questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "welcome the Merci Train"
},
"options": [
"welcome the Merci Train",
"meet their families",
"have a big party",
"start a trip by ship"
],
"question": "Many people crowded at New York Harbor on February 3rd, 1949 ... | On February 3rd, 1949, New York Harbor was an exciting place. Many people were there to greet a ship from France. On the ship were 49 French railroad boxcars filled with gifts from the people of France to the people of America. These boxcars were from the famous Merci Train(Merci:a French word meaning "thank you").
After World War II, a lot of factories, roads and farms in France had been destroyed. Many French people had no jobs or money and had little to wear and little to eat. In the winter of 1947, a train was sent across the United States, stopping in cities and towns along the way. At every stop, people gave whatever they could. Factories gave clothing and medicine. Farmers gave food. Families gave money. Even school children gave away their pocket money. All the things were then taken to France by ship.
By 1949,the French had begun to recover from the war. The Merci Train was their way of saying "thank you" to America. French people had filled the boxcars with gifts. Most of _ were personal, like hand-made toys, children's drawings, or postcards. But the boxcars themselves were perhaps the most meaningful of the gifts. On each car, the French people had painted the pictures of all their 40 provinces. with an American eagle on the front. The boxcars were taken to each state of America, where they were warmly greeted.
Now many of the states still keep their boxcars. Gifts sent by the French people can still be seen in some museums. The Merci Train came out of the war, but it now reminds the world that countries can also work together in peace. | middle4639.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "important"
},
"options": [
"hopeless",
"difficult",
"Boring",
"important"
],
"question": "Which of the following can be put in _ ?",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | English is spoken as a first language by about 375 million people and as a foreign language by around 750 million people. It is being learned by about a billion people. These numbers alone make English _ to learn. If you are not fluent in English, it may be good for you to know the advantages of learning the language.
In many countries, English is used as a working language. In the United States, English speakers make more money than those who don't speak English at all. Learning . English can increase the chance of getting a good job.
If you visit a country, you can easily find someone who can speak at least a little English. So if 'you know English, you have a chance to communicate almost anywhere you travel.
Its not easy for parents who don't understand English to raise children in an English -speaking country. For example; if they send their children to school and the teacher does not speak their mother language, parents are likely to have difficulty communicating with the teacher. And if the children have homework they do not understand, parents cannot help them.
Want to get advice on how to learn English well? Please go on looking at our website.
,. | middle5241.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a house"
},
"options": [
"a pool",
"a house",
"a school",
"a cinema"
],
"question": "A big ship looks like _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"... | Do you want to go by ship to Australia or anywhere? A big ship may help you. It looks like a big house. There are rooms for everyone. In the day you can swim in the pool or play games on the ship. You can even see a film on the ship. Sometimes you can see birds flying around you. They are flying here and there. Look at the picture of the ship. Does it look like a house? It's very large. And it's the most luxury passenger liner in the world, called 'Freedom of the Seas' . The ship is 339 meters long and 38.6 meters wide, with a golf field on it. It's so cool to take a trip on a ship! | middle6748.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they feel cool in the water"
},
"options": [
"they feel cool in the water",
"they feel free in the water",
"swimming makes them strong",
"swimming makes them popular"
],
"question": "People like swimming in summ... | Swimming is very popular. People like swimming in summer because water makes people feel cool. If you like swimming but swim in a wrong place, it may not be safe. These years, a lot of people die when they enjoy themselves in water, and most of them are students. Some people are not careful when they are swimming. They often think they swim so well that nothing will happen to them in water. Summer is here again. If you go swimming, don't forget that better swimmers have died in water. They die because they are not careful, not because they cannot swim. So don't get into the water when you are alone. Don't get into the water if there is a " No swimming" sign. If you remember these, swimming will be safe. | middle1027.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "dogs"
},
"options": [
"Bob's children",
"dogs",
"hares",
"neighbours"
],
"question": "Jigs and Reads in the story were _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | It had been snowing very hard for days. Jigs and Reads had nothing to eat for a day. They know that things weren't right at home. So yesterday morning they wanted to go out. Bob helped them get out through a window, because the snow was so deep outside that he couldn't open the door. Last night, they didn't come back. Bob said to himself, "They are only five months old. This weather will kill them." But just then Bob heard them calling him. He looked out and could not believe ----they were drawing a big hare through the snow. They dropped it through the window into Bob's hands. A hare for dinner. | middle1033.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In 1775"
},
"options": [
"In 1775",
"In 1779",
"In 1597",
"In 1899"
],
"question": "When was Jane Austen born?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"... | "Reading makes a full man" (Bacon, 1597). Novels written by the writers like Jane Austen, Victor Hugo and Ernest Hemingway help us to know more about our history, culture and many other things.
