questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Salad."
},
"options": [
"Bread.",
"Meat.",
"Salad.",
"Fish."
],
"question": "According to western rules of eating, which of the following is NOT cut before it is eaten?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"... | During my first two months in China, I was like a girl in love. Everything I saw and did amazed me. I have journal entries that are pages long describing, in great detail, everything I ate. From the sauce to the kind of chopsticks I used, nothing went unnoticed or unrecorded. Chinese people gape at me when they see me using chopsticks, just because I can.
Western eating is so different, not only in the use of cutlery , but also in the rules of eating, for which there are many. For example, everything is cut before it's eaten, except salad. Instead of eating around the bone, as we do here (I do it too, of course), people cut around the bones, which makes eating fish a difficult thing. Also, there is a certain way to eat soup, which involves pushing the spoon away from you, to make sure you don't get splashed, and never slurping or touching your teeth on the spoon. Before I came here, I thought table manners were very important. Now I think that they are silly, worrying and concentrating on changing the fork and knife every time you cut your food takes away from the enjoyment of food.
Every time I eat at a restaurant, I try something new. I am not afraid of trying anything and I will eat anything once. At first I would try a bite and not like it. This happened with fish heads, snake, anything spicy, and bitter melon, to name a few. Now I like all of these things.
My new favorite dish is spicy fish heads. There are vegetables whose names I don't know in English. I am proficient in Chinese food, and am also at least ten pounds heavier than when I first arrived. I never even like rice before I came here, and now I have it with every meal. I don't like cheese either, and Western food just doesn't taste as good as it once did. Even McDonald's is better here. | high17469.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "11 to 12 hours"
},
"options": [
"2 hours",
"9 to 10 hours",
"11 to 12 hours",
"24 hours"
],
"question": "With a smartphone the average UK working day is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Owning a smartphone may not be as smart as you think. They may let you surf the Internet, listen to music and take photos wherever you are, but they also turn you into a workaholic .
A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the smartphone adds as much as two hours to your working day. Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles. The study shows the average UK working day is between 9 and 10 hours, but a further 2 hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls.
Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers say they are on call almost 24 hours a day. Nearly two-thirds say they often check work emails just before they go to bed and as soon as they wake up, while over a third have replied to one in the middle of the night. The average time for first checking emails is between 6 am and 7 am, with more than a third checking their first email in this period, and a quarter checking them between 11pm and midnight.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said: "The ability to access millions of applications has made smartphones invaluable for many people. However, there are disadvantages. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people cannot get away from work. The more constantly in touch we become, the more is expected of us in work . " | high2899.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "pleasant"
},
"options": [
"pleasant",
"fresh",
"dangerous",
"crazy"
],
"question": "Recalling the old days' shopping in the supermarket,the author thinks it was_.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Remember when a trip to the supermarket was nothing more than a boring thing requiring little or no specialized knowledge? You could send your kids into a cart while you did shopping. You always bought the same brands,usually the brands your mother bought. You didn't know about unit pricing,and furthermore,you didn't care. It never occurred to you to read the labels on anything. After all,you'd bought these things a hundred times.
But now,I really look on those days with a feeling of yearn . How innocent we were! How carefree were those trips to the supermarket. No worries. Today a trip to the supermarket is filled with social influence. Every time I buy pork chops I think about the years I'm shaving from my life. I keep a careful eye on the freshness date and examine the tamper-proof packaging. I am victim of that most dangerous social disease:shoppers' panic.
I didn't realize how serious my condition had become until the last time I needed laundry, soap. It seemed simple enough. Just run into the market,grab a box of the old reliable and pay for it. I hadn't planned on discovering Ecover,a new brand of laundry soap. It sat quietly on the shelf right next to my old reliable. "Healthy,gentle but effective. "My respect for it deepened with each new claim as I read the entire package. Then I looked at the price:$5. 69 for 2 pound. $5. 69! I cast a quick glance at the old reliable,still on sale for$1. 39.
Six bucks for laundry soap! These people must be crazy! Who's going to pay six bucks for laundry soap? It's not as though I can't afford it. See,it's concentrated--use less,get more. BUT SIX BUCKS! And the box is made from recycled materials ...This act went on for a solid half hour,after which I left the shelf without any soap at all.
Surely the meat department is most threatening place. Remember what protein was good for you? That's all over. Every bite you take kills you. I won't even mention meat's moral influence.
When all is said and done,we still must eat. I gather up my healthy-cooking oil and my recycled paper towels and head to the checkout counter. | high16777.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "His mother."
},
"options": [
"His father.",
"His mother.",
"His teacher.",
"His brother."
],
"question": "Who had the same interest as Window according to the text?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
}... | Winslow Homer was the second of three sons of Henrietta Benson and Charles Savage Homer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1836 and grew up in Cambridge. His father was an importer of tools and other goods. His mother was a painter. Window got his interest in drawing and painting from his mother. But his father also supported his son's interest. Once, on a business trip to London, Charles Homer bought a set of drawing examples for his son to copy. Young Winslow used these to develop his early skill.
Winslow's older brother Charles went to Harvard University in Cambridge. The family expected Winslow would go, too. But, at the time, Harvard did not teach art. So Winslow's father found him a job as an assistant in the trade of making and preparing pictures for printed media. At 19, Window learned the process of lithography .This work was the only formal training that Winslow ever received in art.
In 1859, Window Homer moved to New York City to work for Harper's Weekly. Homer also started to paint seriously. He hoped to go to Europe to study painting. But, something would intervene the direction of Window Homer's artistic work. Harper's magazine would send him to draw pictures of the biggest event in American history since independence. It was the Civil War between the Union and the rebel southern states.
Winslow Homer went to Washington, D. C., in 1861. He drew pictures of the campaign of Union Army General George McClellan the next year. His pictures of the war showed many ways that conflicts affect people. | high19444.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the lemmings' self-killing"
},
"options": [
"how lemmings find food",
"why animals kill themselves",
"the lemmings' self-killing",
"the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains"
],
"question": "The passage is m... | Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming , that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life.
However, when the lemmings' food supply becomes too low to support the population, a _ migration begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea.
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown.
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening. | high4230.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Spiritual health is necessary for physical health."
},
"options": [
"Loving others will keep you in good spirits.",
"Heart illness can be cured without operation.",
"Creating strong relationships will keep you healthy.",
... | Recently a man came to me, because he was told that there is fluid around his heart. After trying many drugs which were of no use to reduce the fluid, the doctor told him the only other choice was to have an operation. He refused because he knew that every illness has a mental cause and that if he had the operation but did not clear the mental cause, the fluid would return. At last, he searched the Internet to find a metaphysical healer , and he found me.
The mental cause of his disease was an experience of breaking up five years ago with several friends, whom he had known for over twenty years. This experience broke his heart. Not knowing how to "mend" his broken heart, his body created a "repair" by surrounding his heart with fluid to protect it from the sad feelings.
Our work focused on reminding him of the feelings of being loved and forgiving his friends. Months later, his hearts was mended and the fluid disappeared. He left my office after the final session with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
The key is: to create a healthy body, you must be healthy not only in body, but also in mind.
To be mentally healthy, you need to build up strong relationships. Creating strong relationships will insure that you are accompanied by a network of loving persons. _ is important for building a support system that lifts your spirits. Even when you are alone, you will not feel lonely or upset. Strong relationships are not spaceships----they are not hard to build. | high11018.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "help him take money without being caught"
},
"options": [
"show that the bank was important",
"help him take money without being caught",
"make him look like a hero",
"give Mr. Burrows a good lesson"
],
"questio... | "I wish our bank would be robbed," said George Pickens, the bank clerk, to himself. "If one day a robber holds up me. And if I have to give him a certain amount of money. What is to prevent me keeping all the money left and claiming that the robber had taken it?" Just then a tall and strong man walked in, wearing a mask. "This is a holdup!" the man said. Roughly, taking a gun from his pocket and stepping over to George's cage. "All right, hand it over!"
"Yes, sir," said George. "Would you like it in ten-or twenty-dollar bills?"
"Just hand it over!" said the robber. George took all the bills from the top section close to six thousand dollars. He passed them through the window. The robber snatched them, stuffed them into his pocket, and turned to leave. Then, while everyone was watching the robber, George calmly lifted off the top section of the cashbox and slipped bills from the bottom section into his pockets. The door swung and the robber was gone. George fell down and fainted. When he came to he smiled up at the worried faces looking down at him. "I'm all right," he stated bravely.
"You might just as well go home, George." Mr. Bell, the chief accountant, said.
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George took the money from his pockets and counted it. Seven thousand dollars!
The next morning when George arrived at the bank, it was not open for business, but everyone was there, helping to check the bank's accounts. George was called into Mr. Burrows' office. The bank president seemed strangely cheerful. "George," he said, "I want you to meet Mr. Charles, who used to be president of our bank."
"Good morning, George," said the former president. "I was extremely sorry to hear you fainted yesterday. Are you all right now?"
"Yes, sir, just fine, thanks."
"I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days, I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everybody on his toes."
"I don't understand," said George. "What game?"
The old man laughed and quickly took out a mask. He placed it over his face and said, "All right. Hand it over!" Mr. Burrows laughed but George didn't.
"And the money?" George asked in a faint voice.
"Don't worry," Mr. Charles said. "I put it all back in your cashbox--- all six thousand. We're just finishing up the check-up now." Behind them, the door opened and Mr. Bell put his head into the room. "Mr. Burrows," he said gravely, "may I see you a moment?" | high18982.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Losing their way."
},
"options": [
"Damaged roads.",
"Animals' attack.",
"Losing their way.",
"Running out of food."
],
"question": "What was the difficulty the group of people met in the mountain?",
"questi... | A group of people decided to climb a mountain together. They thought it was going to be an easy climb, so they laughed and talked among themselves and didn't notice the sky growing darker. They soon got lost for they couldn't see very far in front of them. They _ together that night over a fire.
No one walked too far away from the group by themselves because it would surely lead to death. They sat close to each other throughout the dark hours not just for warmth, but for the fact that staying with the group was their only hope for survival. After what felt like a century, the sun started its slow climb up the sky. They were now able to see as far ahead of them as they liked, so they began to go down the mountain.
They still remained as a group at this time even though there was no real need. A bond had formed throughout the group that could not be broken or ignored. They knew each other just as well as they knew themselves. As they reached the place where they had started their journey, they knew it was time to say goodbye. Feeling at peace, they bowed deeply to each other. All of them kept the love they created as a group close to their hearts as they made their way out into the world alone. | high12511.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he wanted to share it with his wife"
},
"options": [
"he couldn't finish eating it with one bite",
"he was very careful with his food",
"he ordered more than he could eat",
"he wanted to share it with his wife"
],
... | One cold winter evening, some young families and young couples were eating in a McDonald's when an old couple walked slowly into McDonald's hand in hand.
Some of the customers looked admiringly at them .You could tell what the admirers were thinking. Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more." The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.
When the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking. "That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them." Then, the man began to eat his French fries, when one young man stood and came over to the old couple's table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. But the old man replied that they were just fine and they were used to sharing everything.
Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink. When the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly, the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.
After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. "Ma'am, why aren't you eating? You said that you shared everything. What is it that you are waiting for?"
She answered, "The false teeth". | high23914.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Face transplants can work."
},
"options": [
"Face transplants can work.",
"Face transplants help regain confidence.",
"Three people have received face transplants.",
"Disfigured people need face transplants."
],
... | LONDON (Reuters)--New faces given to a Chinese man after a bear tore off part of his face and a FrenchCaribbean man disfigured by a rare tumor show that such transplants can work and are not medical oddities ,researchers said.
The findings give hope to some people with severe facial disfigurement and suggest the transplants could prove longlasting without major problems.Despite the tissue rejection in the first year after their transplants,neither men had psychological problems accepting their new faces and have been able to rejoin society,they reported.
Only three people have received face transplants.The world's first was carried out on French woman Isabelle Dinoire in November 2005 after she was disfigured in an attack by her dog.In 2007,her doctors reported that she had recovered slowly and steadily,overcoming two periods of rejection.
In 2006,Chinese doctors performed a face transplant on a 30yearold hit by a bear.While there were some complications with tissue rejection following the operation,two years later the man was doing well,his doctors said."This case suggests that facial transplantation might be an option for _ a severely disfigured face,and could enable patients to bring themselves back into society," Shuzhong Guo and colleagues at Xijing Hospital in China wrote.
A French team described their work on a 29yearold man who suffered from Von Recklinghausen disease,an illness that changes the shape of his face."The man,who was not named,was given a new nose,mouth and chin in a 2007 operation.He began to work 13 months after the transplant has more function in his face and has not rejected the new tissue," his doctors said.
"Our case confirms that face transplantation is practical and effective for the correction of specific disfigurement," Dr.Laurent Lantieri and colleagues at the HenriMondor hospital outside Paris wrote. | high804.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Choose certificates of deposit for one year."
},
"options": [
"Choose certificates of deposit for one year.",
"Put the money in banks for one year.",
"Put the money in credit unions for one year.",
"Choose certificates ... | Are you a saver or a spender?
"A penny saved is a penny earned." This old saying calls attention to the wisdom of saving money. " _ " is another way to talk about saving for the future.
People who hate to spend money are known as "tightwads," while those who like to get the most value for their money are called "thrifty." A thrifty person is different from a "spendthrift." A spendthrift is someone who spends wastefully. People like that are often said to spend money "like a drunken sailor" or "like there's no tomorrow."
In the United States, people who want to start a savings account have different choices of where to put their money. These include banks and credit unions. Credit unions are cooperatives for people who have some kind of connection. For example, the members might work for a university or a government agency. Most credit unions are nonprofit organizations.
Credit unions, banks and other financial institutions pay interest on savings accounts. But the interest rates are low. Certificates of deposit pay higher returns. With a certificate of deposit, or CD, a person agrees not to withdraw the money for a certain period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. Longer terms, and larger amounts, pay higher interest. People can withdraw their money early but they have to pay a fine.
In a number of countries, people have been saving less over the years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a group of thirty-four countries. The OECD says in 1990, Americans had a household savings rate of seven percent. This year, that rate is expected to be a little more than four percent and many European countries have higher rates like the UK and France , but Americans save more than families in countries like Japan and South Korea. | high6427.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "At first the price of the vase was much higher than Balzac could offer."
},
"options": [
"vase in the window was placed much higher than Balzac could reach.",
"At first the price of the vase was much higher than Balzac could offer.... | Balzac was good at buying things at its lowest price. One day he wanted to buy a vase in a shop window that was much more expensive than he could offer. Not being able to make the shopkeeper cut down its price very much, he left without further talking. Collecting a half dozen of his friends, he explained his wish to them and they worked a plan. The first would enter the shop and make an offer, lower than the marked price. Not getting the vase at his price, he would walk out. Shortly after another would enter and ask for a price lower than the first. In this way, each of the others would offer a price lower than the one before, and the last of his friends made a great effort to attempt to get it at the lowest price. Before long Balzac himself would return, offer more than the last two or three persons made and trust to luck. The plan worked--- Balzac got the vase at his price! | high44.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To show that you are a responsible worker."
},
"options": [
"To prove you are not a habitual late comer.",
"To respect the rules of the organization.",
"To show that you are a responsible worker.",
"To win other workers... | Having good etiquette at the workplace is very important to be a favorite in an office.However,it's observed that many people aren't aware of the workplace etiquette and this creates a very bad impression in the office.So it's important to know some workplace etiquette tips.
Among all the workplace etiquette guidelines,the most important is to be punctual to your office.Though going late due to an emergency is okay,habitual late comers are never appreciated in any organization.By arriving at your office on time,you show that you're aware of your responsibilities and have respect for the organization.In case you feel that you would be late,call the concerned authority and report the matter to him or her.
Also,a proper knowledge of the workplace email etiquette is a must.In the official emails,you need to mention the subject concisely,while at the same time include all the important details which are to be shared.You should use good and grammatically correct language while writing emails.
A knowledge of telephone etiquette in the workplace is very important as well.While talking on the telephone,be polite and listen to what they're saying carefully.Only then should you say what you feel.Speak in a voice which would be heard clearly at the other end.
