questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She made a photo album to show her love."
},
"options": [
"She did not understand how her mother felt about her leaving.",
"She had few friends, and kept to herself at home that summer.",
"She made a photo album to show her l... | When my daughter, Sophie, was admitted to a college we were very happy, but a little worried about becoming empty nesters. I knew I had to do something to help myself adapt, starting with the summer before she left.
Sophie had a pack of colorful T-shirts. I knew she wouldn't wear them any more, so I decided to make a quilt out of them for her bed at college. It focused my energy, and also let me relive some memories. I tried to work on the quilt when Sophie wasn't at home----which turned out to be often. She was very busy with her friends. Even when she was around, her door was shut more than usual. I felt a bit hurt. After all, we didn't have much time together before she went to college, I was already missing her, and she hadn't ever left yet.
When we arrived at the college, a wave of emotion flooded me. I tried to hold it back, but Sophie saw it in my face. She took a big red book from her bag. "I made this for you, Mom," she said. Then I knew why she had been staying behind a closed door that summer. It was an album of photographs documenting the life of our family over the last 17 years.
I broke into tears. Some of it was sadness at having to let her go, but some of it was joy. I knew that our connection was more powerful than ever, and that we'd always be connected by the strongest of threads, the love that went into every stitch of her quilt and every photo of my album.
In Sophie's dormitory I unfolded the quilt on her bed. For a moment she was speechless. Then she threw her arms around me. "Mom, I love you," she said. One of her new friends was calling her outside. Sophie turned, and I let her go. | high15875.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they can't afford diet food and to exercise in gym"
},
"options": [
"they had too much diet food",
"they didn't make a detailed plan",
"they have no time to do exercise in gym",
"they can't afford diet food and to exerc... | "I'd like to be at a healthier weight," a friend told me. "But we just don't have the money to buy expensive diet foods and there isn't enough money to join a gym." Many people feel that way -- that a healthy diet and exercise plan is out of reach because of their high cost. Don't lose hope! We'll be looking at ways to make healthy choices without spending too much money.
First you don't need to buy the expensive pre-prepared "diet foods." Back in the early 1970s when I started housekeeping, 90% of the food I bought was ingredients. Very few things were preprocessed . Now 90% of the food you find in the store is quick food. That's a bad thing.
Quick foods like boxed "just add hamburger" meals have had the fiber removed to make them faster to prepare. Take a look at the label on that box. It often has low numbers listed under "fiber" because fiber takes longer to digest. If the low fiber meal is digested, the result is that your body begins to store fat. Besides, your body is short of nutrients . You will be driven to eat more to try to make up for the low quality of the food you are eating.
And then there are the chemicals the producers add to the quick meals to make them palatable. If not, the stuff would taste like cardboard and you wouldn't enjoy it. However, these chemicals certainly aren't good for your health.
What's the answer? Buy whole ingredients and give up the expensive, low nutrition, processed foods. Do the cooking yourself and you will have control over what is in your food -- and it will cost less, too. | high18389.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They took a wrong turning."
},
"options": [
"They had a traffic accident.",
"They took a wrong turning.",
"Their car broke down half way.",
"The traffic was heavy on the freeway."
],
"question": "What kept the a... | She handed me a five dollar bill through the car window, then turned and walked away. I don't know her name, nor where she was going ,but I know I will never forget that stranger who generously saved me from a lot of frustration and prevented me from walking a mile or more to my destination.
That day My husband, Leo, and I were already a half hour late for an important conference . We had taken the wrong fork in the expressway, and found ourselves stuck in traffic that was blocked for four miles due to a serious accident.
When we finally were able to exit, we tried to find parking lots near the hosting hotel. But they were all full. Not expecting this, neither of us had brought change; all we had was a twenty dollar bill. When we did find some space in a lot two blocks away from the conference, we were unable to pay the automatic box for parking. So we needed five dollars.
We asked several people approaching the pay box if they could change a twenty. "No", "No", "No" were their answers. So, _ , we walked back to our car, got inside, and started to back out. We were going to look for other parking spot on the street that would surely have taken us a longer distance away.
Just then, one tapped on the window on the passenger side. It was a short, medium-built woman, who was all bundled up in jacket and scarf, wearing jeans and boots. Surprised, I was reluctant, at first, to roll the window down. What could she possibly want? I lowered the window just enough to hear what the woman had to say. Through the window, she shoved a five dollar bill. "I don't have change," she said, "but here is an extra five dollar bill. Use it to pay for your parking spot." I was floored! Was this woman, whom I'd never seen before, actually giving me this much money? Yes, that was exactly what she was doing! She wouldn't take the check I offered her for the cash. She just walked away. | high20616.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "She took a chance and filled one vacancy ."
},
"options": [
"Her mother found her gifted in speed reading.",
"She was the only teenager applicant for the class.",
"She'd already practiced speed reading before.",
"She t... | I'm a speed reader. Have been since I was a teen. Mother worked for the continuing education department of a university, and they were offering a class on speed reading and needed one more person to fill out the class. I became that one person.
The class met for only an hour or two for a few weeks, but when the goal of a class is speed, you don't need to meet for long. The instructor said to make our eyes go across the lines of words as fast as they could and not to be concerned about what the words meant. I read Animal Farm in 10 ten minutes. Cover to cover. The instructor asked what the book was about. I said I didn't know, but if I had to guess I'd say it was about animals on a farm. He looked displeased.
I've been speed reading ever since. I can't stop and I can't slow down. Today, for example, I plan on reading Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples over lunch. I hope it's more memorable than Animal Farm.
As a result of all this speed-reading, I often experience a delay between what I think I read and what something actually says.
The other day I passed by a mall with a large sign that said "Auto Theft Sale". I thought how efficient it was for auto thieves to simply sell all the stole cars in a big tent at the mall. A half-mile later it dawned on me that the sign had said "Auto Tent Sale".
Every time I drive through a construction zone, I gasp . The sign says: "Hit a Worker $10, 000 (about 62,000 yuan)." It reads like they're offering a reward. Of course, it's not an offer. It's just that my eyes rarely take in the last line that says, "Fine." It's a $10, 000 fine if you hit a worker. Someone really needs to rephrase that one.
Speed reading has bitten me on the backside more than once. Especially as a writer. Just ask any of my editors. | high19097.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "well-educated youth in China's big cities have difficulty buying houses."
},
"options": [
"knockoffs can be found in China but not very often.",
"the Oxford University Press made the dictionary without outside aid.",
"most Ch... | The 115-year-old prestigious Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like"shanzhai" "youtiao" and "fangnu", as part of the modern Chinese language.
As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language.
For instance, the word "shanzhai" is used to describe the countless knockoffs of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos.
Another new term in the new edition is the word "fangnu", or a "mortgage slave" --a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage.
All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English -Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week.
The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month.This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation.Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China--the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press--worked together on the project.According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary's chief editor, most of the firm's editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers.
"We don't want to make it florid , we want it to be modern and conversational...many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use," said Kleeman."The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago...Precise, native and practical--that is our main advantage," she said.
Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace.The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide.The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready "as soon as possible", Kleeman said. | high3167.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Roosevelt"
},
"options": [
"Bush",
"Clinton",
"Roosevelt",
"Washington"
],
"question": "President _ sang high praise for the Grand Canyon.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Nearly 300 miles long, up to 18 miles across and 4000 vertical feet down, the 8th new wonder: the splendid Grand Canyon .
Viewing its glory, President Theodore Roosevelt called the Grand Canyon "a natural wonder, ly unparalleled throughout the rest of the world". He urged Americans to preserve what he described as the "wonderful greatness, the nobleness, the great loneliness and the beauty of the canyon". More than a hundred years later, it's still easy to see why almost 5 million annual visitors call the Grand Canyon a wonder.
The canyon stretches as far as the eye can see. Some 5 or 6 million years ago, the Colorado River rushed through this land, carving out the massive canyon we see today, exposing even older layers of rock previously buried. Geologists say some are 2,000 million years old. Native Americans were the first people to make these rocky walls as their homes about 12,000 years ago.
Today the Hualapi and Havasupai Indians live deep in the canyon, balancing age-old traditions with modernity. There are no roads to this village; mules carry the mail here. But at the same time, the tribes are designing a skywalk that promises an excellent view over the canyon early next year. The bald eagle, wild and endangered American icon is another longtime resident of the Grand Canyon. | high20825.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "ITTF will cooperate with Gates"
},
"options": [
"ITTF will cooperate with Gates",
"Gates watched Hsing's match",
"some rules have been changed",
"Hsing pushed Li Xiaoxia to the limit"
],
"question": "It is mainl... | LONDON---The International Table Tennies Federation(ITTF) plans to work with Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corporation, to promote table tennis in the United States, ITTF President
Adham Sharara said.
The plan was put forward after Gates came to London to watch the game between US teen player Ariel Hsing and Chinese Li Xiaoxia on Sunday, Sharara told Xinhua in an interview.
Sharara didn't disclose the details, but said that Gates offered to help after watching Hsing's match, in which the 16-year-old girl nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic table tennis history, pushing No. 2 seed Li to the limit before losing 4-2 in six tight sets.
"Gates was surprised to see the young American girl played so well. He asked me what he can do to help promote table tennis in the United States. I think we'll work with him. If the United States becomes very strong in table tennis, it's also good for China," Sharara said.
Sharara said the case is a "good example" which shows that ITTF's efforts in promoting the popularity. The ITTF has changed its rules for the London Games, allowing only two players from one nation to enter the singles events. Three players from each National Olympic Committee(NOC) were allowed to enter the singles in previous Games.
"The reason we do this is to help more NOCs to join in our game. If we give more chances to the top countries, someone like Hsing will not come to the Olympic Games. They have no chance. But if we give them the chance, we can see what they can do," Sharara said.
Sharara said the change increased the pressure on strong teams, like China, Japan, South Korea and Germany. "But they understand now because they saw other NOCs attending. Some countries before had no chance to play in table tennis, but now they are joining in table tennis."
Other changes made to the Olympic Games include the color of floor (from red to blue) and new table design. "As far as presentation is concerned, we try to change all the time, especially in the Olympic Games. We hope to give audiences something new, exciting and cool."
Table tennis has long been the strengths of Asia, especially China. Since the sport was introduced into the Olympics in 1988, China has taken 20 of 24 gold medals available. Four years ago in Beijing, it claimed six medals in the men's and women's singles.
Talking about the development of table tennis, Sharara said, "China has the responsibility to promote the sport. Of course, China has done a lot." | high11420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To get professional help even if it costs."
},
"options": [
"To read it over several times by yourself.",
"To get professional help even if it costs.",
"To copy something from books.",
"To publish it on the Internet."
... | As the global financial crisis hits the economy, it's tough finding a job--especially if you're competing with thousands of other hopeful students. Sometimes you get the interview, but don't quite seem to land the job because you don't have related experience. Don't despair! Here are a few tips that might give you an edge.
Get connected to your network and try to expand it. Talk to friends, family and acquaintances. Let everyone know you are looking for a job.
Prepare your resume carefully and be sure it's perfect. Have someone else read it over for typos and grammatical errors. Get professional help. It's worth the money to present yourself well. If money is tight, read books on resume writing from your public library or search for free help on the Internet.
When you apply for a job, be sure you match and list any skills listed on the posting with the skills you have. If you get an interview, be sure to describe those skills thoroughly. Just having the skills is not enough. Expressing your abilities well can make all the difference in getting the job.
Research typical interview questions and practice interviewing. Be well prepared for every interview.www.ks5u.com
Don't be afraid to accept a position for which you are overqualified--if there's room for advancements. Many great job advancements come from first doing well at an entrylevel position. If you have the right skills and attitude, it won't be long before you're in the job you want.
Volunteer for a few weeks in your field of study to gain experience if you feel your resume needs an improvement.
When deciding what to wear for an interview, think about the position level and the dress code of the organization.
Use every tool available to you. For example, this site has many job links for your use.
Good luck! | high17051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "coffee is likely to prevent diabetes"
},
"options": [
"coffee is likely to prevent diabetes",
"the way we prevent diabetes",
"old people may develop diabetes",
"dumbbells can keep out of diabetes"
],
"question":... | If you prefer doughnuts to dumbbells , you have a high chance of developing diabetes later in life. But if you wash down those doughnuts with at least seven cups of coffee a day, you are only half as likely as that.
The finding is "quite surprising and fairly dramatic", says Bill Hartnett of UK Diabetes, although the patients' group won't be advising people to drink lots of coffee just yet. While there's little evidence that one or two cups a day is harmful, some studies suggest that heavy coffee drinkers are unusually sensitive to pain, easier to fearful disorders and can also have higher blood pressure, which increase the risk of heart disease.
The study was done by Rob van Dam's team at the National Institute for Public Health and Environment in the prefix = st1 /Netherlands, which analysed the data on 171,111 men and women. The team found that those who drank seven or more cups of coffee a day were 50 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank two cups of coffee or fewer a day. This was despite the fact that the heavy coffee drinkers tended to have sedentary lifestyles, which increases the risk of developing diabetes.
"It's too early to get excited," warns Edwin Gale, a diabetes specialist in Britainat theUniversityofBristol. "It may just be that coffee drinkers behave differently," he says.
Type 2 diabetes used to appear mainly in older people, but as levels of obesity (being fat) have increased in children, so has the disease in common. It's a serious disorder--high blood sugar levels damage many organs, and can lead to anything from blindness to kidney failure.
It usually occurs when the body becomes less sensitive to insulin , the hormone that tells cells to take in too much blood glucose. Caffeine isn't an obvious remedy for type 2 diabetes, because its immediate effect is to lower sensitivity to insulin. | high18362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "People made fun of it."
},
"options": [
"People made fun of it.",
"He wanted to make more friends.",
"It was hard to remember.",
"He wanted to be cool in the new school."
],
"question": "Why did the writer want ... | My name is Chelsea Chowderhead. A chowder is a kind of soup. I was laughed at because of my last name as soon as I started school. So when my family moved to South Carolina, I asked my dad if I could change my name.
"You shouldn't change who you are. Let people get to know you first and your name later. When you meet someone new, ask them a good question, something you're really interested in. Once people start talking about themselves, they don't judge you."
Two days later I headed to my new school for the first day of class. At lunch, I noticed that there were twin brothers who were talking to each other. I remembered my dad's advice, so I decided to try.
I noticed that their lunchboxes were _ "What's it like being a twin?" I asked.
They looked surprised. Then one said, "No one has ever asked us that!"
"Most of the time it's good," the other said. "When you're a twin you always have someone to talk to and have lunch with."
In no time we were laughing and talking. Then one of the brothers said, "I'm Nicholas, and this is my brother, Nathaniel. What's your name?"
I took a deep breath and said, "I'm Chelsea Chowderhead."
"Chowder? Like the soup?" asked Nathaniel.
"Yes," I replied, looking down.
"Hey, cool! Do you want to come over after school and play basketball with us?" Nathaniel asked. I nodded.
And that is how I became friends with the twin brothers. | high2279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "educate children to become money savvy"
},
"options": [
"educate children to become money savvy",
"avoid continued mis-selling epidemics",
"help children make money",
"deal with the current economic crisis"
],
"... | Are you good with money?I learnt to be careful with it during my childhood. My father would give me some pocket money and tell me it should last for a whole week. So,I learnt I had to save some if I didn't want to run out of cash quickly. No surprise there:my dad was an accountant!
It's never too early to become money savvy .That's what British personal finances expert Martin Lewis thinks. He was part of a successful campaign to include financial education on the school curriculum in England. It will be embedded in maths and citizenship education. This includes children from 5 to 16 years old.
Lewis says:"We desperately need to break the cycle of financial illiteracy in the UK--one of the causes of our current economic crisis and a huge contributor to continued mis-selling epidemics ."
Being careful with money pays off. Banks in Britain recently found themselves having to pay a large number of people who were persuaded to spend money and buy insurance policies they didn't need. Many wasted their money on investments which were not for them. Few have the patience to read the small print.
The British say'take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves'.It means you have to watch your daily expenses and not just the big purchases in your life such as houses.
