whole school could join in it, so each pupil paid PS1 to wear his or her pyjamas to school on Pyjamas Day," said the young organizers.Both the students and their teachers took part in the event with great interest.Together they not only raised some money, but also had a good time. | middle4015.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "cancer"
},
"options": [
"TB",
"an accident",
"cancer",
"a serious injury"
],
"question": "Jeff's right leg was cut off because he had _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Jeff Keith has only one leg. When he was 12 years old, Jeff had cancer . Doctors had to cut off most of his right leg.
Every day Jeff puts on an artificial leg . With the plastic artificial leg Jeff can ride a bicycle, swim, and play soccer. He can also run.
Jeff made a plan with his friends who had plastic legs, too. They decided to run across America.
When he was 22 years old, Jeff Keith ran across the United States from the east to the west. He started running in Boston. Seven months later, he stopped running in Los Angeles. He ran 3,200 miles. Jeff stopped in cities on the way to Los Angeles. In every city people gave Jeff money. The money was not for Jeff, but for the American Cancer Society.
Jeff is _ , but he can do many things. He is studying to be a lawyer . Jeff says, "People can do anything they want to do. I want people to know that. I ran not only for disabled people. I ran for everybody."
,. | middle2464.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In big houses."
},
"options": [
"In big flats.",
"In small flats.",
"In big houses.",
"In small houses."
],
"question": "Where do the Dai people live?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Do you know Xishuangbana? It's a very beautiful place. It lies in Yunnan. The Dai people live there. Their homes are wonderful. The houses are very big and have long legs to hold them up. Sometimes those legs are over two metres tall.
It can be very hot in Yunnan. But the Dai people do not need air conditioners to keep cool. Their houses usually have two floors. One half of the second floor is the living room. The living room has a balcony. The other half of the second floor is their bedroom. There is a long corridor between the living room and the bedroom.
You must always take off your shoes before you go into a Dai family's house. They like to keep their houses clean. The bed is made of bamboo . The family's tables, chairs and cupboards are all made of bamboo too. It often rains in Yunnan. Pigs and chickens live on the first floor, because it is a good place to stay _ . | middle6602.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "swim"
},
"options": [
"run",
"swim",
"walk",
"jump"
],
"question": "Hippos can't _ in the water.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text... | Hippos live in Africa. Their sweat is red. Sometimes they walk a long way to find water. In fact hippos walk in the water. They can't swim.
Hippos love to play in the water in the day. They liked to eat plants at night. They never eat meat. They are easy to be angry.
An adult hippo is about 3,000 kg. He can run very fast. But he cannot run a long way. His longest tooth is about 60 cm. His open mouth is big. A child can get into it.
Crocodiles eat young hippos. But they cannot
adult hippos. | middle8149.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She is the boy's mother."
},
"options": [
"She is the boy's aunt.",
"She is the boy's sister.",
"She is the boy's mother.",
"She is the boy's friend."
],
"question": "Who is Linda?",
"question_type": "factio... | Dear Mike,
Thanks for your family photo. This is a photo of my family. I have a happy family. There are five people in my family. They are my grandmother, my parents, my sister and I. The old woman is my grandmother. The man is my father. His name is David. He is a teacher. And what about the woman? She is my mother. Her name is Linda. She is very nice. Look at the girl. That's my sister. She is in a middle school. Her name is Lucy.Do you know the boy ? It's me.
Yours, Tony | middle6164.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "invites Jack to play with his son"
},
"options": [
"asks Jack to take them back home",
"doesn't take the cakes or the eggs",
"gives Jack a football as a present",
"invites Jack to play with his son"
],
"question... | The White family moves to a new city, but Mrs White's son, Bob, is not happy, because he doesn't have any friends to play with there. "Don't worry!" says Mrs White, "you'll soon make friends here."
One morning, there is a knock on the door. Mrs White opens it and sees their neighbour Mrs Miller standing there. She comes to borrow two eggs to make some cakes. Mrs White gives her two eggs. In the afternoon, Mrs Miller's son, Jack comes to their home. He says to Mrs White, "my mother asks me to give some cakes and two eggs to you."
"Well, thank you," says Mrs White. "Come in and meet my son, Bob." After Bob and Jack have the cakes, they go out to play football together.
Jack says, "I am glad you live next door."
Bob says, "I must thank your mother for coming to borrow eggs."
Jack laughs and tells Bob, "My mother doesn't need any eggs, but she wants to make friends with your mother."
Bob says, "Oh, I see. That's a clever way to make friends." | middle4773.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "How's your family?"
},
"options": [
"How's your family?",
"You're not married, why?",
"What do you think of the Labor Party?",
"How much does your boss pay you each week?"
],
"question": "Which is a polite quest... | In Britain, when people meet each other for the first time, they talk about things like family, work, school,or sports. They ask question like "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" "Where do you work?" "What school do you go to?" and "Do you like sports?" They also ask questions like "Where do you come from?" and "Where do you live?" These are polite questions. They are not personal or private. But some things are personal or private, and questions about them are not polite. People don't ask questions about a person's salary . They don't ask how much or someone is paid for something. It is not OK to ask people questions about politics, party or religion unless you know them very well. People don 't ask unmarried people "Why are you single?" and they don't ask a married couple with no children "Why don't you have any children?" | middle5479.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In a school"
},
"options": [
"On the beach",
"In a bookstore",
"In a school",
"In a park"
],
"question": "Where do you usually find a poster like this?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"an... | Attention! Students ! Beach party comes ! We are going to have an outdoor party at the National Park on July 15.
Activities: 1. Ride bikes from the Student Center to the beach.
2. A picnic on the beach.
3. Swimming and sailing contests.
What to bring: sun cream, sunglasses, hats, swimsuits, hiking shoes and personal items.
Deadline for signing up : Sunday, July 8
Fee: 200 per person.
Meet at the Student Center at 10:00 am, July 15
P. S:All the food will be offered by the Students' Union. | middle2316.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "jokes"
},
"options": [
"jokes",
"notices",
"news",
"letters"
],
"question": "The three passages above are all _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Nancy: I saw seven girls in one umbrella and none of them got wet.
Taney: Oh, that must be a very big umbrella.
Nancy: No, it wasn't raining. [
A good boy
Little Robert asked his mother for two cents .
"What did you do with the money I gave you yesterday?"
"I gave it to a poor old woman," he answered.
"You're a good boy," said the mother proudly. "Here are two more cents. But why are you so interested in the old woman?"
"She is the one who sells candies. "
Break a mirror
"What are you so happy about, Jason?" Lisa asked the 98-year-old man.
"I broke a mirror," he replied.
"But that means seven years of bad luck. "
"I know," he said happily. "Isn't it wonderful? I can live for another seven years. " | middle3008.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "About 8 a.m."
},
"options": [
"9 a.m.",
"About 8 a.m.",
"About 9 a.m.",
"About 10 a.m."
],
"question": "When did the writer get on the bus?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Last summer, my family and I went on a trip to the China Dinosaur Park in Changzhou by bus. The one-hour trip seemed very long. We arrived at the park at about 9 a.m.
There were many fun places for us to choose from. We first went to the Crazy Firedrake Drill. When I looked at the giant yellow machine, I wasn't afraid at all, But when I was really on it, I felt a little nervous. First, the machine took us to the highest point. We all screamed "Ah". 1 dared not look down. Then it turned around fast and moved very quickly at the same time. The wind was so strong that I couldn't open my eyes. I felt as if I would fall down. 1 couldn't stop screaming through the whole ride. It only moved for a few minutes, but it seemed to be many hours. When the game ended, I was too frightened to walk.
Later we took part in the game called "Crossing Jurassic ". After waiting for half an hour, we got into a boat. The boat went into a tall building. It was dark around us. There were many model dinosaurs on both sides. They looked like the real ones. From time to time. the model dinosaurs made some frightening shouts, which sounded terrible. The game ended with a sudden rush from a very high place into a big pool. What an exciting experience! | middle4767.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A camera and a jumper."
},
"options": [
"A camera.",
"A jumper.",
"A camera and a jumper.",
"They don't decide."
],
"question": "What do they want to buy for Mr Smith at first?",
"question_type": "factiod_qu... | Mrs Smith is going shopping with her son.They are looking for presents for Mr Smith's birthday.They drive to the shop mall on Baker Street.
Mrs Smith goes to the Electrical Shop on the third floor. When the woman gets to the counter,she finds the camera she wants to buy is sold out.She finds another kind of camera,but it is too expensive.Then she finds a compact camera. That is a small camera.There is a discount on it.but she does not know if her husband likes it.So she decides not to buy that one.
Tom goes to the Men's Clothing Shop on the first floor.The boy is looking for a jumper for his father.He has only $ 10 in his pocket and it's not enough.Then he waits for his mother to come.At last,they buy the jumper for Mr Smith. | middle6170.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "At 2:30 in the afternoon."
},
"options": [
"At 6:15 in the morning.",
"At 6:30 in the morning.",
"At 2:30 in the afternoon.",
"At 9:00 in the evening."
],
"question": "When does Dennis get up?",
"question_ty... | My name is Dennis. I'm a worker of a big store. I don't work in the morning. I work at night. Every morning I come home at about 6:30. I have breakfast at 7:00. After breakfast I go to bed. I get up at around 2:30. I have lunch at 2:45 and dinner at 7:40. Then I go to work at 8:30. My work starts at 9:00. I look after the store every night. I like my work very much.
. | middle6616.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she wrote books."
},
"options": [
"She was a detective.",
"she wrote books.",
"She was a mystery.",
"She knew famous detectives."
],
"question": "What did Aghta Christie do?",
"question_type": "factiod_quest... | One of the most famous writers from England by far is Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie's real name was Agatha Miller. She was born in England in 1890.She married Archibald Christie when she was 24 years old, and she changed her family name to Christie.
She sold her first mystery book in 1920. This book was the first time that the world met Mrs.Christie's famous detective Hercule Poirot. Ten years after that, Mrs. Christie wrote her book with her second famous detective, Miss Marple.