The workplace guidelines are important even while you're dining or celebrating with your coworkers.If you get a call in between,receive it after you're permitted by the others by saying "excuse me".Don't talk loudly while eating.Greet people well and try to make them feel comfortable while being in your company.
These guidelines will help you become the best employee of a company.All the best! | high14160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Fifty"
},
"options": [
"Five",
"Forty- Five.",
"Fifty",
"Fifteen."
],
"question": "How many states are there in the U. S. A ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | There are fifty states in the United States. The largest in population is California,the largest in area is Alaska. Alaska is the smallest in population and Rhode Island is the smallest in size. The oldest states are the ones along the Atlantic coast. The newest states are Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska is also the coldest state. California and Florida are the warmer. Henry and his family live in Seattle, a big city, on the Pacific coast. But Los Angeles and San Francisco, also on the Pacific coast, are larger than Seattle. Henry's cousin, Susan, lives in New York. It is the largest city in the United States. Thousands of people visit New York each year. The most important city in the United States is Washington D. C. It is the capital, but it is much smaller than New York. | high1348.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It lands differently from other frogs."
},
"options": [
"It has a long tail",
"It jumps on one foot",
"It stars its jump differently",
"It lands differently from other frogs."
],
"question": "What's special abou... | You probably know that frogs hop ( ). But did you know that there's a small frog in the Pacific Northwest that bellyflops ? It's called a tailed frog.
Dr.Rick Essner, who has been studying tailed frogs for the past few years, says, " I've looked at thousands of jumps and have never seen them land on their feet like other frogs." Most of the time, tailed frogs land on their stomachs and then bring their back legs in to prepare for another jump.
Essner forst noticed these frogs because of the way they swim. Other frogs kick both of their back legs at the same time. But when a tailed frog swims, it pushes first with one leg and then the other.
To try to find out why tailed frogs bellyflop, Essner and other scientists collected and filmed different kinds of frogs. They found that all of the frogs start their jumps the same way: they hold out their legs. The change comes in the landing. Tailed frogs can't move their back legs as quickly as other frogs do. Maybe they don't need to. Tailed frogs live around water and quickly jump into the water to escape danger.
Early frogs developed around watery areas and could jump quickly into the water to escape danger. Scientists think those frogs blended in with (...) the green plants on the side of the rocky rivers, just like today's tailed frogs. "Iwould guess that other animals would have problems _ them, " explains Essner. When other animals find those early frogs, the frogs could jump into the river. They didn't need to continue hopping.
Tailed frogs and other kinds of frogs went their own ways about 200 million years ago. Tailed frogs stayed by rivers. Other kinds of frogs moved to places where new hopping skills allowed them to survive. | high8595.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "make you become slim more easily"
},
"options": [
"make you gain more fat",
"make you become slim more easily",
"help improve your psychological health",
"help develop your craving for more delicious food"
],
"q... | As a recipe for losing weight, taking a slice of chocolate cake at breakfast would seem an unlikely fantasy.
A team from Tel Aviv University found that eating pudding as part of a balanced 600-calorie breakfast that also included proteins and carbohydrates , could help dieter to lose more weight---and keep _ off in the long run.
Attempting to avoid sweets entirely can create a psychological addiction to these same foods in the long term. So adding desserts to breakfast can control craving throughout the rest of the day.
Over the course of a 32-week-long study, participants, who added desserts to their breakfast lost about 40 pounds more than a group that avoided such foods. What's more, they kept off the pounds longer.
A meal in the morning provides energy for the day's tasks, aids in brain functioning, and kick-starts the body's metabolism , making it decisive to weight loss and maintenance. And breakfast is the meal that most successfully regulates ghrelin, the hormone that increases longer. While the level of ghrelin rises before every meals, it is controlled most effectively at breakfast time.
The researchers hoped to determine whether meal time and composition had an impact on weight loss in the short and long term, or whether it was a simple matter of the caloric count. | high9853.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "approach the world from different angles"
},
"options": [
"approach the world from different angles",
"explore different phenomena of the world",
"express people's feelings in different ways",
"explain what it means to ... | When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority .This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings "talk" to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize. | high743.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "call a phone 8455344517"
},
"options": [
"visit Black Rock Forest first",
"download their brochure",
"call a phone 8455344517",
"register before March 8"
],
"question": "If you want to be a member of Summer Scie... | Summer Science Class registration begins on March 8 ! If you are interested in science,the environment,or conservation and you are in grades 7-12,sign up soon for Black Rock Forest Consortium's Summer Science Class program. You can download the Summer Science Classes 2013 brochure here. It is easy to register;just call 8455344517 or click here.
Twelve weeklong courses in the natural sciences and the arts are offered at Black Rock Forest in Cornwall from July 15 through August 9.Two more classes are offered with site partners,including "The Art of Scientific Observation," hosted jointly by Black Rock Forest Consortium and Storm King Art Center,one of the world's leading sculpture parks,and "A Nautical Expedition" hosted jointly by the Consortium and the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center.
We are delighted to announce two special "away" classes that are part of the Summer Science Class program this year: an "Adirondack EcoAdventure" beginning August 11,and "Conservation Biology in Florida," beginning June 23 and featuring field work on the Gulf Coast in cooperation with the University of Florida's Seahorse Key Marine Biological Laboratory. For more information on the Summer Science Class program,please read our press release.
Black Rock Forest Consortium is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to advance scientific understanding of the natural world through research,education and conservation programs. | high13790.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They all have a three star ratings."
},
"options": [
"They all have a three star ratings.",
"They all have the same number of rooms",
"They are all close to the airport",
"They all provide a room with a mini bar."
]... | Aava Whistler Hotel
Star Ratings: Location: Whistler
Rooms:192
Stay at the Aava Whistler Hotel (formerly Coast Whistler Hotel) and experience a great vacation. The Aava Whistler Hotel is within minutes from over a hundred shopping malls and restaurants. It also has a great number of recreational facilities,including swimming,diving and even skiing. Hotel services include 24-hour reception,laundry and room service. Guests can stay in cozy rooms equipped with air-conditioning, bathroom and television. From CN Y=496 per night.
Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel
Star Ratings: Location: East Lundy's Lane
Room:l66
Relax and unwind at the Best Western Cairn Hotel. This resort-style hotel is located just minutes from the airport. At the Best Western Cairn Croft, guests can enjoy a large number of recreational facilities,including children's activities, sightseeing and a swimming pool. Business travelers can also take advantage of spacious meeting and banqueting facilities for hosting corporate events. All rooms come with basic amenities . From CNY=439 per night.
Clarion Hotel&Suites Downtown Montreal
Star Ratings: Location:Montreal
Rooms:266
Conveniently located just 20 minutes from the airport, the Clarion Hotel&Suite Downtown Montreal is a moderately-priced three-star hotel that provides services to both business and leisure travelers. The Clarion has spacious meeting facilities and modern business centers for business travelers. It also has a sauna and whirlpool where guest can relax. All rooms come with basic amenities, including cable TV and a kitchenette. From CNY=553 per night.
Delta Bow Valley Hotel
Star Ratings: Location:Calgary
Rooms:398
The Delta Bow Valley Hotel is located a couple of blocks north of Olympic Plaza, east of James Short Park, and north-east of the Petro-Canada Centre. Apart from business and recreational services such as a business centre,fitness centre and restaurant, all rooms in the Delta come with a mini bar and in-house movies. From CNY=l,227 per night. | high23653.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Its sales and income have dropped."
},
"options": [
"Its share goes down to$21.",
"Shake Shack has taken its place.",
"It's not popular with Americans.",
"Its sales and income have dropped."
],
"question": "What... | Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U S.The restaurants are not"fast food."They are known as"fast casual."
Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat.This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald's has struggled financially.In the last quarter of 2014,McDonald's net income dropped by about$300 million.The January earnings report brought more bad news.Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expected.While McDonald's is struggling to get their customers back,Shake Shack,is doing well in making money.The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO,or initial public offering,of shares at the end of January.On its first day of trading,Shake Shack went from$21 a share to just under$46 a share.Being part of the"fast casual"trend has helped Shake Shack.Other fast casual restaurants in the U.S.include Chipotle and Panera.
Bonnie Riggs,a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans'restaurant habits for almost 30 years.She says one reason why Americans like fast casual food is that it's new.It is creative,it is something different and people like to try new things.Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year.Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants,like McDonald's.Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits,but it has developed fast.Just as Ms.Riggs says,"It's growing by _ ,because they meet consumers'needs.They know it's being prepared while they wait,it's fresh,quality food,good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices."
Many Americans still like their fast food.They just are not going as often.They are finding other ways to have a meal. | high10299.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Different kinds of sound."
},
"options": [
"Sounds made by man.",
"All the words made by man.",
"Different kinds of sound.",
"The way man learns."
],
"question": "What do we mean by language?",
"question_typ... | No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him--water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.
People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life. The words you know are called your vocabulary . You should try to make your vocabulary larger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book. | high16830.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the children like nothing better than junk food: cookies and chips"
},
"options": [
"canned food is the only one that the kids enjoy most.",
"the children like to have fried chicken only.",
"the kids prefer to have cold drink... | All right! Enough cookies,cola, and chips! It seems that junk food is all that the children want to eat these days.Television controls their tastes.The kids see well-known personalities eating potato chips, candy and other processed food, and they want to be like their heroes.How do they do it?They eat the same food. I wish there were more characters like old Popeye , the sailor, who ate spinach and not French fries.
Now I don't expect my children to eat healthy food because I like brown rice, beans, and fresh vegetables. I'm glad to cook traditional meals of meat and potatoes for them. I really can't be too upset with the kids because most adults aren't careful about what they eat. The other night, my wife and I went to a party where there was plenty to drink but very little for us to eat. They served hot dogs and hamburgers. I can't eat hot dogs, with all those preservatives , and hamburgers are filled with chemicals so that they look better. Besides the meat, they had sugar-filled cookies and cake, and of course, chips. I don't want the world to change because of me, but I think people should realize that there are alternatives to eating meat. They always tell me that I probably don't get my essential proteins. I feel better than ever and I'm sure that it's because I'm a vegetarian . I would really like to see more television advertisements which show the benefits of good, healthy, natural food. | high2906.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he thinks she may make her mother unhappy"
},
"options": [
"he is unable to focus on the paper",
"she will disturb the neighbors",
"he thinks she may make her mother unhappy",
"her mother will have to tidy the kitchen u... | My daughter comes in with some bags of groceries taking my attention away from the paper. She shouts out, "Hi daddy!" and runs toward the little kitchen. She's always running. I've never seen anyone with as much energy as her, except maybe her mom.
"You'd better not make a mess in there, or your mother will be angry!" I call to her. She stops rattling for just a second and says, "OK, daddy. No problem." She's a good girl.
I look at the side table where there's that beautiful black and white photo of her mom that we took last year. Or was it longer? My daughter is always leaving a seasonal flower in front of it. I don't know why. Maybe because the color1s are nice against the photo and the black frame. She's a sweet kid.
Finally, she comes out to talk to me and I put down the paper.
"Listen daddy, I can't stay a while with you tonight because Steve and I are going to a show downtown. I've made some good soup for you and it's all ready on the stove."
"Now you listen to me, young lady," I say, "you and Steve go and enjoy yourselves. I'm sure your mom will be home soon and we'll eat together."
She looks doubtful. I pat her head.
"Listen", she says, "you can call Samantha if you need anything. Do you remember Samantha?"
I nod. Samantha is a good neighbor. She lives below us in the ground floor apartment. My wife and her were always chattering away on the phone or having tea.
"Daddy?" She's studying my face. "Samantha's number is on the fridge and by the phone. OK?"
"OK," I say, "now go on out and have some fun, love."
The office has really tired me out today. I should make some dinner but I'll have a sleep in this chair for now. | high21722.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "tiny little hick town"
},
"options": [
"get this off my chest",
"tiny little hick town",
"reading the recipes in the magazine",
"three or four spelling or grammatical errors"
],
"question": "Which phrase from th... | To the Editor,
I have been reading your newspaper, theHometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed to reading excellent newspapers such asThe New York Times. In fact, we still have theTimesdelivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes in the newspaper, as well as the Styles section.
TheTimesis great, but theGazetteis another story. I've never read an article that doesn't contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week's issue, you misspelled the word "secretary" used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used "it's" as a possessive . And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, "it's" means "it is". It's not a possessive adjective!
It's a pity that this tiny little hick town has only one newspaper, because I' d like to have an alternative to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can' t spell correctly, how can you get your facts right?
I've been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription . And buy yourself a dictionary.
Sincerely,
Jane Z. Jones | high14799.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The Four Agreements."
},
"options": [
"You Can Heal Your Life.",
"The Four Agreements.",
"The Game of Life and How to Play it.",
"Slowing Down to the Speed of Life."
],
"question": "According to the author, peop... | The following are four books that will help you change your mind and change your life.
1) You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay:A groundbreaking book when it was released in 1982.It is still the book that I turn to when I have physical unrest that requires deeper understanding.Louise Hay is the pioneer in looking at the connection between the physical unrest that we have in our body and the emotional connection.At the time that she wrote the book many people scoffed at this idea,but it is now widely accepted and millions of people refer to it on a daily basis.
2) The Four Agreements,Don Miguel Ruiz:Maintaining a sense of reliability and faith is developed through understanding according to The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz written in 1997.We are faced with rules and regulations:don't do this,don't do that,watch what you are doing,be kind,loyal,faithful, etc.The four agreements represent a simple system of maintaining your own inner authority while practicing being a true person with other people.
3) Slowing Down to the Speed of Life,Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey:This is a new one in my "bedside collection" and one that has made the biggest impact on me 1ately.Written in 1997, it is even more relevant today than it was when it was written.The idea of "slowing down'' to get there faster was extremely hard for me to understand.As a human species we seem to enjoy moving fast and expecting quick results,especially from ourselves,I should be successful now in contrast to ''in the fullness of time" when I am ready.
4) The Game of Life and How to Play it,Florence Scovel-Shinn:A classic book that was first published in 1925 and remains one of my favorite books of all time.Scovel-Shinn understood the power of our words to express either our deepest desires or our most horrible nightmares.
So where does this leave you? The way I see it is if you want to "Heal Your Life" then you had better learn how to play "The Game of Life" by learning how to "Slow Down to the Speed of Life" and keep the "Four Agreements",the Solutions may not be easy to do but it is simple.In fact, most solutions are pretty simple,and it is us humans that want to complicate it. | high23135.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Judges."
},
"options": [
"Judges.",
"Writers.",
"Readers.",
"Sponsors."
],
"question": "Who can submit books to the prize?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded for a novel written by a writer from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and it aims to represent the very best in contemporary fiction. The prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, which was the name of the company that sponsored it, though it was better-known as simply the 'Booker Prize'. In 2002, the Man Group became the sponsor and they chose the new name, keeping 'Booker'.
Publishers can submit books for consideration for the prize, but the judges can also ask for books to be submitted that they think should be included. Firstly, the Advisory Committee gives advice if there have been any changes to the rules for the prize and selects the people who will judge the books. The judging panel changes every year and usually a person is only a judge once.
Great efforts are made to ensure that the judging panel is balanced in terms of gender and professions within the industry, so that a writer, a critic, an editor and an academic are chosen along with a well-known person from wider society. However, when the panel of judges has been decided, they are left to make their own decisions. Meanwhile, the prize sponsor has no further right to take part in any more.
The Man Booker judges include critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent quality of the prize and its influence is such that the winner will almost certainly see the sales increase considerably, in addition to thePS50,000 that comes with the prize. | high14955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "people"
},
"options": [
"hills",
"trees",
"animals",
"people"
],
"question": "More schools are being named after the following EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Public schools in New York,America's biggest city, commonly have numbers for names.But this is unusual.In the United States,the process of naming a school often involves parents and the community
as well as elected school leaders.
Researchers say school names can show civic values and also shape them. For example,naming a school after a historic person becomes a way to teach students about that person's importance in history.
A new study examines the naming of American public schools.The study is from the Manhattan Institute,an organization that does public policy research.The study shows that fewer and fewer schools are being named after people.Instead. more schools are being named after the local areas or natural features like hills.trees or animals.The researchers say these changes raise questions about the civic duty of public education.