Martin Lewis has made millions from his website which advises people to be thrifty and refuses any suggestion that he is mean. The expert says in an interview with the English newspaper the Daily Express:"the better you are with your cash,the better your life can be. People think I am telling them to stop spending money but I am simply telling them to spend it wisely." | high13237.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "money constantly loses its value"
},
"options": [
"everyone's incomes rise",
"money will hold its value",
"we can watch our money grow",
"money constantly loses its value"
],
"question": "From the passage we can... | It is a matter of common observation that although money income keeps going up over the years, we never seem to become richer. Prices are rising continuously. This condition is what we call inflation: the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable. We have got used to higher and higher rates of inflation in recent years. What could be bought twenty years ago for one pound now costs well over 2 pounds. And at present this rate of inflation seems to be rising rather than falling. If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices do. One might think that inflation doesn't matter. _ When money is losing value it also loses one of the qualities of a good money--stability of value. It is no longer acceptable as a store of value; and it becomes an unsuitable means of delayed payment. Nobody wants to hold a wasting possession, so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore simply stimulates our spending and discourages saving. | high1770.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "began to consider losing weight at 30"
},
"options": [
"controlled his weight at college",
"began to consider losing weight at 30",
"was satisfied with his figure as a kid",
"may have a family history of heart attack"
... | As a little child,1 was always plump .In college I started blowing up. It got out of control
when l went to law school.
I'd made a decision a thousand times: I'm going to lose weight now. But what motivated
me to get serious about it was turning 30.1 weighed 414 pounds.1 was always tired. Some of my
family members have suffered from heart disease, and l was frightened. I also wanted to look better.
So after my birthday,1 walked into the office of a weight loss doctor.
She was very understanding. Her focus was on balanced meals and she wanted me to exercise.
Walking was all I could do at first. I started by walking a few blocks and gradually increased the
distance, until one weekend, I heard myself saying, "Wow, this seems pretty easy." So I started to run.
1 was losing nine or ten pounds a month, and I had more energy. I started to think about the New
York City Marathon. For years,1 watched the runners and thought, "This looks like fun, but I could
never do that." But now I realized that maybe I could.I joined the New York Road Runners.I ran a
l0km, then a half marathon.I still wasn't confident I could run a full 26 miles. But I told myself I was
going to do it, no matter what.
By my 33rd birthday,1 was down to 180 pounds. I started formally training for the marathon.
And on the morning of November l, I stood on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island with more than
40,000 0ther runners, waiting for the event to start.
It was unbelievable to have the audience cheering me on, handing me cups of water. And I
crossed the finish line. My friends sprayed(......)me with beer, as if I'd won the Super Bowl.
And at that moment,I knew: If I set my mind to something, nothing is impossible. | high14558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the Civil War"
},
"options": [
"an illness",
"the Civil War",
"her trip to England",
"her grandmother's death"
],
"question": "The author implies Dorothea Dix's work with the insane was interrupted because of ... | Dorothea Dix left home at an early age--of her own free will--to live with her grandmother.
At fourteen, Dorothea was teaching school at Worcester, Massachusetts. A short time after she had begun teaching, she set up a school for young girls in her grandparents' home. Stress was placed on moral character at Dorothea's school, which she conducted until she was thirty-three.
She was forced to give up teaching at her grandparents' home, however, when she became ill a few years of inactivity followed.
In 1841 Dorothea began to teach again, accepting a Sunday school class in the East Cambridge, Massachusetts prison. Here she first came upon insane people locked up together with prisoners.
In those days insane people were treated even worse than prisoners. There were only a few madhouses in the entire country. Therefore prisons, poor houses, and houses of correction were used to keep the insane.
Dorothea Dix made a careful investigation of the inhuman treatment of the insane. It was considered unfeminine for a woman to devote herself to such work at this time. But this did not stop Dorothea Dix from providing proper medical care for the insane.
Gradually, because of her investigations, conditions were improved. More than thirty mental institutions were founded or rebuilt in the United States because of her hard work. Dorothea also spread her investigations to England and to other parts of Europe.
During the Civil War, Dorothea served as superintendent of women hospital nurses in the Union army. When the war was over, she returned to her work of improving conditions for insane people. | high7301.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "playing the violin"
},
"options": [
"sailing his boat",
"fame and money",
"playing the violin",
"work"
],
"question": "Einstein was most interested in _ in life.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Einstein was the greatest scientist of his age. But he was almost as strange as his Theory of Relativity.
Once, while riding a street car in Berlin, he told the conductor that he had been given too much change. The conductor counted the change again and found it to be correct, so he handed it back to Einstein, saying "The trouble with you is you don't know your figures."
He had nothing and thought little of the things most people set their hearts on-- fame and money. He didn't want money or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work and playing the violin and sailing his boat. Einstein's violin brought him more joy than anything else in life.
He led a very simple sort of life, went around in old clothes that needed pressing, seldom wore a hat, He shaved with the same soap that he used for his bath. The man who was trying to solve the most difficult problems of the universe said that using two kinds of soap made his life completely too complicated . | high15646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "an important part of Silk Road"
},
"options": [
"an international fashion centre",
"an important part of Silk Road",
"the focus of the world",
"a vast desert land in Central Asia"
],
"question": "According to th... | I have never heard about a "Fashion Week" outside of New York, London or Milan. But then one just happens to turn up in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Actually, I'm ignorant of all those countries in Central Asia, whose names are always ending in "stan." For decades, even centuries, Central Asia has been out of focus, a blank on the map of empires. Just as the introduction from Turusbek Mamashov, from the Tourism agency of the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, says, "Throughout this Fashion Week project, we need to create a revolution in the minds of our people, preparing the country for the international tourism market. It is an opportunity as well as an investment." What he says is right. If you just give it aglimpse , you'll find out that theflavor of the Silk Road is still there.
As part of the route for Silk Road traders and migrating tribes through itsepic history, Kyrgyzstan, like other Central Asian countries, is a vast place of desert, grassland and mountain ranges. It is not widely known that Kyrgyzstan is the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's birthplace.
Bishkek, the place holding Fashion Week, is the capital and industrial center of independent Kyrgyzstan. It is a relaxed, handsome place with wide streets and large amounts of greenery. Especially in the autumn of November, the yellow leaves falling everywhere make the whole city a legend in fall. The mountains are just at its rear, in that case a unique scene of picturesque beauty is composed by snow-white peaks, lakes and the urban Landscape.
Today, Ala-Too Square is the center of the poetic places worth seeing in Bishkek. The "White House," the seat of the Kyrgyzstan Government, is just at the west of the square. Behind this is Panfilov Park, a great place to head for a national holiday. The State Museum of Fine Arts is opposite, which is also called the Gapar Aitiev Museum of Applied Arts, featuring Kyrgyz jewelry, rugs and works by local artists.
One of the joys besides the scenery is the openness of the people. Bishkek is a city without a big population but mainly good-natured people from many races, 47 percent are Russian and about a third are Kyrgyz. Most travelers vote Kyrgyzstan as the most appealing, accessible and welcoming of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. It is written by a tourist that Kyrgyzstan is the country Russians most desperately want to keep: hills always covered with grass and wild flowers. Kyrgyz men always ride a horse wearing a photogenic hat. | high12129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the world cyberspace develops fast and uncontrollable"
},
"options": [
"it was set up by a 17-year-old girl",
"Qualls shares her design with her friends",
"Qualls has been building her online business",
"the world cyber... | Like a scene out of a reality show or a Disney movie, Southgate, Mich., teenager Ashley Qualls' moment has arrived.
She may not have an MBA, a high-school diploma, or even a driver's license yet, but Asheley Qualls already has an influential website (www. Whateverlife.Com). The 17-year-old girl hass been building her online business for two years.
In December 2004, Qualls borrowed $8 from her mother to buy the Whateverlife.com. domain name . She intended to use the website as a way to share her design for My Space pages woth her friends.
But in the incontrollable, fast-moving world of cyberspace, others began noticing Qualls' site even though she never has spent a penny on advertising.
When it comes to web traffic, Whateverlife.com .currently ranks No. 825 out of 20.3 million websites, drawing 2.4 million visitors worldwide during the last 30 days. Qualls said that on average, 72% of her site's audience made a return visit.
Whateverlife.com earned a million dollars in revenue last year and is on track to do the same this year.
"I'm stubborn and I'm independent," she said from her office in the basement of her house. "I like the feeling that it's my company, and I want to have the say-so in everything."
But don't mistake Qualls for another smart but spoiled teenager. She is growing up fast but owns talent for life and business that _ many girls of her age.
The task of running a million-dollar company isn't without its sacrifices( ) and challenges for a teenager. Qualls dropped out of Lincoln Park High School after her sophomore year to work fulltime on Whateverlife.com, a decision that she said shocked her family, friends and teachers . She now is studying to get her degree in graphic design. | high7467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She was kind to them."
},
"options": [
"They were afraid of her.",
"She treated them badly.",
"She was kind to them.",
"It was their daily practice."
],
"question": "Why did these colleagues talk behind their bo... | The other day at lunch I was part of a whole group of colleagues and we were talking behind our boss's back. She's the new principal of our middle school.
We talked about how kind she is to us. She writes notes to wish us happy holidays, or to thank us for jobs well done. She checks on us when she knows we're facing difficulties outside of school with our health or with our families.
All too often, When we talk NICE behind someone's back, they never know about it!I sent her a quick email to report the conversation. She replied saying how much she appreciated hearing about it!
I like to do the same for my students. Of course I give them my own compliments ,but I love to let them know when others adults have noticed their good behavior and attitudes. Then it's absolutely necessary to let THEM know it too! It matters when what they notice is good.
I've known from the other side how much this can mean. I often lack confidence in my own abilities as a teacher, so it gave me quite a lift when a friend who works with families in the community mentioned that he has heard several times from parents how glad they are to have their kids in my class. It just feels more important somehow to have the words said by people who don't know I'll ever hear them.
Sure, it's pleasant when we can say nice things about other people. Watch for your next opportunity to be the reporter! Make sure to tell them about the nice things being said behind their backs! | high8754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It was at first free of charge for its consumers."
},
"options": [
"It appeared earlier than the chocolate bar dispenser.",
"It was invented by a Scottish man in 1971.",
"It was at first free of charge for its consumers.",
... | The cash machine is 47 years old, but where was the birthplace of this world-beating invention? New York? Tokyo? No. The first ever cash machine was born in Enfield Town, north London. It was a Scottish inventor, John shepherd Barron, who realized the concept of a self-service machine that could be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to withdraw cash from one's own bank account. _ struck the inventor while he was in the bath. He hit upon the idea of a chocolate bar dispenser, replacing chocolate with cash.
On September 2 in 1969, America's first automatic teller machine (ATM) appeared in public, giving out cash to customers at Chemical Bank, New York. It was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle many functions, including depositing money, was introduced. Today there are over one million ATMs around the world, with a new one added every five minutes. It is reported that Americans over the age of 18 use their ATM card six to eight times a mouth. Not surprisingly, ATMs get their busiest workouts on Fridays. In the 1990s, banks began charging fees to use ATMs, a profitable move for them and an annoying one for consumers.
Consumers were also faced with an increase in ATM crimes. Robbers preyed on people using money machines in poorly lit or otherwise unsafe locations, and criminals also thought up ways to steal customers' PINs (personal identification numbers), even setting up fake money machines to capture the information. In response, city and state governments passed laws such as New York's ATM Safety Act in 1996, which required banks to install such things as surveillance cameras , reflective mirrors and locked entryways for their ATMs. | high6779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "what emotion the words can bring to people"
},
"options": [
"whether the words are easy to remember",
"what emotion the words can bring to people",
"whether the words are popular and in fashion",
"which group of people ... | Language has a powerful influence over people and their behaviour. This is especially true in the fields of advertising. Visual content and design in advertising have a very great impact on the consumers,but it is language that helps people to identify a product and keep it in mind. The choice of language to show specific messages with the intention of influencing people is of vital importance.
The English language is known for its extensive vocabulary. While many other languages have only one or two words to carry a particular meaning,English may have five or six. Moreover,the meanings of these five or six words may differ very slightly and in a very subtle way. It is important to understand the connotation of a word. "Armchair",for example,suggests comfort,whereas "chair" causes no particular feelings. Different people sometimes interpret language in different ways.
Both the mass media,when reporting news items,and marketing and advertising personnel have to consider the emotive power of the words they use. First,they make a decision about what to communicate and what to withhold .One way in which advertisers adapt language to their own use is to take compound words and use them as adjectives. Examples of these compounds are:top-quality,economysize,chocolateflavoured,featherlight and longerlasting. These compounds have become part of the English language.
The language of advertising always emphasizes why one product stands out in comparison with the others. Don't expect advertising language to be always correct in the normal sense. For example,comparatives are often used when no real comparison is made. An advertisement for a detergent may say "It gets clothes whiter",but whiter than what? | high23492.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "about 8000"
},
"options": [
"about 20000",
"about 8000",
"about 12000",
"about 32000"
],
"question": "There are _ McDonald's restaurants outside the US now.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | The biggest hamburger restaurant chain in the world is McDonald's. It started in 1955 with just one restaurant, but now has more than 20000 worldwide. There are more than 12000 McDonald's restaurants only in the US. You can find them in 100 countries on six continents. There isn't a McDonald's in Antarctica, but I don't suppose they eat hamburgers at the South Pole. When you eat at a McDonald's restaurant you are joining the 35 million people who eat and drink at McDonald's every day, and there are more than one million people who work there. McDonald's has sold 100 billion hamburgers since it opened, and it sells more than 6.8 million pounds of French Fries every day.
How do you like your hamburger restaurant? There are old McDonald's ---- part of one restaurant in England is 600 years old. There are elegant McDonald's ---- there is one on the Champs Elysees in Paris. There are cool McDonald's ---- there is one in Hollywood. There are McDonald's restaurants on ships and trains, in hospitals and zoos, in airports and in colleges.
Clearly many people like the speed, hygiene and cheapness of fast food restaurants. However, not everyone likes fast food. Some people question the nutritional value of the food; some people think the fast food causes too much waste and pollution. So the fast food business gives us _ , as well as convenient, affordable meals. | high13551.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "devoting oneself to nursing body and soul"
},
"options": [
"being good at communication",
"having service awareness",
"being able to understand how others feel",
"devoting oneself to nursing body and soul"
],
"q... | You might be thinking about entering healthcare as a second career but are having lots of doubts, primarily because you feel that the time and energy you invested in your profession might just go to waste. On the contrary, many of the skills and strengths you need in healthcare, particularly in the nursing field, are strengths and skills that you most likely have developed already in your professional career, especially if you worked in a high-pressure office setting or any form of customer service.
In healthcare, you will be communicating face-to-face with people on a daily basis --- nurses, doctors, patients, family of patients, and so on. In fact, when you are working, you will probably be getting instructions from someone, relaying a message, soothing the worries of a patient, explaining circumstances, and so on. To have strong communication skills, you need to be able to speak clearly and listen carefully. It is important that the messages you deliver are accurate and brief, not only orally but also literally --- documentation is part of the job. In most professions, communication skills are also highly valued and developed. Writing memos, speaking and listening in meetings, and understanding nonverbal and verbal cues are all helpful and transferable to a health career.
For professionals with a background in psychology, counseling, teaching, social work, public speaking, customer service, and any job that teaches empathy, they might find that they fit well in a nursing job or a job in healthcare. Having empathy is vital to becoming an effective nurse. Good nurses tend to be empathetic, sympathetic, understand different cultures, respect teamwork, and listen well.
For those who worked in customer service such as working as a salesperson, waitstaff, or receptionist, they will find that there are a lot of characteristics that they learned from the job and that they can transfer to working in healthcare. Servers or customer care representatives have to be organized, multitask, and provide satisfaction to customers. All these are things that nurses have to be and do as well. | high22954.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To encourage."
},
"options": [
"To encourage.",
"To compare.",
"To prove.",
"To explain."
],
"question": "What's the writer's purpose to write the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | It is common and usual to see people _ when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.
How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive tools, you are going to be built up on them.
Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.
Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens, they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are. | high582.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The medical worker's letters to her school."
},
"options": [
"Her visit to the poor parts of Calcutta.",
"Her visit to Britain after she left school.",
"The medical worker's letters to her school.",
"The work of the nur... | Mother Teresa was born in Yugoslavia, on August 27th, 1910. She attended the government school near her home until she was eighteen. At that time, some doctors and nurses from Yugoslavia were working in India, and they often wrote to the school about their work. She decided to join them one day.
When she finished school, she went first to Britain. Then a year later she went to India, where she began to train to be a teacher. After training, she was sent to Calcutta, where she taught geography at a school and soon after became headmistress .
However, although she loved teaching, in 1946 Mother Teresa left the school and went to work in the poor parts of Calcutta. Later she trained to be a nurse in Panta, and then began her work helping the poor and comforting the dying in the streets of the city. Slowly, others came to help her, and her work spread to other parts of India.