In 1928, Mrs. Christie's first marriage broke up. She married M.E.L. Mallowan in 1930, but she still wrote her books under the name Agatha Christie.
In her life, Agatha Christie wrote 60 books, 16 plays, and more than 100 short stories. She passed away in 1976 when she was 85 years old. Her books can still be found on sale in bookstores all around the world. | middle1179.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "are trying activities such as bungee jumping"
},
"options": [
"are trying activities such as bungee jumping",
"are climbing the highest mountains",
"are coming close to death in sports",
"are looking for adventures such... | Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventures--those who have climbed the highest mountains, travelled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans . Now, however, there are more people who look for an excitement from a risky activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds.
I would think bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place (perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon) 200 metres above the ground with an elastic rope tied to your ankles . You fall at up to 150 kilometres an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that about 2 million people around the world have now tried bungee jumping. Other risky activities include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the water from the top of high places.
Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists suggest that it is because life in modern world has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people's lives were often in danger. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was harder than that of the present days.
Nowadays, to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in safe conditions; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to look for danger in activities such as bungee jumping. | middle4001.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A spaceship"
},
"options": [
"A bird",
"A plane",
"A rocket",
"A spaceship"
],
"question": "What's the bright light in the sky?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | One day an Australian farmer,Joe,saw a bright light in the sky. The light came nearer and nearer and suddenly Joe realized that it was a spaceship. The spaceship landed in a field nearby.
The door of the spaceship opened and two strange beings climbed out. They seemed to be half man and half bird. Joe was afraid of them. He tried to run away. But the spacemen walked towards him,picked him up and carried him into the spaceship.They put wires from a machine onto his head and they they began to speak to him in English.
They asked him questions about earth."We' re from Venus ,"they said,"But it is getting very hot there. A lot of our people are dying and we have not much time left. We are trying to find a new home."
After some time they freed Joe and at last the spaceship took off and disappeared. Joe told his friends about the spacemen,but no one believed his story.
"You wi ll believe me one day,"Joe told them."The spacemen will come back again."
,. | middle2470.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "America."
},
"options": [
"England.",
"China.",
"America.",
"Australia."
],
"question": "Where is the boy from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | I am a boy from the USA. Now I go to school in China. I have Chinese food now, I like it. I usually have porridge and milk for breakfast at home with my parents. Sometimes I have some small cakes, too. But I don't have lunch at home. I have it at school with my classmates . I usually have meat or fish, rice and vegetables for lunch. After lunch I have some fruit. I get home at half past four in the afternoon. So I have supper with my parents again. Sometimes we go out for supper. My mother often cooks supper. Sometimes my sister does it. We usually have rice, fish, meat, vegetables and fruit juice for supper. We sometimes have noodles and dumplings. After supper, I often have some fruit. I like apples very much.
,. | middle1151.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "don't talk too much"
},
"options": [
"talk too much",
"don't talk too much",
"go to work by car",
"dance on the train"
],
"question": "English people usually _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | In England, people don't usually talk too much. You can go on a bus, or in a train, and everyone sits looking out of the windows. Often they read. They read books and newspapers. But they don't talk much.
When you meet English people, they often talk about one thing, the weather. So when you meet someone in England, you say: "Nice weather for the time of year!"
"But it was a little colder yesterday ," someone may say.
"But it will be a little warmer later!" You can say.
Talk like this and the English people will think, "How friendly you are!" But it' s not good to ask their age , or they will not be happy. | middle7520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he taught them maths and something important as well"
},
"options": [
"he taught them maths and something important as well",
"he was a famous person",
"he was an old teacher",
"he was never late"
],
"question":... | Mr. Weeks is fifty years old. He's taught maths in a middle school for twenty years. He works and always comes to his office on time. He hopes his students will be honest and he is strict with them. Some of his students have become famous persons, but they still remember him and often write to him. Of course the man is proud of them.
This term he began to teach Grade One. Some of the new students were told about him, but the others didn't know about him. On the first day of school he told the students how to be an honest person. He gave them some examples and said, "I don't like telling a lie." Before class was over, he told all his students to finish Exercise 8 in Lesson 1.
The next morning, as soon as he came into the classroom, he asked. "Who's finished Exercise 8?" A few students raised their hands. He shook his head and said. "Open your workbooks and see if there's Exercise 8 in Lesson 1."
The students had a look at their workbooks and their faces turned red at once. | middle4029.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She went to the farm with her mother."
},
"options": [
"She went skating with her friends.",
"She went to the farm with her mother.",
"She stayed at home with her mother.",
"She made snow turkeys with her mother."
]... | "Did you go skating a lot last year?" I asked. Jen shook her head and looked at me. Finally she said, "On Thanksgiving, Mom and I always went to visit some friends who lived on a farm. I especially loved seeing their big turkeys."
Until then, I didn't think about how Jen felt. She had a new stepfather and stepbrother, and had a new town and home, too. Jen and her mom used to live near a lake where Dad and I went every summer, and she had to move up north with us. She had more changes than me.
Jen seemed sad, so I was busy thinking of some ways to cheer her up on Thanksgiving. I told her my plan and she was excited. First we made a huge snowball, and then a small snowball. Then we built a wall behind the big snowball as a tail. Jen mixed some food coloring with water, saying, "We can spray colors on the tail." Our snow turkey had a red, blue, green, and yellow tail. We were so busy that we didn't notice our parents come outside. Dad found a hat for the snow turkey, and Mom wrapped her scarf around its neck.
" _ ," Mom said. "You're a good brother, and you always come up with great ideas.'' A happy feeling spread through me. I began to understand how much she cared about everyone in our new family. | middle3746.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "calling on people to protect the environment"
},
"options": [
"teaching people how to give a speech",
"calling on people to protect the environment",
"giving a singing show in public",
"criticizing the US government"
... | Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people's behavior didn't go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift's song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.[
He said that since Swift doesn't want to be with the boy any more, she doesn't need to speak it aloud, she doesn't need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a _ .
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn't understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don't mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I've got used to the way the US people speak.
It's easy to find culture shock when you're in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs. | middle2458.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To bring their lunches in bags that can be used again"
},
"options": [
"to run to school every day",
"to take exercise every day",
"not to have lunch at school",
"To bring their lunches in bags that can be used again"
... | In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution.They join environment clubs.In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.
Here are some things students often do.
No-garbage lunches.How many lunch bags do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again.Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.
No-car day.On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car including the students and the teachers.Cars give pollution to us, so remember:
Walk, jump, bike, or run!
Use your legs! It's lots of fun!
Turn off the water! Do you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic meters of water an hour? In a year, that would fill in a small river. In the environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets.
We love our environment.Let's work together to make it better. | middle5337.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "moving away"
},
"options": [
"staying there",
"moving away",
"Smoking together",
"getting mad"
],
"question": "When someone begins to smoke, there is little you can do except _",
"question_type": "cloze_que... | Many of us have had this annoying experience: You are waiting at a bus station when someone nearby begins to smoke. You move away, but there isn't much you can do about it.
In Beijing, a new law is set to fight against smoking. It is regarded as China's toughest ever tobacco control rule . Smoking is not allowed in all indoor or public places. If people break the rules, they will have to pay up to 200 yuan.
Smoking in schools is specially mentioned in this law. Teachers can not smoke in front of students in schools. Schools should also help students give up smoking and teach them about the danger of smoking.
To get everybody to take part in the activity, Beijing has set up a report hotline and WeChat account . The public is invited to _ on no-smoking signs on WeChat The most popular sign is a picture of a gir1. It has got more than 1 million votes unti1 now.
China is not the only country fighting smoking. In March 2004 Ireland became the first country to introduce a law on smoking in workplaces and public places. Many countries, including England and the US, then fo1lowed. | middle5451.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "No.8 Middle School."
},
"options": [
"No.5 Middle School .",
"No.6 Middle School .",
"No.7 Middle School .",
"No.8 Middle School."
],
"question": "What school does Molly study in ?",
"question_type": "factio... | I'm Molly Taylor. I am a student of No.8 middle School . I don't like English classes when I begin to learn English. Because I think English is difficult. But now I do well in English. I think if we know how to study English , we will find it very interesting and easy. Here are some ways to help you .
Don't be afraid of speaking English.
Listen to English speakers often .
Watch lots of English movies.
Listen to English radio shows .
Do many English exercises .
Write to your friends in English.
There are so many ways to study English and we can use our favorite ones. But I think the most important thing is to study English every day . When we meet some difficulties , we can ask our teachers or classmates for help. | middle4997.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "taste different cakes"
},
"options": [
"sell different cakes",
"make different cakes",
"taste different cakes",
"buy different cakes"
],
"question": "To be a cake-taste is to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze... | Laura Fagan is a British girl. She is 29 years old now. She has a special job. Her job is an offical cake-taster. She began to work two years ago. She loves her job very much. She needs to try as many as 20 desserts a day. She needs to travel to different cities to taste different desserts.
Although the job seems to be great, it is hard. Usually , Laura begins tasting desserts as early as 8 a.m., and is still tasting new desserts at 6 p.m. before she goes back home. _ , the job hasn't made her too fat. She only worries about her teeth.
" Of course I was afraid of becoming fat when I started the job, so I try to do exercise as often as possible. The main thing is my teeth. I don't think my dentist would be happy if I told him what I do, so I try to brush my teeth as often as possible." "When I tell people what I do, they say ' that's the best job in the world', and then they ask me what my favorite dessert is."
Laura loves her job although it is hard. " I can learn about new trends in food. It is a hard job but someone has to do it." she said. | middle3020.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In New York."
},
"options": [
"In Beijing.",
"At school.",
"At a TV company.",
"In New York."
],
"question": "Where is Zhang Qian now?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Today's story is about Zhang Qian,a student from Beijing. He's now studying in the United States. He's living with an American family in New York. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. It's 9: 00 a.m. and Zhang Qian's family are at home. His mom and aunt are making zongzi. His dad and uncle are watching the boat races on TV.