Jane Austen(.) was one of the most well-known women writers of the world. She was born in England in 1775. Jane loved reading and writing. She wrote a number of famous novels in her life. Among them, Pride and Prejudice<<>> written in 1779 was the most popular.
Victor Hugo(.), born in 1802 in France, was one of the best writers in the19th century. The talent in writing and hard work brought great success to Hugo at an early age. His most popular novel, theHunchback of Notre-Dame<>, was written in 1831. The book was so successful that it was quickly translated into many other languages across Europe.
Ernest Hemingway(.), an outstanding American writer and reporter, was born in 1899. His life experience had a great influence on his writing style. Hemingway lived in France and Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of his books such as The Sun Also Rises were written at that time. He won the Nobel Prize in 1954 mainly because of the novel The Old Man and the Sea. | middle6984.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Tree-bees will not attack people unless they are disturbed."
},
"options": [
"Tree-bees often attack people in large numbers.",
"Tree-bees can be driven away by fire and smoke.",
"Tree-bees do not give up easily when they att... | There are lots of dangerous and terrible insects in Northeastern India, but the tree-bees are the most terrible. They are killers. Unlike most bees which will sting you only if they are disturbed , tree-bees will attack you in thousands for no reason. And they will chase you for your life.
Walking along a dusty road while I was on holiday there last year. I found myself, without the least warning, the centre of such an attack. The air above me suddenly became thick with bees. Though it was hot, I went cold all over. Until then I had never heard of Indian tree-bees, but I had recently seen a film called "The Angry Swarm", which was about killer-bees.
I began running to the village about half a mile away, but I was soon covered from head to foot with bees. I drove them away with my hands, only to make room for others. Each time I opened my mouth for breath, more bees entered my mouth, until it was stung to twice its usual size and I could hardly breathe.
When I reached the village, I found some workers building a house. I ran towards them for help. But as soon as the workers saw the bees with me, they ran for safety at top speed.
Soon my eyes had completely closed. I fell into a pile of brick dust. I pushed myself wildly down into it until my head and shoulders were covered. And then I tried hard to get out of the dust, the angry bees made a new attack on me. I was tired out and ran weakly about in circles. Soon I lost my consciousness .
Later I learned that two quick-minded villagers ran to a pile of dry grass and quickly surrounded me with a thick wall of fire and smoke until the bees were driven away. They stayed with me, taking stings out of my body for the next three hours until a doctor came and gave me further treatment. | middle7442.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "an interesting and new world"
},
"options": [
"an exciting world",
"a new world",
"a beautiful world",
"an interesting and new world"
],
"question": "Skin-diving can take you to _ .",
"question_type": "cl... | Skin-diving is a new sport today. This sport take you into a wonderful new world. It is like a visit to the moon! When you are under water, it is easy for you to climb big rocks, because you are on longer heavy.
Here, under water, everything is blue and green. During the day, there is plenty of light. When fish swims nearby, you can catch them with your hands.
When you have tanks of air on your back, you can stay in deep water for a long time. But you must be careful when you dive in deep water.
To catch fish is one of the most interesting parts of this sport. Besides, there are more uses for Skin-diving. You can clean ships without taking them out of the water. You can get many things from the deep sea.
Now you can see that Skin-diving is both useful and interesting. | middle3624.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Africa."
},
"options": [
"Asia.",
"Africa.",
"Europe.",
"America."
],
"question": "Where did the first house cats come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | There is little doubt that house cat first developed naturally from ancient wild cats. The cleverest relative is the America wild cat which still lives in Africa today. This is understandable because the first house cats came from Africa.
Cats first started to live around people in Egypt about 6,000~7,000 years ago. From Egypt, cats started to move around the world. This is about the same time that Egyptians began storing grain in buildings. Scientists used to believe that people _ cats to catch mice and protect the grain. However, cats don't like to be told what to do! Now, scientists believed that cats followed the mice and learned to accept people. Finally, some of the cats began to grow comfortable around people, these were smaller cats that needed protection. As these cats and people got used to each other, then they moved in together. Around 5,000 years ago, cats started to live with people.