Mother Teresa is now a well-known person. Many photos have been taken of her, as she travels the world to open new schools and hospitals in poor countries. In 1979, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for the lifetime of love and service she has given to the poor. | high1016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was found on the shores of a village in Spain"
},
"options": [
"was about 15 feet long with a horn",
"could probably grow up to 55 feet long",
"was already in pieces but it was still alive",
"was found on the shores of ... | Even after centuries of exploration , the ocean still holds its mysteries. Although we know more today about the world's oceans and creatures living in them than ever before, every once in a while the sea brings up something so strange, so unexpected, that makes the world wonder what it could be.
Such was the case when the currents of the Mediterranean Ocean recently washed a 13-foot-long, smelly body onto the shores of the village of Villaricos in Andalusia, Spain. An early report in the Spanish publication Lavante described the strange, horned body as what might seem like a big fish, but _ was already in pieces. Locals joked that it was some kind of Loch Ness Monster.
The media jumped right on the creature, of course. Some sites called it a horned sea monster. The popular newspaper Boing Boing called it a dragon. Some people guessed that it might be an oarfish , which is actually a rarely seen kind of big fish that can grow up to 55 feet long.
But now the experts have weighed in and we're sorry to report that it's not a dragon, a Loch Ness Monster, or even an oarfish. "That is actually a shark skeleton ," Professor Grubbs from Florida State University told NBC News. "The parts toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin supports. The "horns" are the scapulocoracoids which support the pectoral fins ." Scapulocoracoids are backbones common to many animals.
So there we go, another mystery solved. Well, the ancient maps that once described areas of the ocean as places of dragons have yet to be proven true. But it's good to know that the ocean still has a few surprises for us, even in cases where they're just dead, smelly bodies. | high10058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "because it could bring good fortune to Tabor"
},
"options": [
"because Tabor became its leading citizen",
"because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there",
"because it could bring good fortune to Tabor",
"... | Among the more color1ful characters of Leadville's golden age were H.A.W.Tabor and his second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as "Baby Doe". Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. "Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here." he said.
As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville's fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco.It was his custom to "grubstake" prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or "grub", while they looked for ore , in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.
Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for "grub". Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. "Oh help yourself. One more time won't make any difference," He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountain side and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the "Pittsburgh Mine," made $1,300,000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117,000. This turned out to be even more unbelievable than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35,000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became lieutenant governor of the state. | high17737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "draw our attention to Internet language"
},
"options": [
"explain some Internet language",
"suggest common Internet language",
"laU9h at the Beijing father",
"draw our attention to Internet language"
],
"questio... | Recently a Beijing father asked what "PK' meant at an Internet forum.
"My family has been watching the ' Super Girl' singing competition TV programme . My little daughter asked me what'PK'meant. but I had no idea. "explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online. it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for -Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the -Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM' . I loved to 'FB' with him together ; he always took me to the 'KPM' . " went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother) . "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Hei (beautiful girl). "FB" means Fu Bai (corruption). "KPM" is short for KFC. Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur. referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog. referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao! | high18404.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Hawaii"
},
"options": [
"California",
"New Mexico",
"Hawaii",
"Arkansas"
],
"question": "Visitors are likely to see Bigfoot in the following places EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Want to find Bigfoot? Matt Moneymaker, president of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot, says the creatures have been seen in every state but Hawaii.
Redwoods State Park, California
With its towering redwoods and thick forest, it's hard to beat the atmosphere at this Northern California park.Moneymaker recommends taking a walk along the Smith River on Howland Hill Road."We heard of lots of different sightings and sounds in there,"he says."I've found tracks crossing that road."7074657335.
SalmonHuckleberry Wilderness, Oregon
You don't have to go far to find Bigfoot.This area 20 miles east of Portland in the Mount Hood National Forest is prime spotting territory.Bigfoot apparently has a sweet tooth and goes ape for huckleberries, which grow in the area.Scores of campers have been scared off by noises and have had rocks thrown at them.5036681700.
Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico
The high density of deer attracts Bigfoot to this place.The creatures may use the park's mountainous lookouts to watch over deer in spring.Even when there's no wind, dead trees often
mysteriously, with their roots above the earth."They let you know that they're there."5056613333.
Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Vermont
This prominent mountain peak outside the town of Rutland has had its share of activity, including a trailcam picture famous in Bigfoot circles of what appears to be a female one carrying her offspring . Centuries ago,American Indians reported seeing an apelike creature and,more recently, hikers say that they have come upon a Bigfoot.8007568880.
Fahnestock State Park, New York
There's a long history of Bigfoot in this mountain park a mere 90 minutes from New York City. Moneymaker says investigators have found mysterious markings in the snow.8452257207.
Ponca Wilderness Area, Arkansas
Moneymaker says he had several good Bigfoot moments on a recent expedition in this area along the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas.Most of the Bigfoot action centered on the area near Steel Creek Campground.8704392502. | high16429.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Apart from taking medicine, 73 patients also participated in either a tai chi class or a \nhealth education class."
},
"options": [
"This study is the first to prove the benefits of tai chi in the treatment of depression.",
"There ... | More than two million Americans above 65 years of age suffer from depression. And in the next 35 years, twice as many people will find themselves in that age range --including me, and probably you too! So, what activities can prevent depression as we get older?
Researchers at UCLA turned to a gentle "Westernized" version of tai chi, the 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art . When a group of adults over 60 on antidepressant drug therapy attended a weekly tai chi exercise class, standard rating scales showed greater improvement in their level of depression, along with improved quality of life, better memory and cognition , and more overall energy when compared to study participants taking the same medicine but going to a weekly health education class.
"This is the first study to prove the benefits of tai chi in the management of late-life depression, and we were encouraged by the results," said Dr Helen Lavretsky, a UCLA professor. "We know that nearly two-thirds of elderly patients who seek treatment for their depression fail to achieve relief with a prescribed medication ."
In the study, 112 adults above 60 with major depression were treated with the prescription antidepressant medicine for approximately four weeks.Among those participants, 73 who showed only little improvement continued to receive the daily medication but were also assigned to 10 weeks of either a tai chi class or a health education class for two hours per week.
"Both groups showed improvement in the severity of depression," said Lavretsky. But greater benefits were noted among those participating in tai chi.
This study shows that adding a mind-body exercise like tai chi, which is widely available in the community, can improve the outcomes of treating depression in older adults.With tai.chi, we may be able to treat other, coexisting medical conditions without exposing them to additional medications." | high21285.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was an army man"
},
"options": [
"was a slow student",
"was an army man",
"helped his father in his career",
"had little interest in politics"
],
"question": "Churchill _ before he became a politician.",
... | Winston Churchill was born into a famous family.His father was a successful politician.However, as a boy, Churchill was considered a slow learner in school.Later he entered the Army and saw action in various countries.
In October 1900, Churchill began his political career.For the next sixty years Churchill's work as a great politician was both brighter and more difficult than his father's had been.In 1939 German attacked Poland.Churchill prepared to fight.In 1940 he became the Prime Minister of English.
France fell.The Germans fought their way through Western Europe.It looked as if Britain was about to lose the war.Was it now possible to ask for peace, and listen to Hitler?
Churchill spoke: "I have nothing to offer but blood, hard work , tears and sweat... You ask what is our policy? I will tell you, it is to fight, by sea , by land and air, with all our force and with all the strength that God can give us.You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory."
The Germans began moving their armies to the French coast and prepared to go to war with British.The British had not enough guns to go around.Churchill gave the answer: " We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.We shall fight on the coast ; we shall fight on the landing grounds; we shall fight in the fields and in the streets; we shall fight in the hills; we shall never give up."
By his courage and hard work, Churchill _ his people and other nations fighting together against Hitler.Victory finally came when the Germans lost World War II.
Churchill died in 1965 and was given a state funeral.This was a fitting payment to one of all the greatest men the world had ever seen. | high3601.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "teaches English communication skills"
},
"options": [
"is an in-company service",
"teaches English communication skills",
"is designed for working people",
"provides English training for free"
],
"question": "Da... | I am an English teacher, with over 15 years' experience of teaching in London. I started the DailyStep audio email lesson service because I noticed that when I started their English course, my students' speaking and listening skills were much weaker than their reading and writing skills. In my view, this is because education in school does not focus enough on communication skills. DailyStep is designed to _ this situation by offering more practice in speaking, listening and vocabulary.
I am crazy about the English language and it is a real pleasure for me to see the development of my students' language skills.
I majored in (....)law at university and then worked for three years as a researcher and journalist for Sky television and BBC magazines. I decided to change to English teaching because of my love of the English language and my wish to move into more satisfying work.
Then I qualified as an English teacher in 1992. My first teaching job was at a language school in Covent Garden, London, where I taught examination classes and Business English . After two years, I moved to the Nippon Club where I taught General English and Business English courses for 9 years. I also developed a unique course called British Society & Culture, covering all areas of British life, such as politics, law, education & music. At the same time, taught Business, Financial& Law English in the financial centre of London. My students included staff from banks and law firms.
As well as running the DailyStep website, I also provide in-company English speech training for companies in London. If you have an important speech coming up and would like some information about how I can help you, please email me at jane@dailystep.com. | high11346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Watson's department didn't earn money that year"
},
"options": [
"Watson would take over a new job in another department",
"Watson had his son study in Riverside School",
"Watson's son knocked a boy down who hit Herbie",
... | Watson entered Mr. Smith's office. The boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn't do well without giving them a second chance.
"Watson," said Mr. Smith, "this past year your department hasn't earned money. We're going to drop that department. It's finished. I'm sorry, --but you'll have to go." "But, sir -- if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School."
"What's that!" said the boss. "Riverside! I didn't know you had a boy there. That's an expensive school for a man with your salary."
"I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He's a star athlete and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ there."
The boss sat perfectly still for a long time -- a faraway look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, "We've got to close your department, Watson. But you'll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours--maybe more pay. Now get out. You're here for life."
Watson got out, with surprise on his face. Then the boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie's last letter from Riverside School --written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read:
I can't say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it's the same everywhere when you're a cripple . But don't worry about me, Dad. They've got a good chemistry department here. And there's one boy here who is really great. He's a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, 1 want to do something for Champ. Something big -- that he won' t even know about.
Your son,
Herbie | high17723.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "artistic value"
},
"options": [
"atmosphere",
"mass appeal",
"box-office success",
"artistic value"
],
"question": "Product placement can have a bad effect on the _ of a movie.",
"question_type": "cloze_... | If you've ever seen a James Bond movie, you'll know that the hero gets around in a smart Aston Martin car. Even if you know that you could never afford such an expensive vehicle, you don't forget the name, or the car.
Why? You have been affected by product placement.
Companies pay a film to place their products in the movie. Product placement took off in the West in the 1980s and is now catching on in China. Two Hunan Satellite TV dramas are recent examples: Ugly Wudi and Let's Go Watch the Meteor Shower (<<>> ).
Shampoo, mobile phones, cars and fitness centers -- anything can be product-placed. Advertisers value the mass appeal of the movies, knowing that a successful film can showcase their goods to hundreds of thousands of viewers. But when product placement takes over, art can only take a back seat.
Cai Zhiyong has been product-placing for years. The Beijing-based advertiser admits there is a conflict between art and business. He explains the way one ad works. In If You are the One (<<>> ), the actress Shu Qi plays a flight attendant. The movie contains product placement for airline companies.
Cash-strapped filmmakers often can't pay so much attention to the quality of their work because they need money from advertisers. In the original story for Meteor Shower, the heroine's mother owned an ice cream shop. But no ice cream company wanted to sponsor the film. For this reason, the story was changed. In the film the man drinks 20 cups of milk tea instead of eating ice cream.
So you may see the power of business over the movies, since the script was perhaps written so that a product could be placed---whether it was ice cream or milk tea. | high18410.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It requires some break in one's career."
},
"options": [
"It requires some break in one's career.",
"It tends to last too long for many people to complete a degree program.",
"It affects one's career.",
"It gives the st... | Today, there are many chances for those who wish to continue their education. However, nearly all require some break in one's career in order to attend school full time.
Part-time education, that is, attending school at night or for one weekend a month, tends to drag the process out over time and puts the completion of a degree program out of reach of many people. Additionally, such programs require a fixed time commitment which can also impact negatively on one's career and family time.
Of the many approaches to teaching and learning, however, perhaps the most flexible is that called distance learning. Distance learning is an educational method which allows the students the flexibility to study at his or her own pace to achieve the academic goals which are so necessary in today's world. The time required to study may be set aside at the student's convenience. Additionally, the student may enroll in distance learning courses from actually any place in the world, while continuing to pursue their chosen career. Individual assistance may be available via regular airmail, telephone, fax machine, teleconferencing and over the Internet.
Good distance learning programs are characterized by the inclusion of a subject evaluation tool with every subject, so a student doesn't need to travel away from home to take a test. Another characteristic of a good distance learning program is the equivalence of the distance learning course with the same subject materials as those students taking the course on the home campus. The resultant diploma or degree should also be the same whether distance learning or on-campus study is employed. The individuality of the professor/student relationship is another characteristic of a good distance learning program. In the final analysis, a good distance learning program has a place not only for the individual student but also the company or business that wants to work in partnership with their employees for the educational benefit, professional development, and business growth of the organization. Supporting distance learning programs for their employees gives the business the advantage of retaining career-minded people while contributing to their personal and professional growth through education. | high5264.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the wife of the U.S President"
},
"options": [
"the First Lady who received U. S patent",
"the first woman inventor",
"the wife of the U.S President",
"praised by Mary Kies"
],
"question": "According to the pass... | In 1809, Mary Kies received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman. Kies , a Connecticut native , invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for improving the nation's het industry. Unfortunately , the patent file was destroyed in a big fire in 1836.
Until about 1840, only 20 U.S. patents were issued to women. The inventions were related to clothes, tools ,cook stoves and fireplaces. Patent is the "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor(s) can apply for it. In the past , women were not allowed to have equal rights of property ownership and many women patented their inventions under their husbands' or fathers' name. Women were also prevented from receiving higher education necessary for inventing.
Here are a few examples to be noticed, and from these examples, we know enough reasons for encouraging girls and women to pursue technology-based courses and careers.
The women inventors took annually granted U.S. patents rising fro;m 2.6 percent in 1977 to 10.3 percent in 1998.
The majority of the U.S. woman-inventor patents are in the chemical technologies.
In 1996, every eleven U.S. patent grant included one woman inventor.
In the past 20 years, about 83 percent of the U. S. patent grants to women were for utility patents , 16.5 percent for design patents, and 0.5 percent for plant patents.
About 35 percent of the U.S woman-inventor patents granted during the 1977 to 1996 period originated form California , New York or New Jersey.
Today, hundreds of thousands of women apply for and receive patents every year. About 20% of all inventors are currently female and that number will quickly rise to 50% over the next generation. | high21291.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "1556;China."
},
"options": [
"1964;Alaska.",
"1556;China.",
"1923;Japan.",
"2008;China."
],
"question": "When and where was the worst earthquake ever reported?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Earthquakes are something that people fear.There are some places that have few or no earthquakes.Most places in the world,however,have them regularly .Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous .
The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906.Over 700 people died in it.The strongest one in North America was in 1964.It happened in Alaska.
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people.In 1755,one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal.Around 2,000 people died.
In 1923,a very strong earthquake hit the Tokyo,Yokohama area of Japan.A hundred and forty thousand people died.Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 2008.It killed a large number of people.The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China,in which 400,000 people were killed or injured.This earthquake happened in 1556.
Earthquakes worry people a lot.The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming.People can not prepare for it. | high3615.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "English teachers should be held responsible for the students' poor command of English"
},
"options": [
"the language of the younger generation is usually inferior to that of the older\ngeneration",
"the students had a poor command... | The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, "High school English teachers are not doing their jobs." He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.
My topic is not standards nor its decline . What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.
My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies . But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.
The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.
Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar to today's young people, it naturally follows that today's English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not commit offenses against the language. | high11352.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Mulcahy becomes a famous football player."
},
"options": [
"Mulcahy put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company.",
"Mulcahy becomes a famous football player.",
"Mulcahy brought with her several accounts based... | Now let's talk about doing well by doing good--many people who have ever been volunteers for the community find their place in relative jobs or even make their way to be corporate leaders.
Consider the case of Kimberly Mulcahy. Throughout her career, Mulcahy has actively volunteered in her community, profession and industry. Though she put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company, she also found time to professional and community organizations.
Then last year, the unexpected thing happened. The company where she'd worked for more than 20 years was bought out and she was laid off.
On hearing the news, those who she served were quick not only to offer her support--but actual jobs! In the end, Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency--she used to work as a director of her industry association. And she brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering.