The looked at seven states with 20% of all public school students in the country. They found the similar result in every state: new school are less likely to be named after people. This is true especially with presidents. For example, in Arizona, public school in the past 20 years were almost fifty times more likely to be named after such things as landforms or plants .
School officials say they try to choose names that will not offend anyone. For example, a few years ago the city of New Orleans banned the naming of any school after a person who owned slaves. Other school system have rules against naming new schools after any person, living or dead .
The researchers say naming a school after a person can lead it important debates about democratic values.
call for more research to identify the causes and effects of the changes in school names.
The causes may include changes in American culture as well as in the political control of school systems. One area worth exploring , they say, is the link between trends in school names and weak results for public schools on measures of civic education. | high15493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "to be a sourcing assistant, you need to be very persuasive"
},
"options": [
"RHK Design deals with business only from European countries",
"to be a sourcing assistant, you need to be very persuasive",
"to be a Customer Servic... | Sourcing Assistant Needed
Time: 28 March-27 September, 2011
Indian company's Shanghai office is looking for a local Chinese girl, who can speak fluent English, and has at least one year experience in trading business.
Main responsibilities are: sourcing for new suppliers, factory visiting, negotiating and orders following up.
Interested candidates can email me you expected salary, resume and current photo to: _ , Miss Wang for more details.
Senior Interior Designer
Time: 10 January-09 June, 2011
Reply to: _
RHK Design is seeking a Senior Interior Designer for our corporate projects. Your primary role is to work closely with our American and European clients to deliver the international design solution they require. You must have an ability to work with 8 individual managers to negotiate space needs and requirements, and communicate your designs to your design support team.In-depth knowledge of interesting and innovative materials is required. Travel throughout China may be required.
Customer Service Assistant
Time: 01 February-31 August, 2011
Reply to: _
Type of job: Full-time
Requirements:
--B.A. or B.S.degree; foreigners only:
--One year's working experience desired, preferably in customer service or hospitality industry
--Responsible, pleasant personality and self-motivated.
--Good communication and interpersonal skills
--Good command of both spoken and written English; Putonghua is an advantage but not a must
Work Load: 5-day-work; national holidays
Monthly Salary: Around RMB 8-10 K
Female English Tutor Needed
Time: 05 January-01 October, 2011
Reply to: _
A 10 -year-old girl is looking for an oral English tutor
Time: twice a week, in the evening and weekend, 1.5 hrs at a time
Rate: 200/h
Requirements: From America: female; experienced | high21736.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he looked very strange"
},
"options": [
"the police called her",
"he looked very strange",
"he came to the hotel with little luggage",
"he came to the hotel the day before New Year's Eve"
],
"question": "Vicki b... | One of Britain's bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected police killer David Bieber-and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to PS 30,000 reward money.
Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber's bedroom and to watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for the hours while armed police prepared to storm into the building.
She said: "I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there."
The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New year's Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. She said: "He didn't seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact ." Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stall McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.
Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gatesheed, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes.
"It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said 'Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?' My heart missed a beat."
Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key.
"I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch. I could not see into the man's room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed . | high17284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "young men could get married if they had served the army for a number of years."
},
"options": [
"no young men could get married unless they were old enough.",
"young men could get married if they had served the army for a number of... | Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine's Day. One legend dates as far back as the days of Roman Empire . According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of the army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join the army. Therefore, he made a rule that no young men could marry until he had served in the army for a certain number of years.
A priest named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great number of young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to send one another their greeting of many kinds.
February 14, Valentine's Day, is sweetheart's day, on which people in love with each other express their tender emotions .
People sometimes put their love message in a heart-shaped box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons . Words of letters may be written on the flower-covered card, or something else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same "Will you be my Valentine?" | high20428.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "use them in a proper way."
},
"options": [
"use them in a proper way.",
"take too much of them in a special way.",
"have a little of them in any way.",
"use them every now and then."
],
"question": "Drugs can ma... | Everyone takes drugs.Sometimes a drug might be called a herb but the effect is the same.Drugs and herbs can make life better for they are used to improve health.From the simplest headache to a cure for cancer, people believe that certain drugs can help them.But there is danger if the drugs are not used in a proper way.
American teenagers sometimes use certain drugs to feel good.They call this "getting high".The problem is that once a young man or a young woman has the feeling of"getting high",they want to do it often.If school is boring or too hard,students might get depressed and a drug or herb might help them feel better.If the student takes too much of a drug,the body may change in a wrong way such as a confused mind,poor sight,a headache,and an uncomfortable stomach.
Schools now have D.A.R.E.program which means Drug Abuse Resistance Education.This program was started so that young students from age 10 to 18 might understand how a drug affects their bodies.The main point of the program is education.Once a student understands certain drugs can cause ill health,he will know he should not use them.
Education is the key to good nutrition as well.If a student eats correctly,he or she will be full of energy which leads to good study habits and good grades.Poor nutrition may cause the need for more sleep and poor concentration.Proper food is similar to the proper use of drugs.Both allow a healthy body to grow while misuse of them prevents a person from developing normally. | high16824.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "All of the above."
},
"options": [
"Herbal medicine is less expensive.",
"Western medicines can't work very well in some areas.",
"China has already set a good example of combining Eastern and Western medicines.",
"All ... | Not long ago, many doctors in the West laughed at the suggestion that they might learn something from traditional Asian systems of healing. Most of them thought that Asian herbal medicine and acupuncture were believed in only by simple people who knew no better. Western doctors relied mainly on chemical cures as the safest and surest way to treat illnesses. The scientific age of antibiotics , "miracle drugs" and heart transplants encouraged the public to believe that there must be a pill for every illness. It was true that often the drug companies provided what the public wanted: a speedy temporary cure and did not remove the real cause of the illness. Moreover, some people actually became ill through taking too much medicine.
Many people in the West are now beginning to look for more natural cures for their illnesses and often they turn to the ancient wisdom of the East. There are some doctors in Britain now who offer their patients acupuncture treatment. Recently an Indian company which produces a natural medicine based on the biba root has sold some to Germany. The World Health Organization(WHO) encourages doctors not to rely too greatly on expensive Western medicines but to choose them carefully and also use their traditional herbal cures.
The mixture of Eastern and Western medicine has been practiced very successfully in China. China is still the only country in the world where the traditional doctor using herbal medicine and acupuncture is as respected as the Western-trained doctor. Through China all types of doctors are expected to work together. Western-style doctors are required to take at least a one-year course in traditional medicine, and the acupunctures must also study the basics of western medicine. China's way of "having the best of both worlds" has greatly impressed many visiting doctors from the West.
Experts from the WHO have decided that the time has come to study herbal medicine very carefully and to decide, by carefully controlled scientific experiments, what good these medicine might do. They are especially interested in finding cures for illnesses which Western medicine has found "incurable". Six WHO units have been set up in Hong Kong, Seoul, Sri Lanka, London and Chicago, and so far the results have been encouraging. | high21050.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It makes us know what we are like and what we want to be like."
},
"options": [
"It's a good thing.",
"It's just a bad thing.",
"It's a kind of compliment to others.",
"It makes us know what we are like and what we want... | Jealousyis a very common problem in daily life. It's everywhere. For example, if someone does better than you, you will get annoyed because you want to be No. 1. We may become jealous of a best friend's top marks in an exam, or of the girl in art class who is praised by the teacher all the time. We get annoyed because these good things are happening to someone else but not to us.
It's bad to feel jealous. We should be pleased with the things we have. But we still wish we had the money of this person and the talent of that person. Instead of sharing their happiness, we just feel jealous and unhappy with ourselves. And, too often, these feelings are expressed by _ the people weenvy.
However, envy is also a kind of compliment to others. We see that other people have styles and talents different from our own. By comparing ourselves with others, we can know what welack. And we can turn this comparison, the envy of others, into a kind of power.
Therefore, being a bit jealous of others lets us know what we are like and what we want to be like. It can push us to become what we really want to be.
,A, B, C, D. | high2912.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Book clubs are popular among American kids."
},
"options": [
"Book clubs develop very fast in America.",
"Book clubs are popular among American kids.",
"American kids' habits are changing towards reading.",
"A new trend... | More than ever, kids today have given up reading for activities like watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet, but recently a new trend has been _ that will hopefully change that.
In fact, book clubs are becoming more popular among American kids. 11-year-old Kenya Debarros read about singer Lena Horne. "It was just amazing to see a black woman as the star and not just a mammy or a maid," she says. But did all these kids come enthusiastically ? No, not exactly.
"I like book club, uh, I don't know, but I am just trying it out. My mom didn't make me, but I just tried it out," says 16-year-old Antonio Nash.
And if they'll try it, the experts say, there are ways to get them to come back. Make it fun, serve pizza, serve chocolate cakes and have door prizes . It also helps to connect books to the real world. They talk about things that are happening in the community, so they can relate whatever they've read in the book to what's happening now.
Here they have long talks about the books they have selected, which most kids don't get to do when they're in school, and these kids say, in book clubs they're learning to love books and love reading.
"I feel like I'm actually in the book and doing what the actual main character is doing," says 13-year-
-old Justin Woodard.
16-year-old Antonia McManus says reading gives her a nice break from the day, "Sitting down and reading a book gives me some time to get away from the world, and get my mind straight." | high22559.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "make lonely old people's life better"
},
"options": [
"understand human-animal relationship",
"make lonely old people's life better",
"find the causes of old people's loneliness",
"promote the animal-assisted research"
... | Researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people's depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. "No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated ," Edwards points out. "The problem is how we promote (......) that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution."
In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.
"I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice," says a seventy-year-old lady. "When I'm watching TV, he'll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own."
The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.
"At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry, " Beck says. "But it's amazing how quickly we have given up that belief."
"Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters' blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people's minds. " | high9847.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"three",
"two",
"one",
"none"
],
"question": "The author had _ kind(s) of fears when she was a child.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_in... | As a child, I was really afraid of the dark and of getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments.
Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my own room at night that scared me so much. There was never complete darkness, but always a streetlight or passing car lights, which made clothes on the back of a chair take on the shape of a wild animal. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the curtains seem to move when there was no wind. A very low sound in the floor would seem a hundred times louder than in the day. My imagination would run wild, and my heart would beat fast. I would lie very still so that the "enemy" would not discover me.
Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home. That was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the street, I was afraid that I would get in the wrong one and be taken to some other strange places. On school or family trips to a park or a museum, I wouldn't let the leaders out of my sight.
Perhaps one of the worst fears of all I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. Being popular was so important to me then, and the fear of not being liked was a serious one.
One of the processes growing up is being able to realize and overcome our fears. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life. | high13784.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Clothing and jewelry."
},
"options": [
"Clothing and jewelry.",
"Books and stones.",
"Knives and chairs.",
"People and animals."
],
"question": "According to the passage, what items do scientists often use to le... | Anthropologists are scientists that study people who often lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Items those men, women, and children left behind when they died --- everything from clothing to jewelry and tools --- tell anthropologists a lot. And sometimes even their words survive.
Experts believe that a discovery in Mexico is the oldest example of writing ever found in the Americas. The people who created it probably lived 3,000 years ago, long before Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World.
Workers digging in a rock mine happened to notice a stone block with marks carved onto its surface. They found the large piece of stone near the city of Cascajal, Mexico, which was once the capital of an ancient people called the Ohmec.
"There are signs on the block that seem to show objects used by the Olmec during their religious ceremonies," says Dr. Stephen Houston, of Brown University in the USA. "There is a sign that looks very similar to a knife and another that looks like the chair of a King," he explains.
Houston, an expert on the writing systems of ancient cultures, says the discovery is exciting because "it makes clear that the Olmec could read and write. It is like hearing voices from the past."
But experts don't know exactly what the writing says. Finding other examples of Olmec writing could help decipher the puzzle.
"We could have whole sets of ancient writing which will basically make ancient people speak to us directly," says Houston. "There are many puzzles to be solved, and this is just one of them." | high24128.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "how a child can be kept safe while riding in a car"
},
"options": [
"how a child can be kept safe while riding in a car",
"why the back seat is the safest place in a car",
"how a child safety seat can protect a child",
... | You want to know where the safest place for young children is in the car? For a child of any age, the back seat is the safest place and the safest part of the back seat is the middle. In the back seat, the child is farthest away from the force or effect of head-on collision , which can cause the most injuries.
All fifty states of theprefix = st1 /USAhave laws requiring the use of safety seats for young children. If you have children under 8 years of age weighing no more than 80 pounds, it is necessary to fit your car with a special child safety seat.
The child safety seat comes in three types or sizes: the first type is designed for babies from birth to one year of age, until the baby weighs about 20 pounds; the second size is for children between one and four years of age, who weigh between 20 and 40 pounds; the third kind is used by older children big enough to use the car's belt system. Moreover, all these safety seats must be fitted and held in place on the car's back seat. If your child does need your attention while you are driving, don't look back. Just pull over .
In addition, always be sure your child is properly fastened throughout the entire trip. Children who can unfasten their own car seats are subject to fatal injuries in an accident. Start early in your child's life teaching them that car safety is serious business and make sure you give a good example and always wear your own seat belt. | high23647.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "1890,"
},
"options": [
"1890,",
"1892",
"1886",
"1883"
],
"question": "When did Van Gogh die?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Th... | V _ , an artist of tremendous energy and prodigious output. He killed himself when he was only 37, but he left behind him more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, which established his reputation in a way he would never have considered possible.
Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 at Groot Zundert Province of Noord Nrabant in Dutch. He was the son of a clergyman. His first artist impressions were formed as a boy, from his uncle who was an art dealer. The motivation bore early fruit and from the age of 12 the young Vincent was drawing. The interest led to an apprenticeship in an art dealer's firm, Groupil's, in the Hague. When he was only 20, he was transferred to the firm's London office.
In London Van Gogh faced his first major crisis, when he was rejected in love. After that, he turned to religion, expressed disapproval with art-dealing and neglected his work. Groupil transferred him from London to Paris but, when his work was still unsatisfactory, dismissed him in 1876.
The young Van Gogh made religion a consuming interest and during the next few years travelled in Britain, Belgium and Holland, trying to establish himself as a preacher, but without success.
In 1880, at the age of 27, he found himself drawn back to art. He had a job as an assistant evangelist in the mining village of Borinage in Belgium but realized an artist drive which was to motivate him unceasingly until his death 10 years later.
Late in 1881, he moved to the Hague and established a relationship with a woman, Christine Hoornik, with whom he lived for a time. He broke with her in 1883, however, and never again established a significant intimate relationship with a woman.
In 1886 Van Gogh left Holland forever and travelled via Antwerp to Paris, and to major changes in artistic style. Van Gogh's work became more youthful in Paris. He
lived with his brother, Theo, who managed the modern department of an art dealer's. A new, more animated, painting style emerged and the impressionist tendencies of earlier work weakened somewhat.
Van Gogh developed a taste for personalized brushwork and brilliant, unmixed color1s. Among his most prominent experiments with color1 were a series of some 30 flower paintings, a fascination which stayed with him until his death. | high20366.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "exchange ideas about keeping working internationally and a planned meeting."
},
"options": [
"express their opinions on the disagreement between the two nations.",
"exchange ideas about keeping working internationally and a planned... | Chinese President Hu Holds Telephone Talks With Bush
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday spoke over phone with George W. Bush about international cooperation to cope with the ongoing global financial turmoil .
The leaders exchanged ideas about the planned international financial summits and strengthening international cooperation to stabilize the financial markets.
Bush said the prefix = st1 /United Stateshopes to make joint efforts with the international community to seek measures to overcome the crisis and maintain the stability of the world economy.
Hu, for his part, said Chinahas noted the measures taken by theU.S.government to stabilize the domestic financial market. The measures are conducive to the stability of the world economy and financial markets, Hu said.
The Chinese government has taken a series of important measures to _ the financial crisis and maintain the stability of financial and capital markets, as well as ensure steady economic growth, he added.