Soon cats were in Greece, then the Middle East and China. They moved along Egyptian business roads keeping away mice and keeping people around them. After the Romans came to Egypt, they also accepted the cats and brought them to Europe. These cat likely bred with other cats to form the many kinds of house cats we have today.
Cats are relatively recent house animals. House cats still have a lot in common with their wild relatives. Cats sleep a lot to save energy just like wild cats. They will often get food at night as well. House cats are generally peaceful and friendly, but be careful! If a cat feels it is in danger, it will fight back--just like a wild cat.
. | middle5255.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they can't afford WiFi access or they live in remote areas"
},
"options": [
"they have no money to buy WiFi access",
"they live in remote areas",
"they don't need the Internet",
"they can't afford WiFi access or they li... | With the development of technology, WiFi is becoming more and more popular and important in people's daily life.But have you ever experienced it? Just imagine what life will be like if there is no Internet.Maybe you won't be able to talk with friends, play video games or search for information for your homework on the Internet.
But in fact, only one third of the world's population are able to get information on the Internet.The rest are too poor to buy WiFi access or they live in _ areas.As a result, they live without the Internet.
Google and Facebook, two world-famous technology companies, have decided to do something about it.Google's Project Loon will try to send balloons which are 15 meters wide into our Earth's stratosphere in 2015.The balloons are made of a special material that is three times thicker than the plastic bag we use every day.Each balloon will carry a minicomputer and a WiFi radio.The WiFi radio will send the Internet over the areas it is floating over.Then people can get up-to-date information on weather or news. | middle5533.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve thirty"
},
"options": [
"twelve",
"eleven",
"twelve thirty",
"twelve ten"
],
"question": "Every day Mr Brown comes home at _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Mr. Brown is a very old man. Every morning he goes for a walk in the park. And he comes home at 12:30 for his lunch. But today a police car stops at his house at twelve o'clock. Two policemen help him out. One of them says to Mr Brown's daughter," The old man can't find his way in the park. He asks us to take him home in the car." The daughter thanks the policemen. After they leave, she asks her father, " Dad, you go to that park every day. But today, you can't find the way. What's wrong with you?" The old man smiles like a child and says, " I can find my way home. I don't want to walk home today, you know?" | middle3142.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it can affect our moods"
},
"options": [
"it can affect our moods",
"it can make us feel sad",
"it can make us become fat",
"it can make us look healthier"
],
"question": "Food gives us energy and sometimes _... | We all know that food gives us energy, but sometimes it can make us much happier when we feel bad. Studies show that foods such as sea fish, bananas, pumpkins and chicken can help fight against bad moods. How can they affect our moods?
Studies show that people living by the sea appear much happier than other people, because the fresh sea air helps them clear their minds and they eat a lot of sea fish.
Bananas have something that is full of Vitamin B6. Having more bananas can help us make a quick decision, and become more confident.
Eating pumpkins can also help people get into a good mood because it's rich in Vitamin B6 and iron and it will make us happier.
Are you in a bad mood? If you are , don't sit alone. Go to eat such happy food with your friends. Maybe you'll be better. | middle8017.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "difficult climates"
},
"options": [
"long distances",
"modern technology",
"fresh and tasty food",
"difficult climates"
],
"question": "Some countries like the United Arab Emirates have to import most of their f... | Nowadays, the food that you buy comes from many different countries.Have a look in your fridge, cupboard, and fruit bowl and check the origins of the food.Perhaps there are apples from California, lamb from New Zealand, or potatoes from Egypt? You will probably be surprised how far food travels to get to your plate.This journey, from "field to plate", is called "food miles". A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer's field to the person who buys the food.Nowadays, food often travels thousands of miles to get to the consumer .Why is this, and what are the effects of these long distances?
Traditionally, farmers sold their food in the local market so the food didn't have to travel very far.The consumers also did not travel very far, because they went to their local market to buy the food.This was a good system for farmers and consumers.However, there were some disadvantages.For example, consumers could only buy food that farmers produced locally.In addition, they could only get food that was in season.Now, because of modern technology, food comes from all over the world.We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes.They are _ in winter if we want.