Volunteering was a godsend to Todd, who has been a mid-level manager at the same company for many years. After he was out of work, he felt old and disappointed. But Todd knew he needed a change. Todd became involved in community service. He joined his town's volunteer fire department and was soon appointed to the finance committee.
Sometimes volunteering helps you bring passion to your work, other times it can turn your life's passion into your work. Cape Cod Baseball League President Judy Scarafile is a registered pharmacist whose love of the game led her to volunteered as league publicist , secretary and deputy commissioner woman to hold the top post.
Whether you are to enter the workforce, build your resume, or follow your passion, volunteering is good for the soul and the career. | high7473.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he came up with the idea of virtual water"
},
"options": [
"he wrote seven books on trade policy",
"he published more than 100 papers on water management",
"he found a new kind of water in water-scarce areas",
"he came ... | A scientist who developed a way to calculate how much water is used in the production of anything from a cup of coffee to a hamburger was awarded the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.
Professor John Anthony Allan of the University of London in Britain won the award for introducing the idea of "virtual water ", a calculation method that has changed the nature of trade policy and research.
Allan has written seven books and published more than 100 papers.
The Stockholm International Water Institute said this idea is now embedded in the production of foods and industrial products. The institute said Allan's work had made a big effect on global trade policy and research, especially in water-scarce regions.
"The improved understanding of trade and water management issues on local, regional and global scales are of the highest value for the successful and sustainable use of water resources," it said.
"People do not only use water when they drink it or take a shower," the institute said. "Behind the morning cup of coffee, there are 140 liters of water that was used to grow, produce, package and ship the beans." That is about as much water as a person in England uses on average for all daily drinking and household needs.
"For a single hamburger, about 2,400 liters of water are needed. In the USA, the average person uses nearly 7,000 liters of virtual water every day." It said that was more than three times the average use of a Chinese person. | high15134.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "is flavored"
},
"options": [
"has no smell",
"is tasteless",
"has vitamins",
"is flavored"
],
"question": "The expression \"the habit\" (para. 1, sentence 4) refers to drinking water which _ .",
"question_... | Animals seem to have the sense to eat when they are hungry and they do not eat more than their bodies need. It has been demonstrated that rats will, when given a choice over a period of time, prefer water with vitamins to water without vitamins even though there is no difference in taste or smell between the two water bottles. When a fragrant flavor was added to the vitamin-enriched water, the rats did seem to prefer it and kept drinking it ,even after the vitamins were switched to the clear water. In time, however, they broke _ and went back to where the necessary vitamins were.
In a classic experiment, babies of 6 to 12 months old were placed in a cafeteria feeding arrangement, with a wide selection of baby food before them. They were given whatever food they pointed to or appeared interested in. We are told that at first they showed some unusual eating patterns, but that over a period of time they managed to select well-balanced diet.
So, in selecting food, rats and babies do seem to know and act on what's best for them. Apparently, there is a kind of "body wisdom", which humans soon lose. Most of us do not eat as wisely as we could. Many of our food preferences are culturally determined and influenced by long-established habits. Some people eat fox, dog and blackbirds, while we eat cows and pigs. So what people eat and how much they eat seems to be greatly influenced by what is going on around them. | high22798.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They like doing the toothache pose when being photographed."
},
"options": [
"They are very dissatisfied with the shape of their face.",
"Most of them have an occupational disease, such as toothache.",
"They are competing to ... | The latest fashion in Japan is posing for photos with your hand pressed against your cheek as if you have toothache. The "cavity pose" is said to make the model's face appear attractive, slimmer and smaller, which is considered more beautiful in Japan. The craze is sweeping Japanese social media, as well as fashion magazine front covers.
Just recently a model of a popular culture magazine, NYLON, did a pose which looked as if she had toothache. Twitter user, Okoge, spotted it among a range of similar magazines, with front cover models all doing the same pose. Okoge posted photos of the front cover models all with the exact same toothache pose, on the social media site, writing, "Does everyone have cavities?" The image has since been re-tweeted more than 35,000 times, but this is anything but an isolated incident . Twitter and Instagram are going crazy for the pose, too.
The name, which means cavity pose, is called "mushiba no poozu" or "mushibapoozu" in Japanese. Some people also refer to it as the" mushibagaitaipoozu", the "cavity hurts pose", "mushibamitainapoozu" or "looks like a cavity pose", or even, "mushibaninattapoozu" or "I got a cavity pose".
According to the magazine, Kotaku, such photographs first appeared on Twitter last year in Japan. Many Japanese people said they are doing the cavity pose. And in only a few weeks, the trend has spread to art, popular cartoons and even national magazines.
There have been more and more photos cropping up online from earlier this year, but whether the trend will stand the test of time remains to be seen. | high12883.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "escape separately"
},
"options": [
"reunite with your family first",
"sit separately",
"escape with your family together",
"escape separately"
],
"question": "While travelling, in the event of emergency, you'd b... | Australian researchers have studied records of 105 plane crashes and interviews with more than 2,000 survivors of traffic accidents, and outlined the following self-help tips.
First, sit with your family but escape separately. About 50 percent of passengers travel with at least one companion. If you are traveling with your family, try not to sit separately because in an emergency, families who are separated will try to reunite before they escape, thereby missing the best time to escape and causing tragedy. However, it is best to escape separately because it will improve your chances of survival.
Second, have your seat belts securely fastened. The shoulder belt should be worn closely against the body, over the shoulder, cross the chest, and never under the arms. It should not be too close to your head, or it may get you hurt in an accident, or too close to your shoulder joint, which may cause the belt easily to slip off. It is best to wear the belt two fingers away from your shoulder joint. The lap belt should be firm against the body and low across the hips in order to prevent collision forces from hurting your viscera . Make sure both belts are fastened closely against the body.
Third, find the nearest exit on board. A study found that the average distance a survivor will take in an escape is seven seat rows, so choose a passage seat within this range. If not available, count exactly how many rows you are from the nearest exit in advance, so that you can find your exit in the dark or in smoke.
Fourth, sit backwards on trains. Seats on military aircrafts normally face backwards so that soldiers are less likely to be bumped and injured in the head in the event of a crash. The same theory applies to trains. | high23486.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A gathering in his neighborhood."
},
"options": [
"The sunset.",
"The car or boat of the home owner.",
"The pet of the home owner.",
"A gathering in his neighborhood."
],
"question": "What will you most probably... | You might not want a holiday in your hometown, but there is probably someone who does. And, in exchange, you could have a cheap vacation anywhere in the world.
Just picture the scene: you're watching the sunset from the balcony of a Caribbean island house. It's large. And it's free as long as you don't mind the owners living in your home at the same time.
All you need to be a home-swapper is the Internet and a rough idea of when and where you want to go on holiday. When you find someone whose dates match yours, and who wants to visit your area, you're all set to swap.
The advantages are numerous: you can save a fortune in accommodation cost. You could get to use the owners' car, boat, bikes, pool or gym. You might even be able to come to an arrangement about looking after each other's pets!
You also get to live like a local, and you might be invited around to neighbors' homes for tea, barbecues and tips on the area. People say that these cultural experiences are the memories that last. Plus, instead of one tiny hotel room, you have an entire house where you can make yourself at home. And it's not cold and impersonal like a hotel room.
Of course, there are disadvantages. A lot of effort and communication are needed before the arrangements are finalized. Nobody wants a stranger living in their house, sleeping in their bed and using their bathroom, so you have to get to know each other well beforehand.
Some people are concerned about theft or property damage, but in reality this is very rare. Most home-exchangers have the view that "If they can trust me with their house, I can trust them with mine." The worse complaint people have is the difference in standards of cleanness.
If you're interested in home-exchange for your next holiday, start by contacting a famous agency like homelink.org and intervac,co.uk. These agencies will also have advice about preparing for a home-exchange. | high8998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "discovered some prehistoric human bones in Zhoukoudian"
},
"options": [
"thought that the findings in Zhoukoudian are the first evidence of human life in Asia",
"thought that the findings in Zhoukoudian wouldn't change the history ... | Zhoukoudian is a small village situated about 50 kilometers to the southwest of Beijing. In the 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there which changed people's view of China's history. They came from an unknown species of man and were the first evidence of human life in China thousands of years ago. The remains were three teeth!
In 1929, a complete skull was also discovered. Eventually, archaeologists found almost 200 items, including six skulls and more than 150 teeth. These discoveries proved the existence of a human species who lived in the area between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago. Four sites where Beijing Man and his relatives lived were discovered on the northern face of Longgushan. They lived in the caves in the area.
However, the life span of Beijing Man was short. About 70% of the people probably died before the age of 14. Fewer than 5% lived to the age of 50. Ashes were found alongside the fossils which showed they had used fire for cooking food and also for light, warmth, and protection against wild animals. This is the earliest evidence of the use of fire anywhere in the world. They also made tools of bones and stones. Unfortunately, when Japan invaded China in 1937, excavations at the Beijing Man Site stopped and most of the fossils disappeared, including a Beijing Man skull. After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, the work started again.
Zhoukoudian was listed as a World Heritage Site in December 1987. It has not only given us important information about prehistoric Asian societies, but also provided amazing evidence about the process of evolution. Today, parts of the caves have been badly affected by rain. Some areas are almost completely covered in weeds, causing serious damage. Pollution from the nearby factories has also led to the problem. This is a very serious matter and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is trying to raise public awareness of protecting it. | high1002.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "bring more money to the television networks"
},
"options": [
"result in more sport event",
"get more viewers to play sports",
"make more people interested in television",
"bring more money to the television networks"
... | Sports account for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract viewers from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.
An attraction of sport programs for the major U. S. media companies is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons--the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming.
Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract made viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.
Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computer, and holiday trips. This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of "company cars" and computer, with such viewers, these programs don't need high ratings to stay on the air. | high596.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "16"
},
"options": [
"16",
"14",
"13.",
"10"
],
"question": "Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of _ in the USA.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,... | If you live in the United States, the law says you can't have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you can work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer holidays you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can't earn your own money? Of course not ! Kids who are between the ages of 10 and 13 can earn money by doing lots of things.
Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people's yards. Susan, 12, said she had started taking art classes and showing her work to people. People ask her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine, 13, writes articles for different magazines!
Earning is learning. By working to earn your own money, you are learning the skills you will need to succeed in life. When you make your own money ,you don't have to depend on someone else. The five dollars that you earn will probably make you feel a lot better in your hand than the twenty dollars you ask for. | high22940.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They gave their friends a basket of flowers secretly."
},
"options": [
"They gave their friends a basket of flowers secretly.",
"They sold baskets of spring flowers in neighborhood.",
"They hang a basket of flowers on their f... | "Hey, do you know what? Today is May Day!" my sister announced. "Do you remember the May Day baskets we used to make with colored paper and paste?"
I recalled that my sisters and I would run around our neighborhood delivering the baskets brimming with spring flowers. We would place them on a doorstep, knock on the door, then run away. It was delightful to look around a bush and watch our friends open their doors and pick up the colorful gift,wondering who had left it out for them.
I clearly remember the May Day of the year that I was in fifth grade. That year I was faced with a challenge involving one of my dearest friends. She lived right across the road from our family, and we had walked together to school nearly every day since first grade.
Her interests were starting to change from the interests that we had shared together. A new family had recently moved into our small town,and Pam was spending more and more time at their house.
When my mother asked me if I was going to take a May Day basket to Pam's house, I responded angrily, "Absolutely not!" My mom told me that I would have many other friends throughout my lifetime. "But Pam was my very best friend ever," I cried. Mom wiped away my tears and told me that circumstances change and people change. She explained that one of the greatest things friends can do is to give each other a chance to grow, to change and to develop into what we want to be. And sometimes that would mean that friends would choose to spend time with other people. I could express my forgiveness by giving her a May Day basket.
It was a hard decision, but I made an extra special basket of flowers with lots of yellow because that was Pam's favorite color. I asked my two sisters to help me deliver my basket of forgiveness. As we watched from our hiding place, Pam picked up the flowers, and said loudly enough for us to hear, "Thank you, Susie, I hoped you wouldn't forget me!". | high13223.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "babies' understanding of objects"
},
"options": [
"babies' sense of sight",
"effects of experiments on babies",
"babies' understanding of objects",
"different tests on babies' feelings"
],
"question": "The passa... | Grown-ups know that people and objects are solid. At the movies, we know that if we reach out to touch Tom Cruise, all we will feel is air. But does a baby have this understanding?
To see whether babies know objects are solid. T. Bower designed a method for projecting an optical illusion of a hanging ball. His plan was to first give babies a real ball, one they could be expected to show surprise in their faces and movements. All the 16 to 24-week-old babies tested were surprised when they reached for the illusion and found that the ball was not there.
Grown-ups also have a sense of _ . We know that if we put a box in a room and lock the door, the box will still be there when we come back. But does a baby realize that a ball that rolls under a chair does not disappear and go to never-never land ?
Experiments done by Bower suggest that babies develop a sense of object permanence when they are about 18 weeks old. In his experiments, Bower used a toy train that went behind a screen. When 16-week-old and 22-week-old babies watched the toy train disappear behind the left side of the screen, they looked to the right, expecting it to re-appear. If the experiment took the train off the table and lifted the screen, all the babies seemed surprised not to see the train. This seems to show that all the babies had a sense of object permanence. But the second part of the experiment showed that this was not really the case. The researcher substituted a ball for the train when it went behind the screen. The 22-week-old babies seemed surprised and looked back to the left side for the train. But the 16-week-old babies did not seem to notice the switch . Thus, the 16-week-old babies seemed to have a sense of "something permanence," while the 22-week-old babies had a sense of object permanence related to a particular object. | high1764.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "can't exercise control over themselves"
},
"options": [
"don't have the power to face their lives",
"are ready to change their minds",
"can't exercise control over themselves",
"are easily affected by windy weather"
... | Stop wasting your time thinking of reasons for your failures. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-confidence. Your level of self-confidence is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-confidence are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are always victims. They are leaves tossed by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
In all areas of your life, whether they are financial, physical, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it. You are on the road to success. | high9338.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "buying books from England"
},
"options": [
"buying Thomas Jefferson's books",
"buying books from England",
"putting up the library building",
"asking experts in every field to work there"
],
"question": "The fir... | You might think the largest library in the world would be in Europe. But it isn't. It's in Washington D.C. It's called the Library of Congress.
President John Adams started the library in 1800 for members of Congress. He wanted them to be able to read books about law. The first 740 books were bought in England. They were simply set up in the room where Congress met. Then Thomas Jefferson sold Congress many of his own books. He felt Congress should have books on all subjects, not just on law. This idea changed the library forever.
The library grew and grew. Now it covers a large area of land. It contains20million books as well as many pictures, movies, globes and machines. Experts in every field work there. Hundreds of people call every day with all kinds of questions. Many of them get answers right over the phone.
The library is a huge storehouse. Thomas Edison's first movie and Houdini's magic books are preserved there. And it is the proud owner of the world's best collection of humorous books. | high7315.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Charlotte is loving and helpful although she is ugly"
},
"options": [
"It's a good example of how differences make us different",
"It encourages children to love their family and friends",
"The farmer kills Wibur as dinner",
... | Sometimes two very different individuals become the best friends. For example,, who could have thought that a spider would become friends with a pig? But in American writer E.B.White' novel Charlotte's Web, this is exactly what happens
Wibur the pig grows up in a barn and makes many friends, including a spider called Charlotte. One day a sheep tells Wibur that he will finally be served up as dinner. But Charlotte decides to save her friend. To help Wibur,Charlotte writes words like "terrific", "radiant" and "humble" on her web to praise Wibur. This makes the farmer believe that is too important to kill.Wibur is saved, but Charlotte is so tired that she dies.
The book was first published in 1952. In over 60 years Charlotte has become one of the most famous spiders of all time. She teaches us about love and promise. "She is very, very loving under that crusty ,that ugly look," Peter Neumeyer, writer of The Annotated Charlott's Web
The book's success drew the attention of Hollywood filmmakers , however, they wanted a happier ending. White was strongly against this idea and as a result the film, like the book, ends with Charlotte's death.
Jen Doll, reporter with The Atlantic, believe that "death is a part of life". She says this is one of the main messages of the book.
As Charlotte tells Wibur, "You have been my friend. That in itself is a wonderful thing. I wove my webs for you because I like you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while and then we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess , with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a little. God knows anyone's life can stand a little of that." | high8026.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "encouraged him"
},
"options": [
"envied him",
"laughed at him",
"encouraged him",
"didn't believe him"
],
"question": "When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _ .",
"question_type"... | I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own.What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang."Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband.Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs.After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber.