The government of Chinawill continue to assume a responsible attitude toward the Chinese people and people of other countries, and to work closely with the international community to maintain the stability of the global economy and financial markets, President Hu said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2008) | high18821.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it consumes natural resources"
},
"options": [
"It makes the world warmer",
"it consumes natural resources",
"it brings severe damage to forests",
"it makes growth hard to continue"
],
"question": "The tradition... | We have only one earth.In a world with limited land, water and other natural resources, the harm from the traditional business model is on the rise.Actually, the past decades has seen more and more forests disappearing and globe becoming increasingly warm.People now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable ways.That means growth with low carbon or development of sustainable products.In other words, we should keep the earth healthy while using its supply of natural resources.
Today, sustainable development is a proper trend in many countries.According to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become three times bigger over the next decades.China, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy revolution.It is how trying hard to make full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and high-speed trains.In addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil , which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest.In recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown by more than 50%.
Governments can fully develop the potential of these new markets.First, they can set high targets for reducing carbon emissions and targets for saving and reusing energy.Besides, stronger arrangement of public resources like forests can also help to speed up the development.Finally, governments can avoid the huge expenses that are taking us in the wrong direction, and redirecting some of those expenses can accelerate the change from traditional model to a sustainable one.
The major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of growing population within the limits of this single planet.That is no small task, but it offers new chances for sustainable product industries. | high21078.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A twisted body."
},
"options": [
"A twisted body.",
"A gradual decrease in blood supply.",
"A sudden release of nitrogen in blood.",
"A drop in blood presure."
],
"question": "Which of the following is a typical... | If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen dissolved in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body -- thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or brain, the consequence can be death.
Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs . That these ancient sea-animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.
Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a suty of ichthyosaurs bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompession over the 150 milllion years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world's natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Trassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before the died, but not a single Trassic specimen showed evidence of that sort of injury.
If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly -- and, most strangly, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothchild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.
Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have sufaced to escape a predator such as a large shark. One of the features of the Jurassia oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaurs lunches. Trassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark-and crocodile-free. In the Trassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurrasic and Cretaceous, they were prey as well as predator --and often had to make a speedy exit as a result. | high4393.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Waste Disposal Problem"
},
"options": [
"Places for Disposing of Waste",
"Waste Pollution Dangers",
"Ways of Getting Rid of Waste",
"Waste Disposal Problem"
],
"question": "The most suitable title for this passa... | Disposing of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities,the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century,it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. People would transport household rubbish,rotted wood and old possessions to the site. Regularly some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories and some other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just poured the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps , are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable. Farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere,cheap land in major city areas to dispose wastes is nonexistent . Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers,ground water,land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste,however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace,and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs,however,can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste,so more people should be involved in recycling programs. | high13974.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a discussion"
},
"options": [
"a slide show",
"a discussion",
"mountain flowers",
"organized tours"
],
"question": "All of the following are included in the wildflower program EXCPET_.",
"question_type": "cl... | Calendar of Events
WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR NEIGUHBORHOOD & LOCAL AREAS
Spring Wildflowers Around Unicol
The wildflower program will begin with a slide show and lecture on Wildflowers. There will be organized wildflower walks that will help both the novice and experienced wildflower enthusiast to better appreciate the color1ful and fascinating world of mountain wildflowers. Preregistration is required. 706 - 878 - 3983 $2 parking. prefix = st1 /1788 GA Hwy.356,Helen,GA, 706-878-3983, Toll Free: 800-573-9659, www.gas - tateparks.com. Directions:GA Hwy.356
Wings of Flight
Programs on birds, bats, butterflies included activities, educational discussions, crafts and more. Program fees may be required for some activities. $2 ParkPass.Please call 1-800-573-9656 for additional info.418 Amicalola Falls Lodge Road,Dawsonville,GA, 706-265-8888, Toll Free: 800 -573-9656. www.gastateparks.org. Directions:GA Hwy.52 from Dawsonville
3 rd ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT
The Chestatee Wildife Preserve, located in Dahlonega,Georgiapresents their 3 rd ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT. Fun and prizes for children ages 1 - 12. Admission is adults $ 10.00, children $ 5.00. April 12 th at 2:00 p.m.
The preserve houses a variety of over 100 different species of animals. Among the residents are Bengal and Siberian tigers, African and Barbary lions, chimpanzees, wallabies, kangaroos, wolves, fox, buffalo, white tigers, elk, peacocks and _ .
Chestatee Wildlife is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Call us at 706-864-9411.
Directions: 400 North to end. Continue on Longbranch Rd., 5 miles to Hwy. 52. turn right and follow 1 mile. Turn right onOld Dahlonega Hwy.We are 1/2 mile on the left. | high24100.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "more Chinese elements are involved"
},
"options": [
"it is a political drama",
"more Chinese elements are involved",
"it has caught the attention of US President Barack Obama",
"Kevin Spacey, a cold-blooded Democrat, pl... | The popular US drama series "House of Cards", which has already started its second season, features Chinese elements in its storyline. Traditional heroes are no longer sought after anymore. Today, it's unconventional leading figure -like Francis J. Underwood from "House of Cards" who are winning audiences' hearts.
The political drama, which airs on the Internet service Netflix, has won the applauses of viewers around the world since its debut on February 1, 2013. And it has caught the attention of real politicians, including US President Barack Obama.
Kevin Spacey plays Francis J. Underwood, a cold-blooded Democrat who moves his way up the political ladder by any means necessary. He often uses his under-exposure in media to carry out misdeeds that will later benefit him.
The revenge theme plays a heavy role throughout the storyline, Underwood, who had high hopes for an appointment as Secretary of State in the first season, was betrayed by the US President and his former colleagues. He and his wife then conducted a plan of revenge and swore to unseat those who turned their backs against him. Through their plan, Underwood's own hunger for power grew and empowered him to get rid of whoever stood in his Way.
The release of the trailer of the second season excited millions of viewers around the world, including US President Barack Obama, who has been a loyal fan since the series debuted. Obama expressed his admiration for Underwood. "This guy's getting a lot of stuff done," he said. Although the President is anxious to watch the story unfold, he'd like to do it at his own pace. After the release of the second season on February 14, 2014, Obama sent words on his Twitter account, "Tomorrow: @HouseOfCards. No spoilers , please."
The second season has promised to be darker, with more unexpected turnouts, and is to include more Chinese elements. "Perhaps the team, including myself, has realized that in the next decade, Asia will be an extensively important region, and China will play an active role in its transition and change," says Spacey. | high6584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "How to reduce the exposure to city air pollution."
},
"options": [
"How to make our life easy and at ease",
"How to reduce the exposure to city air pollution.",
"The ways to deal with city pollution",
"We should draw a ... | A recent report has suggested that air pollution in our big cities could be as damaging to our health. The report put forward practical tips that city people can take to reduce their exposure to city air pollution. Quite a lot, it turns out.
* Watch where you walk
Avoid walking along busy streets and thoroughfares , instead choosing side streets and parks. because pollution levels can fall by a factor of 10 just by moving a few metres away from the main source of the pollution - exhaust fumes. "
Don't walk behind smokers, and walk on the windward, side of the street where exposure to pollutants can be 50% less than on the leewardside.
* Pavement sense
When you're crossing a road, stand well back from the kerb while you wait for the lights to change. Every metre really does count when you are close to traffic. As the traffic moves, the gases can disappear in just a few seconds, particularly if the wind is up, which means holding your breath during this period can make a difference, silly as that might sound. Besides, cross the road as quickly as possible. And once you're over, continue along the pavement as far away from the kerb as possible.
* Where to sit on the bus
Sitting on the driver's side of a bus can increase your exposure by 10% compared with sitting on the side nearest to the pavement. And sitting upstairs on a double-decker can reduce your exposure too. It's difficult to say whether travelling on an underground train is better or worse than taking the bus, but the air pollution on underground trains tends to be less toxic by weight than that found at street level.
* Wear a mask
Masks can be a good thing, but they only make a difference if they fit tightly and are cleaned regularly. Even the slightest gap to allow you to breathe more easily will _ any advantages. Worse, if you fail to clean or change the mask regularly, something dangerous can form on the mask. So the air you breathe is dirtier rather than cleaner. | high22217.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Zurich."
},
"options": [
"The City of Angels.",
"Zurich.",
"Yellowstone.",
"Prague."
],
"question": "Which of the following places could be most suitable for the winter sports lovers?",
"question_type": null... | World's Best Places to Visit
We hope the following places can help you choose where to go on your next vacation.
Zurich
From swimming in Lake Zurich in summer to skiing the Alps in winter, Zurich attracts visitors year-round. As a fairytale city, Zurich is set on the banks of both a river and a lake, with the snow-topped Swiss Alps rising in the background. Clean cobblestone streets hug a hilly land and medieval church tops reach heavenward. Despite its reputation for being the center of old-school international banking and a capital for chocolate, Zurich is also a very modern city that chooses to enjoy life at an unhurried pace. Travelers desiring a real experience should strive to do the same.
The City of Angels
The City of Angels, the Entertainment Capital of the World--Los Angeles needs no introduction. But its notoriety both helps and hurts its reputation. The traffic on the "101" will tire you out just as much as an evening at a lively West Hollywood club. And your dislike at the thick smog over the city will ruin your enjoyment of a sunset overlooking Santa Monica Beach. To appreciate Los Angeles, visit the area more than once and get advice from locals.
Prague
A prosperous and busy city, Prague now attracts more tourists than ever. But its picturesque downtown veils both a dark legacy and a resilient past; in its 1,100 years, Prague has survived numerous overthrows, invasions, fires and floods. It's this reputation for survival and perseverance that has made the Czech capital so fascinating. Today, its storied churches, narrow streets, hilltop castle and statue-lined bridges create the scene of an urban fairy tale. Even the most tired traveler would have trouble resisting this city's charms.
Puerto Rico
Pick a vacation experience you're looking for, and Puerto Rico can help. Puerto Rico is an old town with a lot of historic architecture and cobblestone streets. Look no further than Old San Juan and its El Morro fortress.Consider the bioluminescent bays of Culebra and Vieques. Puerto Rico is a global destination with high-end shopping and exciting nightlife.
Yellowstone
More than 3,000 square miles of nature's finest canyons, hot springs and rocky cliffs are an easy sell for outdoors enthusiasts. Geothermic wonders like the Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful and Yellowstone Lake are not to be missed at this national park. With dramatic peaks and lakes, Yellowstone is an outdoor enthusiast's paradise. Multicolor1ed pools go around hot springs; green forests weave past wide meadows; and hot springs launch streams of steaming water toward the sky. With so much unspoiled natural beauty, there's no doubt that the park is indeed extraordinary. While you go across the park's 3,000-plus square miles of mountains, canyons, and waterfalls, be prepared to share the trails with permanent residents like buffalo, elk and sometimes even grizzlies. | high19281.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He quieted the phone after hearing people's angry shouts."
},
"options": [
"He silenced the phone the moment he was reminded to.",
"He enjoyed the ringtone so he kept the phone ringing.",
"He quieted the phone after hearing p... | The New York Philharmonic came to an unexpected stop on Tuesday night when an audience member's cell phone started ringing and wouldn't stop.
Conductor Alan Gilbert was nearing the end of Mahler's Ninth Symphony when the interruption began. As eh New York Times writes, the symphony, "contains some of the most spiritual and peaceful music ever written."
As the cell phone continued to ring, the iPhone's signature ringtone, Gilbert stopped the entire performance. And yet shockingly the phone continued to ring. "Nothing happened," Gilbert told the Times, "Nobody was to blame for it. It was unbelievable."
Gilbert said minor cell phone interruptions have become common and rarely _ a live performance. The Philharmonic does what it can to remind to audience to turn off their cell phones before the performance begins. But the audience and performers stood by in astonished silence as Gilbert asked the offender to silence the phone, only to hear it continue.
Mr Gilbert said audience pointed out two people sitting where the sound was coming from. "They were staring at me firmly," he said of the couple. Eventually, the man put his hand in his pocket and the ringing stopped.
The conductor said he asked the man if he was sure the phone was quieted. "Then he nodded his head," Mr Gilbert said.
People in the hall had been shouting for the sound to stop. Mr Pelkonen reported that they yelled: "Thousand-dollar fine!" "Kick him out!" "Get out!"
Once the phone was finally silenced, Gilbert apologized to the audience. They responded with cheers and applause . And the performance continued. | high5933.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "introduce novels about Peter Pan"
},
"options": [
"tell you about an unrealistic dream",
"introduce novels about Peter Pan",
"analyze the difficulties of growing up",
"explain why Peter Pan can't grow old"
],
"q... | What if you could fly like a bird just by thinking happy thoughts? Or you could disappear to a faraway land, never grow old and fight pirates every day? For Peter Pan and his friends, the Lost Boys, these dreams come true.
More than 100 years after this playful boy was "born", Peter Pan and his friends are to continue their adventure in a sequel to J.M. Barrie's original novel. "Peter Pan in Scarlet" ,written by British author Geraldine McCaughrean, was published earlier this month.
The sequel brings all the original characters back. Peter Pan's friends, the Lost Boys, are now grown up and live in the real world. What's more, at the end of the first book, Peter Pan thinks he has killed his enemy, Captain Hook. But ,new readers discover he is not so dead at all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original story, Peter Pan lives in faraway Neverland with a group of orphans. But they are eager for a real mother and Peter Pan flies to London with a fairy , Tinkerbell, to find one. They visit a young girl, Wendy, who loves to read stories, and bring her and her two brothers back to Neverland to live with them. In Neverland, children never have to grow up, and there are no parents to tell them what to do.
Many teenagers dream of a world where they don't have to grow old and take responsibility. But, the author explains such a world is not the paradise when it first appears: adventures can be scary and often dangerous, and, though we all sometimes dream of running away, we all need someone to love and look after us too. | high2090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "gives us a whole view of aspirin"
},
"options": [
"suggests us using more aspirin",
"reminds us of the side effects of aspirin",
"gives us a whole view of aspirin",
"discusses the good effects of aspirin"
],
"qu... | American this year will swallow 15,000 tons of aspirin, one of the safest and most effective drugs invented by man. The most popular medicine in the world today, it is an effective pain reliever. Its bad effects are ly mild and it is cheap.
For millions of people suffering from arthritis . It is the only thing that works. Aspirin, in short, is truly the 20th-century wonder drug. It is also the second largest suicide drug and is the leading cause of poisoning among children. It has side effects that, although ly mild, are largely unrecognized among users.
Although aspirin was at first sold by a German company in1899, it has been around much longer than that. Hippocrates, in ancient Greek, understood the medical value of the leaves and tree bark which today are known to contain salicylates , the chemical in aspirin. During the 19thcentury, there was a great deal of experimentation in Europe with this chemical, and it led to the introduction of aspirin. By 1915, aspirin tablets were available in the United States.
A small quantity of aspirin (two-grain tablets) relieves pain and inflammation. It also reduces fever by interfering with some of the body's reactions. | high20414.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to try to understand the main idea of the book"
},
"options": [
"to try to grasp the meaning of every sentence in the book",
"to try to catch the meaning of every word in the book",
"to try to understand all the writer is goi... | If you want to get the most out of the study of a language, you must also read for pleasure: novels, plays, travel books, and so on. And in reading books of this kind the important thing is _ ; to try to grasp what the writer is going to tell you in the book as a whole. This is impossible if you stop and think over the meaning of every single word which happens to be unfamiliar. You can not enjoy a story if you stop half a dozen times on every page in order to look up words in the dictionary. You may even prevent yourself from understanding the story as a whole by doing this.
When you are reading books of this kind, therefore, you will usually have to depend mainly on the context to help you. If you meet an unfamiliar word, do not let it take too much of your attention from the main idea of the story. In all probability you will meet the same word again a few pages later on in a slightly different context, and each time you see it that your understanding of it will become more exact. | high1599.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "(888) 709-8324."
},
"options": [
"(888) 709-8324.",
"(212) 796-8350.",
"(850) 230-6030.",
"(323) 287-5580."
],
"question": "What number had you better dial to make your kid's more confident?",
"question_type... | iD Tech camps
Camp Address: 910 E Hamilton Ave. Suite 300 Campbell, California 95008,USA Phone: (888) 709-8324
This summer, encourage the excellent in your child! At iD Tech Camps>> students age 7-17 can learn to code, design video games, engineer robots, model 3D characters, build websites, and Print 3D Capers meet new friends, learn STEM skills, and gain self-confidence.