Is Zhang Qian also watching the races and eating zongzi? It's 9: 00 p. m. in New York,and it's the night before the festival. But there isn't a Dragon Boat Festival in the US, so it's like any other night for Zhang Qian and his host family . The mother is reading a story to her young children. The father is watching a football game on TV. Zhang Qian is talking on the phone to his cousin in Beijing. Zhang Qian misses his family and wants to have his mom's delicious zongzi. Zhang Qian likes New York and his host family a lot, but there's still 'no place like home'. | middle7246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Spring Festival"
},
"options": [
"Mid-autumn Festival",
"Spring Festival",
"Children's Day",
"May Day"
],
"question": "Which is the most important festival in China? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions... | Every year there is the Spring Festival in China. Usually it is in January or February. It's the most important festival in China. So before it comes, everyone has to prepare things. They buy beef, pork, chicken, fruit and many other things. And they often make a special kind of food called "dumplings". It means "come together" in Chinese. On the day before the festival, parents buy new clothes for their children and children also buy presents for their parents. On the festival eve, all the family members come back to their home. This is a happy moment. They sing, dance and play cards. When they enjoy the meal, they give each other the best wishes for the coming year.
They all have a good time.
,. (5) | middle1637.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Four."
},
"options": [
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four.",
"Five."
],
"question": "How many ways does the passage tell people to have a healthy lifestyle?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | Everyone hopes to have a healthy lifestyle. But do you know what a healthy lifestyle is like? Here are some ways to have a healthy life.
Get active
This is the most important way of a healthy lifestyle. Walking, running,
playing basketball and other sports will help you keep healthy.
Keep clean
Keep the places around you clean. Unclean and untidy places can not only make you angry but also (...) make you ill.
Eat healthily
Our health depends on our food, so everyone should remember to eat healthy food. The healthier food you eat, the healthier you will be.
Live green
This is the easiest way to live a healthy lifestyle. Plant trees around your house. Try your best to use less water. Stop using things if they are bad for environment . | middle6158.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "On Tuesday and Thursday."
},
"options": [
"On Tuesday.",
"Only on Thursday.",
"On Saturday.",
"On Tuesday and Thursday."
],
"question": "When can people enjoy the \"Buy one, get one free\" at Sports City Bar?",
... | Sports City Bar
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, in Sports City Bar everyone can a " Buy one, get one free .
At our Sunday Family Buffet , We have games for children. The buffet is from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
And costs 98 yuan per adult . Children aged 12 to 16 eat for half price, and children under 12(two at most) eat for free.
Happy hours at Sports City Bar are from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Buy one drink, get one free.
Tel: 65158855--3349
Location :The third floor. | middle7252.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be."
},
"options": [
"Because the number of high school students is growing fast.",
"Because high school students fail to reach the standards.",
"Because the graduation t... | The high school diploma is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.
The high school graduation exams that most states require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.
Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.
"If you want a good job with a good pay, it's a high-skill job," said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.
The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range of skills. "A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university," said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve's co-chairman.
In Taft's state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take _ of English or math, he said. It's easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.
And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.
To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job.
Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.
The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge the coursework at their kids' high schools. | middle1623.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "What good and harm taking selfies brings to people."
},
"options": [
"People like taking selfies.",
"Why people often like taking selfies.",
"How people take more beautiful selfies.",
"What good and harm taking selfies ... | Now, everybody is taking _ . From your best friend to your favourite pop star, selfies are taking over Facebook and Sina Weibo. The word "selfie" was even named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2013. But why do people feel the need to take them? And are they doing us more harm than good?
According to some scientists, humans have an area in their brain that controls social activity. Receiving 'LIKE' on a selfie you have posted online can be the same as someone stopping you in the street and speak highly of you on your appearance.
The act of taking a selfie also puts you in a position of power. You are the director and the subject of your own work of art. It helps people feel in control of their appearance and can be a powerful tool.
But can it go too far? Scientists warn that too much time spent on selfies can influence people's confidence, especially in teenagers. If you are spending a lot of time choosing the perfect selfie clothes, then there could be a problem.
At the same time, posting selfies online can harm your personal relationships. UK studies found that many people find it hard to talk to people who are often posting selfies online.
So next time you want to use your smartphone to take a quick selfie, it may be better to drop it straight back into your pocket. | middle5445.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "China"
},
"options": [
"Japan",
"China",
"Canada",
"the US"
],
"question": "Mr. and Mrs. Black want to go to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Mr. and Mrs. Black want to go to Beijing. But their dog Bobby can't go there with them. So they leave him in a dog shop.
It is Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Black get back home from Beijing very late at night. So they don't get Bobby back. On Monday morning, Mr. Black brings the dog back in his car. When he gets home, he says to his wife, "Bobby barks all the time. I think he wants to tell me something. He doesn't like the shop?"
Mrs. Black looks at the dog carefully and then says, "You're quite right. He wants to tell you something. He wants to tell you that you bring the wrong dog home."
. | middle4983.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They used it for work and daily life."
},
"options": [
"They used it for work and daily life.",
"It was borrowed from their friend.",
"It was a nice Kona18 speed.",
"The man's job was bike racing."
],
"question"... | It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of work, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries ,saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our city offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it made our confidence in humanity stronger as a whole. And it has also influenced us to be more mindful of ways we can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be continuing for ever. | middle3034.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "four"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "The writer has _ good friends.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_te... | There are three photos of my good friends on my desk.
In the first photo you can see Jerry. He is a tall and cool boy with short and straight hair. He is the captain of our basketball team. He is very popular. All my classmates like him very much.
In the second photo, you can see the boy with glasses. His name is Jack. He is short and a little bit heavy. But he is very smart and funny. He often tells us funny stories and makes us happy.
In the third photo, you can see two girls. They are drinking water. The girl on the left is Lucy. She is a beautiful girl from London. She has long blond hair and big eyes. She can sing very well, and she can also speak a little Chinese. The girl on the right is Li Yun. She is a Chinese girl with beautiful black hair. She studies very hard. She says she wants to be a scientist when she grows up. | middle3752.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "in the 19th century"
},
"options": [
"in 1800",
"in 1899",
"in the 18th century",
"in the 19th century"
],
"question": "The elevator was invented _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Before the elevator was invented in the late 1800s,buildings were much smaller and lower,as people did not want to walk up and down stairs all day.With the invention of the elevator came high-rise buildings and _ .
Some people find elevators make them a little uncomfortable because there are many people all standing close in a small room.It is best just to relax and enjoy the ride.
When the elevator doors open,stand aside and let everyone out before you try to get in.Even if you are in a hurry,it's impolite to push someone so that you can get into an elevator.
Don't stare at people or stand too close.Try to keep your eyes looking ahead or you could make others feel nervous or uncomfortable.
If you have to move past people to get out of the elevator,say"Excuse me,please"or"I'm sorry"rather than just push them out of the way.Others will think you're welcome if you show some politeness.
If you are standing close to the buttons ,ask others what floors they are going to and press the buttons for them.This is considered to be polite.
In case of emergency ,follow the instructions written inside the elevator and try to keep others calm. | middle5323.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "think of a plan"
},
"options": [
"think of a plan",
"take some food",
"take things to keep us warm",
"take something for cooking and eating"
],
"question": "Before going to camp we should first _ .",
"que... | What do we do when we go camping? First, we think of a plan. We take food, clothes, a knife, and things for cooking and eating. We take things to keep us away from insects and the sun. Then we put everything into the car and we drive to the woods. We look for a place for campers and we look for a good place for our tent . The place should have a lot of air. This will keep some insects away. High land with water on both sides of it is good. Then we put up our tent. We put everything into the tent, and we are ready for fun. We can swim in the lake, walk in the woods, climb a mountain, row a boat, or go fishing. In the evening we come back to the tent, we build a big fire because it can keep the insects away. We sit around the fire and talk. We may tell interesting stories or we may sing songs. At night we lie down on the grass. We can look up at the stars. It is a busy day, so we try to go to sleep early. Everything is dark. Everything is quiet. We hope we won't hear music from the radio in the next tent. We hope it won't rain. | middle1145.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "90% of their Facebook shares to society."
},
"options": [
"90% of their Facebook shares to society.",
"half of his wealth to the charities.",
"all of his money to charities",
"45 billion yuan to society."
],
"qu... | If you had billions of dollars, would you donate almost all of it to charity? Well, that's what Mark Zuckerburg, CEO and founder of Facebook, just said he would do.
Zuckerburg and his wife Priscilla Chan promised to give 90% of their Facebook _ to society. Right now that is about $45 billion, and they plan to donate the money to things like science and education.
Many billionaires have done similar things. Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft, made The Giving Pledge, an activity in which billionaires promise donate more than half of their wealth to charities. This started in 2010, and now 139 people from 15 countries joined it.
But giving back and helping others isn't just for big billionaires. People like Zuckerberg, and Gates may have more to give, but people with less are doing it, too.
Especially around the holidays, people want to do their part and give back to people who are less lucky than them. Schools may have food collections where people bring a few food items*, and together they can make a big donation to places like homeless people's homes.
People also host special events like concerts of runs to be creative while raising money. Regular people donate whatever they can to US charities like the United Way and the American Red Cross.
Then these charities are able to help US communities in different ways like education, health and improving the lives of the poor. These individual* donations come together to make a big difference. | middle7534.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It is to reuse anything that can be used again."
},
"options": [
"It makes your heart and body strong.",
"It is to reuse anything that can be used again.",
"It means keeping the land , air and water clean.",
"buying ite... | Recycling is a way to take trash and turn it into new products. There are a number of different recycling processes that allow materials to be used more than once.
All kinds of materials can be recycled. Some of the most common processes in use today involve recycling plastic, glass, metals , paper, electronics and so on. Items made of these materials include soda cans, plastic boxes, newspapers, old computers, and cardboard boxes.