Some countries have to import most of their food.This is because they have difficult climates.The United Arab Emirates(UAE), for example, gets 85% of its food from other countries.Even food made in the UAE often uses imported materials.
What's wrong with "food miles"? Is this not a good way of increasing international trade? I believe these miles are worrying for a number of reasons.First of all, because food travels such long distances.we need more planes, lorries, and ships to move the food.This means we use more oil or petrol, so there is more pollution and more global warming.In addition, food that travels a long way is not fresh and usually not very tasty.Tomatoes, for example, are picked early and stored for their long journey.For this reason, they are usually tasteless when they get to the consumer.Local food has a better taste, and it also reduces the amount of global pollution.We need to buy more local food. | middle7324.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "six"
},
"options": [
"three",
"four",
"five",
"six"
],
"question": "John is _ years old.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to te... | John is 6 years old. He can read and write very well, but he can't tell time. He doesn't say "eight o'clock", "twelve o'clock" or "four o'clock in the afternoon". He says "breakfast time", "lunchtime" or "teatime"
His aunt thinks she can teach him to read a clock.
"Can you count , John?"
"Yes. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve..."
"That's fine. Now, if I put the long hand of the clock on 'twelve' and the short one on 'one'-that is one o'clock. If I put the short hand on 'two', what's that?"
"Two o'clock. "
"Good. And on three?"
"Three o'clock. "
It is four o'clock in the afternoon, and John's aunt looks at him and asks: "What time is it, now?"
"Teatime, Aunt, and I'm hungry. " | middle1755.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Move the computer out of the child's bedroom"
},
"options": [
"Set a password for the computer",
"Set a time-limit for playing on the computer",
"Spend much time playing sport with the child",
"Move the computer out of ... | The computer is important and can help us do a lot of things. Lots of children spend too much time on the computer. It's bad for their study. Here is some advice for the parents.
*Move the computer out of the child's bedroom. It is good for children to reduce the time to use the computer.
* _ for the computer. If your child wants to use it, he/she should get your permission .
*If your child uses the Internet for studying. He / She doesn't use it to play games, praise him/her for that.
*When your child wants to use the computer to play games, you can take her/him to the library, get her/him together with friends to play sport. | middle2274.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because the King of Scotland was not good enough."
},
"options": [
"Because the Scots were too weak.",
"Because the King of England was very smart.",
"Because the English army was very strong.",
"Because the King of Sco... | More than 700 years ago, Scotland was fighting with England. The King of England wanted to control Scotland. He had a strong army so it was difficult for the Scots to fight. They lost many times. King Robert of Scotland had to run from the English army.
One rainy day, King Robert lay in a cave . He thought that he was not good enough to be a king. He was so worried that he didn't even see a spider near him. He looked up when he saw the spider climbing. It was trying to climb up to its web at the top of the cave but it fell down.
"How sad!" thought King Robert. "The spider is like me. It's not strong enough."
He watched while the spider tried again. It fell down a second time.
"Be careful little spider, or you might die," he said. "Life is so hard. You'll never
get back to your web." But the spider tried again and again. King Robert watched while it slowly climbed back to its web. After an hour, the spider got to the web.
"You are such a great spider," he said. "If you can keep trying, I can too. I must carry on fighting. I won't let the English win." Then his army grew strong and they stopped the English army successfully. | middle4605.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because he was born disabled."
},
"options": [
"Because he was born disabled.",
"Because he had big hands.",
"Because his hair was curl",
"Because he was so little."
],
"question": "Why were Jason's parents shoc... | When Jason's parents saw him for the first time, they were shocked .This lovely little baby with shining blue eyes and curly hair was born disabled . But soon the young couple accepted this fact: Jason's arms are just half without hands and his legs aren't fully grown either. They even forgot to think of him as disabled.
At the age of six, he told his mother he wanted to get down from the prosthetics and play with other kids. This was the last time Jason had worn them. He now has an electric wheelchair , but he never uses it at home or when it is easy for him to move using only his body.
Jason learned handwriting and coloring at school, holding the pen between the ends of his arms. He also learned to eat with forks at home. When he was ten, he fell in love with football. He never had a pair of shoes in his life because of the shape of his feet. He only wore socks on the football field. He never won a match, but he refused to give up. His strong arms and body, as well as some fantastic ways made him a respected player on the school team. He went to a famous university after high school.