Alexa Cafestem Camp
Camp Address:California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois Phone: (212) 796-8350
This summer, encourage the excellent in your daughter. At Alexa Cafe, girls ages 10-15 d,discover technology in a unique environment that celebrates creativity, and puiamhropy . Girls learn engineering principles, code games, design websites' model and print 3D objects.
A Water Planet Dolphine Therapy Camp
Camp Address: 203 Greenwood Drive, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407, USA Phone: (850) 230-6030
1-week camp in Panama City Florida where children with Special Needs swim with dolphins. Water Planets dolphin therapy programs use the emotional impact of a dolphins meeting in his own environment combined with expressive art, massage, and music as a beneficial experience.
iD Tech Mini
Camp Address: a lot of places>> California and more, USA Phone:(323) 287-5580
This summer, encourage the awesome in your child! We've full every half-day camp session with tons of tech awesomeness. Kids ages 6-9 can discover programming, game design, or robotics. And with an emphasis on creativity and exploration, every camper becomes a maker of fun. | high14969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Hollywood"
},
"options": [
"Hollywood",
"Famous Films and Film Stars",
"The History of Hollywood",
"Famous Hollywood Sign"
],
"question": "The best title for the reading should be _ .",
"question_type": "... | When we think of Hollywood, we think of films and famous film stars. They are part of Hollywood' s history. Today people make films in other places, too. Not all famous film stars live in Hollywood. But Hollywood is still a very special part in Los Angeles, California.
You can easily see where Hollywood is in Los Angeles. There is a big sign on the hills. It says "HOLLYWOOD". The white letters are fifty feet tall. You can see the sign from far away. The Hollywood sign is a famous Hollywood landmark in Los Angeles. Many postcards show this famous Hollywood landmark.
In the hills of Hollywood, there is also the Hollywood Bowl. This is an open-air theatre. It is one of the biggest open-air theatres in the world. It has seventeen thousand seats and a very different stage . The design of the stage was by a great American called Fran Lioyd Wright. You can listen to all kinds of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. | high22203.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Brain injuries in accidents."
},
"options": [
"Her disability since birth.",
"Brain injuries in accidents.",
"Her declining health",
"Overloaded working."
],
"question": "What caused Daisy's condition?",
"qu... | Every day, Daisy wakes up next to a man, who has to convince her they are married. When she expresses doubt, he takes out a photo album and shows her pictures of their wedding 13 years ago.
Only then does _ Daisy accept that she has been married, and that everything he has told her is true. The lady's condition was caused by brain injuries suffered in two road accidents, a motorbike crash in 1985 and a car accident in 1990. Daisy can recall everything up to 1994, but since then everything that happens on one day is forgotten the next day.
She has no day-today memory after the car crash. And it is not just loved ones Daisy struggles with. She uses hundreds of notes and reminders on her mobile phone's calendar to keep her informed of appointments and everyday duties. Anything she has done or anyone she has met must be logged for future reference. And on the rare occasions when she takes the risk of going out of her home alone, she has to be armed with navigation programmed with her address.
There are some benefits, however. There is no such thing as a repeat on TV and every joke is funny, because it seemed she has heard it the first time."It's like I am living the same day, day after day, said Daisy, who does voluntary work at a charity for people with disabilities three days a week.
Dr Peter Nestor said Daisy was suffering from anterograde( , ) amnesia. He added, "It is reasonably rare, but it does exist. You are able to carry out daytoday things, and don't forget how to do certain things like speaking. But if someone was to ask you what you did yesterday, you wouldn't have a clue." | high7856.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "hardly showed any international friendship"
},
"options": [
"brought about goodwill between the nations",
"made only false national pride",
"hardly showed any international friendship",
"led to more and more misundersta... | Some people believe that international sport brings about good will between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the terrible incident with the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor national contests.
One country received its second - place medal with great anger after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were certain that one of their goals should not have been dismissed and that the opposite side's victory was unfair. Their manager was angry when he said: "This wasn't hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished. "The president of the society said later that such words could result in the pause of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not give away first place to prefix = st1 /Russia, after a fighting end to their contest. The game had ended in quarrel. It was thought at first that theUnited Stateshad won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play, A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player beat it into the basket. It was the first time theUSAhad ever lost an Olympic basketball match. The judges discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then decided not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played for honors or money rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that sportsmen should compete as individuals , or in non national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages dangerous nationalism. | high24114.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The US population has been aging rapidly since 2005."
},
"options": [
"Many Americans will find it hard to find a job .",
"It's very hard for seniors to pass the age of 80.",
"The US population has been increasing rapidly sin... | Here is some news of the future.
March 20. 2035
There was a lot of news around the life extension drugs that hit the market a decade ago. They didn't promise that you would live forever. but they gave you a chance to extend your life an extra five to ten years. Even though the life expectancy rate at birth has increased greatly. the life expectancy for seniors hasn't improved that much. Basically. you have a greater chance to become a senior, but you will not have a much longer lifespan, and this is where the anti-aging drugs intend to kick in. So ,do the anti-aging drugs work? Well. it is too early to tell. But the sales so far are very good.
April 19, 2035
Of the total US population of 378 million, people over 65 years of age now make up 20% for the first time. The senior ratio was only 4.1% by year 1900. and l2.4% 30 years ago.
The number of people above 65 compared to those of what is considered working ages. between 15 and 64. is currently 33.7%. This is up from l85% since year 2005. which means that for every retired person there are now two workers. compared to four workers 30 years ago. The number of people above the age of 80 has grown t0 23.8 million; making them 6.3% of the total population compared t0 3.6% in 2005.
April 12. 2040
Although introduced in the market only five years ago, 10% of all hydrogen fuel now sold in the US is of the environmentally friendly Re-Hydro label, produced through. eletrolysis based on a source of 1OO% renewable energy. Several producers have turned to producing Re-Hydro. mainly because of lower tax. which also keeps the price of. Re-Hydro on the same level as regular hydrogen. Most analysts believe that Re-Hydro will be the .dominating fuel in the future | high6590.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The housework revolution turns out to be nothing."
},
"options": [
"Modern electrical appliances help revolutionized housework.",
"The housework revolution turns out to be nothing.",
"Urban wives spend less time on housework ... | Things are seldom what they seem.Skim milk masquerades as cream.Anil labor-saving household appliances often do not save labor.This is the surprising conclusion reached by a small army of historians, sociologists, and home economists who have undertaken, in recent years, to study the one form of work that has turned out to be most resistant to inquiry and analysis -?namely, housework.
During the first half of the twentieth century, the average American household was transformed by the introduction of a group of machines that profoundly altered the daily lives of housewives.The forty years between 1920 and 1960 witnessed what might be called the "industrial revolution in the home".Where once there had been a wood or coal burning stove there now was a gas or electric range.The dryer replaced the clothes-line; the vacuum cleaner replaced the broom; the refrigerator replaced the icebox and the root cellar.No one had to chop wood any more.
And yet American housewives in 1960, 1970, 1980 and even 1990 continued to log about the same number of hours at their work as their grandmothers and mothers had in 1910, 1920 and 1930.The earliest time studies of housewives date from the very same period in which time studies of other workers were becoming popular--the first three decades of the twentieth century.The sample sizes of these studies were usually quite small, and they did not always define housework in precisely the same way.but their results were more or less consistent; whether rural or urban, the average American housewife performed fifty to sixty hours of unpaid work in her home every week, and the only variable that significantly altered _ was the number of small children.
A half-century later not much has changed.Survey research has become much more sophisticated, and sample sizes have grown considerably, but the results of the time remain consistent.The average American housewife, now armed with dozens of motors and thousands of electronic chips, still spends fifty to sixty hours a week doing housework The only variable that significantly altered the size of that number was frill-time employment in the labor force: "working" housewives cut down the average number of hours that they spend cooking and cleaning, shopping and chauffeuring, to a not insignificant thirty-five, virtually the equivalent of another full-time job. | high20372.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because no surgeons in the first hospital could do surgery on the author's son."
},
"options": [
"Because no surgeons were on duty in the first hospital that day.",
"Because the author wanted his son to stay in a hospital nearer he... | As I was busy working on my work plan in my bedroom, I could hear my four children playing upstairs. Suddenly, I heard the children running down the stairs and shouting, "Freddie, Freddie." _ My three-year old son Freddie was lying on his side on the ground. I cried for my husband Simon to dial 999 and within minutes the air ambulance arrived. They quickly took him in the helicopter. During the flight, Freddie was looking at me and I remember thinking was a good sign, but then his eyes began to roll. As the doctors tried to stabilize him, I couldn't believe what was happening.
When we arrived at the hospital in Portsmouth, there were some doctors and nurses waiting for us and they immediately set to work on Freddie. I was hopelessly wishing everything would be alright, but Freddie had broken his skull in two places and blood clots were forming in his brain. He needed surgery , and only a surgeon at another hospital in Bristol could do it. This meant another helicopter ride, but we couldn't go with Freddie because there was no enough space. Simon and I drove the long 130 miles from our home in north Devon in silence. Neither of us dared say what we were thinking, "What if we get there and he's dead?" "Is he going to be brain-damaged?"
Freddie was just coming out of surgery when we arrived. The surgeon said it had gone well. When I finally saw him, I hardly recognize my child--he was covered in tubes and there were wires coming out of his head.
On the third day, Simon went home to see our three girls and to pick up some clean clothes for us. While he was gone, the pressure in Freddie's brain suddenly increased. He was taken into theater again and this time I fell apart. Luckily, the surgery managed to stabilize Freddie. After almost a week, Freddie was finally woken up. When he opened his eyes, he looked at me. He didn't say anything, but I knew straight away that it was my old Freddie, and that he was going to be alright. Over the next two weeks, his recovery went well. After help with learning to swallow again and encouragement with speaking, he was soon playing with his Gruffalo cards and eating meals by himself.
I still don't know how the accident happened, but we got some idea from our girls. Clearly Freddie and Minnie had been sitting on the window ledge, and Freddie must have opened it to look out and fallen 20 feet onto the ground below.
The guilt I feel is awful-- for weeks I was full of " if onlys", and we put window locks everywhere. Six months later, although the accident seems a lifetime ago, it has changed me. I feel differently about life now. I've left my job to put my children first. I want to spend every minute with them. | high5099.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Homework."
},
"options": [
"The textbook.",
"The content of the course.",
"Homework.",
"Evaluation."
],
"question": "Which of the following is NOT included in a syllabus?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | I am a Ph. D. student in a communication program at a large university in the Midwestern US. I teach one course in communication.
My class has seventy students. I gave students a syllabus . It explained the purpose, content, schedule, textbook, evaluation, and class rules. I read it and explained every part carefully, because this was a contract between the students and me.
American textbooks are well organized. Each chapter has a statement of its purpose, a summary, a list of key ideas, headings and subheadings for sections and exercises. The teacher's manual has suggestions on how to teach, and there are handouts, activities and information on how to use the textbook. There are videotapes for some chapters. Some textbooks even have PowerPoint lectures or a website to support them.
Students read the class assignment before they come to class. The class is designed to explain key concepts of the textbook. The teacher's main role is to provide good examples of the concepts and activities to help the students understand the concepts better.
One nice thing is that I can use student assistants. They are undergraduate students who get credits for assisting a teacher. I have to supervise them, but they do most of the routine work and listen to students' problems.
It is very tough to teach American students because they are so demanding. However, most of them study hard, and most of them get fairly good grades. Very few students get bad grades, and almost no students fail the class. | high16818.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he still has the possibility of getting back to life."
},
"options": [
"his most important organs are damaged.",
"he still has the possibility of getting back to life.",
"he can not avoid final death.",
"he is still ver... | Death is natural, but do you have any idea of the process of dying? Modern scientists divide the process of dying into two phases --- clinical or temporary death and biological death. Clinical death occurs when the vital organs, such as the heart or lungs, have ceased to function, but have not suffered permanent damage. The organism can still be revived . Biological death occurs when changes in the organism lead to the "breaking up" of vital cells and tissues. Death is then unchangeable and final.
Scientists have been seeking a way to prolong the period of clinical death so that the organism can remain alive before biological death occurs. The best method developed so far involves cooling of the organism, combined with narcotic sleep. By slowing down the body's metabolism , cooling delays the processes leading to biological death.
To illustrate how this works, scientists performed an experiment on a six-year-old female monkey called Keta. The scientist put Keta to sleep with a narcotic. Then they surrounded her body with ice-bags and began checking her body temperature. When it had dropped to 28 degrees the scientists began draining blood from an artery. The monkey's blood pressure decreased and an hour later both the heart and breathing stopped: clinical death set in. For twenty minutes Keta remained in this state. Her temperature dropped to 22 degrees. At this point the scientists pumped blood into an artery in the direction of the heart and started artificial breathing. After two minutes Keta's heart became active once more. After fifteen minutes, spontaneous breathing began, and after four hours Keta opened her eyes and lifted her head. After six hours, when the scientists tried to give her a penicillin injection, Keta seized the syringe and ran with it around the room. Her behavior differed little from that of a healthy animal. | high11144.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "tell us to avoid Time Management mistakes"
},
"options": [
"show how to become a speaker",
"explain the importance of working hard",
"persuade us to get rid of bad habits",
"tell us to avoid Time Management mistakes"
... | In my thirty years as a Time Management speaker, I have observed a lot of what we can and should not do to increase our daily success. Time management is not necessarily working harder, but quicker and more smartly. Sometimes our mistakes will keep us from running at a full pace. Here are the top four Time Management mistakes we should all avoid to help us to increase our daily success.
a. Start your day without a plan of action in the morning. If so, you will have worked hard but may not have done enough of right things. Time Management is not doing the wrong things.
b. Work with a messy desk or work area. Studies have shown that the person who works with a messy desk spends one and a half hours per day looking for things. If you have ever visited the office of a top manager who is working with a clean desk, you will find that the manager works efficiently .
c. Don't get enough sleep. Studies show that nearly 75% of the people around us complain about not having enough sleep, and then throughout their days they are tired. For most people, they get the quantity of sleep, but they lack the quality of sleep. Their days are filled with so much stress; they are out of control, working harder but maybe not more smartly, so it's difficult for them to get a full night's sleep.
d. Don't take a lunch break. Many do not take a lunch break, working through that period in the hope that it will give them more time to increase their success. Studies have shown that it may have the opposite effect. After doing what we do for several hours, we start to feel tired. A lunch break, even short, gives us a chance to get our energy back again. | high21087.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Three."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many methods did Sigmund Freud use to study the mind?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Sigmund Freud was one of the first scientists to make serious research of the mind. The mind is the collection of activities based in the brain that involve how we act, think, feel and reason.
He used long talks with patients and the study of dreams to search for the causes of mental and emotional problems. He also tried hypnosis . He wanted to see whether putting patients into a sleep-like condition would help ease troubled minds. In most cases he found the effects only temporary.
Freud worked hard, although what he did might sound easy. His method involved sitting with his patients and listening to them talk. He had them talk about whatever they were thinking. All ideas, thoughts and anything that entered their mind had to be expressed. There could be no holding back because of fear or guilt.
Freud believed that all the painful memories of childhood lay buried in the unconscious self. This part of the mind he said contains wishes, desires and experiences too frightening to recognize.
He thought that if these memories could somehow be brought into the conscious mind, the patient would again feel the pain. But this time, the person would experience them as an adult. The patient would feel them, be able to examine them and, if successful, finally understand them.
Using this way, Freud reasoned, the pain and emotional pressure of the past would be greatly weakened. They would lose their hold over the person's physical health. Soon the patient would get better.
Many of Freud's theories about how the mind works also had strong sexual connections. These included what he saw as the repressed feelings of sons toward their mothers and daughters toward their fathers.
If nothing else, Freud's ideas were revolutionary. Some people rejected them. Many others came to accept them. But no one disputes his great influence on the science of mental health. | high5072.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She had no enough time and money in the past."
},
"options": [
"She had no enough time and money in the past.",
"She did nothing for flying lessons.",
"No pilots were willing to help her.",
"Her family did not support h... | Mary Moe may look like an average grandmother.But she is not.She just learned how to fly an airplane,a dream she has had since she was a little girl.But Mary Moe could not find time to make her dream come true.At age 34,she was just too busy to think about flying a plane.Lessons were costly.Everything seemed to be working against Mary.So her dream had to wait.