There are many steps in recycling. It isn't actually a simple process and is different for each type of material. For example, paper starts its recycling process by being mixed with water and other chemicals to break it down. This process finally turns the paper into a pulp . Then remove the plastics and other useless materials from the pulp. After that, it gets cleaned. Now the pulp is ready to be made into new paper.
However, computers and batteries are usually recycled in order to remove harmful chemicals as well as to find again some valuable materials such as gold.
In general, we should follow different steps in the recycling process. These steps are:
*Collecting recyclable materials, like cans and plastic bottles.
*Processing the old materials and making new items.
*Buying items made from recycled materials.
,. | middle5874.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "work hard every day"
},
"options": [
"work hard every day",
"Read stories in English",
"Be careful in doing the questions",
"Read your answers carefully."
],
"question": "How can you do well in exam?",
"ques... | A good way to pass the exam is to work hard every day. You may not pass an exam if you word hard all the time before the exam.
If you are getting ready for an English exam, do not only learn grammar rulers . Try to read stories in Enlish and speak English _ you can.
Before you start the exam, read the questions carefully. Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write. When you finish you exam, read you answers once more, correct the mistake if there are any and make sure that you don't miss anything out. | middle638.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "computers"
},
"options": [
"pens",
"computers",
"test papers",
"notebooks"
],
"question": "You are sure to find _ in a paperless classroom.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Can you imagine a classroom without one thing that has long been considered a necessary part? No notebooks, no textbooks, no test papers. Nor are there any pencils or pens, which always seem to run out of ink at the _ moment.
A "Paperless classroom" is what more and more schools are trying to realize. Students don't do any handwriting in this class. Instead, they use hand-sized or specially-designed computers. The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends them to every student's personal computer.
Having computers also means that students can use the Web. They can look up information on any subject they're studying, from maths to social science.
A high school teacher, Judy Herrel in Florida, US, described how her class used the Web. "Using a book that's three or four years old is impossible," she said.
A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper.
"Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers," she said.
But, with all this technology, there's always a risk that the machines will break down. So, in case of a power failure or a technical problem, paper textbooks should still be widely available for these students. | middle7905.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "different countries have different types of fast food"
},
"options": [
"America serves four kinds of fast food",
"we used to have more types of fast food",
"different countries have different types of fast food",
"Ameri... | All over the world, the global diet includes fast food--prepared items from inexpensive restaurants, snack bars, or food stands. Some examples of American fast food are hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fried chicken, and so on. Some types of international fast foods might be German sausage and Schnitzel, Italian pizza, Japanese sushi and tempura, Chinese eggrolls and noodles and the like. The variety of fast foods all over the world is growing. Even so, this kind of style is becoming worldwide. Fast-food places usually prepare and serve the items quickly. Many are part of fast-food chains (eating places with the same name and company owner). For example, the biggest and most famous American fast-food chain serves hamburgers in nearly every part of the world.
For several reasons, many people choose fast food. First, it is quick and convenient. Second, it is cheaper than special home-cooked meals or formal restaurant dinners. And third, it is easy to find every eating place with the same company name. The atmosphere and style of most fast-food places is casual, comfortable, and familiar.
Why do other eaters stay away from this fast, easy kind of nourishment? The main reason is its low nutritional value. Fast food doesn't have large amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and the like-elements necessary for good nutrition and health. In contrast , most types of fast food have a lot of fat, sugar, or salt in them. Possibly, these things can cause or increase health disorders, like heart disease, and some kinds of cancer. Recently, these quick and easy kinds of world wide nourishment are generally getting better and more healthful. For example, many fast-food restaurants now have put vegetable items on their menus.
Of course, human beings around the world don't always eat in fast-food places.The variety of food choices is large now and is probably going to increase. The number of food preparation methods is growing too. Cooking customs, eating habits, and food preferences all over the world are becoming more healthful. In these and other ways, the global diet is changing. | middle7911.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "exercise"
},
"options": [
"running",
"swimming",
"walking",
"exercise"
],
"question": "The passage tells us about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,... | Many people today like exercise. Some like to run, and some like to walk. Others dance or play balls. They do different kinds of exercise. Why do people like exercising? It's good for their health. And exercise helps to make them tired, so they sleep better at night.
You may like to run. If you do, take care of your feet. Make sure you have the right shoes. Some people like to run on roads, but they must watch out for cars.
Walking is a good exercise. You may take a long walk in the park. It's more fun if you don't go alone. Go with a friend. Both of you may have a great time.
Some people like to swim. But others don't like to go into the water. If you like this kind of exercise, make sure that someone is watching you. You must always take care when you are in the water. Jumping a rope or riding a bike is also good exercise. There are many other exercises. Find out what you like. You may need help at first. Some people often do exercise, and they can help you. Do exercise every day, and you will know what it makes you feel. | middle5860.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Blue.."
},
"options": [
"Blue..",
"Blond",
"Brown.",
"Black."
],
"question": "What color are the girls' eyes?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Look at the photo. The two girls have big blue eyes and long brown hair. They are ten. They are in the same class. The one in a yellow skirt is Lily. The other one in an orange skirt is Lucy. Bob is their brother . He is in a blue cap. He is a high school student. Their dad is Mr. White. He is in a brown coat. Their mom is Mrs. White. She is in black shoes. Look!Lucy and Lily are in the green car.
. | middle5690.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A red and blue painting, with no clear subject."
},
"options": [
"a painting of a horse",
"a sculpture of a car",
"a drawing of two people in a coffee house.",
"A red and blue painting, with no clear subject."
],
... | What do you see when you look at abstract art? Does it make sense to you? Does it look like anything?
Abstract art became popular in the early 20th century. Artists did not want to paint, draw, or sculpt things like they looked. They didn't want their art to be realistic . They were more interested in basic shapes and colours.
Picasso is probably the most famous of these artists. He painted and drew in many, many styles. Sometimes he used a lot of blue colours (his "blue period"). Later, he used more red and pink colours (his "rose period"). Many of his other paintings are called "cubist " because they are made of painted squares.
After a long time, Picasso's paintings became more and more abstract. He painted people and things using strange shapes. His work was so original, many his fellow artists didn't understand it.
Kindinsky, another famous artist, used lines, shapes, and patterns to paint his subjects. His paintings also used strong colours to express feelings.
Other artists like the surrealists , they were interested in the subconscious . Painters like Breton and Magritte used many symbols in their work. The meaning or subject of their work wasn't always clear. Dai, another artist, painted pictures that looked like dreams.
There are still many abstract artists around the world. It's often hard to say what their art is about. That's the way many artists like better. They want each person to look at art and find their own meaning in it. | middle5848.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to chat with foreigners"
},
"options": [
"to do morning exercises",
"to work as a guide",
"to chat with foreigners",
"to work part time"
],
"question": "Ma cycled to a hotel near the West Lake _ .",
"quest... | A short Chinese man seems to be the tallest in the world right now. Jack Ma(Ma Yun),50, is executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a business-to-business online platform. On Sept.19, Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange , raising $25 billion through an IPO , the biggest in US history. Ma, a former English teacher, has become the richest man on the Chinese mainland.
Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Ma grew up as a happy kid. At the age of 12, he wanted to learn English. Every morning, he woke up at 5 a.m, cycled 40 minutes to a hotel near the West Lake where he could chat to foreign tourists. He did it for nine years, rain or shine.
The experience made him a fluent English speaker and also opened his eyes to the wider world. In a 1995 trip to the US, Ma was showed the Internet for the first time. He searched Yahoo using the word "Beer", and found that there was nothing in there about China. Seeing the chance, Ma returned to China and set up a website called China Pages without even knowing much about computers.
Four years later, 18 people including Ma, his wife and his friends founded Alibaba in Hangzhou. He believed in the Internet business potential when few other Chinese did. People called him "Crazy Jack Ma". But 15 years later, Alibaba has developed into the world's largest e-commerce company, owning popular shopping websites like Taobao and Tmall. It makes more profit online than Amazon and e-Bay combined.
No one thinks he's mad now. Ma's favorite line has been printed on Alibaba's souvenir T-shirts. It reads: "Everybody should have a dream. What if that dream comes true?" | middle7087.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "farmers"
},
"options": [
"workers",
"teachers",
"policemen",
"farmers"
],
"question": "Thomas' parents are _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Which is more useful?
Thomas is in Grade Two now. He goes to school from Monday to Friday. After school he must do some housework. He helps his parents on the farm on Saturdays and Sundays. So he doesn't have any time to play soccer in the daytime. He often plays soccer with his friends in the moon .
It's five in the afternoon. School is over. Thomas goes home and cooks for his family. After dinner he sees his friend Paul near his house and asks him to play soccer. The boy looks at the sky and sees the moon. Then he asks," Which is more useful, the sun or the moon?"
"I think the moon is," says Thomas. "We need light in the evening, because we see not the sun, but the moon!" | middle162.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "five"
},
"options": [
"four",
"five",
"six",
"seven"
],
"question": "Students in elementary school stay at school for about _ days.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | Hi! My name is Robert and I live in Chicago. My school is called Parkside Elementary. It is Jake and Elizabeth's school too. Michael and Trevor's school is called Lincoln Middle School. In the USA many students go to elementary school between the ages of 5-10, then middle school between the ages of 11-13, and then a four year high school, and last but not least, many people go to college or vocational school. Our elementary school starts at 8:30 am and ends at 3:20 pm. We go to school on Monday through Fridays and have the weekends off.
Some of the favorite sports here in America are basketball, baseball, football, soccer, hockey, and more. But, my favorite sport is football. My favorite player in the NFL (National Football League) is Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears ( the Bears are my favorite team too).
Americans wear jeans, a shirt, socks, shoes, and sometimes a hat. I usually wear a baseball hat, my favorite pants, and my favorite shirt. My pants have 4 pockets on it, and my shirt has red and black stripes on it.
There is no common agreement in the west about the best method of education. Many _ can be found among parents, teachers, and students.
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR02www.qzjyzx.com2/italy.html
http://www.cfl.cqu.edu.cn/jpkc/kj/xb/xb2/2-1/culturalnotes.htm | middle7939.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Stars."