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come.I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract.He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs.I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia.
But I hesitated.
My friends all told me to go for it.And Mary also thought I should do."Go, Sam.I'll manage with the family...it'll be OK."
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard.Soon they would both be in high school...and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support.If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up.Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me...and I couldn't bear it.My family was my life.So I refused the music promoter's offer.I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets. | high15652.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "What can we make from old paper?"
},
"options": [
"What can we make from old paper?",
"How does food come from old paper?",
"Why can scientists do wonderful things?",
"How can scientists turn wood into food?"
],
... | Babies love chocolate and sometimes they also eat the paper around it. My cat enjoys a meal of goods, thick paper and letters, for example. She doesn't like newspapers very much.
Of course, the best paper comes from wood. Wood comes from trees, and trees are plants. Vegetables and fruit are plants too, and we eat a lot of them. So can we also eat wood and paper?
Scientists say, "All food comes in some way from plants." Well, is that true? Animals eat grass and grow fat. Then we eat their meat. Little fish eat little sea plants; then bigger fish swim along and eat them. Chickens eat bits of grass and give us meat. Think for a minute. What food does not come from plants in some way?
Scientists can do wonderful things with plants. They can make food just like meat and cheese. And they can make it without the help of animals. Now they have begun to say, "We make our paper from wood. We can also make food from wood. The next thing is not very difficult." What is the next thing? Perhaps it is food from paper. Scientists say, "We can turn paper into food. It will be good, cheap food too; cheaper than meat or fish or eggs."
So please keep your old books and letters. Don't feed them to your cat. One day, soon they will be on your plate. _ . | high20831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "life"
},
"options": [
"business",
"life",
"politics",
"forum"
],
"question": "This passage may appear in _ section.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | The quality of water supply in southern Beijing has been improving in recent years, an official said.
In addition to improvements in the network of pipes, the government has been upgrading three recycled water plants in the south of the capital, said Zhao Lei, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
"The transformation of the three plants has increased the recycled water processing capacity by 160,000 cubic meters per day," he said.
In addition, the city is also speeding up the construction of sewage treatment plants to further recycle the sewage, Zhao said.
Zhang Xiang, a researcher from Nature University, an environmental protection NGO in Beijing, said recycled water use should be promoted, especially in water-scarce cities such as Beijing.
Setting up more recycled water plants in the capital will not only promote efficient water use, but also reduce costs because recycling water is much cheaper than transferring it over long distances, he said.
According to the Beijing Water Authority, the capital will set up 46 more recycled water plants citywide in the next three years while upgrading 20 sewage treatment plants.
The treatment rate of domestic sewage in downtown Beijing will reach 98 percent by the end of 2015, it said.
The capital's recycled water is mainly used for industry, landscaping and cleaning, Zhang said.
Many new communities in southern Beijing are equipped with a network to recycle water.
In the past, people were not enthusiastic about using recycled water. However, as the government has boosted the quality of recycled water and set up more recycled water plants, more residents are gradually accepting it.
Residents in southern Beijing will also enjoy more clean energy, as the government will replace traditional coal-burning stoves with electric radiators as part of a three-year plan to develop southern Beijing from 2013 to 2015.
Since 2010, Beijing has taken measures to develop its southern areas. Earlier efforts have seen the region, which used to rely heavily on low-end industries such as cement factories and small coal mines, being turned into a bustling commercial center and home to many educational institutions. | high3173.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Rubens, a great artist, lived and worked there"
},
"options": [
"it lies in the famous city of Antwerp",
"it holds all the works by Rubens and his students",
"there are many people who enjoy visiting it",
"Rubens, a gre... | Many famous painters worked in Antwerp during the city's period of greatest power but Peter Paul Rubens is undoubtedly the most famous one of them. Known as Rubens House, the palace-like residence and studio where Rubens worked and lived from 1616 until his death in 1640 is now one of Antwerp's most visited museums.
Almost all of the works Rubens and his students created in the Rubens House have been dispersed over major museums across the whole world, but there is still an impressive collection well worth the visit. Besides paintings form the master himself you will find other works of art and furniture of the 17th century as well as paintings from his students, including works by Jacob Jordaens and Anthony Van Dyck.
The Rubens House was not only a studio but also a meeting place for the rich and famous. His clients included wealthy merchants, diplomats, and there were also many noblemen who often visited his studio to see how work progressed. The Rubens House even had a special viewing area which allowed visitors to see the artists at work.
Ruben bought the house at the beginning of the 17th century after his eight-year-long stay in Italy. Influenced by Italian architecture, he rebuilt the building into an Italian-styled palace with a beautiful garden and moved in the house in1616.
After his death the building was sold. New owners modified the building greatly and by 1937, when the building was purchased by the city of Antwerp, it hardly resembled the original structure.
The impressive entrance hall, which connected the studio and the residence, is one of the few parts that survived. Other parts have been carefully restored and reconstructed after original plans and paintings of the house. | high11434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "excitedly"
},
"options": [
"excitedly",
"indifferently",
"angrily",
"calmly"
],
"question": "When you call a dog, how will it probably react to you?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answe... | While children are dogs---loyal and affectionate --teenagers are cats. It's so easy to be a dog owner. You feed it, train it, and boss it around. It puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if you were a Rembrandt painting. It bounds indoors with enthusiasm when you call it.
Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a big old cat. When you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if wondering who died and made you emperor. Instead of dogging your doorsteps, it disappears. You won't see it again until it gets hungry--then it pauses on its sprint through the kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're serving. when you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old affectionate gesture, it twists away from you, then gives you a blank stare, as if trying to remember where it has seen you before.
You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think something must be desperately wrong with it. It seems so antisocial, so distant, sort of depressed. It won't go on family outings.
Since you are the one who raised it, taught it to fetch and stay and sit on command, you assume that you did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and fear, you redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.
Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked before now produces the opposite of the desired result. Call it, and it runs away. Tell it to sit, and it jumps on the counter. The more you go toward it, wringing your hands, the more it moves away.
Put a dish of food near the door, and let it come to you. But remember that a cat needs your help and your affection too. Sit still, and it will come, seeking that warm, comforting lap it has not entirely forgotten. Be there to open the door for it.
One day your grown-up child will walk into the kitchen, give you a big kiss and say, "You've been on your feet all day. Let me get those dishes for you. "
Then you'll realize your cat is a dog again. | high19068.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "fitness is much more than gaining or losing weight"
},
"options": [
"mental health is the most important in weight loss",
"working on physical fitness is sometimes harmful",
"fitness is much more than gaining or losing weight... | Fitness isn't just physical: Change your thoughts, and you change your world. Of course we can all agree that gaining and losing weight, exercise, diet, strength, and flexibility are all a part of fitness. But what about body image, self-esteem, aging, relationships, success and happiness? They are all related, all connected, and fitness in all areas is important if you want true and total fitness.
But you may say, "I just want to lose 20 pounds. If I do, I will feel better about myself and I will be happy." Maybe in the short term, but honestly, if we don't deal with our mental and emotional fitness while working on the physical fitness, there is very little chance of keeping the weight off, feeling good about yourself, and improving every other area of your life.
Let's not waste time in changing our bodies when they will only change back if we don't change our minds, too. Let's work "out" and work "in" at the same time. Change your mind-and you must, because if you have been trying to lose weight, but cannot, there is something inside of you that is disallowing it. You can change this pattern, improve your self-esteem, increase your joy, and change your body for good by focusing on changing your mind, too. This is training of life.
Work-ins will recondition your mind, improve your attitude, change your perception and stimulate motivation at the same time you are conditioning your body for weight loss, shaping, strength and endurance.
If you repeat a positive statement over and over to yourself-like a mantra, your mind will change, the same way your body does, even if you don't believe it. Like lifting a weight over and over, your muscle changes-even if you don't believe it.
Try it-what have you got to lose? Say, "I am ready for my body to be healthier, leaner, and stronger. I love it already." Say it over and over while you are walking or running or doing any exercise. Pick a statement that works for you-something positive and in the present tense. | high17045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They can attract people's attention to their reports."
},
"options": [
"They can give voice to different views.",
"They can make themselves better known.",
"They can choose from a greater variety of topics.",
"They can ... | Apparently everyone knows that global warming only makes climate more extreme. A hot, dry summer has caused another flood of such claims. And one of the players that benefit the most from this story is the media: the idea of "extreme" climate simply makes for more exciting news.
Consider Paul Krugman writing breathlessly in The New York Times about the "rising incidence of extreme events." He claims that global warming caused the current drought in America's Midwest, and that supposedly record-high corn prices could cause a global food crisis .
But the United Nations's latest assessment tells us precisely the opposite--there has an overall slight tendency toward less dryness in North America. Moreover, there is no way that Krugman could have identified this drought as being caused by global warming without a time machine since climate models estimate that such detection will be possible by 2048, at the earliest.
And, fortunately, this year's drought appears unlikely to cause a food crisis, as global rice and wheat supplies are plentiful. Moreover, Krugman overlooks inflation :Prices have increased six-fold since 1969.So, the inflation-adjusted price of corn was higher throughout most of the 1970s.
Finally, Krugman forgets that concerns about global warming are the main reason that corn prices have skyrocketed since 2005.Nowadays 40 percent of corn grown in the United States is used to produce ethanol ,which raises the price of corn -at the expense of many of the world's poorest people.
Bill Mickbben similarly worries in The Guardian About the Midwest drought and corn prices.He confidently tells us that fierce wildfires from New Mexico and Colorado to Siberia are "exactly" what the early stages of global warming look like.
In fact, the latest study on global wildfire suggests that fire incidence has declined over the past 70 years and is now close to its preindustrial level.
When well--meaning campaigners want us to pay attention to global warming, they often end up making overstatements. And exaggerated claims merely fuel public distrust and unconcern. That is unfortunate, because global warming is a real problem, and we do need to address it. | high9310.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Britain"
},
"options": [
"the U.S.A",
"Britain",
"Canada",
"Russia"
],
"question": "According to the passage we know that President Xi Jinping is paying a visit to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"... | Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed Wednesday that the socialist path China has followed is "correct," and it is the choice of the "history and people."
Citing the remarkable achievements China has made over the past 37 years when it initiated the reform and opening-up policy, Xi noted that it only took several decades for China to complete the journey the developed countries have gone through for centuries.
"That fully shows that the Chinese people are following a correct path," the president said while addressing a banquet hosted by Lord Mayor of the City of London Alan Yarrow on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, he _ that China will stay committed to a peaceful development path and does not accept the logic that a country will seek hegemony(,) once it gets strong.
"No one and nothing -- in any reason -- can influence China's determination and will to pursue the path of peaceful development," he said.
In his speech, the president also explained in detail about the development of friendly relations between China and Britain, citing tea culture, literature, movies, TV dramas, football and cultural exchanges.
He specifically referred to Shakespeare's influence on him by sharing the story of his youth time in the countryside, when he was deeply attracted by the master's works.
"The China-Britain friendship has been deeply rooted in the hearts of our two peoples. And there is a solid foundation in public opinion and in society for the two countries to grow long-term relations," he added. | high14564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Never have a bottle without a label in the chemistry lab!"
},
"options": [
"Never have a bottle without a label in the chemistry lab!",
"Obey your teacher's instructions in the Chemistry lab.",
"A crylamide can't take the pla... | One Monday morning, Paul and his classmates were in science laboratory for their practical chemistry lesson. The students were going to work in pairs to do an experiment. Before they began, the teacher gave them this description of the different stages of the experiment.
Stage 1: Prepare the equipment: a test tube, a crucible, a Bunsen burner and tongs.
Stage 2: Weigh 5 grams of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and put it in a crucible.
Stage 3: Heat 10 ml of hydrochloric acid in a test tube.
Stage 4: Pour the warm acid onto the baking soda and continue to heat the mixture.
Result: The acid reacts with the bicarbonate to form water, carbon dioxide gas and salt. The hotter the mixture, the quicker the reaction. Continue to heat the mixture until the water evaporates, leaving the salt in the crucible.
Paul and his partner followed the instructions and set up their equipment. Paul went to the cupboard to get a bottle of hydrochloric acid. He found that there was only one bottle in the cupboard so he took that. There was no label on the bottle and Paul didn't check with the teacher if it was the right solution.
He measured the liquid and poured it into a test tube. Using tongs to hold the test tube, he heated it over the Bunsen burner. That's when things started to go wrong. The liquid in the test tube was not hydrochloric acid. When it was heated, it formed a thick cloud of white gas. Soon the room was full of this strong smelling white gas.
All the students started coughing and their eyes hurt. The teacher immediately opened the windows and ordered the students to leave the laboratory at once. She realized that the liquid was a crylamide and that it is poisonous.
Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident. However, it taught the students and the teacher a good lesson. | high6023.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She was too tired to have fun or play games with him."
},
"options": [
"She was too tired to have fun or play games with him.",
"She was sick and wanted to have a good rest.",
"She was too busy and had to work overtime that n... | This week was busier than usual, and I was very tired today. All I wanted to do was to go home and enjoy a bowl of good hot soup.
But when I saw my daughter's car, _ Since his parents separated, I had tried to have my six-year-old grandson spend a few hours with me at least once a week. I had always tried to make it a special time for him. We did many interesting things; Bryan loved all these activities, and so did I. But today I had to give up our evening. I said how tired I was feeling. "Bryan, I'm sorry. Tonight I don't feel like having fun or playing games. We'll have our night together some other time." I saw the sadness in Bryan's eyes. He said, "I like soup, Grandma." I knew he meant "Please don't send me away. Please let me stay." I saw the shadow in Bryan's eyes. Something else was changing. Maybe he thought I wouldn't want to have him come any more -- not tonight, not next week, not ever. Finally, I said OK. I was glad to see his eyes light up. After I put the soup on the stove and turned on the TV, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, there was a coat over my legs, and the soup was gone. Bryan was on the floor, reading a coloring book and watching a television show at the same time. The poor boy must have been so bored ! When he found I was awake, he ran over and gave me a big hug. "I love you, Grandma," he said. "Haven't we had a nice time together?" His big smile and happy eyes told me that this time he meant exactly what he was saying. That was the keyword -- together. We had done nothing exciting or special. But we were together. | high1994.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "have a credit card"
},
"options": [
"go to a bank",
"store money in the phone",
"buy a special instrument",
"have a credit card"
],
"question": "To pay with your smart phone, you need to _ .",
"question_t... | Modern smart phones are fast becoming the must-have item. But what's in store for the next generation of smart phones?
Tired of carrying around that heavy wallet? Soon you won't need to! The next generation of smart phones will have NFC technology, which lets you pay for things with your smart phones. All you do is enter your credit card information into your phone. Then, when you are in a shop that allows NFC payments, you just wave your phone over a special instrument at the checkout. The purchase is instantly charged to your credit card.
Ever seen someone wearing something and wished you knew where to get it? Soon it will be easy with PicCommerce, new technology that uses image-recognition software. Here's how it works. If you see something you like, simply take a photo of it with your smart phone. Then, your phone will send the image to a special server, which will respond with information about where you can buy it and how much it will cost.
Sick of your smart phone battery going flat? With so many applications draining the battery, the latest phones need to be charged every day. But next generation smart phones will come with built-in chips that can connect to an antenna in your home. And as long as your phone is within range of the antenna, you will be able to charge your smartphone wirelessly, even if it is in your pocket.
Worried about getting your smart phones wet in the rain? A company called Hz0 has invented WaterBlock, new technology that makes your phone completely waterproof. And it's so effective that your phone will even work underwater.
Fed up with carrying a heavy phone around? Soon, you will be able to get a PaperPhone! "Flexible phones are the future," said scientist Roel Vertegaal. So, what are the benefits of flexible phones? Well, it means that instead of carrying your phone in your pocket, you could wear it wrapped around your wrist, for example.
Of course, there is just the problem: with so much new smart phone technology around, you will soon need to buy a new phone! | high12115.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The introduction to American pop culture"
},
"options": [
"The popularity of American pop culture",
"The history of American pop culture",
"The influence of American pop culture",
"The introduction to American pop cultu... | When you think of American culture, what first comes to your mind? McDonald's? Coca Cola? Disneyland? Michael Jordan? Many people imagine American culture is a collection of popular symbols like these. Actually, these symbols are only one small part of American culture--pop culture.
What is pop culture? Well, pop is short for popular. The origins of pop culture can often be traced to popular movies, television shows, music stars and sports figures. Pop culture is also promoted by business and advertising. The most common examples of American pop culture appear among high school and college students. Trends set by famous personalities quickly become part of young people's lifestyles.