Mary Moe has done a lot during the past 91 years.For much of that time,she wanted to fly,but never had the chance--until now.
Ms.Moe learned about Wish of a Lifetime, a non-profit organization.Its goal is to change the way our society thinks about aging and older adults.Sally Webster works for the group.She said Ms.Moe's wish is one of hundreds they receive each year.
Wish of a Lifetime helps older people to enjoy a dream.It also sends the message that it is never too late for a dream.But Ms.Webster says it also wants to send another message to society that older Americans can achieve things just like younger Americans can.
Susie Danick also believes in this goal.She founded TAD Relocation,a business that helps senior citizens when they move.Ms.Danick gave $5,000 to the Wish of a Lifetime to help seniors realize a dream.Mary Moe was one of them.
Mary Moe received three flying lessons.And on the big day of her first flight,her family and friends all came to cheer her on.Mary's success made everyone around her excited and proud.It was just a great event,a great day.Flying teacher David Waksberg says she was very calm,which is always important when you're flying.
It is never too late to spread your wings and try something new.You are never too old to try to make your dreams come true. | high18606.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "As its gases run out, it cools down."
},
"options": [
"As its gases run out, it cools down.",
"It crashes into other stars.",
"It can only live for about a million years.",
"As it gets hotter and hotter, it explodes."
... | How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot! On a clear night you might see the Moon, some planets, and thousands of sparkling stars.
You can see even more with a telescope. You might see stars where before you only saw dark space. You might see that many stars look larger than others. You might see that some stars that look white are really red or blue. With bigger and bigger telescope you can see more and more objects in the sky. And you can see those objects in more and more detail.
But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won't see them with the biggest telescope in the world, on the clearest night of the year.
That's because they're invisible. They're the mysterious dead stars called black holes.
You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all, our Sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly, giving us heat and light. The Sun certainly doesn't seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.
As a star's gases burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gas runs out, the star stops burning and begins to die.
As the star cools, the outer layers of the star pull in toward the center. The star squashes into a smaller and smaller ball. If the star was very small, the star ends up as a cold, dark ball called a black dwarf. If the star was very big, it keeps squashing inward until it's packed together tighter than anything in the universe.
Imagine if the Earth were crushed until it was the size of a tiny marble . That's how tightly this dead star, a black hole, is packed. What pulls the star in towards its center with such power? It's the same force that pulls you down when you jump - the force called gravity. A black hole is so tightly packed that its gravity sucks in everything - even light. The light from a black hole can never come back to your eyes. That's why you see nothing but blackness.
So the next time you stare up at the night sky, remember: there's more in the sky than meets the eyes! Scattered in the silent darkness are black holes - the great mystery of space. | high17535.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The depth of a sea at one spot near Japan is nearly the height of the highest mountain."
},
"options": [
"Land covers one fourth of the area of the earth.",
"The depths of the sea are different in different places.",
"The dep... | What do you know about the sea? You may have seen it. Some of us have swum or bathed in it. It looks beautiful on a fine sunny day and it can be very _ when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? Of course, the sea is very large. In the world there is more sea than land. The sea covers three quarters of the earth. The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere, some parts of it are very great. At one spot, near Japan the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! Just think of it, the highest mountain in the world is only about 9 kilometers high! If you have swum in the sea, you know that the water is salty. Rivers carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are more salty than other parts. Do you know the Dead Sea in Arabia? It is very salty. Swimmers cannot sink in it! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea. It is a strange sea. In most parts of the sea, there are a lot of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. No sunlight can reach the depth of the sea. So it is completely dark. Strange fishes live there. Some are blind. Some have their own lights. Some have great jaws. With their great jaws, they swallow fish larger than themselves. The sea can be very cold. Deep sea divers know this well. At the top of the water may be warm. Then as the divers go down, the sea becomes colder and colder.
Many scientists are now making a study of animal and plant life in the sea. They hope to find new resources for mankind. | high20399.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "some good ideas on how to master English"
},
"options": [
"the importance of learning English",
"the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world",
"some good ideas on how to master English",
"the wide u... | In today's world, English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world. How can we master the English language ? I'd like to give you some good advice.
First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made.
Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. _ A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too.
Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms. The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say " He is as strong as a cow." | high1214.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "everybody has a sense of direction from birth"
},
"options": [
"some people have a sense of direction when they are born",
"a sense of direction is developed with ages",
"people have their sense of direction all their life",
... | You either have it, or you don't -- a sense of direction, that is.But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street?
Scientists say we're all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works.One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it.Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don't use it, we 1ose it.
"Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around, '' says Jim Martland, research director of the project."However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.''
Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction.He makes the following suggestions:
1.If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing.
2.If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree--something easy to recognize.Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike.When you return, go back along the same route.
3.Simplify the way for finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you.Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where yon are.
Now you will never get lost again! | high13753.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He thinks it is unacceptable."
},
"options": [
"He thinks it is unacceptable.",
"He thinks it is necessary sometimes.",
"He thinks it requires good computer skills.",
"He thinks it is good for Internet service providers... | Is it wrong to use someone else's wireless (Wi-Fi) connection? Just recently, a man was arrested for doing just that. At that time, he was sitting in the street with a laptop and using an unsecured wireless connection to surf the Net. What do you think about this topic? Listen to the following different views on it.
For a start, if someone is using your Internet service or downloading, this will affect your speed of access or download limit. Also, it's bad for Internet service providers. They will suffer in the long run because fewer people will pay for an Internet service if they know they can get it for free. And finally, just imagine this: what if the person who is stealing your Internet connection is involved in an illegal activity? I think the police are totally right to arrest these criminals.
-- by Sandra Wilkins
Basically, if the person who paid for the service still has everything they paid for, what's the problem? It's just like using the light from streetlamps to read your book, or watching someone else's firework display. It's not stealing.
Also, if you leave your wireless connection unsecured, then it is your own fault if someone else uses it. Just as you wouldn't leave your front door unlocked, or your car door open, neither should you leave your wireless connection open. By leaving your wireless connection open, you are inviting people to use it. Securing your wireless connection is as easy as clicking a few settings on your router . And finally, haven't the police got more important crimes to solve? They're always saying how they haven't got the manpower to solve real issues. But this is just ridiculous .
-- by James Hoarley | high23690.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the Congress didn't accept Anna's suggestion until the whole country supported her"
},
"options": [
"the Congress didn't accept Anna's suggestion until the whole country supported her",
"the battle lasted 8 years",
"Jarvis di... | An American woman Anna Jarvis was the first person to decide the mothers should have a holiday in their honor each year. Miss Jarvis started her campaign in 1906 in her home city Philadelphia. She wrote thousands of letters to congressmen , city officials, teachers and newspaper publishers, proposing an official holiday for mothers. She traveled all over America, trying to get support for the idea. Her battle went on for years.
In 1914, the Congress declared the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis wanted Mother's Day to be a simple event. She thought children could honor their mothers by spending some time with them as an act of love and respect. However, the holiday turned out to be a major event for department stores, flower shops and greetingcard industry, which Miss Jarvis didn't like.
Americans spend millions of dollars on gifts for their mothers on this day. Younger children often try to prepare and serve breakfast for their mothers. Fathers may offer to take care of children so that mothers can enjoy themselves. The holiday becomes an important time for family gathering. | high9648.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "volunteers going to Cameroon should be able to speak French"
},
"options": [
"serving children in every corner of the world is the Web designer's duty",
"volunteers going to Cameroon should be able to speak French",
"more den... | Weekend Miracles
Weekend Miracles give children aged 9 and older in the Children's Center the opportunity to visit a host family who partners the child to find the child a permanent family. The host family arranges activities that the child will enjoy and introduces the child to their circle of friends--in order to develop a lasting connection with someone.
Organization: Kidsave International
Location: the United States
Duration: 2 days to 6 weeks
Web Designer Needed
We need the skills of a Web designer to help us redesign our website. The project will be fun and fulfilling, and give much needed visibility to our grass-roots projects that are serving children and mothers in every corner of the world.
Organization: Children's Fund
Location: the United States
Duration: 3 weeks to 2 months
Living Miracles
Doctors and dentists are needed as volunteers at Shechen Medical Clinic in Nepal for two months or longer. In Tibet, we need doctors for only 1-2 months. Dentists can come for one month or longer. Please understand that modern conveniences are not available here.
Organization: Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship
Location: Nepal
Duration: 21 days to 6 years
Teaching English to Children in India
The Salus Foundation, Inc. needs help from volunteers, teachers, college students or recent college graduates trained in ESL, or who are willing to be trained in ESL to teach English to the students at the Sulaxim School.
Organization: The Salus Foundation, Inc.
Location: India
Duration: 6 weeks to 9 months
Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Cameroon
In Defense of Animals in Africa needs help from highly motivated, mature volunteers who care about the conservation of great apes and are willing to live in an isolated, challenging, French-speaking environment for six months to benefit our future generation.
Organization: In Defense of Animals in Africa
Location: Cameroon
Duration: 6 months | high958.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Some college students."
},
"options": [
"Some college students.",
"The online shoppers.",
"Researchers in comScore.",
"The online retailers."
],
"question": "Who first introduced Singles' Day to the public?",
... | Many a online shopper stayed up until 2 am on Sunday, looking through the Internet to buy products being sold at half price before they could _ (be bought)by other shoppers. Tens of millions of the Internet users were crazy to take advantage of the halfprice promotion, started by the ecommerce giant Alibaba Group on Sunday, Nov. 11, which is known as Singles' Day in China, and is the Chinese answer to Cyber Monday in the United States.
By 7 pm on Sunday, 14.1 billion yuan's worth of sales was made on tmall. com and taobao. com. That could make Singles' Day the biggest ecommerce sales day on record. The research company comScore said US online retailers saw $ 1.25 billion of sales during last year's Cyber Monday, the day after Thanksgiving weekend and the busiest day for online retailers as US shoppers start to prepare for Christmas.
Singles' Day originated with university students, and was later adopted by ecommerce companies as a promotional opportunity. Ecommerce companies, including Jingdong Mall and Amazon China, also took part in the promotion." In the past, people only shopped online occasionally, but now, online shopping is a lifestyle accepted by many," said Zhang Yong, Tmall president.
Alibaba began to hold Singles' Day promotions in 2009, and last year, its sales totaled 5.2 billion yuan."I don't know whether we would lose money, but I don't think we could earn much on this day by selling goods at half price," said Hao Hongfeng, chairman of Beijing Jiuxian ECommerce, a liquor retailer in Beijing who took part in the event. He said it is a good opportunity for online retailers to get their names known. | high7665.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "was inspired by Duke Ellington's stage fright"
},
"options": [
"finds it difficult to make decision",
"has found out what causes anxiety",
"was inspired by Duke Ellington's stage fright",
"no longer feels anxious about ... | Before my first summer vacation at college, my roommate Ted asked to me to work with him on his father's farm in Argentina. The idea of spending two months in Argentine was exciting. Then I began having second thoughts. I had never been far from New England, and I had been homesick my first few weeks at college. What would it be like in a strange country? What about the language? The more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me.
In the end I turned down the invitation. As soon as Ted asked somebody else to go, I began kicking myself. I had turned down something I wanted to do because I was scared, and had ended up feeling depressed. That unhappy summer taught me a valuable lesson out of which I developed a rule for myself: do what makes you anxious; don't do what makes you depressed.
At the end of my senior year, I began to think about becoming a writer. But my professor was urging me to aim at teaching. I hesitated. The idea of trying to live by writing was a lot scarier than spending a summer in Argentina. Back and forth I went, making my decision, unmaking it. Suddenly I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that downhearted feeling went through me.
Giving up on what I really wanted to do depressed me. Right then I learned another lesson. To avoid that kind of depression meant having to bear a certain amount of worry and concern.
When I first began writing articles, I was frequently required to interview big names. Before each interview I would get butterflies in the stomach and my hands would shake. One person I particularly admired was the great composer Duke Ellington. On the stage and on television, he seemed the very model of confidence. Then I learned Ellington still got stage fright. If the highly honored Ellington, who had appeared on the bandstand some 10,000 times over 30years, had anxiety attacks, who was I to think I could avoid them? I went on doing those frightening interviews. Then I realized to my astonishment that I was even looking forward to the interviews. What had happened to those butterflies?
Well, in truth, they were still there, but there were fewer of them. I had benefited, I discovered, from a process psychologists call "extinction". If you put an individual in an anxious situation often enough, he will eventually learn that there isn't anything to be worried about, which brings me to a conclusion: you'll never get rid of anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it.
The point is that the new, the different, is definitely scary. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you. | high23848.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "her schoolmates can't understand her disability"
},
"options": [
"she wanted to win Christmas Wish Contest",
"she is more independent than before",
"she is often ignored in and out of class",
"her schoolmates can't unde... | Dear Santa Claus,
My name is Amy. I am 17 years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy. I just want one day when no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.
Love, Amy
At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Content. When Amy's letter arrived at the radio station, Manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He thought it wound be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special girl and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper.
The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the "News Sentinel". The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television stations reported the story of the girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable Christmas gift--just one day without teasing.
Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy saw a world full of people who truly cared about each other.
Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to hold her head high.
Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne High School. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel.
That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially declared December 21stas Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson. "Everyone," he said, "wants to and should be treated with respect, dignity and warmth." | high9890.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Senior high school students worldwide."
},
"options": [
"Japanese robot researchers.",
"Senior high school students worldwide.",
"The RSJ professors.",
"Robot lovers of all ages."
],
"question": "Who is the Conf... | International Robotics Forum
Tokyo Big Sight,Tokyo, Japan, December 4-5
The Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ), to provide opportunities for young robot lovers to learn more about industrial and service robots, is going to hold the International Robotics Forum that will cooperate with this year's International Robot Exhibition.
The lectures and explanations throughout the Conference will be given in Japanese but will be interpreted into English at the same time. The Conference will offer a great opportunity for senior high school students from all around the world to communicate with each other through robots. Therefore, we look forward to your active participation.
The event will take place two days. On the morning of Day One, Prof. Shinichi Yuta of the Shibaura Institute of Technology will give a lecture on basic mobile robotics and learning through robots. This will be followed by a talk by Mr. Kazuhiko Yokoyama of Yasukawa Electric Corporation who will explain the mechanism and control of robots and also point out the highlights of the International Robot Exhibition.
We will prepare a challenge for all the participants. We will send you themes for robot research. You will study them in advance, and on the afternoon of Day One, you will visit the Tokyo International Exhibition Center and investigate real robot. You will be able to experience fun and excitement of advanced robot technologies. On the morning of Day Two, you will present your study and investigation results.
On the afternoon of Day Two, as the final event, awards will be given by the RSJ to groups that have given outstanding presentations.
We hope that many future robot researchers and engineers will be born today. | high14982.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Teachers aren't able to decide if parents do homework for their children."
},
"options": [
"Hungry and tired children can't focus on their study.",
"Children should go to school on time and learn to behave well.",
"Teachers a... | Are your children liked by their teachers? All parents want their children to impress(...) their teachers and succeed in school. You can get your children to impress their teachers by following these easy steps.
Make sure they're prepared. Teachers are impressed by children coming to school prepared to learn. Make sure they have everything they need--pencils textbooks, erasers and so on.
Require them to be active in class. Teach them to ask teachers questions when they don't understand something. Some children think teachers are bothered by questions, but most teachers are impressed when children take the initiative in asking questions. They should take part in class discussions, giving their opinions politely.
Keep your children healthy. If your children are tired and hungry, they won't be ready to learn. Children need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. Feed your children a solid breakfast and prepare a healthy lunch. Provide them with fruit and other healthy foods--apples or bananas are better for them than cookies.
Make sure that your children do their homework. If they really don't understand it, discuss it with them patiently. Don't help them do their homework. Teachers can always tell who it is that does the work.
Teach your children good manners and habits. Children need to arrive at the school punctually, and be polite to their teachers and classmates. Parents need to teach these skills at home. Nothing is sweeter than children who say "please" and "thank you", and these are children their teachers are certain to love. | high15444.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Every one with an identity card has his own culture."