},
"options": [
"Stars.",
"Landmarks.",
"Cities and towns,",
"Mountains and rivers."
],
"question": "What was drawn in the earliest maps?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | How would we travel without maps? It would be a bit adventurous to set off from Oxford University to go to London Bridge if there wasn't a map of the London Underground at each station. In fact, a lot of the early map-makers were adventurers and explorers, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries.
So what did people do before there were maps? Well, it was quite easy to use natural signs like mountains and rivers if you were travelling on foot or riding a horse. People took small boats down rivers and followed coastlines. And it was much more logical to use time, not distance, to measure journeys: the next village is a three-hour ride, for example.
In fact, in the earliest maps, people didn't draw landmarks. They drew the stars. It was very easy to see the night sky and use it for navigation . The sky was a lot clearer before the light pollution from cities that we have today. When towns and cities were built, people drew road maps which gave correct distances and directions.
The London Underground was opened in 1863 and it also used a road map style. But a man called Henry Beck realized that travelling by train wasn't the same as driving your car across London. Passengers only needed to know which stations to change at. His new design for the Underground map wasn't very popular with the train companies at first. But the passengers loved it and in 1933, 700,000 copies were printed.
These days, of course, you can ride a bike, drive a car or go through a forest and know where you are exactly, using a GPS. It's really difficult to get lost! | middle604.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "may need a doctor"
},
"options": [
"looks well",
"may need a doctor",
"is healthy",
"is 'in the pink'"
],
"question": "After reading the passage, we can infer ( ) if someone 'looks grey', he _ .",
"quest... | Americans have used colors to create many expressions they use every day.
We say you're 'in the pink' when we are in good health. It is easy to understand how this expression was born. When my face has a nice fresh, pink color, it is a sign my health is good.
The color green is natural for trees, it is an unnatural color for humans. When someone doesn't feel well, someone who is sick, for example, we say he 'looks green'. When someone is angry because he doesn't have what someone else has, we say he is 'green with envy'.
Some people are 'green with envy' because someone else has more dollars, or 'green backs'. Dollars are called 'greenbacks' because that's the color of the backside of the money.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blue music of American blacks is the opposite of red hot music. It is slow, sad and soulful ( ). To be blue, of course, is to be sad.
The color black is often used in expressions. People describe a day in which everything grows wrong as a 'black day'. A 'black sheep' is the member of a family or group who always seems to be in trouble. If someone meets a 'black cat', something unlucky might happen to him. Not all the 'black' expressions have bad meaning. A company 'in the red' is losing money. If someone tells you to put someone 'in black and white', they want you to write it down. | middle3587.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A park"
},
"options": [
"A park",
"Mary's family",
"a school",
"a restaurant"
],
"question": "This is a picture of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1... | This is a picture .There is a lake in the middle of the picture .On the lake we can see a boat .In the boat, there is a boy and his father .The boy is fishing .His father is looking at him .We can see some fish swimming in the lake .On the right of the picture , we can see a big tree .A young woman is reading a book .Her name is Mary .We can see very nice flowers near her seat .A little yellow dog is beside her feet .There are some birds in the sky .On the other side of the lake ,we can see three children .They are laughing and flying kites .They are having fun. | middle2699.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "she was badly ill"
},
"options": [
"she was badly ill",
"it was 60 years old",
"she believed in her husband",
"her husband made her angry"
],
"question": "The old woman let her husband open her shoe box because ... | There once was a man and a woman. They had been married for more than 60 years. They kept no secrets from each other except that the old woman had a shoe box on the top of her closet . She told her husband never to open it or ask about it.
For all these years , he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would never get better.
The woman said it was time that he should know what was in the box. The old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.
When he opened it , he found two beautiful doilies and some money. The money was over $25,000.
"When we got married," she said, "my grandmother told me that the secret of a happy family was never to argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily."
The little old man was so moved. Only two doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him twice in all those years.
"My dear," he said, " but what about all this money?" Where did it all come from?"
"Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the doilies." | middle3593.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People burnt too much coal in the houses."
},
"options": [
"There was too much smoke in the sky.",
"There were too many factories in the city.",
"People burnt too much coal in the houses.",
"The city was too big for the... | London used to be "foggy" for the same reason that cities like Beijing or Chongqing are "foggy" today. The "fog" was in fact smog, a mixture of smoke and fog. In other words, it was made by air pollution. In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter. By the 1950s, London's smog problem had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean the air. A new law was made and nobody could burn coal in any British city. Within a few years, the air became much cleaner. There were no more " _ ".
Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of problem with air pollution that London faced 40 or 50 years ago. However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve. One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people's houses. If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs. Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel , like gas, is quite expensive.
However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution. As a result, there are fewer "pea-soupers" in Beijing than there used to be. | middle2855.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he doesn't think his son is clever"
},
"options": [
"he doesn't think his son is clever",
"his son is lazy",
"his son doesn't study hard",
"his son can't buy something for him"
],
"question": "The father isn't h... | A father isn't happy with his only son. He doesn't think his son is clever.
One day, the father gives his son a task. He says, here is a coin. Go to buy one thing. That must be something to eat, something to drink, and something to plant.
"What can I buy with one coin? It is too hard!" Then a girl finds the boy is not happy and comes up to him. "Can I help you? " The boy tells her that hard task. "I know what you can do, " she says. "Go and buy a watermelon with this coin. " It will give you everything your father wants." The boy thanks the girl and then runs to buy a watermelon.
When the father sees the watermelon, he is very happy. "Good Job!" "In fact, that's not my idea. A girl helps me", says the boy. The father then says, " _ is more important than cleverness."
,. | middle1384.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They have a big dinner, exchange presents and visit friends"
},
"options": [
"They only have a big dinner together",
"They have a big dinner, exchange presents and visit friends",
"They just visit friends and exchange pre... | December 25 is Christmas Day . Christmas is an important holiday in many countries. On Christmas Day, most families get together for a big dinner. They give presents to each other and visit friends. The Christmas tree is an important part of the Christmas holiday. Most families buy trees. The families decorate the tree together. Parents usually tell their children that Father Christmas comes during the night and brings presents to good children. Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. The parents of the children are really "Father Christmas". They put the presents under the tree or into their children's stocking after the children go to sleep. | middle88.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "cock"
},
"options": [
"kangaroo",
"cow",
"cock",
"horse"
],
"question": "Which is not mentioned(,) in the story?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Mrs. Brown lived in a small town near a big farm. One Friday afternoon, after she finished doing housework, she went to her small shop. She opened the window of the shop and looked outside. She liked to see the green farm. There were many cows, horses, and small animals on the farm.
Suddenly she saw a kangaroo under her window. It was interesting to see that the kangaroo was wearing an old jacket. It stood there and looked hungry. Mrs. Brown gave some bread and waterto it. The kangaroo had them all. Then it became happy and jumped away. Suddenly something dropped on the ground there was $300 and a photo in it. That was a man's photo with his name "John" on it. John? She looked more carefully and remembered she had a brother many years ago. His name was also John. "Is this man my lost brother?" She thought.
She took the wallet with her and began to look for the man. She asked many people in the town, and then she came to the farm and asked the farmer. To her great surprise, it was John, her lost brother. They were very excited and happy to see each other. | middle4571.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "fifty"
},
"options": [
"sixty",
"ten",
"fourty",
"fifty"
],
"question": "The Internet has a history of more than _ years.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet ?
Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well . If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.
At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made " surfing " the Internet more convenient.
Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.
The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of peoples' life. | middle2100.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she is often shy"
},
"options": [
"she doesn't want others to see her eyes",
"there is something wrong with her eyes",
"she likes to wear dark glasses",
"she is often shy"
],
"question": "The sentences \" But sh... | Vanilla is my best friend. She is a lovely girl with two big, beautiful eyes. But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses.
One day, though, I nearly ended our friendship. I remember that day clearly. We were sitting in class. The teacher was giving us our results for a Chinese test. I had done badly. I felt so sad that I wouldn't talk to anyone. At lunchtime, I even stayed in the classroom alone. Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was Vanilla. "You look very unhappy," she said. "What's wrong?" I looked up at her, but said nothing. I knew Vallina had got a good mark in the test. I thought she was making fun of me. I stayed silent , but Vallina didn't go away. She kept asking me questions: "Is it because of the exam? Do you want me to show you the right answers?" I looked away from her. When I looked up again, Vanilla had gone. And so had my exam paper! I didn't know what to do. I looked everywhere for me paper, but couldn't find it.
In the afternoon, Vanilla came up to my desk and gave me my exam paper back. I looked at it and got a big surprise. Vanilla had written the right answer next to every one of my mistakes. My face went red. Vanilla had been trying to help me all along. How mean I had been to her when she was being so nice. I wanted to hug her, but all I did was to hold her hands and say, "Thank you." That afternoon, Vanilla and I walked home together. I felt so happy that I had to thank her again. We were still best friends. | middle1409.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People in the community."
},
"options": [
"Gardeners of the companies.",
"People in the community.",
"Sponsors in the community.",
"People from the government."
],
"question": "Who plant the community gardens?",... | Have you ever walked down a city street and suddenly seen a bright garden full of vegetables and flowers?
It may be a community garden. The community gardens are planted by the people in the community. They are not just pretty places. They improve the neighborhoods.
People first started planting these gardens during the 1970s. At that time, the price of vegetables and fruits was rising. In many city neighborhoods, crime was increasing. There were also many other problems. People decided to get together to plant gardens to fight against these problems. The gardeners thought they might make the area more beautiful and improve people's life.
These gardeners were right! Community gardens have many benefits. They improve their neighbourhoods. They also make people feel they belong to the community. When people work together in a garden, they feel they are connected with each other. People work on a small area within the garden. They grow vegetables or fruits. Each person decides what he or she is going to grow. However, they also work together to help each other. Some members have gardening experience. They can help those who are just learning how to grow vegetables and fruits.