American pop culture has spread around the world. One major reason for its popularity is that English is a universal language. English is the language of diplomacy , international business and transportation. Since language and culture go together, learning English means becoming aware of English-speaking cultures. Also, America is a world leader in movies, music and magazines. The kind of American culture communicated in those media is pop culture. Finally, pop culture is easy to package and to export. For that reason, it is easy to "sell" to the world.
Many people assume that American pop culture is what America is all about. Does pop culture reflect the true culture of America? Yes and no. Pop culture does represent a part of American society--especially urban young people. But American pop culture is _ and ever-changing. It is an artificial and superficial picture of America. If you want to learn about real American culture, you'll have to go a little farther than McDonald's. | high20819.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People with mild obesity are less likely to die than people of normal weight."
},
"options": [
"People with high obesity have a lower risk of early death than people with low obesity",
"People with overweight have a greater risk of... | New research shows that overweight or even mildly obese people have a lower risk of early death than people considered to be normal weight.
Researchers examined the results of 97 studies. Most of the studies were less than 10 years old. They included almost three million adults from around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Mexico.
The researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics found that people who are considered overweight or slightly obese were five to six percent less likely to die from all causes than people of normal weight. People with higher obesity ratings, however, had almost a 30 percent greater risk of death compared to normal-weight individuals.
Katherine Flegal was the lead author of the study. She says she was not surprised that overweight people would not have a higher risk of death.
"Because we'd actually already read a lot of this literature and realized it was likely that mortality rates for overweight would be at least not higher than normal weight. I guess I was a little bit surprised that it was definitely lower. And I was also surprised that the lower rates of obesity also didn't seem to differ from normal weight."
But she says the difference in death rates appears to be small between normal-weight people and those who are overweight or mildly obese.
The study has raised new questions about "body mass index," or BMI. This is a measurement of body fat as a ratio of height to weight. In recent years, many public health experts have promoted body mass index as a way to predict the risk of health problems. Bu t a person's BMI can be misleading in some cases.
Steven Heymsfield ,the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, says people can be physically fit and in good health, but might weigh more because they are more muscular.
Still, Dr. Heymsfield says people should not think gaining extra weight is OK just because of the new findings. He says being at a healthy weight lowers the risk for heart disease and diabetes . | high4634.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "how the expression \"keep up with the Joneses\" came into being"
},
"options": [
"what Arthur Momand did to keep up with his neighbors",
"how the expression \"keep up with the Joneses\" came into being",
"what we should do to... | The expression "keeping up with the Joneses" was first used in 1913 by a young American Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself: he began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to Long Island, outside New York City.
But just moving there was not enough. For when Momand and his wife saw that their neighbors belonged to a country club they too joined a club. And when he saw that rich people were expected to ride horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave grand parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. Momand and his wife could not do that.
The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an inexpensive New York City apartment.
Momand later said that his experience had been a cruel awakening for him. However, he was able to see the funny side of it. He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors.
He decided that this would make good stories for many papers across the country. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses", because "Jones" is a very common American name. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with the people around you. Momand's stories appeared in different newspapers for over 28 years.
People never seem to tire of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read the "right" books, go to the "right" universities and eat in the "right" restaurants. But no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead. | high2245.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "that can remind people to do many things"
},
"options": [
"that can remind people to do many things",
"which is linked to a nursing house",
"behind which is a medicine cabinet",
"that can help the elderly brush their te... | Your House Will Take Care of You In Old Age
Have you ever thought what your life would be like in old age?
Everyone talks about the "aging" society with large numbers of elderly people needing home care. Now German researchers have set up a "smart"house, programmed to help the elderly live at home with dignity. Scientists at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute say the house combines existing technology with future-oriented technology.
For example, the "smart"bathroom has a touch screen mirror that can remind people to take their medicine, wash their hands or brush their teeth. The hardware behind Fraunhofer's electronic bathroom is not new, and the software runs on a regular personal computer.
When the medicine cabinet is opened, a display in the middle of the mirror tells the person how many pills to take. The mirror is linked to a care provider, who can remotely check whether a patient at home is actually taking medicine and brushing his or her teeth. As many elderly people have arthritic conditions that make it difficult to operate water taps, the mirror also has displays that turn the water tap on or off or control the water temperature.
The bathroom is only the start. Kitchens, bedrooms and all other parts of the intelligent"home will become "user-friendly"to meet all kinds of individual needs. Sensors in doors, toilets, taps, light switches and carpets detect every activity and record them electronically. Doctors or care staff can see from the computer records what personal hygiene tasks have been completed, how often the elderly person visits the bathroom or uses the toilet. In case of an emergency, the computer automatically alerts the chosen contact person or calls the care center. | high10064.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he fell in love with it"
},
"options": [
"he was frightened by it",
"he acted as a driver",
"he watched it for hours",
"he fell in love with it"
],
"question": "The first time John Thomas Robertson took a train,... | 12-year-old John Thomas Robertson is a born train fan. "I've liked trains probably from the day I was born," he told Good Morning America. "When I was very little," he said, "my grandpa got me a train model. I would just watch it go round for hours and hours."
When Robertson finally had the opportunity to ride on a train, he felt great. His journey was so _ that he couldn't keep it to himself: he decided to take all his classmates to go on a ride with him. When he found that some of his classmates couldn't pay the fare, he collected cans and bottles and raised more than $1,000 for them.
That trip was such a happy one that he made it a yearly action. "It never gets boring for some reason; it's just fun," he said. "It really lets people get away from their busy life and have fun.
Every October, Robertson takes a new group of children to ride on the train --but now, he has a problem. Several disabled children were refused because the train was not accessible to disabled people. "He was angry to think that children of his own age couldn't ride a train," his mother said.
But he wouldn't say no: he recently sent a letter to the train office for help. To his surprise, the leader, Ty Pennington, accepted the letter in person. He said that he and his workers would work on making a train accessible to disabled people. | high2523.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Many tourists."
},
"options": [
"Many tourists.",
"Many other animals.",
"Many plants.",
"A sea."
],
"question": "According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060?",
"question_type": nul... | Life in 2060
Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let's make believe(;) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.
Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment of young and old.
What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven't yet started to take on heir supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.
Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet's surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.
Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.
People are now largely vegetarians . You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animals decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.
Such would be our life in 2060. | high18438.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He wrote about the struggles of the poor in London?"
},
"options": [
"He showed an interest in rural matters in his writing.",
"He focused on changing social and economic situation of the countryside",
"He wrote about the str... | It was in the Victorian Era that the novel became the leading form of literature in English. Most writers were more concerned to meet the tastes of the middle class. The best known works of the period included the works of Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters and others.
Charles Dickens came on the literary scene in the 1830s. Dickens wrote vividly about London life and the struggles of the poor. Most of his works were written in a very humorous style, which was popular with readers of all classes.
The Bronte sisters were English writers of the 1840s and 1850s. They began to write from early childhood. In 1846 they published the first book at their own expense as poets; however, their book attracted little attention, selling only two copies. Then the sisters turned to writing novels, each producing a novel in the following year.
An interest in rural matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside may be seen in the novels of Thomas Hardy and a number of others.
Literature for children developed as a single style. Some works became well-known, such as those of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Adventure novels were written for adults but are now generally grouped in the list for children. Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author at the end of the Victorian Era, best known for her children's books, which featured (......) animal characters. In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902. | high4152.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "biotechnology"
},
"options": [
"electronics",
"biotechnology",
"genetic engineering",
"nuclear technology"
],
"question": "According to the passage, the science of the future is likely to be _ .",
"ques... | Until recently, the "science of the future" was supposed to be electronics and artificial intelligence. Today it seems more and more likely that the next great breakthroughs in technology will be brought through a combination of those two sciences with organic chemistry and genetic engineering. This combination is the science of biotechnology.
Organic chemistry enables us to produce marvelous synthetic materials. However, it is still difficult to manufacture anything that has the capacity of wool to conserve heat and also to absorb moisture. Nothing that we have been able to produce so far comes anywhere near the combination of strength, lightness and flexibility that we find in the bodies of ordinary insects.
Nevertheless, scientists in the laboratory have already succeeded in "growing" a material that has many of the characteristics of human skin. The next step may well be "biotech hearts and eyes" which can replace diseased organs in human beings. These will not be rejected by the body, as is the case with organs from humans.
The application of biotechnology to energy production seems even more promising. In 1996 the famous science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, many of whose previous predictions have come true, said that we may soon be able to develop remarkably cheap and renewable sources of energy. Some of these power sources will be biological. Clarke and others have warned us repeatedly that sooner or later we will have to give up our dependence on non-renewable power sources. Coal, oil and gas are indeed convenient. However, using them also means creating dangerously high levels of pollution. It will be impossible to meet the growing demand for energy without increasing that pollution to catastrophic levels unless we develop power sources that are both cheaper and cleaner.
It is attempting to think that biotechnology or some other "science of the future" can solve our problems. Before we surrender to that temptation we should remember nuclear power. Only a few generations ago it seemed to promise limitless, cheap and safe energy. Today those promises lie buried in a concrete grave in a place called Chernobyl, in the Ukraine. Biotechnology is unlikely, however, to break its promises in quite the same or such a dangerous way. | high16415.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Grace"
},
"options": [
"Emily",
"Grace",
"Mathew",
"Oliver"
],
"question": "In Britain,people may call a little girl _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index":... | The most popular names in the west
Every year in Englishspeaking countries,people list the most popular names. Here are some examples. In the United States at the moment the three most popular names for girls are Emily,Emma and Madison. For boys,they are Michael,Joshua and Mathew. In Britain a parent today might call their little girl Grace,Jessica or Ruby. If they have a little boy they could call him Jack,Thomas or Oliver.
In China names have very clear meanings. If a girl is called Mei,her name means "beautiful". If a boy is called Wu,his name means "like a soldier". Names in Englishspeaking countries are like this too. The girl's name Joy is probably partly chosen because the parents wish their daughter to be joyful and bring joy to others. If a girl is called Ruby,it may be because of the beautiful red precious stone.
Parents often pick names that can be shortened. This can be confusing for Chinese people. Parents might choose such names because they want to be able to speak to their kid in a personal way.
For example,a popular name is William. But William can be shortened to Will,Willy,Bill and Billy. The same is true of the favourite old name for a girl,Elizabeth. Elizabeth can be shortened to Beth,Liza and Liz.
Another reason why kids get the names they do is that parents want to name their boy or girl after someone who is famous,such as an actor,a pop music star or a sports star. David is a popular name in Britain,partly because of the fame of the footballer David Beckham. | high8768.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she believed she could do it anytime"
},
"options": [
"her grandfather was seriously ill",
"she believed she could do it anytime",
"she was too busy with her work",
"her grandfather wanted to travel himself"
],
... | Lying on his sickbed in hospital, all 86-year-old Lin Ruiming can do is stare out at a tiny part of sky through the small window. The old man used to ride his motorbike through the busy streets of downtown Beijing. All the while he could only dream of touring the world.
He has been suffering from terminal lymphoma since February. As a last gift, his granddaughter,Lin Yifan,asked China's Internet population to give her grandfather a shot at globetrotting . Last week, Lin Ruiming's _ from Sydney Harbor, Australia, to the River Thames in London, UK, and even to a volcano in Auckland, New Zealand.
Lin Yifan, 29, had promised to paint a portrait of her grandfather, but had almost forgotten her word until the old man got ill. "I had put off the painting for many years because I believed I would have plenty of time to do it," she said. She spent one evening last week working on a portrait, based on a photo taken on her grandfather's birthday last year. She posted the portrait on Sina Weibo, and called for Web users to take photos with the portrait in different locations and send them to her on May 11.Over the following five days she received about 20,000 photos, most of which were sent by people she had never met.
She says that her grandfather, while too weak to view all the photos, has said that he is happy. "Thanks to all these helpers, I have become a celebrity around the world," the old man joked. | high9476.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To make money"
},
"options": [
"To travel there.",
"To save money.",
"To see his wife.",
"To make money"
],
"question": "Why did Pat come to Ireland?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Pat came over from Ireland to England with his wife one year ago to find work. He got quite a good job with a building company, and as he did not drink or smoke, he saved up quite a lot of money.
His wife's parents were still in Ireland, and one day she got a telegram saying that her mother was ill, so Pat gave her some money and she went to Ireland to see her mother.
After a week, Pat wanted to write a letter to her, but he could not read or write very well, so he went to his priest and asked him to do it for him. Pat told the priest what he wanted to say, and the priest wrote it down. After a few minutes Pat stopped, and the priest said," Do you want to say more?"
"Only ," 'Please excuse the bad writing and spelling'," Pat said. | high14202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "controls her husband's actions"
},
"options": [
"loves her husband very much",
"controls her husband's actions",
"gets on well with her husband",
"does whatever her husband wants her to do"
],
"question": "If we... | The nose is used in many popular expressions. Some people are able to lead other people by the nose. For example, if a wife leads her husband by the nose, she makes him do whatever she wants him to do. Some people are said to be hard-nosed. They will not change their opinions or positions on anything.
It is always helpful when people keep their nose out of other people's business. They do not interfere . The opposite of this is someone who noses around all the time. Such people are interested in other people's private matters. They're considered nosy. Someone who keeps his nose to the grindstone works very hard. This can help a worker keep his nose clean or stay out of trouble.
One unusual expression is that is no skin off my nose. This means that a situation doesn't affect or concern me. We also say that sometimes a person cuts off his nose to spite his face. That is, he makes a situation bad for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry.
More problems can develop if a person looks down his nose at someone or something. The person acts as if something is unimportant or worthless. This person might also turn up his nose at something that he considers not good enough. This person thinks he is better than everyone else. He has his nose in the air.
In school, some students thumb their nose at their teacher. They refuse to obey orders or do any work. Maybe the students do not know the correct answers. My mother always told me when I was a student, "If you study hard, the answers should be right under your nose or easily seen." | high6745.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Parents and the school have the equal power."
},
"options": [
"Parents have greater influence than the school.",
"The school plays a greater role than parents.",
"Parents and the school have the equal power.",
"Neither ... | As researchers learn more about how children's intelligence develops, they are increasingly surprised by the power of parents.The power of the school has been replaced by the home.To begin with, all the factors which are part of intelligence--the child's understanding of language,learning patterns, curiosity--are established well before the child enters school at the age of six.Study after study has shown that even after school begins, children's achievements have been far more influenced by parents than by teachers.This is particularly true about learning that is languagerelated.The school rather than the home is given credit for variations in achievement in subjects such as science.
In view of their power, it's sad to see so many parents not making the most of their child's intelligence.Until recently parents had been warned by educators who asked them not to educate their children.Many teachers now realize that children cannot be educated only at school and parents are being asked to contribute both before and after the child enters school.
Parents have been particularly afraid to teach reading at home.Of course,children shouldn't be pushed to read by their parents, but educators have discovered that reading is best taught individually--and the easiest place to do this is at home.Many fourand fiveyearolds who have been shown a few letters and taught their sounds will compose single words of their own with them even before they have been taught to read. | high6989.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Tattoos can turn customers away."
},
"options": [
"They don't like tattoos themselves.",
"Tattoos can turn customers away.",
"People with tattoos don't obey the rules.",
"People with tattoos are gang members."
],
... | Having a tattoo can reduce your chance of getting a job, but it depends on where the tattoo is, what it expresses and if the job involves dealing with customers, new research says.
Dr Andrew R Timming told the British Sociological Association conference on work, employment and society in Warwick today that employers were likely to view tattoos negatively. Dr Timming of the school of Management at the University of St Andrews said he had spoken to 15 managers involved in hiring staff about their reaction to interview candidates with visible tattoos.
"Most respondents agreed that visible tattoos are a stigma," Dr Timming told the conference. One woman manager told him that "they make a person look dirty." Another male manager told him "subconsciously that would stop me from employing them." The managers were concerned about what their organisations' customers might think, said Dr Timming. "Hiring managers realise that, ultimately, it does not matter what they think of tattoos -- what really matters, instead, is how customers might think of employees with visible tattoos.
Dr Timming said: "The one qualification to this argument is there are certain industries in which tattoos may be a desirable characteristic in a job interview. For example, an HR manager at a prison noted that tattoos on guards can be 'something to talk about' and 'an in' that you need to make a connection with the prisoners."
The negative attitude to tattoos did not extend to ones that could be easily covered by clothing. Dr Timming also found that in some of the organisations it was only certain types of tattoos that diminished the chances of getting a job at interview. One male manager told him: "If it's gang culture-related you may have a different view about the tattoo than if it's just because it's a nice drawing of an animal that they've done on their arm." | high12667.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Smaller chance of stroke."