},
"options": [
"Every society has its own culture.",
"Every one with an identity card has his own culture.",
"Animals have their cultures.",
"Culture and traditions... | Our culture is the system we use to build our identity. All living creatures are part of a culture. Even animals have a culture! So what is culture? It's the way we behave in a group. It begins with each individual family. Within our families we do things to build relationships with each other. This can include routines for doing things. It also includes traditions. Traditions are activities that are repeated on a regular basis.
Culture is not limited to individual family groups. The real strength of culture is in larger community groups. These larger groups are called societies. Every society makes rules for itself. It decides how people should act in different situations. Some of these rules are written down. Some are just things that are automatically expected of all members of that society. Often, cultures can be identified by what the people believe. Cultures are also known by what they choose to include in their art. Sometimes a society forms around people who speak the same language. Cultures may also be known for their customs, including the foods they make and the things they do.
Our cultures help us understand who we are and what we believe. There are very strong emotions connecting us to our own society. Two different cultures may disagree on something, especially if they both feel strongly about it. When that happens, war is a common result. People are learning better ways to communicate with each other. The more we learn, the more we appreciate the differences in cultures. | high7103.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To identify substances from people's breath."
},
"options": [
"To find what kind of disease a person has.",
"To identify substances from people's breath.",
"To help a patient recover from disease.",
"To smell how bad th... | People who are worried about bad breath often reach for a toothbrush or a gun. But in the future, personal breath monitoring may include far more than fresh breath.
In face, breath is so rich in chemical compounds that fully understanding it has proved challenging. Each breath contains gases like carbon dioxide, the volatile remains of recent snacks, medicines and even compounds taken in from things like carpeting or various kinds of air pollution. But breath detectors can sort out these substances with increasing sensitivity .
Scientists are building electronic sniffers that examine the exhaled air for signs of cancer, asthma , and other diseases.
"There are clear signatures in the breath for liver disease, kidney disease and heart disease. Breath is a rich mixture that can reflect out state of health and disease." said Dr. Raed Dweik, director of the Cleveland Clinic, adding "Breath analysis is the future of medical testing."
He and his partners are testing a desktop system called BreathLink for use in rapid identification of diseases. The system is designed to work wherever there is an Internet connection. To use BreathLink, a person breathes into a long tube, and a breath sample is collected and analyzed within the system. Then it can detail chemical concentrations of the breath in graphics. Dr. Raed Dweik said, "If you examine patients of asthma, you will find they have higher levels of nitric oxide in their exhaled air. It reflects their abnormal symptoms in the lungs." His tests have reached 85 percent accuracy so far in spotting people with some illness.
But some trained dogs, he pointed out, can sniff out cancer with 99 percent accuracy--although without the ability to identify particular compounds the way some detectors can.
"We are getting better and better," he said. "But whether we will ever approach the accuracy of the dog--we don't know." | high13035.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "China is probably going to delay the retirement age"
},
"options": [
"China is not planning to push back the age at which workers can retire",
"China is discussing the problem of delaying the retirement age now",
"China is pr... | China's top labor official said the country is planning to push back the age at which workers can retire.
Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, demonstrated that we did not put a timetable on the move when he spoke about it during a forum at the weekend.
"Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue and we will study it according to the situations of population and employment and consider different groups of people," Yin said.
He noted that _ in the retirement age have been brought in by many countries and can be a good way to deal with an aging population and ensure the healthy and stable development of social security.
The life expectancy of Chinese people is now 73 years and is expected to rise to 74 during the next five years, he said.
Nearly three out of 10 Chinese people will be older than 60 by 2040, according to a United Nations forecast.
The retirement age in China currently is 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.
The idea of delaying the retirement age is being widely supported by government officials, while many laborers and non-government employees were less enthusiastic about the prospect of working for longer. Currently, they have to pay into their pension plans for at least 15 years before they can retire.
Chen Xianlian, a female worker at a motorcycle parts manufacturer in Chongqing municipality is among those who would like to see the retirement age left as it is. "I have to do lots of tough and repetitive work every day and I feel very tired after my working day," the 41-year-old said. "All my colleagues are discussing the government's possible move to lift the retirement age. None of us wants to work any extra years."
University graduates also fear that any rise in the retirement age could limit their employment opportunities. | high5714.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He got past the lock of a game."
},
"options": [
"He is a security researcher.",
"He designed a new software.",
"He is addicted to playing games.",
"He got past the lock of a game."
],
"question": "Why did a San... | A San Diego boy Kristoffer Von Hassel has the gaming world' s attention after he exposed a security weakness that let him log into his dad's Xbox Live account, without permission.
Kristoffer's father, Robert, noticed soon after Christmas that his son was logging into his account and playing games that weren't appropriate for his age. When he asked how, Kristoffer showed him a hack that seems simple but is fairly impressive considering a 5-year- old found it.
Kristoffer would go to his dad's account and type in an incorrect password. That would take him to a password verifications screen, where he would simply tap the space bar repeatedly and then press "enter. "
"How awesome is that?" asked Davies, who works in online security himself. "just being 5 years old and being able to find a vulnerability I ty and getting attached to that I thought that was pretty cool." He told KGTV that Kristoffer has figured out three or four other "hacks", including getting past the lock on a smartphone by holding down the "home" key for long enough.
Davies reported the vulnerability to Microsoft. And Microsoft acted, issuing a fix for it. "We' re always listening to our customers and thank them for bringing issues to our attention," the company said in a written statement. "We take security seriously at Xbox and fixed the issue as soon as we learned about it. "
The company has even included Kristoffer's name on a list of security researchers who have helped make online Microsoft products safer. For his discovery, or more accurately, for reporting it with his father's help, Kristoffer will receive four games. $50 and a year's subseription to Xbox Live from Microsoft. | high18160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "can't"
},
"options": [
"can't",
"seldom",
"sometimes",
"always"
],
"question": "You _ hear your voice the same way others hear it.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Have you ever heard your own voice? "Of course," you say.
Has anyone else ever heard your voice? Again you say, "Of course."
But that's not quite true. Nobody else has ever heard your voice-the way you hear it. When you talk, you set up sound waves. The air outside your head carries the sound waves to your outer ears. But, of course, the sound of your voice begins inside your head. The bones of your head pick up the sound waves, too. They carry the sound waves straight to your inner ears. You get the sound from the outside and the inside too. Other people get just the sound waves from the outside. That is why they don't hear your voice the way you do. | high17253.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The increase of oil price"
},
"options": [
"The prediction of economists.",
"The situation of economy",
"The increase of oil price",
"The American response to high price"
],
"question": "What is the passage main... | A couple of years ago, those who forecast that oil price would reach $ 100 a barrel were seen as doomsters. However, now some are predicting $ 200 a barrel.
Had economists been told that oil price would barely pause at $ 100 before reaching the recent peak of nearly $ 127, they would no doubt have forecast terrible economic consequences. But the global economy, though interrupted by the high price of energy, is still chugging along. Meanwhile, inflation has picked up, but the headlinerates of inflation in most developed countries are nowhere near the levels seen in the 1970s and 1980s.
There are three explanations for the oil price's unclear impact. The first is that nowadays developed economies are more efficient in their use of energy, thanks partly to the increased importance of service industries and the diminished role of manufacturing . According to the Energy Information Administration, the energy intensity of America's GDP fell by 42% between 1980 and 2007.
A second theory is that the oil-price rise has been steady, not sudden, giving the economy time to adjust. Giovanni Serio of Goldman Sachs points out that in 1973 there was a severe supply shock because of the oil embargo , when the world had to cope with 10%-15% less crude almost overnight. Not this time.
The third explanation turns the argument on its head; rather than oil harming the global economy, it is global expansion that is driving up the price of oil.
The most important factor is the shift in favor of the developing economies. America has responded to high price in familiar fashion: UBS forecasts that demand will drop by 1.1% this year and will be no higher in 2010 than it was in 2004. But the demand from China and other emerging markets is more than offsetting this shortfall. | high11622.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Negative"
},
"options": [
"Supportive",
"Objective",
"Negative",
"Positive"
],
"question": "What's the author's attitude towards the Iraq War?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | Letters to the next president
Dear Mr. President:
I would like to personally thank you for your time and concern for our great country. I would like to take a few minutes to address a few concerns that I have with the United States.
First of all, I would like to address the war. In my opinion, we should have never been involved with Iraq to the extent that we are now. I believe we should pull our troops out. However, I think there should be a time table that we follow but the time table should not be released because the enemy does not need to know when we are going to pull out. Also, the war takes out a ton of our money, which leads me to my next issue.
The economy right now, in the opinion of many Americans is the biggest issue with which we are facing right now. No one can predict what will happen one day or the next. The obvious thing to do is to put 700 billion dollars in the economy, but that bill failed and was rejected by the House of Representatives . Instead of putting 700 billion dollars in, I think the money should be equally distributed among Americans to pay off their debts. I'm not sure if this would work, but I think it is a positive alternative we could take.
My final issue I would like to call to your attention is teacher's salaries. The high school students of today are America's future. In a way, America's future depends greatly on the high school teachers of America. Saying this, it is sad that teacher's salaries are where they are. While teachers are working harder and harder every day to teach high school students, CEO's of big companies that are driving our countries economy into the ground are getting bonuses. I'm not saying that teacher's salaries should be the same of CEO's of companies, but I do strongly believe that action should be taken to increase the salaries of teachers because they have one of the most important jobs in America - - preparing our country for the future.
Once again, thank you for your time and your effort you put in to making this great country a better place.
Sincerely, Walker | high3365.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Alex paid for the toy with his money in the end."
},
"options": [
"Alex had stolen a bar of chocolate from the shop.",
"The writer got very angry when she found out what Alex had done.",
"The writer asked her son to go back t... | Over the holidays, I took my three young children into a fancy chocolate shop to buy a gift. I was feeling pretty good until halfway home when I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed my 7-year-old son playing with a plastic toy. "Um, where did you get that, Alex?!" "Did you buy it?" "Did I buy it?" "Did you take it?!" Long story short: He had stolen the toy. I kept my cool--even when he said, "but it was only a $1.50, mom!"--and explained why it was unacceptable to take things we didn't buy. I also said he would be returning to the store to apologize and return the item.
A few hours later, I marched my son back to the store with two dollars from his pocket money. I stood by the door as he walked sheepishly to the counter and told the clerk that he had taken something without paying for it, that he was sorry and that he would pay for it now. (The toy could not be returned now because Alex had broken it.) Tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched him fidget nervously and search the clerk's face for a sign of approval.
Fortunately, the clerk at the chocolate shop was gracious. She told my son he had done the right thing and when she caught my eye, I smiled in thanks and we left. I told my son that I was proud of him and to remember how awful the experience felt. | high10528.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Greenwich."
},
"options": [
"The Big Ben.",
"Greenwich.",
"The Tower of London.",
"Near a train station."
],
"question": "From what place does the London Marathon start?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions... | The London Marathon celebrates its 32nd birthday. That is 32 years of stresses and anxieties, blisters and painful knees, and tales that are hard to believe. Somehow, I've managed to run four of _ . And I have medals to prove it. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
I watched the first London Marathon on March 29th, 1981. It seemed extraordinary that normal people would want to run 26 miles and 385 yards. And, it must be said that they looked strange and not quite steady at the end of it all. There are, indeed, terrible tales of people losing consciousness when they reach the finishing line. But it drew all my attention. I knew I had to do it.
Three years later I was living in London, not far from Greenwich where the event begins, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I was only a short train ride from the starting line, but more than 26 miles from the finish. "Who cares?" I thought. By the end I did. The moment I crossed that finishing line and had that medal placed around my neck was one of the finest in my life. The sense of achievement was great. Knowing that I'd run a Marathon felt extremely good.
London provides one of the easiest of all the officially approved marathons because most of its course is flat. Yes, there are the cobblestones while running through the Tower of London, and there are the quiet patches where crowds are thin and you are crying out for some encouragement -- those things matter to the "fun" runners like myself, but the serious runners don't think of such things.
Since 1981,almost half a million people have completed the London Marathon, raising more than $ 125 million for charity. For the majority of the runners, this is what it is all about. It is for charity, for fun, for self-development. I have always loved it. It's crazy, and it's one of the greatest things I've ever done. If you want to feel as though you've achieved something, run a marathon. | high18174.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They don't know their personal data enriches Facebook"
},
"options": [
"They don't know their personal data enriches Facebook",
"They are unwilling to give up their personal information",
"They don't identify themselves when ... | People are being lured onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don't realize that they're paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
Most Facebook users don't realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they're paying for Facebook, because people don't really know what their personal details are worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook--you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things--your city, your photo, your friends' names--were set, by default , to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook's vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don't share information, they have a "less satisfying experience."
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they're online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. "I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them," Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it's only the beginning,which is why I'm considering deactivating my account . Facebook is a handy site, but I'm upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don't trust. That is too high a price to pay. | high5700.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The cold caused inconvenience to the snow-hit area."
},
"options": [
"The cold caused inconvenience to the snow-hit area.",
"Europeans don't think the world is getting warmer.",
"Cold snaps added more fun than inconvenience t... | The weather across much of Europe and sections of Asia has been very cold since last week. Hundreds of people have died from the cold. It has also been a source of fun for winter sports enthusiasts and has raised doubts about global warming.
Europeans were digging themselves out of heavy snow after a week-long cold snap in which the number of dead--most of them homeless--continued to rise by the day. The big freeze has caused traffic mess from Siberia to Rome, blocking roads, closing schools, shutting airports, and trapping thousands in remote mountain villages in Europe. Temperatures have fallen as low as 36 degrees below zero in Ukraine, the hardest-hit country. Serbia on Sunday declared an emergency situation, saying the extremely big snowfall has put normal life at risk.
But the deep freeze has also offered opportunities for snowy fun. In Sarajevo, young people snowboarded down white streets. Others competed with videos on YouTube to show the craziest jump into the snow from second floor apartments--most of them wearing only bathing suits. In the Netherlands, Europe's deep freeze means the country's almost imaginary "Eleven Cities Tour" ice skating marathon could be staged later this month for the first time in 15 years. The race is expected to draw thousands of participants and more than a million viewers.
The cold snap has also caused people to doubt global warming claims--if the Earth is getting warmer, why have recent winters been colder?
Zhang Peiqun, assistant chief engineer of the National Climate Center, explained in an interview with xinhuanet. com: "Global warming refers to broad changes over a long time period, mainly in the past 100 years. It doesn't contradict with the phenomenon that some time in some places the temperature is lower than usual." He also added that it has been a long time debate whether the Earth is getting warmer or colder. "No matter which opinion is correct, a bigger question faces us: how do we deal with the resulting extreme weathers?" he said. | high17247.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In the Olympics history, Liu Xiang is the fastest in this event."
},
"options": [
"Liu Xiang is the fastest of the mentioned athletes.",
"Liu Xiang has set a new world record in the event of the men's 110m hurdles.",
"Both Li... | Liu Xiang, a 21-year-old Chinese athlete, got the gold medal of the fascinating men's 110m hurdles before a crowd of 70,000 at the Olympic Stadium in the 28th Olympics in Athens late Friday local time. He clocked an excellent 12.91 seconds to equal the world record set by Britain's Collin Jackson in 1993.
It is the first gold Chinese men's athlete has ever won from the track and field in the Olympics history. China has won over 100 gold medals from the summer Olympic Games since 1984 but its male athletes only got one medal from Olympics' most popular sport, the track and field.
The Shanghai native, with his father a truck driver and mother an out-of-work housewife, loved sports when he was very little. Liu was selected to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai to practice jumping as a fourth grader in the primary school. But after a bone test showing that he will not be able to become a tall man, Liu was asked to give up sports one year later, although he had won the national champion at that level.
In 1998 when he attracted coach Sun Haiping's attention as a 15-year-old jumper, Sun was a well-known hurdle coach and he believed a star was born at the first sight of Liu. He visited Liu's parents several times and finally persuaded them to let Liu transfer to the 110m hurdles.
After only three years, Liu launched his career in style in the IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne in 2001 by breaking the world youth and Asian record with a time of 13.12.
But the first warning he sent to the world was his bronze-winning feat at the world indoor championships in Birmingham, England, last year.
In 2004, Liu won the silver in the world indoor championships in Budapest in March. Two months later, he proved the winner in a race against American great Allen Johnson in the IAAF Grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, where he clocked a new Asian record and world's season best time of 13.06 seconds.