Sometimes, garden members pay for supplies. The supplies usually include small plants and tools. Many community gardens have sponsors . They pay for the supplies for the gardens. It helps to keep the gardens going every year. Sponsors may be parks, schools and local companies. Some groups want to be a part of the community. They help clean up and beautify a neighborhood. They also pay for the supplies.
Community gardens give people a chance to work together. They can make the community stable . There are many programs of community gardens. Some gardens provide programs for children and elder people. They may provide classes. They may give the vegetables and fruits to poor people. Community gardens also improve air.
Today there are about 10,000 community gardens in cities in the US. They have become popular because of their benefits. People enjoy having vegetables and flowers in their neighborhoods. | middle7078.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "On Sep.12."
},
"options": [
"In August",
"In July",
"On Sep.11.",
"On Sep.12."
],
"question": "When was the first time that Shanghai had to close all the schools?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Don't you want to go to school? You could tell your parents you're ill. But last Monday, students from Shanghai and Zhejiang had an even better excuse: a typhoon !
Typhoon Khanun hit East China on September 11. In Shanghai, all the school were closed the next day, Monday.
It was the first time that Shanghai had to close schools because of bad weather.
But some students still came to school that day. " I didn't get the notice that the school was closing," said Shen Sheng, a Junior 2 student from Shanghai Aiguo School. " But it was nice that we could play in school rather than study."
The school kept Shen and other 20 students safe inside and let them play sports like table tennis.
But the storm wasn't all fun games. Typhoon Khanun killed 14 people. In Zhejiang, it _ about 8,000 houses. More than one million people had to be taken to safer places.
Every year, typhoons hit different places around the world. Most happen in July, August and September. This year 15 typhoons hit China. Khanun was the strongest. Typhoons bring strong winds and rains. The winds can blow away houses and cars. The rains are bad for farmers' fields.
Typhoon also kills people. Earlier this month, Typhoon Talim hit East and Central China. It killed at least 124 people. | middle823.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "two Chinese films"
},
"options": [
"one Chinese film",
"two Chinese films",
"three American films",
"four foreign films"
],
"question": "There will be _ in Beijing Theater this week.",
"question_type": "... | Films in Beijing Theater This Week
HARRY POTTER (III)
American film
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Time: From Monday to Wednesday, at 6:00 p.m.
Ticket Price:Y=50
KUNGFU HUSTLE
Chinese film
Director: Zhou Xingchi
Starring: Zhou Xingchi, Liang Xiaolong, Yuan Hua
Time: From Wednesday to Friday, at 9:00 p.m.
Ticket Price:Y=40
A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES
Chinese film
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Starring: Liu Dehua, Liu Ruoying, Ge You, Li Bingbing
Time: From Friday to Sunday, at 6:30 p.m.
Ticket Price:Y=40 (Half on Sunday for children)
TROY
American film
Director: Wolfgang Peterson
Starring: Julian Glover, Brian Cox, Nathan Jones, Adoni Maropis
Time: From Tuesday to Saturday, at 9:30 a.m.
Ticket Price:Y=30 | middle63.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Mr Li's."
},
"options": [
"Mr Li's.",
"Mr Cool's.",
"Mrs Zhao's.",
"Both Mr Li's and Mrs Zhao's."
],
"question": "_ restaurant has the friendliest service.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | I live in a busy town, and there are many kinds of shops in the town. There are also three restaurants. They are Mr Li's, Mr Cool's and Mrs Zhao's.
People have different views about the three restaurants. I think Mr Li's has the friendliest service and the seats there are the most comfortable. However, it has the worst noodles. The color of the wall in Mr Cool's is pink. And it has the cheapest hamburgers, but the service of it is the worst of the three. And it has the hardest seats. Mrs Zhao's has the best food, and it is the most expensive. Though the seats are not very comfortable, it has the most _ . | middle4217.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "One."
},
"options": [
"Two.",
"Three.",
"One.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many children are there in Li Ting's family?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | Should teenagers help their parents do chores? Is it important for us to learn how to do chores?
I have a classmate called Li Ting. She is the only child in her family. Her parents love her so much that they don't let her do any chores. On weekdays she gets up, has meals, goes to school, has lessons, she only plays with her friends. So she doesn't know how to do chores. One day, her father was badly ill and was in hospital. Her mother had to take care of her father in the hospital and couldn't cook meals for her for a week. Li Ting didn't know how to cook meals. She had a lot of trouble cooking meals and often felt hungry. She only had instant noodles for her meals.
From the story, we know it's very important for us to learn to do chores. | middle2672.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a penfriend"
},
"options": [
"a sister",
"a brother",
"a penfriend",
"pets"
],
"question": "The girl wants to find _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,... | My name is Becky Smith. I'm eleven years old. I have one brother. His name's Jason and he's fourteen. I don't have any sister. We live with grandma in a small house in Chesterfield, in the north of England. My friends and I often go to the cinema on Saturday. Do you like games? I like football. My favourite team is Manchester Unite . I sometimes play football with my brother. I have seven pets: two birds and five goldfish. I want a dog and a cat, but my parents don't like them.
Do you want to be my penfriend? Please write to me soon. | middle837.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Beijing Opera"
},
"options": [
"talk show",
"Beijing Opera",
"sports shows",
"soap operas"
],
"question": "_ is the writer's grandpa's favorite TV show..",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | There are five people in my family. We all like watching TV, but we like different TV shows .
My grandpa is a great fan of Beijing Opera . He likes watching it very much. Now he is in a Beijing Opera club . There he talks about Beijing Opera and acts in it with other Beijing Opera fans.
My grandma likes cross talk , and she often watches it on TV. Her favorite cross talker is Guo Degang.
My father is a reporter from a TV station . He watches all kinds of TV shows, but his favorite TV show is news.
My mother is a teacher. Her favorite TV shows are soap operas . She thinks they are very interesting. But I think they are very boring.
I like playing basketball, so my favorite TV shows are sports shows. I like watching basketball games best on TV.
What kind of TV shows do your family like? | middle6414.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "clever"
},
"options": [
"clever",
"rich",
"strong",
"lucky"
],
"question": "According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely a _ man.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer... | New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback. The New York police have 170 horses working in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to look after them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact , they need more than 8,000 of them each year. Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month. Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths. There are only about thirty-five of these blacksmiths in the whole United States.
The cost of shoing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty-five dollars, and it takes a good blacksmith two or three hours to do the job.
A blacksmith's job is not an easy one. He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse's foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight of the horse's leg while he works. Clearly, a blacksmith must be very storng. But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses---for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift its leg.
One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin. He came to the country from Ireland in 1948. He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city. Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and,as the puts it, "It's a good way to make a living." | middle77.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "5,400"
},
"options": [
"330",
"1,800",
"5,400",
"20,000"
],
"question": "The house cost Ying Miaofang _ yuan during three months.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | "An old village woman in her seventies from Zhenjiang Province rented a small house in Shanghai and let visitors to the World Expo live there for free while she slept on a little couch. Her kindness moved _ people." Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said so at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China on October 31 when it ended.
It is a true story. The heroine of it is Ying Miaofang, an old woman from a village of Zhuji City in Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province. "I rented a house in Shanghai and received more than 330 Expo visitors during three months' time. My house was never empty during that period." Ying told reporters. She also said it was worth helping so many people to visit the Shanghai World Expo and she was praised by Premier Wen.
In the late of last May. Ying Miaofang paid 1,800yuan per month to rent a small house near Changning Road in Shanghai, and spent more money on a new air conditioner, a refrigerator, a TV set and other things. She published her phone number in the newspaper and opened the house for Expo visitors for free on June 23.
Besides providing a free living place., Ying got up very early every morning to buy food, cook breakfast, clean rooms and wash clothes for those guests. Many of her guests wanted to pay some money to her when they left, but she refused. In order to support the Shanghai Would Expo, Ying spent about 20 thousand yuan in all, which could not be regarded as a little money for a woman from a village. | middle189.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "1977"
},
"options": [
"1975",
"1979",
"1977",
"1982"
],
"question": "Drew Barrymore made her first movie at _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}
] | Although she's quite young, Drew Barrymore can be a Hollywood legend . She was born on February 22, 1975, in California. Being from a family that produced great actors, she quickly found her way into the spotlight .
When she was 11 months old, she made her first advertisement on TV. She made her first movie at the age of 2. Five years later, she acted Gertie in Steven Spielberg's famous film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
However, it wasn't all roses and sunshine when Barrymore was growing up. She was drinking wine by the time she was 9, smoking marijuana at 10.
Most kid stars in Hollywood fail to become stars as adults. And most of the time, once they're out of the spotlight, they stay out. But Drew Barrymore doesn't.
As she was growing older, Barrymore got to learn that life is more meaningful than dangerous actions in the films. She started to build a career in 1997. She has made many successful films since then, including Charlie's Angels (2000) and 50 First Dates (2004).
"In my life, there is darkness and drama, and I 'm trying my best. I just want to challenge myself and prove that I can do more."
In fact, if you don't know her _ childhood, you might find it hard to believe she's such a sweet person now. Like many of the characters she plays in her comedy, Drew is easy-going and laughs a lot. In 2007, she was on the cover of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People issue.
"Life is very interesting ... in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths," Drew said. | middle4565.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Seven."
},
"options": [
"Five.",
"Six.",
"Seven.",
"Eight"
],
"question": "How many ways of improving memory are there in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1... | Do you care about your memory ?The following ways can help improve your memory.
Sleep: Sleep plays an important part in improving your memory. Enough sleep is very important to have a good memory.
Don't watch TV while eating: Do not watch television while eating. Some people keep talking and eating while watching TV. Eating is a time when you can take a break from studying and rest your eyes.
Healthy food: Healthy food is important for a healthy mind. Have milk, eggs, fish and fruits. These foods have a lot of nutrients
Make the things interesting: If you find the things the teachers ask you to memorize interesting, you will memorize them more easily. For example, include music and different colors in the things you need to memorize.
Repeat the things: Repeat the things by singing or talking. Repeating is a good way to memorize things.