Now Jason still faces many _ in life, but he will make you believe that you can do what he has done. "Never be afraid of any difficulty", Jason often encourages others in his speeches. | middle6012.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Tommy"
},
"options": [
"Paul",
"Peter",
"Barry",
"Tommy"
],
"question": "_ is the oldest of the four boys.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"ans... | Hello, boys and girls! My name is Paul. I'm 14. Tommy is my brother. He is 15. I have two good friends, Peter and Barry. Peter is 13 and Barry is 12. We all like playing sports. Peter's _ sport is baseball. He plays baseball every day. He has 9 baseballs and 6 baseball bats. Barry likes ping-pong. He has 10 ping-pong balls and 5 ping-pong bats. I like basketball and I have 3 basketballs. The four of us all like soccer and we play soccer at school after class. Tommy and I like watching TV, but our parents don't let us watch TV every day. | middle4163.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "is a \"talking kitchen\"."
},
"options": [
"is a \"talking kitchen\".",
"teaches students English.",
"was developed in France.",
"cooks all food for people"
],
"question": "After reading the passage, we know the... | What do you think of a " talking kitchen"? A French Digital Kitchen has been developed at Newcastle University in the UK. It teaches students how to cook French food and speak French at the same time. For the first time, students can learn a language by the following cooking steps.
All grammar and _ have been carefully chosen to make sure the users can understand French well. After learning for some time, the users can test themselves by doing a short test on the computer.
The kitchen project was started by Professor Paul Seedhouse. He became interested in the idea after he visited another kind of talking kitchen. He said, " The purpose of the French Digital Kitchen is to make learning a language more interesting and more educational."
How does the kitchen work? There is a computer in the kitchen. With this computer, the users can first choose a French recipe( ) that they want to follow. Using information in the computer, the kitchen starts to guide the users how to make a French dish. If you follow the instructions on the computer, it moves on to the next. If you go wrong, the program goes back and repeats the recipe or information. At any time, the users can also ask the kitchen to repeat the recipe or any information..
The new kitchen can be used in school, universities and even people's homes. The researchers will also be developing the European Digital Kitchen, for the next three years. | middle4177.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Take care."
},
"options": [
"Help me.",
"A glass of water fell from the window.",
"Take care.",
"Put your head out of the window and look out."
],
"question": "\"Look out \" here means _ .",
"question_type... | First Frenchman: I once heard someone shout, "Look out." I put my head out of a window and a glass of water fell on me. It seems that "look out" may mean "Don't look out."
Second Frenchman: I was once on a ship and heard the captain shout, "All hands on deck . I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them."
Third Frenchman: I once went early in the morning to the doctor's and his nurse came to the door and said, "he's not up yet. Come back in half an hour." When I went a second time for him, she said, "he's not down yet." I had to go away again. Later I thought the doctor should be in the house in the evening, so I went there once more. "Oh, how sorry I am! He's not in ! I'd better tell him to wait for you if you could come tomorrow." said the nurse. "Well! He's not up, he is not down, and he is not in. please tell me where he stays!" I said angrily. | middle3618.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A student"
},
"options": [
"A student",
"A teacher",
"A worker",
"A cook"
],
"question": "What does Mike do?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"an... | Mike gets up at half past seven. He has an egg and some milk for breakfast. Then he goes to school. When he is on his way to school, he is thinking, " I tell my teacher that my mother is ill on Mon---day. I tell him my bike doesn't work on my way to school on Tuesday. What should I say to--day? Mike thinks it over, but he doesn't have a good idea.
"May I come in?" says Mike at the door.
"Oh, my boy," says Mr. Brown. "Please look at the clock on the wall. What time is it now?" "It's eight ten," says Mike. Mr. Brown is not happy and says, "You are late for class three times this
week. If all the students are like you, the clock is no use, I think."
" You are wrong, Mr. Brown," says Mike. "If I don't have the clock how do I know I am late for school?" | middle2506.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "their farm"
},
"options": [
"him",
"their farm",
"the",
"the pot of money"
],
"question": "Jim's mother was much worried about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | Jim, a young farmer, was once put into prison .
One day, he got aletter from his mother. "I'm so worried about our farm,"she wrote. "It'stime to plant potatoes. I can't dig all the fields by myself.