He went on to win two Johnson-absent races in Lille, France, on June 26 and Zagreb, Croatia, three days later. He put up an exciting show at the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 3, when he and Johnson clocked an identical time of 13.11. Race officials had to examine a photo finish to declare Johnson the winner. Liu did a better job of clearing the hurdles than Johnson, but Johnson's stronger start ended up making the difference. The race boosted Liu's optimism for the Olympics, although Johnson bettered his season best time by 0.01 second in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 6.
The world has put the Olympics a Johnson-Liu
but surprisingly Johnson crashed out of the Games after falling at the ninth hurdle at round 2. Johnson's early exit paved the way for Liu's win. He finally took the gold medal and put a Chinese man's name on the record book.
(chinadaily.com.cn /Xinhua) Updated:2004-08-28 02:57 | high16159.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "worried about his safety"
},
"options": [
"wanted to go with him",
"worried about his safety",
"didn't allow him to do so",
"asked his grandmother for advice"
],
"question": "When the author decided to go to Pue... | At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example,when I was 12,I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my grandmother for the summer. My mom was extremely nervous about it. She kept telling me how things were different in Puerto Rico,to always put on sunscreen,not to wander away from my grandmother,and other warnings. She helped me pack and did not leave the airport until she saw my plane take off.
But despite her worries,she let me go on my own. As I moved into my teens,she continued to give me space to grow and learn,even when it might have been difficult for her. When I reached my senior year,I decided to move away for college. Once again I found that I differed from my peers:While many of them wanted to stay close to home,I couldn't wait to be out in the world on my own. While my mom may not have been happy at the thought of my going away,she was supportive and excited for me.
One big thing I realized during my senior year,as my mom granted me more freedom,was that she actually believes in me and trusts me. That means a lot. Most of my life,and especially when I was little,the main person I tried to impress in my schoolwork or other things was my mother. I knew she expected nothing but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to live up to her standards;getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A's.
I know that her high standards have helped me stay focused on what's important,like education,and made me who I am. I am thankful for her support and involvement in my life .Most of all I respect her. She is the strongest woman I know and that's why I have turned out so strong and independent. | high11636.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "expect too much from the copy"
},
"options": [
"lose the talents of the lost child",
"expect too much from the copy",
"are sure to have an identical copy",
"are sure to have a baby of their dreams"
],
"question"... | Cloning is suggested as a means of bringing back a relative, usually a child, killed tragically. Some parents can understand that wish, but it must first be recognized that the copy would be a new baby and not the lost child. Here lies the difficulty, for the sad parents are seeking not a new baby but a return of the dead one. Since the original would be fondly remembered as having particular talents and interests, would not the parents expect the copy to be the same? It is possible, however, that the copy would develop quite differently. Is it fair for the new child to be placed in a family with such unnatural expectations?
Copying is also suggested as a means by which parents can have the child of their dreams. Couples might choose to have a copy of a film star, baseball player or scientist, depending on their interest. But because personality is only partly the result of genetic inheritance , conflicts would be sure to come up if the cloned child failed to develop the same interests as the original. What if the copy of Einstein shows no interest in science? Or the baseball player turns to acting? Success also depends upon fortune. What if the child does not live up to the hopes and dreams of the parents simply because of bad luck?
Every baby should be wanted for itself, as an individual. In making a copy of oneself or some famous person, a parent is carefully specifying the way he or she wishes that child to develop. In recent years, particularly in the United States, much importance has been placed on the right of individuals to reproduce in ways that they wish. So I suggest there is a greater need to consider the interest of the child and to refuse these suggested uses of cloning. | high8224.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his memory is not often used"
},
"options": [
"his father or mother may have a poor memory",
"he does not use his arms or legs for some time",
"his memory is not often used",
"he can't read or write"
],
"questio... | If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they will become weak; when you start using them again, they will slowly become stronger again.Everybody knows that .yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way.When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it.
When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault.But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, and few of us know that it is just his own fault.Have you ever noticed that some people can't read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write so they have to remember things; they cannot write them down in a little notebook.They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memories are being exercised the whole time.So if you want to have a good memory, learn from these people:Practise remembering. | high15450.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a group of people whose strengths and weaknesses can get to balance"
},
"options": [
"a group of people who are tall and strong",
"a group of people who don't have weaknesses",
"a group of people who don't quarrel with each o... | It's a great sunny day,so it's time to get out and enjoy the weather.Many of us would like to,but we have projects due,tasks that need to be done,people that we need to see,and money that needs to be made.
What if your company gave you that time off as _ for the great effort that you gave to the team to finish a project on time?See,when it comes to teamwork,the main focus is for the team to work together.In a "winning" team there is an equal balance of people who have unique strengths and weaknesses.
Take the example of the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player to play the game,but did they win a championship every year when Michael had played?No.It took a (Dtype) Michael Jordan to lead the team and control the outcome.It took a(n) (Itype) wild and energetic Dennis Rodman to keep the team fun and interesting.It took (Stypes) Scottie Pippin,Bill Cartwright,and John Paxson to support the team.And it took the (Ctype) analytical mind of Coach Phil Jackson to create a foundation for the players to play on.In the end they,the Chicago Bulls,were able to win six championships within eight years.
What is your team made up of?All Jordans?All Jacksons?All Rodmans?Or all Pippins,Cartwrights and Paxsons?It is you who can choose who's on your team.Try finding the right people for the right job,and you will have a "winning" team every time! | high6209.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To learn about the living condition of lighthouse keepers ."
},
"options": [
"To escape from the busy and noisy city .",
"To look for the tools used by our ancestors .",
"To experience the natural beauty of a lighthouse .",
... | Everyone should visit a lighthouse at least once.
The most important reason for such a visit is to realize how our ancestors battled nature with the basic tools they had . They had only basic ways of creating light , and yet they found a way of using this simple technology in isolated places to save ships from hitting rocks .
Secondly , visiting lighthouses will help us to understand the lives of lighthouse keepers .By their very nature , lighthouses were built on some rocks or cliffs . Thus , the lighthouse keepers often lived lonely lives . To walk around their small home , and imagine the angry storm outside beating against the walls , is to take a step towards understanding the lives they had.
The reasons for a visit to a lighthouse are not all so backward-looking in time . It is true that lighthouses were built in _ places . But on a pleasant sunny summer day. This very isolation has a natural beauty that many people will love to experience . Therefore, with the gentle waves touching all round the lighthouse . the visitor is likely to think it is a world preferable to the busy and noisy modern life.
Another reason for considering a visit is that the lighthouses themselves can be very attractive buildings . Mankind could often not be content just to put up a basic structure . but felt the need . even in such an isolated place , to build with an artistic touch . The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy .
Finally , lighthouses have a romantic attraction , summed up by the image of the oil-skin coated keeper climbing his winding stairs to take care of the light to warn ships and save lives . | high1566.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "provide information about your surroundings"
},
"options": [
"program the opening hours of a bar",
"supply you with a picture of the future",
"provide information about your surroundings",
"update the maps and GPS in yo... | Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.
"I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the bar and wanted to see what was open," said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.
The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would _ showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.
"As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs," said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com. "We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things," he added, "and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars."
Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.
"It's just like smartphones 10 years ago," Weintraub said. "A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural," he said. "There's gonna be improvements to that, and this is a step there. " | high13021.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he needed more time to examine latest information"
},
"options": [
"he needed more time to examine latest information",
"he doubted whether koalas' number is decreasing",
"he was thinking about ways to protect koalas",
... | Tony Burke, Australia's environment minister, says he won't decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala's population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala's population is on the decrease. "But they may not yet be eligible for listing as a threatened species," said Senator Doug Cameron. "To have such a significant Australian icon included on the threatened species list would be a national shame."
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings' development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala "is really bad news," said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. "We've worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations," Pointing said. "That data should be enough to make a decision."
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland - the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm's way.
Some people say that is not enough. "What we're doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction," Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
"Koalas are an iconic Australian animal," Burke told Australians. "They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians."
But it is a fact that if more isn't done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians' memories. | high794.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "exercise all the muscles of your body"
},
"options": [
"do stomach exercise",
"exercise the waist",
"exercise all the muscles of your body",
"run fast for 30 minutes"
],
"question": "If you want to reduce the fa... | Some people say that the best way to reduce the size of your waist is to do stomach exercise. Many people believe that when specific muscles are exercised, the fatty tissues in the immediate area are burned up. The truth is that exercise burns fat from all over the body and not from one specific area. Of course, if you reduce the fat throughout your body, you will certainly see results around your waist too.
Some people believe that you need to exercise twice a week in order to keep a sufficient level of physical fitness. However, studies directed by American scientists show that unexercised muscles lose their strength very quickly. Within 48 to 72 hours, you must use the muscles again to reestablish the good physical effects. And what does that mean to you? American scientists concluded that while daily exercise is most helpful, exercising every other day or three days a week will keep a sufficient level of physical fitness.
Is it true that you burn more calories running one mile than walking the same distance? The answer is no. The truth is that you use the same amount of energy whether you walk or run the mile, since in both cases you are moving the same weight the same distance. The speed does not matter. Of course, if you run rather than walk for 30 minutes, you will cover more distance, and therefore burn more calories.
If your breathing doesn't return to normal within 5 minutes after you finish exercising, you have exercised too much. Five minutes or so after exercising, your breathing should be normal, your heart shouldn't be beating loudly, and you shouldn't be tired. | high1200.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Tolerant but stubborn."
},
"options": [
"Brave but innocent.",
"Loyal but ridiculous.",
"Tolerant but stubborn.",
"Trustworthy but childish."
],
"question": "Which can best describe the man from the country?",
... | Before the law sits a gatekeeper.To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law.But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment.The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in sometime later on."It is possible," says the gatekeeper,"but not now." 1The gate to the law stands open,as always,and the gatekeeper walks to the side,so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside.When the gatekeeper notices that,he laughs and says:
_
The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone,he thinks,but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat,at his large pointed nose and his long,thin,black Tartar's beard,he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside.The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front of the gate.There he sits for days and years.He makes many attempts to be let in,and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests.The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly,questioning him about his homeland and many other things,but they are indifferent questions,the kind great men put,and at the end he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet.The man,who has equipped himself with many things for his journey,spends everything,no matter how valuable,to win over the gatekeeper.The latter takes it all but,as he does so,says,"I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything." 2
During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost continuously.He forgets the other gatekeepers,and this first one seems to him the only barrier for entry into the law.He curses the unlucky circumstance,in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud; later,as he grows old,he only mumbles to himself.He becomes childish and,since in the long years studying the gatekeeper he has also come to know the fleas in his fur collar,he even asks the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper.Finally his eyesight grows weak,and he does not know whether things are really darker around him or whether his eyes are merely deceiving him.But he recognizes now in the darkness a ray of light which breaks out of the gateway to the law.Now he no longer has much time to live.
Before his death he gathers in his head all his experiences of the entire time up into one question which he has not yet put to the gatekeeper.He waves to him,since he can no longer lift up his stiffening body.The gatekeeper has to bend way down to him,for the great difference has changed things considerably to the disadvantage of the man.3 "You are insatiable ." "Everyone strives after the law," says the man,"so how is it that in these many years no one except me has requested entry?" The gatekeeper sees that the man is already dying and,in order to reach his diminishing sense of hearing,he shouts at him,"Here no one else can gain entry,since this entrance was assigned only to you.I'm going now to close it." 4 | high13747.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "British students usually find compulsory reading dull."
},
"options": [
"The language used in classics is no longer in use today.",
"British students usually find compulsory reading dull.",
"Only those studying literature rea... | The writings of Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britain. His young readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.
Shakespeare's work, together with most other classics, is seen as remote, and written in a 400-year-old version of English that is about as inviting as toothache.
Still, in Britain schools, it is compulsory to study the bard , and when something is made compulsory, usually the result is boredom, resentment or both.
This was my experience of the classics at school. But when I reached my late teenage years, I had a change of heart. Like every other young person since the dawn of time, the world confused me. I wanted answers, so I turned to books to find them.
I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught it in Britain and China. I have never regretted it. There is something in literature that people want, even if they don't read books. You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works, the recent film version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice being _ . These popular adaptations may help increase people's interest in the classics.
Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare's actual play. If that is the case, then I welcome the trend. But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing. Shakespeare is a poet. His greatness is in his language. Reading someone else's rewriting of his work is like peeling a banana, throwing away the fruit, and eating the skin. Take on the original. It really is worth the effort. | high14028.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to help her come to life"
},
"options": [
"to help her recognize her parents",
"to find whether she is still alive",
"to introduce her to the author",
"to help her come to life"
],
"question": "The nurses repeat... | I had a terrible accident and was transferred via a helicopter to the Pittsburgh Hospital. I was conscious of my accident and friends, and family passing out at the sight of me. It was no picnic!
Late one evening ,I could hear the nurses in the next room repeatedly talking to a new patient. "Sandy, your mom is here. Open your eyes. " This had gone on throughout the night. "Sandy ,your dad has some flowers for you. Open your eyes and look at them. " I asked the nurse as she checked in on me what had happened to Sandy. The nurse said that Sandy was about 17 and had been involved in a car wreck. She was in a deep coma , not in good shape. Over the next few nights ,I started talking to Sandy. Although, it was said silently, I started to urge her to open her eyes or say something. Her parents visited with me one evening, and they seemed to be from an important family but in much grief, much like the faces of those that had visited me. And there I was speechless, immobile and had no real way of easing their pain. It became very important to me to pray for her recovery, not my own. In some strange way, I believed that if Sandy would just open her eyes ,my own situation would get better.
Sandy never came out of the coma as far as I know. During my stay in hospital, there were many times I felt like I was in an emotional coma. But I still could hear "just open your eyes. " Even now I think of her quite often. I remember the long nights in the hospital, the smell of the hospital environment and the helplessness we all felt. Even though Sandy's situation was bad, I am thankful for understanding what it means to let go of your own problems and concentrate on others. | high23684.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Going to Los Angeles' gutter to help people there."
},
"options": [
"Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours.",
"Working in Loyola Marymount University.",
"Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped.",
"Go... | Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles' gutter and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair-bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each.
"I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that someone is concerned about them," Chase said.
Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years. Several hundred people wait for him every week.
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks.
"It's the place that makes me the happiest.I just love it," said Chase. "I look forward to coming here."
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University.
The crowd broke into choruses of "Happy Birthday" several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight.
Travis Kemp, a 51-year-old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. "He has a lot of respect from me," Kemp said. "I know I couldn't do it." | high8542.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Losing interest in their homeland"
},
"options": [
"Culture shock",
"Homesick for their new country",
"Losing interest in their homeland",
"Difficult transition"
],
"question": "Which of the following is NOT the... | Colleges may try to do a lot to prepare students for study abroad - telling about culture shock, warning about homesickness, recommending books about the country. But when it comes to adjusting to campus life when they return, schools haven't done as much, even though the transition is sometimes almost as difficult.
"They can feel disoriented and depressed. They find things are not exactly the way they were when they left," said Antonio Jimenez, director of the Center for International Affairs at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, California, US. "They find that people don't care much about their experiences."
Some colleges are now rethinking their approach to study abroad, recognizing that students might need almost as much help adjusting to life back home as they did getting ready to leave: students experience a sort of reverse culture shock when they return to the US.
They might be troubled by the wealth and waste they see back home or they might feel homesick for their new country and its customs. And when they try to talk about their experiences, people quickly lose interest, especially if they haven't lived abroad themselves.
Down the road, they also might find it difficult to translate their time abroad into experience that an employer finds attractive.
Some California universities have organized conferences to help students make the most of their time abroad. During a one-day event, students learn how to adjust after living abroad, talk about their experiences and incorporate them into their lives and future careers.
Blythe Cherney, 22, a senior who has studied in Thailand and Britain, found the _ helpful.
"Any experience abroad does have an effect on you," Cherney said. "When you come back, it's important to talk about it, especially with people who know what you've been through."
Yet most universities focus more on preparation than reorientation. When students return, they might have a welcome home reception. But for the most part, universities figure students can fend for themselves. | high12459.txt |
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