Exercise: Do exercise every day. It not only improves the body but improves the mind. Air in the morning keeps your mind clear. A clear mind is needed for memorizing things.
Have a rest: Don't study for long hours. Have a rest from time to time. Studying for a long time will make you tired and you will find it harder to remember and learn things. | middle2114.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly."
},
"options": [
"It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.",
"Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.",
"It takes more time to fly from N... | Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string , it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. 'Switching off' gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly _ upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space. | middle1435.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "thought his father's educational skills useful"
},
"options": [
"knew very well about Denmark",
"felt regret about those wasted days",
"thought his father's educational skills useful",
"only talked about important news ... | Stanley, as a son of a very poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory, for education was for the rich then. So, the world became his school. With great interest, he read everything he could, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his hometown. "There's so much to learn," he'd say. "Though we're born stupid, only the stupid remain that way." He decided that none of his children would be refused an education.
Therefore, Stanley insisted that we should learn at least one new thing each day. Though, as children, we thought this was crazy, we'd still do _ . And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we learned. We would talk about the news of the day. Sometimes the news was unimportant, but it was always taken seriously. Stanley would listen carefully and discuss it with us.
Then came the moment--the time to share the day's new learning.
"Felice," he'd say, "tell me what you learned today."
"I learned that the population of Denmark is ...."
Silence.
Stanley was thinking about what was said. "The population of Denmark. Hmm. Well..." he'd say. "Get the map; let's see where Denmark is." And the whole family went on a search for Denmark.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn. Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very little about these educational wonders. Our family, however, was growing together, sharing experiences and joining in one another's education. And by looking at us, listening to us, respecting what we learned, confirming our value, Stanley was surely our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher, I studied with some of the most famous educators. They were imparting what Stanley knew all along--the value of continual learning. His skills have served me well all my life. Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population of Denmark might prove useful. | middle7044.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The man in the story was made dead by mistake."
},
"options": [
"It was rather cold that day.",
"Snow was falling heavily that day.",
"The man in the story was made dead by mistake.",
"An accident happened on the road."... | This sad story happened on a cold winter evening. It was so cold and snow was falling so heavily that the roads were covered with ice and a strong wind was blowing. Being outside in such weather was very unwise. However, Peter Lee had to walk home from work. Peter walked with difficulty along a country road, the cold wind beating against his chest. He thought, "If I wear my coat backwards, maybe, it will be a little bit warmer for me." He stopped walking, took off his coat, and put it on backwards. "That's much better," he said to himself happily. Walking on through the thickly falling snow, he was thinking about drinking a cup of warm coffee by the burning fireplace.
A few minutes later, a car knocked down Peter. The driver hadn't seen him soon enough. When he tried his best to put on the brakes , the car skidded on the icy road. The frightened driver got out of the car and ran to see how the poor man was.
After a while, a police car arrived. A policeman went up to see Mr Lee who was lying on the ground. He told the driver, "I'm afraid he's dead."
The driver was so surprised. "This can't be the case, because I hardly touched him. Check my car carefully. There's not a mark on it."
The policeman said, "I'm sure he's dead."
"It's impossible," the driver said anxiously. "As soon as I hit him, I ran to help him. He was lying on the road, but he was breathing and there was no blood."
"Did you touch him?" the policeman asked.
"Yes, but only to turn his head around the right way," the driver answered. | middle5653.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "appears to be rude"
},
"options": [
"appears to be rude",
"appears to be old",
"requires lots of energy",
"requires good teamwork"
],
"question": "According to the passage, a \"vulgar\" sport probably",
"que... | An early form of a game in which a ball was kicked around a field is recorded in 1004 B.C. Japan. Some sports historians believe that the game of soccer began in England in the third century, however. They say that early English warriors kicked around the head of a killed enemy. This may or may not be true, but it is certain that soccer is an ancient sport.
Without doubt, the English played soccer during the times of King Edward I in the 1300s. In fact, the king passed a law against playing it. The law said, "There is great noise ... caused by kicking large balls from which many ghosts may appear." Anyone caught playing soccer at that time was put into prison. Two hundred years later, Queen Elizabeth I still had people put into prison for playing this " _ " sport.
Although there were such laws, soccer grew more popular. In 1681 it became an official sport in England. By the 1800s, people throughout the country played soccer. By the 18th century, upper-class boys played it at schools. Its popularity grew among all English people.
At a meeting held in an English school in 1843, the first rules were suggested. In 1863 the heads of English soccer teams met in London to agree on some official rules. They organized an English football association . By 1871 all of the English clubs were following these rules. Today all soccer teams play by them.
Soccer is called "football" everywhere but in the United States. The game is played mostly with feet. No players except the goalie ( ) may touch the ball with their hands. They may control the ball with any part of the body except their hands.
Soccer is by far the world's most popular sport. Every four years, nearly every country in the world tlghts for the World Cup. Tens of billions of soccer fans from around the world watch the World Cup on television. | middle5135.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "had never said a word"
},
"options": [
"had never seen a dog",
"had never said a word",
"had received little treatment",
"had never played with toys"
],
"question": "Before getting Millie, Harry .",
"questio... | Harry is a boy with a learning disability. On his fourth birthday, he was given a pug called Millie. Two weeks after the dog's arrival, he was happier and calmer and said his first words, "dog" and "mummy". Just two months later, thieves stole the dog, and now the heartbroken little boy is back to where he started. He has refused to talk since losing his best friend. His mother was worried and gave him another dog, but he just "pushed it away". Mrs Hainsworth, his mother, says, "My son is very sad. He'll go over to her cage and just beat on the bars. There is no word coming out, but you just know he's screaming 'Where is Millie' inside. Millie was really his best friend. They would play together happily for hours. None of his toys has ever held his attention that long. Now he has just completely turned quiet again. "Harry suffers from a condition which affects his ability to speak and move. But the dog's being with him achieved more in days than months of speech therapy and physiotherapy had. Mrs Hainsworth says, "My son was so happy when he saw Millie. Being with Millie changed him, and within two weeks he had said his first words and was working on saying 'dad'. Just last week, his teachers and I were saying how much Millie had helped him. And now this!" Mrs Hainsworth is considering buying another pug in the hope that her son will accept it. Maureen Hennis of the charity, Pets as Therapy, says she has seen many cases of dogs helping people with speech problems. "People may talk to a dog when they wouldn't like to talk to another human," she says. "A dog doesn't care if words come out wrong." | middle3544.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "study the clouds"
},
"options": [
"study the clouds",
"monitor the temperature every hour",
"watch the signs of the wind",
"note the changes in wet"
],
"question": "According to this article, one way to understa... | At one time or another we have all stopped to think about the weather. Some days the weather is good. Some days the weather is bad. Sometimes a day that seems bad turns out better than you thought it would. There are ways of understanding the weather. One way is to study the clouds. No two clouds are ever alike. We can see the different kinds of clouds and watch them for signs of changing weather. To forecast the weather, there are three things about clouds. you should look for: movement, colour, and change. As a rule, the higher the clouds, the better the weather. And the lower the clouds, the worse the weather is likely to be. Fair-weather cumulus clouds* are another sign of good weather. These are clouds we often see on warm summer days. Clouds can tell you if a storm is on the way. If the thick, fluffy cumulus clouds get bigger early in the day, then you know it will rain. If there is a sudden, cool and dark thunder* cloud appears, then a storm is about to break out. Colours in the sky tell us about the weather, too. A golden ring around the moon warns us that a storm is on the way. A watery yellow sunset is a sign that rain may be near. The rainbow* has a message, too. The colours of the rainbow come from the sun rays shining through falling rain. If you see the sun in the east and a rainbow in the west, the rain may be coming your way. If the sun is in the west and the rainbow is in the east, the rain will be moving away from you. | middle1353.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Beijing."
},
"options": [
"Sydney.",
"Beijing.",
"New York.",
"Shenzhen."
],
"question": "Where is Daniel living now?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Daniel comes from Sydney. He is now staying in Beijing with his family. He usually gets up at about 6:30 am and has breakfast at 7:00 am. Then he leaves home at 7:15 am.
He gets to school at 7:45 am. His first class begins at 8:00 am. There are four lessons in the morning. Morning classes are over at 11:50 am, and he has lunch 10 minutes later.
Afternoon classes begin at 1:30 pm. There are two lessons in the afternoon. They are over at 3:10 pm. Daniel usually stays at school for another hour to play soccer, and then goes home. | middle7736.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "seven days"
},
"options": [
"nine years",
"half a month",
"seven days",
"eight days"
],
"question": "Mr Smith went to take a vacation for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Mr Smith had a week's vacation, so he said,"I'm going to the seaside by train. "He put on his best clothes, took a small bag, went to the railway station and got into the train. He wore a beautiful hat, and he often put his head out of the window during the trip and looked at the beautiful scenery. Suddenly, the wind pulled his hat off.
Mr Smith quickly threw his old bag out of the window, too. The other people in the train laughed,"Is your bag going to bring back your beautiful hat?" they asked.
"No," Mr Smith answered."But My name and address are on the bag. If someone finds both of them, he or she will send me the bag and the hat." | middle1347.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She behaved well at school."
},
"options": [
"She behaved well at school.",
"She often tells lies at school.",
"She often made trouble at school.",
"She used to be a discipline problem."
],
"question": "What did... | Katie was in big trouble.She was such a sweet kid; a third-grade teacher always dreamed of having a classroom filled with Katies, she was never ever a discipline problem. I just couldn't imagine why she had made her parents so angry.
It seemed that Katie had been spending money in the lunchroom. Her parents explained that Katie brought a great homemade lunch each day, and there was no reason for her to buy school lunch. They wondered why but failed.So they asked me to help them get to the bottom of this situation.
The next day, I asked Katie to my office. "Why are you buying lunches, Katie? What happened to your homemade lunch?" I asked. "I lose it," she replied. "I don't believe you, Katie. Is someone stealing your lunch, Katie?" I asked. "No. I just lose it," she said.Well, there was nothing else I could do.