Jim read the letter and became sad. "What can I do?" he thought. Then he had a good idea. He wrote to his mother, "Don't dig the fields, there's a pot of money in the earth. Don't plant potatoes until I come home. "
Some days later, Jim got another letter from his mother. It said, "Two days ago, about ten men came to our farm and dug all our fields. I can't understand it. It looks as if they were looking for something. What shall I do?"
Jim smiled when he read his mother's letter. He wrote a letter to his mother at once. It was very short. Guess what it would say? | middle6760.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "America"
},
"options": [
"England",
"Australia",
"China",
"America"
],
"question": "Which country does the writer come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | Saturday, June 30th, 2012
I asked to have a dinner party at the biggest hotel in my hometown--New York today.
I was very busy,so I had no time to change my clothes for dinner.Then I drove there as soon as possible.But when I came in, no one saw me and gave me a seat.I got angry.
Then I went back home,put on my best clothes.At about nine o'clock,I returned again.This time,everyone stood up at once and said"hello"to me.And I was taken to the best table and given the best food.I got much angrier.I took off my coat,put it in the food and said: _ They were very surprised and asked,"Why are you doing this?"
I said" _ " | middle7318.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The date of World Wetlands Day."
},
"options": [
"Some frogs.",
"The date of World Wetlands Day.",
"1971",
"Any special day."
],
"question": "What should you put in your diary?",
"question_type": "factiod_qu... | Put 2 February in your diary! It is World Wetlands Day! It marks the date that the
Convention on Wetlands was signed in1971.This special day was first celebrated in 1997 and it is celebrated every year.
The celebration is a call for action. It is a way to show people how important and
useful the wetlands are for people. On World Wetlands Day, people around the world take
part in many wetlands activities. People take trips to the local wetlands. There are talks
about how important the wetlands are. People get together to clean up their local wetlands
Children draw pictures to advertise the day. People also compete in boat races.
The World Wetlands Day is important! If there are no wetlands, there will be no water for anyone in the future. Wetlands help protect nature and resources like fresh water. Already, more than 10000 million people in the world do not have fresh water.
Many people do not know how important the wetlands are. They can understand why an
elephant or a tiger is important because they are big, beautiful animals. It is much harder for
them to understand how important the animals in the wetlands are. These small animals,
such as frogs and snails, play a very important part in keeping the balance of nature.
All plants and animals are part of the food chain .If the small wetlands animals
die, some animals in the food chain will have nothing to eat. They will also die. People
need the wetlands to keep the balance of nature in the world. If we do not protect nature
today,it will be gone tomorrow. | middle1769.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "her friends"
},
"options": [
"young children",
"her husband",
"her friends",
"her parents"
],
"question": "Alice likes shopping with _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Alice, 35 years old
I like shopping, but shopping with young children is not a good thing. I have to look after them while I'm shopping. I go shopping with my husband only when I want to buy something for him. When I look at a cheap dress, he always says, "It's nice on you." But when I have an expensive one in my hands, he always says, "I don't think it fits you well." So I often go shopping with my friends. It's fun.
Maria, 26 years old
I like shopping very much, but I never go shopping on weekends. There are too many people in shops. I don't like shopping with other people. It usually takes me much time to buy things because I never buy the first thing I see. I always look around other shops to find the same thing cheaper. I'm good at finding cheap things. I don't like buying food in small shops or street markets. I think food in the supermarkets is fresh and cheap. | middle6006.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "it is important to go to bed and get up early"
},
"options": [
"how to make more money",
"when we should get up",
"it is important to go to bed and get up early",
"to stay up late"
],
"question": "The old Englis... | Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
This is an old English saying . It means that we should go to bed early at night and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy. We shall also be rich and clever.
Is this true? Perhaps it is. The body must have enough sleep. Children of your age need ten hours' sleep every night. If you go to bed late, you can't have enough sleep. Then you can't think carefully and your homework will be wrong. You will not be wise and you may not become wealthy!
Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is not good for them. We should sleep at night when it is dark. The dark helps us sleep well. When the daylight comes, we should get up. This is the time for exercise. If the body is not used, it will become weak. Exercise keeps it strong.
Exercise helps the blood to move around inside the body. Blood takes nutrition to all parts of our bodies. The brains in our heads also need blood. We think with our brains. If we keep our bodies healthy, and take exercise, we can think better!