},
"options": [
"No risk of heart disease.",
"Smaller chance of stroke.",
"Low blood pressure.",
"Slightly more heart attacks."
],
"question": "Which is a benefit of a low sodium diet ... | If teens could reduce the salt they take in every day by 3,000 milligrams (mg), they would cut their risk of heart disease and stroke greatly in adulthood, researchers say.
Based on the results of a computer modeling analysis, researchers found that a 3,000 mg reduction in sodium by teenagers could reduce hypertension by 30 percent to 43 percent when they become adults.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common condition that may have no symptoms for years, but can eventually cause serious health conditions, including heart attack and stroke.
Other benefits over time as teens hit 50 years of age include a 7-12 percent reduction in coronary heart disease , an 8-14 percent reduction in heart attacks, and a 5-8 percent reduction in stroke.
Fast food typically contains too much sodium. One bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos has 310 milligrams. Pizza is one of the biggest problems for teens when it comes to sodium, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics.
"The additional benefit of lower salt intake early is that we can hopefully change the expectations of how food should taste, ideally to something slightly less salty," says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, the lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
"Most of the salt we eat is not from our salt shaker , but salt that is already added in food that we eat." she added. | high15108.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "There would be too many days on the calendar."
},
"options": [
"Spring would start twenty-four days later than usual",
"It would be only one day out of step with the seasons.",
"There would be too many days on the calendar.",... | Imagine picking apples on Christmas or going skating on May Day. What about going for a swim on Thanksgiving? Without Leap Day ,which takes place every four years, that could happen.
Our calendar is normally 365 days long. It was created to match the cycles of the seasons. But Roman ruler Julius Caesar noticed a problem: The earth doesn't circle the sun in exactly 365 days. It actually cakes 365 and one-quarter days. He figured out that the extra part of a day would cause the calendar to grow apart from the seasons over time. Over 100 years, the seasons would shift about 24 days. Spring would start on April 13 instead of March 20.
Caesar used math to figure out a way to stop the calendar from shifting. He decided to add an extra day to the month of February every four years. His idea helped keep the seasons and calendar matched up. Even so, it still wasn't perfect--his calendar was adding too many days.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII worked on Caesar's idea. His calendar, called the Gregorian calendar, declares that every year that is equally divided by 400 is a leap year. Turn-of-the-century years, or years ending in "00", would not be leap years unless they could be divided equally by 400. These complicated equations help keep the calendar in balance with the orbit of the earth. Today, we still use the Gregorian calendar. In about 3,000 years, the calendar will be only one day out of step with the seasons, It's still not perfect, but mathematicians decided it was as close as we could get. | high14216.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because he had difficulty in writing a story."
},
"options": [
"Because he had no time to fit them together.",
"Because he had difficulty in writing a story.",
"Because he wasn't willing to do his homework.",
"Because h... | Arthur sat at the desk in his room, pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. "! don't know what to write about, " he complained to his dog Toby, who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends, yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.
By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Solomon, Arthur's English teacher, asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking, Arthur turned in the only work he had--the page with his name, the drawings and the note.
Arthur wasn't surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. " This is an attractive story, Arthur. The dog, the movie, the tree in the wind--I can't wait to find out how they all fit together. "
"That isn't my story, Mrs. Solomon, " Arthur admitted. "I haven't been able to think of one yet. "
"Oh, I think you have the seed of a story there, " Mrs. Solomon replied, "Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you. "
That night Arthur sat at his desk, and this is what he wrote: "One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain, so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in, bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike's dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn't the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street, barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down. "
Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page. | high9462.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The rent of a tent per night is the lowest."
},
"options": [
"It has been open for a few years.",
"A beautiful lake surrounds it.",
"It offers the longest service.",
"The rent of a tent per night is the lowest."
],
... | The editor of the new Cool Camping Britain guide chooses some of his favorite new finds in England, Wales and Scotland.
Cleadale, Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides
Is this Britain's most beautiful campsite? From the grassy point looking seaward to the mountains, it's not hard for campers to see how the island inspired The Lord of the Rings author's fantasy landscapes. The campsite itself is as wild and wonderful as its setting.
Open April -- September, from PS5 per tent per night.
Swattesfield, Thornham Magna, Suffolk
Deep in the wilds of north Suffolk, this seven-acre campsite has only been open for a few years, with two fields separated by a lake and surrounded by woodland. The position is perfect. It's a great place to do nothing but get into nature. You can put up your tent in the bottom field or the woodland beyond.
Open Easter -- October, from PS10 per tent per night.
Pleasant Streams Farm, near St Austell, Cornwall
This site, by a lake, is all about simple pleasures. Located in the former mining village, it has a summerhouse with books and games for a rainy day. There are many animals including pigs, hens, goats and ducks on the farm and a pub just a 10- minute stroll away. There's very little to do here, no bells and no whistles. Campfires are encouraged.
Open Easter -- September, from PS10 per tent per night.
Troytown Campsite, St Agnes, Isles of Sciily
Its only campsite, Troytown, couldn't be in a more remote position. Isolation is its greatest advantage -- so bring plenty of books to read and don't expect a phone signal. But at least one of life's necessities is available. Lying on the hillside overlooking the bay and near the island of the Gugh, it might just win the prize for best beer garden view in England.
Open March October, from PS7. 50 per tent per night, | high13579.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "be familiar with the surroundings"
},
"options": [
"fight against the pressure",
"stay closer to an immovable object",
"move in the same direction of the crowd",
"be familiar with the surroundings"
],
"question"... | If you are in a crowd, a first and most important thing is to make yourself familiar with your surroundings and mentally notice alternate exits. No matter where you are, make sure you always know how to get out.
Make sure you know the type of ground you are standing on. For example, in a crowd of moving people wet ground can be dangerous, causing you to fall. You should know the general atmosphere of the event, as panic situations can often be predicted. When in danger, a few seconds can make all the difference, giving you the possibility of taking advantage of your escape route. Always stay closer to the escape route
If you find yourself in the middle of a moving crowd, do not fight against the pressure, do not stand still or sit down, because you could easily get injured or even be killed by being stepped on by other people. Instead, move in the same direction of the crowd; take advantage of any space that may open up to move sideways to the crowd movement where the flow is weaker. Keep your hands up by your chest, which will protect your chest during the movement.
If you fall, get up quickly. If you can't get up because you are injured, get someone to pull you back up. If you fall and can not get up, keep moving by crawling in the same direction of the crowd. Do not lie on your stomach or back, as this is dangerous for your body.
The worst situation is to be pushed by the crowd against an immovable object. Try to shun
High walls, as the crowd pressure can build up rapidly. After you're pushed forward, the way you move is on a diagonal . There's always space between people. You work your way out that way till you get out of the crowd. | high10070.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Snake robots can reduce the patients' medical costs."
},
"options": [
"Snake robots are only used in the medical field.",
"Snake robots can reduce the patients' medical costs.",
"Scientists are uncertain about the prospects f... | Have you heard of snake robots? Scientists and doctors are already using tiny snakes that coil through the human body armed with sharp surgical tools to perform operations on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased organs. The snake robots that carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and even more advanced sensors are being developed.
The next generation of the robots will be wireless, and will explore inside your body on their own--- not attached to any cables. For now, they are powered by cables that humans control. Experts say the day is coming when some robots will roam around the body on their own. But the experts in robotics say the new creations work best when they are designed for very specific tasks.
Howie Choset has been researching and building robots, particularly snake robots. He believes that his snake robot and others like it can help reduce medical costs by making complex surgery faster and easier. Choset says his new design is smaller and more flexible than earlier models.
The size of surgical robots allows surgeons to operate with far less damage to the body, helping the patient heal faster. Choset has also built larger snake robots designed for search and rescue, or just exploration. They can climb poles and trees and then look around through a camera in the head and slither through places that humans cannot reach.
" We sent our snake robots into these caves in the Red Sea to look for evidence of ancient Egyptian ships," he said. " To me, archeology is like search and rescue, but everyone has been dead for 5,000 years."
The doctors are very excited about the potential for surgical robots to do things that humans can't do. The variety of sensors available for surgical robots keeps expanding. As they get smaller, maybe one day they will be able to test chemicals or blood in the body, or even the electrical connections in nerves. | high2537.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "vocabulary"
},
"options": [
"vocabulary",
"pronunciation",
"spelling",
"grammar"
],
"question": "The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.
Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words, mainly because of the following two reasons: First, the Industrial Revolution led to the need for new words. Second, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America led to American English. Some English pronunciations and words " _ " when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that are called "American English" are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English has a greater influence, because of the USA's movies, television, popular music, trade and technology. | high5258.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a girl at middle school"
},
"options": [
"a child",
"the boy who has little schooling",
"everyone",
"a girl at middle school"
],
"question": "It is clear from this that the problem can be settled by _ .",
... | There is very simple way of measuring the height of a water-tower, which we cannot measure by climbing.
Suppose, for example, that we wish to find out the height of the water-tower, AB, in a factory. We first of all go to where the water-tower is standing and measure a distance of, say, 25 feet from it. Then we take a stick, and stand it in the ground at the spot we have just marked.
Let us suppose the stick we are using is 4 feet in height. We now walk farther away from the water -tower in the same straight line as when we measured off the distance of 25 feet. We go from the water-tower until we come to point E, where with our head on the ground, we see the top of the stick and the top of the water-tower in the same height line---that is, the top of the stick just covers the highest part of the water-tower. Every schoolboy can work out the height of the water-tower now.
Suppose that the line CE is five feet. We know that the stick is 4 feet high and the distance BE is 30 feet. Thus, 5 is to 4 as 30 is to AB. | high4146.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The descriptions in Shakespeare's poems."
},
"options": [
"The descriptions in Shakespeare's poems.",
"The intention to protect local environment.",
"The scientists'concern about the worsening environment.",
"The park v... | Long before the scientific world became concerned about the impacts of introducing nonnative species,a total of l00 starlings were released in New York City's Central Park.Eugene Schieffelin was a Shakespeare lover who wanted to bring to America as manv birds as possible mentioned by the Bard in his poems.He imported 60 starlings and released them on a March day in Central Park.A year later,he introduced an additional 40 birds.
Within 50 years,they had spread to every state,and today they number an estimated 200 million.In San Diego County,the starling seems at home in both urban and agricultural environments,frequently feeding on the ground,where it probes lawns and fields for insects,worms and snails.
Nesting begins in March and peaks in May when the young birds join large flocks in places like Lake Henshaw,dairy farms or Ramona Grasslands.They frequently take over the nest of other birds,and they don't seem particular,having been observed nesting in many kinds of trees.
In addition to competing with native species for food and nesting locations,there have been estimates that starlings cause at least MYM800 million in crop damage annually.Much of the damage they cause is the result of their concentrations.Massive flocks of birds are, though beautiful,can be destructive,even dangerous to aircraft,with more than 800 incidents reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Despite their bad press,the starling is popular with bird--watchers and also the Shakespeare lovers,who often refer to the starling probably because the bird is quite an imitator.It can imitate the calls of up to 20 other species,including hawks,robins and flickers.
Love him or hate him,Schieffelin's release of 100 European starlings had a lasting impact in the United States.He had no idea that he also proved the famous words of Shakespeare."What's done cannot be undone.'' | high19732.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "She neither drank enough water nor ate enough of the right kind of foods."
},
"options": [
"She couldn't breathe in enough air in the race.",
"She didn't eat anything before the race.",
"She had been running all summer withou... | Last summer, when Amanda R of Anaheim Hills, California, was running on a cross-country course with her team, she blacked out. "I got really dizzy," she says. "I was out for a few minutes." At first, Amanda thought she was just tired and didn't think she had a health problem. She did go to the emergency room, where she was fine after tests, but she fainted again several days later as she was talking with her coach. Another doctor guessed that Amanda had blacked out "because we were in heat so much with not enough water and not enough of the right kind of foods".
Teens often don't want to stop and take a break or don't notice when they start to feel bad, doctors say. However, paying attention if you're not feeling well is important, as Amanda learned.
As a result, Amanda has changed her habits. "I drink a lot more water," she says. "And put more salt in my diet. I'm eating more balanced meals." Amanda advises teen athletes to trust their coaches and speak up when they're not feeling well. "And recognize the difference between when you're tired and when there's something really wrong."
Some people - up to 3 percent of the population - sweat too much, even in cold weather. The condition, called hyperhidrosis , can affect many parts and it often runs in families - hands down from generation to generation. Too much sweating over the whole body could be a symptom of another medical condition. Doctors aren't sure what causes hyperhidrosis, but using special medications or other treatments can help. | high16401.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Indian cultural heritage is related to religions."
},
"options": [
"Ellora Caves only have statues of animals.",
"The Portuguese controlled the whole India two centuries ago.",
"Indian cultural heritage is related to religion... | India is an ancient civilization with rich cultural heritage , and its cultural heritage has something to do with all major religions of the world. Here we take a look at some of the top heritage destinations in India.
Sun Temple, Konark
As the name suggests this temple is all about the power of the sun God. A huge chariot drawn by seven horses and twelve pairs of wheels reflect the importance which ancient people placed on the power of the sun. The pictures of animals and humans give this place a special look.
Churches Goa
Goa is the only Indian state which was under the Portuguese , so the scene in Goa is dotted with Portuguese style churches. Some of the famous churches include the church of Saint Catherine, church of Saint Augustine and church of saint Francis of Assisi. These churches exhibit beautiful paintings and flower designs which make them a must visit.
Ajanta and Ellora Caves
These caves contain well designed paintings which are widely regarded as the most outstanding works of Buddhist religious art.
Taj Mahal, Agra
Built on the bank of the Yamuna River, it is an excellent building. The writing and paintings on the outside structure provide the finest examples of the outstanding style of buildings.
Sanchi
Sanchi is a UNESCO world heritage site with numerous Buddhist temples dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.
On your visit to India, be sure to visit some of these heritage destinations. An Indian journey is not wonderful without experiencing the beauty of these heritage destinations. | high3629.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Lack of money."
},
"options": [
"Lack of money.",
"The increased standard of living.",
"No government help.",
"Agreement with their parents."
],
"question": "According to the text, what causes some people to be ... | In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years. Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless.
The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty is undoubtedly one of the main causes. The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have _ . Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always.
Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who, for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent.
Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public refuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused ,whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging . There are many who disrespect homeless people.
Some cynics declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But who would willingly choose to live in a shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box? | high11408.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "complain about the environment"
},
"options": [
"express his/her thanks to the mayor",
"complain about the environment",
"share his/her opinions about city life",
"make his/her suggestions on managing toxic waste"
]... | Dear Mayor,
I would like to draw your attention to the depressing state of the environment in our city. Increased vehicles have made the air polluted. Citizens find it difficult to breathe. Dumping toxic chemicals into the river has polluted the drinking water and ground water.
All of us, as concerned citizens, have discussed these problems in various meetings. We have come up with the following proposals .
The green roads are no longer green. Many trees and bushes have been cut. We propose restricting the movement of vehicles. Besides, we should make it compulsory to use anti-pollution devices on all vehicles. We should also plant more plants and trees along roads.
The Bada Nadi River has become a dumping ground of toxic chemicals from some factories. These toxic chemicals have killed nearly all the life in the river and polluted our drinking water and ground water. We propose that the Bada Nadi River be declared a protected water body. All the dumping should be banned and heavy fine should be imposed on the offenders . To _ the problem of managing toxic waste, we propose setting up a water treatment plant so that only clean water is discharged into the river. Cleaning up the river and introducing various fishes and plants to the river will bring it back to life.
Lastly, the noise pollution caused by honking horns and blaring loudspeakers has caused distress to one and all. Many people have suffered from noise-related illnesses. We propose a blanket ban on the use of loudspeakers. And"no horn zones"should also be declared in residential hospitals and school areas.
I would request you to seriously consider our proposals and act accordingly.
Thank you!
Sincerely yours,
A kind-hearted citizen | high4620.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To ask for some advice."
},
"options": [
"To share her sad story.",
"To ask for some advice.",
"To let her mother know how she feels.",
"To find out whether her mother loves her."
],
"question": "What's the writ... | How do you know if your mother likes you or not? That is a question I have been struggling with a lot lately. My mother and I used to talk on the phone a few times a day. I saw her at least twice a week. Now she doesn't answer when I call, and never calls me back. She doesn't see me and then complains that I don't see her enough.
It all started a few months ago, I started having a date with a man, and we became serious quickly. This is not the first boyfriend I have had. I know she isn't mad at me for my finding love. The turn-in events happened when I moved from about 15 minutes away from my mom to 1.5 hours away from her. She encouraged it, she seemed happy, and she helped me pack. Since then, everything has changed.