The problem was still unsolved the next week when I noticed a boy who was new to the school sitting alone at a lunch table. He always looked sad and scared. I thought I would go and sit with him for a while. As I walked towards him, I noticed the lunch bag on the table. The name on the bag said "Katie".
Now I understood and I talked to Katie. It seemed that the new boy never brought a lunch, and he wouldn't go to the lunch line for a free lunch. He had told Katie his secret and asked her not to tell anyone that his parents wanted him to get a free lunch at school. Katie asked me not to tell her parents, but I drove to her house that evening after I was sure that she was in bed. I had never seen parents so proud of their child.
Katie still buys lunch every day at school. And every day, as she heads out of the door, her mom hands her a delicious homemade lunch. | middle6428.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To help him lose weight"
},
"options": [
"To punish him",
"To play a joke on him",
"To help him save money",
"To help him lose weight"
],
"question": "Why did the holy man want the king to walk to his place?",
... | Once upon a time, there lived a wealthy and kind king. However, the people were worried about him because he was very fat. He didn't do anything other than eat and sleep.
One day, the king finally realized that he couldn't even move his body. There were many good doctors in his country. However, none could cure the king. The king had a lot of wealth, but no amount of wealth could make him healthy.
One fine morning, a holy man visited the country. He heard about the ill health of the king and told the minister to meet him at his place, which was far from the king's palace. When the minister came, the holy man said that he could easily cure the king. Hearing these promising words, the minister became very happy. Since the king could not move his body, the minister asked the holy man to go to the king's palace to treat him. However, the holy man refused and said that he would treat the king only if the king came on foot to his place.
The king was unable to walk even a few steps on the road, but after great efforts, he reached the holy man's place. Unluckily, the holy man was not _ and his wife told the king to come the next day. This was repeated for two weeks. Suddenly, the king realized that he felt a lot lighter. Very soon, the king became healthy, and the people became happy again. | middle5121.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "know more about Japanese history"
},
"options": [
"know more about Japanese history",
"see the exhibitions and the memorial",
"see many foreign visitors",
"try different kinds of snacks."
],
"question": "If you ... | Although Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world , you will be surprised that there are still some free activities in Tokyo.
Free temples ( )
There are many temples in Tokyo.The most famous one is Meiji Jingu.This is the most important temple in Tokyo. If you visit it , you can know more about Japanese history .Of course , it's free.
Free museums
If you go to Kanto Earthquake Museum , you can see the exhibitions and the memorial for the people who died in the 1923 earthquake _
Free parks
There are two famous parks in Japan. They are Yoyogi Park and Ueno Park .Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo .It is now a great place to see street performers.Ueno Park is popular with many Japanses people and foreign visitors.
Free snacks
Janpanese food is delicious and healthy . You can try different kinds of snacks , before spending money on them. You don't need to pay for them when you try them.
,, . (1,5) | middle3550.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "can reach very high temperatures"
},
"options": [
"happen three billion times each day",
"will start when there are big fires",
"can reach very high temperatures",
"kill all those who work in a park"
],
"questio... | Lightning is shocking, and it happens all over the world! Scientists think that there are more than three million lightning strikes every day in the world-that's thirty strikes every second.
Lightning can also be very dangerous. Every year, lightning kills people because it can start big fires or because it reaches temperatures up to 28,000 degrees centigrade. American Roy Sullivan, who worked in a park, holds the record for _ the most lightning strikes. Between 1942 and 1983, he was hit seven times!
So, why does lightning strike? Lightning strikes happen when ice and water in clouds rub together, and cause atmospheric changes. When this happens, it creates a static charge . Lightning can strike inside the cloud, between two clouds and between a cloud and Earth. It's the last type of strike that is the most dangerous for humans. About 1,000 people get struck by lightning every year in the United States, and about 100 of them die as a result.
Lightning is certainly not something _ . When lightning strikes, it's best to stay inside a large building. To stay safe, do not stand under trees, on hills or near water. Trees attract lightning. Also, do not lie down on the ground, otherwise the electricity may go through you and cause a heart disease. | middle4559.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Strange."
},
"options": [
"Strange.",
"Fantastic.",
"Modern.",
"Interesting."
],
"question": "What do you probably think of these events?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | The 31st Summer Olympics will be held in Brazil in 2016. Before this global sporting event, we started thinking about sports that didn't exist any more and sports that were maybe a little strange. Read the following ones that have ever been included in the past Olympic Games.
Live Pigeon Shooting (1900)
This bloody event was only held once, at the 1900 Paris Games. Nearly 300 birds were killed during the competition, leaving a crime scene of feathers and blood. This is the only event in Olympic history that involved killing live animals.
Kabaddi (1936)
This sport is popular in South Asia. The object is for one member of a team to enter the other side's half of the field, and score points. The attacker then returns to his half of the field.
12 Hour Bicycle Race (1896)
Seven riders got on their bikes at 5 a.m. and rode until 5 p.m. Four riders dropped out before noon, but the winner, Adolf Schmal of Austria, managed about 180 miles. Only Schmal and one other finished.
Tug of War (1900--1920)
This may seem like a basic PE class sport more than an Olympic event, but Tug of War was actually one of the first sports played at the Olympic games in 500 BC.
There are two teams of eight; the winning team must pull the other team six feet forward.
Swimming Obstacle Race (1900)
The athletes had to climb over a pole and a row of boats, and then swim under another row of boats. All of this was done in the Seine River, so they also had to fight against the water. This event was only ever held in 1900, in Paris. | middle3236.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "17%"
},
"options": [
"17%",
"15%",
"35%",
"5%"
],
"question": "How many people in America have 3 people living in them?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3... | Most people in America live in small family groups. More than a quarter of homes in America have only got one person in them. Some of these are old people but some are people of twenty or thirty years old who would like to live alone. 35% of homes have two people in them, and another 17% have three people. 15%have four people in them, and the other homes have five or more.
The families in America are small. It is unusual for parents to have more than two children. When children are about eighteen or nineteen years old, they leave their parents' homes, and they often go to different cities. Sometimes they only visit their parents two or three times a year. | middle2128.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in a small town,UK"
},
"options": [
"in London",
"in a small town,UK",
"all over the world",
"around the whole Europe"
],
"question": "All the clowns get together _ for the International Clown Festival.",
... | From March 12 to 17 of each year, hundreds of clowns get together in the Bonior Regis Town, UK. They all wear tall blue hats and big red noses with colorful faces.
The first International Clown Festival was in 1987, UK. All the clowns from all over the world came together to celebrate the great festival in England.
During the festival, people can see clowns from the world. They are together for the world of clown shows. They try their best to please all the people for the festival. In the shows, they have big feet, funny noses and look really funny. They sing and dance in a strange way to make people laugh. All people for the festival can have great fun. Of course, children like this interesting festival best.
Now women can take part in the clown shows , and they are very popular. But in the old days, only men could be clowns.
There are different kinds of clowns like white faces, red faces, street clowns and clowns for children. All these clowns are popular with people. | middle5647.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "7:15"
},
"options": [
"6:15",
"6:30",
"6:45",
"7:15"
],
"question": "The supper was ready at _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": ... | The Beets were a new couple . The things in their rooms, such as the television, the computer, the fridge, furniture and so on, were all left by their parents. They only paid some money for their food and clothes. But they tried their best to save money. If they had something important to tell their friends, they always visited them instead of calling them.
One day, it was a quarter past nine. Mr. Beet didn't come back. His wife was a little worried. The supper was cold and she had waited for two hours. She was sitting by the table in the dark room.
Suddenly the woman heard someone coming upstairs. It was her husband's step. She hurried to open the door. In the dark she could hear his deep breathing . As soon as he sat down, she turned on the light and found he looked very tired.
"Why do you come back so late, dear?" asked the woman. "Haven't you caught a bus?"
"Yes, but I didn't take it." "Why not?"
"I ran after it so that I saved two dollars this evening."
"That's great!" the woman said happily. "Run after a taxi next time and you'll save both more time and money." | middle1421.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "have her favorite food"
},
"options": [
"learn English in the UK",
"meet some new friends",
"have hamburgers and potatoes",
"have her favorite food"
],
"question": "The writer felt excited when she learnt she wo... | I arrived in the UK last weekend to learn English. So far I have already made a few friends and had some traditional English food there. But after having three days of hamburgers, sandwiches and potatoes, I thought none could be more delicious than Chinese food, especially my favorite --huo guo. You can't imagine how excited I was when I got to know that there was going to be a free meal of hotpot to welcome the new students. On the way to the canteen, I seemed to smell huo guo in the air.
To my surprise, when I stepped into the room, I didn't see any sign of huo guo. Where was it?
With many questions in my head, I sat down to have the free meal. After talking with an English girl, I got to know that Chinese huo guo is completely different from hotpot. Chinese huo guo is written in two words-hot pot; and hotpot, one word, is a traditional English dish.
Hotpot is made from mutton and onion. On the top are pieces of potatoes. People put it in the oven all day in a heavy pot on a low heat. It takes very little effort to prepare. You can often see it at parties in the UK because it's easy to prepare for a large number of people and is not expensive.
Hotpot doesn't taste bad. However, I still miss huo guo-hot pot, two words! | middle7050.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he is very tired ."
},
"options": [
"Because he is very hungry .",
"Because he likes sleeping .",
"Because he is very tired .",
"Because he isn't busy ."
],
"question": "Why does the lion sleep on the gr... | A lion is tired very much and sleeps on the ground one day . A cat runs after a little mouse . The mouse runs around and comes to the lion . The mouse sees the lion and he is very afraid . " I' m very sorry . Please let me go . I can help you some day . " The lion sleeps well and feels happy now . He says , "You can help me ? You are too small . But I am happy now . You can go . " The mouse goes .
One day , the lion is in a cage . He can't get out . The little mouse sees the sad lion . He bites the cage with his teeth . Soon the lion goes out . "Am I right ? " says the mouse , " A small animal can help a big one sometimes . " | middle5900.txt |
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