Our bodies also need air to breathe . Without air we will die. Get up early in the morning and we can have plenty of clean, fresh air. That will keep us healthy and happy.
,. | middle2260.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Yes, but a little."
},
"options": [
"Yes, she can.",
"No, she can't.",
"Yes, but a little.",
"No, she can't speak it at all."
],
"question": "Can Lily speak Chinese?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | Dear Joan,
How are you? I'm in Beijing now. I study at Yu Lin High School. I like Beijing very much, and I have two good friends here. They are Tom and Wei Hua. Tom is from Canada and Wei Hua is from China. We are in the same class. They often help me with my Chinese. I can speak a little Chinese now. The teachers are kind to me. I like Chinese food here, like Guangdong food, Sichuan food, and Hu'nan food. They are nice. Some times we go out to eat. Jiaozi is my favorite food. I often have jiaozi for lunch and have noodles for supper. I have milk and bread for breakfast. What about you?
Yours,
Lily | middle4611.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "show his beautiful heart"
},
"options": [
"meet the old man",
"compare his heart with others'",
"show his beautiful heart",
"give pieces of his heart to others"
],
"question": "The young man stood in the town to... | Once upon a time, a young man was standing in the middle of the town announcing that he had the most beautiful heart in the world. A large crowd gathered, and they al praised his heart for it was perfect.
Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, "Why ,your heart is not as beautiful as mine."
The old man's heart was ful of scars . Some pieces of his heart were removed and some pieces from other people were put in, but they didn't fit quite right. So there were several jagged edges. In fact, there were stil some holes in his heart where the pieces were missing.
The young man laughed,"Comparing yours with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess."
"Yes,"said the old man. "But, every scar shows that I took out a piece of my heart and gave it to a person, and often he gave me a piece of his heart in return."
"Why do you have some jagged edges in your heart?"asked the young man."Because the shapes of the pieces weren't the same.""Then the holes?""Sometimes I gave pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't given back a piece of his, so ... but I don't care.""How come?""They remind me of the love we shared."
The young man was deeply moved. He walked up to the old man, took a piece of his heart out and gave it to the old man.
The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fitted, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect any more but more beautiful than ever.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart! | middle3195.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Miss Taylor"
},
"options": [
"The grandma",
"Miss Taylor",
"Mrs Taylor",
"Queen"
],
"question": "Who is the writer of the poem?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | My Favourite Sweater
by Bonnie Highsmith Taylor
My favourite sweater grew too small.
I love that sweater best of all.
My grandma made it when I was three.
She made that sweater just for me.
I picked the yarn , a special blue.
The color of bluebells, wet with dew
When I was three I was very small
But now I'm five and much too tall
I have a new jacket now that's green
So I gave my sweater to our cat Queen.
Queen just had _ out in the shed
My favourite sweater is now their bed. | middle4822.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The father."
},
"options": [
"The son.",
"The father.",
"Both the father and the son.",
"Neither the father nor the son."
],
"question": "Who picked up the horseshoe at last?",
"question_type": "factiod_ques... | One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, "Look! There's a horseshoe, pick it up and put it in your bag." Thomas said, "It isn't worth the trouble." His father said nothing but he picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries .
The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost no time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent down early to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that he who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things." | middle216.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Stress is only bad for our bodies."
},
"options": [
"Stress comes from school and family",
"Stress is only bad for our bodies.",
"Reducing stress is very important for us .",
"Making contact with nature is one of the b... | In today's society , every day we may face some kinds of stress and difficulties from work, school or family. They can influence both our bodies and our minds. So learning how to deal with stress is very important for keeping healthy. Well, how do we reduce stress. In my opinion , the best ways are exercise and to make contact with nature .
For example, we don't have to go to a gym or spend much money on exercise fact, walking or riding to work are all suitable for exercise. The second way of dealing with stress to make contact with nature. You can take many ways, including walking in the forests ,hiking in the mountains or walking in the garden is very great and if you can make contact with her, you can enjoy the smell and the sight of green plants and then let us feel _
Some of these activities can let you get exercise, but also you can enjoy the beauty of your garden every day. So, take my advice and start now, if you meet some kinds of pressure in your work or study. Good luck! | middle6953.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "you will have fewer friends."
},
"options": [
"nobody will wait for you after school",
"you will do worse in your study",
"smoking can be a good help",
"you will have fewer friends."