I can't tell if she cares about me and I don't know if she is bitter. When I call her, she says she is busy and will call me back. Then the problem is that she never calls me back, I make plans with her, but she cancels. Then when I do see her, she gives me comments like "It's been a while since you came to see me". It seems like I haven't tried. It's very frustrating.
I don't know what is wrong, and she won't talk to me, so I can't find out. Does anyone have any advice for what to do in a situation like this? Part of me wants to cry and stop trying. But not talking to her tears me apart. Please give me some advice below. | high19054.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Is Graffiti Art?"
},
"options": [
"How to Be a Good Graffiti Artist.",
"Stop Removing Graffiti!",
"Do You Like Graffiti?",
"Is Graffiti Art?"
],
"question": "What would be the best title for this passage?",
... | Almost anywhere in the world, you can probably see graffiti . Although it's usually more common in big cities, it can be found in almost any community, big or small.
The problem with graffiti art is the question of whether it's really art. This isn't always an easy question to answer, simply because there are so many different types of graffiti. While some simply consists of collections of letters, known as tags, with little artistic value, such examples are easy to find, especially on larger spaces such as walls.
If it weren't for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without permission, it might be more commonly recognized as a legal form of art. Most graffiti, however, annoys the property owner, who is more likely to paint over it or remove it than accept it as art.
Many ways of removing graffiti have been developed, such as paints that dissolve graffiti paint, or make it easy to remove. Community groups and government departments often organize graffiti-removal teams.
It hardly makes sense to encourage artists to deface private or public property; but perhaps there are ways to work with them rather than just oppose them. Graffiti artists can, for example, create murals for property owners, and get paid for them.
Maybe we need to start at a very basic level, and find a way to encourage the creation of graffiti art on paper or canvas rather than on walls. After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they'd created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day? Finding a solution to such a complex problem is never going to be easy, but with more and more graffiti art being recognized in galleries around the world, we do need to try. | high16367.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Poor nutrition in developing countries"
},
"options": [
"Poor nutrition in developing countries",
"More food is needed in developing countries",
"More help should be provided for developing countries",
"World bank shoul... | A new World Bank report warns that children who do not get enough good food in the first two years of life suffer lasting damage. They may be underdeveloped or under-weight. They may suffer from poor health or poor intelligence. In addition, these children are more likely to drop out of school and earn less money as adults.
At the same time, it notes that too little food is not the only cause of poor nutrition . Many children may suffer for other reasons. For example, the study says that mothers often fail to give their newly born babies their first breast milk. This "milk" is called colostrum . It can improve a baby's ability to fight infections and disease.
The study also links malnutrition to economic growth in poor countries. A lack of nutrition in early childhood can cost developing nations up to three percent of their yearly earnings. The study suggests that poor countries could possibly double their economic growth if they improved nutrition.
Africa and South Asia are affected the most by poor nutrition. The study says about half of all children in India do not get enough good food. The World Bank study also notes that rates of malnutrition in South Asia are almost double those in central and southern Africa. Other parts of the world are also seriously affected, including Indonesia, Guatemala and Peru.
The study advises that developing countries change their policies to deal with malnutrition. Instead of directly providing food, the study suggests educational programs in health and nutrition for mothers with young babies. It also advises cleaner living conditions and improvements in health care. | high17079.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "An Australian cafe's policy on children."
},
"options": [
"An Australian cafe's policy on children.",
"A Facebook post about parents' manners.",
"The protection of the customers' basic rights",
"The relationship between... | A cafe owner has defended her decision to pen a Facebook post (an Internet message to be discussed) stating "No, we are not child-friendly," saying it breaks her heart when children damage her possessions.
On Monday, the Little French Cafe in Newcastle, Australia, posted an announcement on their Facebook page: "Are we child-friendly? If you are looking for a cafe with a children' s menu, a play area, lounges for your children to jump on, vast space for your baby carriages, an area for your children to run around, and annoy other customers, while you are unaware of them--then the short answer is 'No, we are not child-friendly.' However, if you would like to bring your children here and they are happy to sit at a table with you and behave properly, please come in. Otherwise, there are plenty of places that are specifically designed to entertain your children." The post has since been deleted.
Some Facebook users called the post "arrogant " and an "attack on parents," The Newcastle Herald reports. The cafe owner responded with this statement: "I built the cafe myself. It has my blood, sweat and plenty of tears in it."
The post came about after the cafe owner was asked by a customer, who had left a one-star review on the cafe's business page, about whether the cafe was child-friendly. Ms Kotz told news.com.au she wrote the bad review because she felt staff reacted negatively towards children at the cafe.
The cafe owner said it broke a piece of her heart every time when she was watching children emptying salt and pepper shakers into her fireplaces, parents changing nappies on her lounges, or kids throwing their own food onto her carpet.
Although the cafe's policy has attracted a lot of criticism, most people who commented on the Little French Cafe's Facebook page stood by the owner. One woman named Lesley wrote, "I don't think there was anything wrong with what you said by any means. If parents want to take their children to your cafe, they need to be responsible for their behavior." | high10716.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft."
},
"options": [
"Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft.",
"Tiger Mom persuaded readers to follow her example.",
"How Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother came out.",
"How Tig... | Has Tiger Mom gone soft? One year after the release of her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua is back in the spotlight, reflecting on how overnight infamy affected her life, her family and her parenting.
"I have changed a lot," she told the Huffington Post. "In October, we had 30 kids at our house! We have hosted parties with lots of food and music."
Last January, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Chua's book with the headline "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior". In the excerpt, Chua described how her daughters were never allowed to have sleepovers , appear in school plays, or earn any grade lower than an A. Chua, an author and professor at Yale Law School, spent much of 2011 on the defensive. In fact, many of her interviews seemed to lend fuel to her critics' fire.
Now, with the book out in paperback, she said, "I put passages in the book and used very harsh words that I regret. Everybody has those moments you wish you could take back."
For those who still read Battle Hymn as an advice guide, Chua argues that so-called tiger parenting should be employed mainly during a child's early years, ideally between the ages of 5 and 12. These "super-strict parenting tactics" are not meant for all ages. Remaining strict after middle school makes you a helicopter parent, according to Chua. And she is quick to point out how different that is from being a tiger mom.
"By the time kids get to high school, helicopter parents are hiring all these tutors, carrying their kids' sports bags. I never checked older daughter Sophia's papers because I knew she knew how to sit down and focus," Chua said.
As for younger daughter Lulu, 15, the rebel for whom the book was written, Chua has really backed off. Instead of forcing Lulu to practise violin for hours a day--the source of their biggest fights, Chua "let her give that up". "My compromise is that I'm going to still be as strict academically, but in exchange she has a lot of social freedom. Lulu has had four sleepovers in the last two months!" Chua said. Chua predicts she'll only get more easygoing with age. | high2251.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "attends the evening courses for a second lime"
},
"options": [
"attends 10 weeks' evening course",
"attends the evening courses for a second lime",
"finds others to take the evening course together",
"recommends another... | English Language and Culture Program
If you wish to improve your English-language skills as well as your understanding of the Canadian cultural context, the courses offered by ELC Evening are for you. Whether your goals are academic, business or immigration-related, there is a course to meet your needs.
Evening course tuition:$490,0.
All evening courses run for 10 weeks.A $50 discount is available to returning students or students attending two or more courses.
ELC 550
Mondays, July 7 - September 22, 2008August 4 & September 11- HOLIDAY
Mondays, October 6-December 15.2008 October 13-HOLIDAY
This course is designed for non-native Englisli speakers who wish to take the 1ELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam.Each week, participants focus on specific modules of the test (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) to develop and improve the skills they need to succeed on the exam.
ELC 552
Tuesdays, Aprils8-June 10,2008
Tuesdays, October 7 - December.16, 2008 November 11 - HOLIDAY
This course is designed for participants who wish to improve their fluency and expressiveness in English.Production skills will be targeted, including pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and stress.Participants are required to complete weekly in-class assignments , including speeches, monologues, interviews, and role-plays.
ELC 554
Wednesdays, July 9 - September 10.2008
Wednesdays, October 8 -December 10.2008
This course is designed for non-native English-speaking university and college participants who wish to improve their academic leading and writing skills.This course gives participants the tools required for presenting information and building persuasive arguments in clear and cohesive written forms.
ELC 555
Thursdays, July 10 - September 11, 2008
Thursdays, October 9 - December 11, 2008
This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are either working or planning to work in a business environment.Areas of focus include handling telephone conversations, networking, participating in meetings, negotiating, making presentations, and conducting interviews. | high1758.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "trains horses to guide blind people"
},
"options": [
"was set up by one person",
"has different kinds of horses",
"trains horses to guide blind people",
"has a history of several hundred years"
],
"question": "T... | Many blind people use guide dogs to help them get safely from place to place and to warn them of danger. But what can blind people do if they are allergic to dogs or just don't like them? For these people, they can turn to the Guide Horse Foundation.
Janet and Don Burleson founded the organization in 1999. They began training miniature horses to help guide blind people. Miniature horses look just like common horses, only much smaller. They are generally less than 34 inches tall.
Cuddles was the foundation's first guide horse in full service. She became 45-year-old Dan Shaw's helper. Shaw has an eye disease and his sight is very poor. One night, while filling out a form to get a guide dog, Shaw heard a news story on TV about people training horses to guide the blind. Shaw loves horses and wanted a guide animal that would live a long time. So he applied ,and a year later, Cuddles and Shaw began training as a team.
On a trip to New York, Cuddles helped Shaw safely visit many places of interest .They even traveled on a boat and on the subway system.
Shaw says that he is very lucky to have Cuddles. He believes that Cuddles has changed his life for the better by giving him the chance to do things himself and making him feel much more confident about himself. | high14570.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Physics"
},
"options": [
"Botany",
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"zoology"
],
"question": "Which subject was boring in the author's opinion?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0... | Mr. Sankaram, a physics teacher, was known for his antics in his classroom to make the dull lessons in physics lively and interesting. Mixing different chemical drugs in the lab to become new substances in chemistry makes students excited. While studying botany or zoology, students can visit a garden or zoo. But physics limits students to listening to the boring lectures which are hard to understand. For example, why an apple dropping from a tree travels downwards but not upwards. But Mr. Sankaram's classroom antics to cause students to listen to topics such as how sound travels in air or why light travels faster than sound made him stand out from the rest of the teachers.
At that time, most students in our school attended the college to please their parents, and some parents were proud of their children for simply attending a college, no-matter whether they benefited or not. They didn't study hard. But a few students were diligent and they wanted to study pre-medical courses to gain admission into the medical school. The schooling of pre-medical courses was very expensive. The college was next to the medical school. The wall separating them was about four feet high. Few tried to jump over the wall to get free pre-medical courses. Doing this was at risk of injuries and the climbing was forbidden.
The college where Mr. Sankaram taught was known for unruly and naughty students. The unruly students usually sat at the back of the classroom. When a student from the back of the classroom tried to disrupt the class, Mr. Sankaram would say, "Dare you go ahead to make noise? Can you jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school?" The student's face went red and he became silent. In the physics class . I sat in the first row to escape from the troublemakers at the back. One day during the class. Mr. Sankaram unexpectedly asked me, "Can you jump over the four-foot wall?" I shook my head and answered, "No, sir, I couldn't jump over a one-foot wall, let alone a four-foot wall." Mr. Sankaram wasn't satisfied with my reply but waved his hand for me to sit down. He looked at me in the eyes hard and said, "If you can. Believe in yourself!"
There were stories about Mr. Sankaram's past history. As a student at same college years ago, he went into much depression for some time when he couldn't get into the medical school. In fact he could have been admitted by the school by his ability of studying. Because his family couldn't afford his pre-medical courses and he didn't dare to climb the wall, he often walked back and forth along the four-foot wall talking to himself and sometimes cried over his failure. Whether this story was true or false it was passed on from year to year. So Mr. Sankaram had a nickname "four-foot." It was true that he left his dream to his students and he began challenging the students' ability to jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school.
As a student I failed at my attempt to get admission into the medical school. In fact not all students wanted to be a doctor. And years later I ended up as a chemistry teacher at the same college. I thank Mr. Sankaram for his encouragement to me, and I am determined to follow his example to make my class interesting. Mr. Sankaram passed away years ago. He will always be remembered for his wonderful teaching techniques such as dancing movements and his encouraging words. | high9304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "provide cheaper energy for developing countries"
},
"options": [
"build up more power stations in the world",
"provide cheaper energy for developing countries",
"offer people in developing countries access to pure water",
... | What will power your house in the future?Nuclear,wind,or solar power?According to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US,it might be leaves -- but artificial ones.
Natural leaves are able to change sunlight and water into energy. It is known as photosynthesis .Now researchers have found a way to imitate this seemingly simple process.
The artificial leaf developed by Daniel Nocera and his colleagues at MIT can be seen as a special silicon chip with catalysts .Similar to natural leaves,it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of water. The hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell,which uses those two materials to produce electricity,located either on top of a house or beside the house.
Though the leaf is only about the shape of a poker card,scientists claimed that it is promising to be an inexpensive source of electricity in developing countries. "One can imagine villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology," said Nocera at a conference of the American Chemical Society.
The artificial leaf is not a new idea. The first artificial leaf was invented in 1997 but was too expensive and unstable for practical use. The new leaf,by contrast,is made of cheap materials,easy to use and highly stable. In laboratory studies,Nocera showed that an artificial leaf prototype could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity.
The wonderful improvements come from Nocera's recent discovery of several powerful,new and inexpensive catalysts. These catalysts make the energy transformation inside the leaf more efficient with water and sunlight. Right now,the new leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural one. Besides,the device can run in whatever water is available;that is,it doesn't need pure water. This is important for some countries that don't have access to pure water.
With the goal to "make each home its own power station" and "give energy to the poor",scientists believe that the new technology could be widely used in developing countries,especially in India and rural China. | high6037.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He paid part of the bill regularly."
},
"options": [
"He paid part of the bill regularly.",
"He earned it by winning a bet.",
"He paid cash for it.",
"He bought it as a big bargain."
],
"question": "How did the ... | I can remember the day my father came home from the war. As he walked up the front path of our home, he saw Mum and me and he dropped the suitcase.
I was only five years old so Dad made a fuss of me, then began making an even bigger fuss of my mother. This left me free to examine all the stuff lying around the broken suitcase, and I was quick to notice a newspaper advertisement displaying a new piano. When Dad saw me holding up the newspaper cutting, he smiled.
"Yes, that's right," he said. "I bought your mum a piano for ten pounds down and two pounds a week."
A few moments later, a horse pulled a cart with a piano on top. Soon we all stared at it in our small lounger room. Mum had never been close to a piano before, except at the kindergarten I attended, and she used to say how wonderful it would be if the teachers could teach her to play.
After tea that night, Mum began to teach herself to play. She plinked the keys for about two hours and drove everybody in the street mad, until Dad gently said, "Enough is enough."
From that day on, she would plink between doing the cooking and housework. Three months went by and Mum was now a skilled pianist, holding parties with all the neighbors gathering around to sing.
Although we were poor, Mum felt like a princess and was delighted at all the attention she was receiving.
At the height of Mum's happiness, I began to notice that Dad was looking increasingly worried. It turned out that since returning from the war, he'd been unable to find a job. Then, a few weeks later, I observed two men taking Mum's piano away. Mum sobbed in the kitchen. Suddenly, it all became clear to me: no job, no money, no piano.
Dad finally got a job. Mum was happy again as if he'd just win the lottery . Dad had to study to qualify as an account. Every night after dinner he'd place a stack of books on the kitchen table and study late into the night. Mum didn't say much but I could tell she was proud of Dad.
Two years later, Dad bought Mum another piano. This time he paid cash for it. | high1980.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "something he should do for his homeland"
},
"options": [
"helpful to his personal development",
"something he should do for his homeland",
"a chance for his friends to share his money",
"a way of showing his respect to ... | Heroes of Our Time
A good heart
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine--but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea.Dikembe became a star in the NBA,and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth,or the duty to share his fortune with others.He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. A friend has said of this goodhearted man:"Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things."
Success and kindness
After her daughter was born, Julie AignerClark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipments, and began filming children's videos in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born,and in just five years her business grew to more than $ 20 million in sales.And she is using her success to help others--producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.Julie says of her new programs, "I believe it's the most important thing that I have ever done.I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe."
Bravery and courage
A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train.With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails ,and held him as the train passed right above their heads.He insists he's not a hero. He says,"We have got to show each other some love." | high7329.txt |
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