],
"question": "If you often... | Do you get angry when your friends sing loudly while you are trying to work or when your best friend does not wait for you after school?
If you do,you need to take control of your feelings.Getting angry with others can cause you to 1ose friends.
Gary Egeberg,an American high school teacher,has written _ to help you control your feelings.It tells how to stay cool when bad things happen.
The book says that getting angry only makes problems worse.It can never make them better.
"Getting angry is not a natural way to act,"the book says.It is just a bad habit,like smoking.
The book says you can control your anger easily-all you have to do is to tell yourself not to be angry.
The book gives many tips to help you if you get angry easily.Here are the top three.
Keep a record.Every time you get angry,write down why you are angry.Look at it later and you will see you get angry too easily.
Ask your friends to stop talking to you when you get angry.This will teach you not to be angry.
Do something different.When you get angry,walk away from the problem and go somewhere else.Try to laugh. | middle7495.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "writer"
},
"options": [
"worker",
"writer",
"doctor",
"cleaner"
],
"question": "Balzac was a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text":... | Balzac was a great French writer. But he was very poor before he became famous. He lived in a dirty, wet room and was often worried about food. All his friends were very poor and they could not help him.
One night it was very cold. The wind blew and it was snowing heavily. Balzac went to bed early but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't get any food before he went to bed. He thought and thought, but he couldn't have a good idea. At midnight he saw a man climb in through the broken window. The man began to steal something on his bookshelf. Balzac got up quietly and said, "Don't waste time, my friend! I couldn't find any money in the daytime. How can you find some in the dark?" | middle570.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "meaningful"
},
"options": [
"usual",
"simple",
"complex",
"meaningful"
],
"question": "The writer thinks the holiday is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}
] | There is an unusual holiday in the US that falls on the fourth Thursday of April every year. It is very different from Christmas, Thanksgiving, or other well-known holidays. It is called Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. This holiday is meant to be educational as well as fun. The idea is simple, and the name says it all. It is a day for working parents to show their kids what they do all day.
Although this holiday doesn't seem very complex , it has meaningful purposes. There are many
good reasons why a child should know what his or her parents do at work. For one thing, it is hard for children to understand the life of an adult when all they know is school. Therefore, this holiday helps children learn what it means to have a job. It also helps them learn about the differences and similarities between their world and the grown-up world. When young people know more about their parents' lives, they can form stronger parent-child relationships. This alone is worth a day of celebration. | middle5282.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He got a mechanical engineering degree."
},
"options": [
"He got a mechanical engineering degree.",
"He became a great scientist.",
"He studied aeronautical engineering.",
"He wrote a suggestion for a winged space plane... | Qian Xuesen is one of the greatest scientists who devoted all their lives to China's science and technology. In 1911, he was born in Hangzhou, eastern China.
Qian received a mechanical engineering degree in 1934 in Shanghai and went to the United States on a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering at MIT at the age of 23. As a student at MIT, and later as a scientist and teacher at the California Institute of Technology, Mr.Qian played a central role in early United States' efforts to develop jet aircraft and rocketry technology.
Mr. Qian served on the United States government's Science Advisory Board during World War II. His teacher and colleague, the Caltech physicist Theodore von Karmon, praised him as "a brain whose work will change the world greatly". In the 1940s Qian wrote an article for a famous magazine on a winged space plane that led to develop NASA's new space shuttle. In 1955 he came back to his motherland from the US. Under his leadership, China produced its first missile called Long March, and in 1970, launched its first satellite. He was considered as the father of the country's first ballistic missiles, first satellite and the Silkworm anti-ship missile. In 2009, he died in Beijing. | middle6947.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "at a hospital"
},
"options": [
"at the library",
"at a hospital",
"in a classroom",
"in a medical school"
],
"question": "The medical students were having a lesson _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"... | A doctor was teaching some medical students at a famous hospital. A patient was brought in, and the doctor asked one of his students, "What's wrong with this man?"
"I don't know, sir," the student answered. "I need to examine him."
"There's no need to examine him," said the doctor. "You should know without asking questions. He has hurt his right knee. Didn't you notice the way he walked? He hurt it by burning it in the fire. You see his trousers leg is burnt away at the knee. This is Monday morning. Yesterday was fine, but on Saturday the roads were wet and muddy. The man's trousers are dirty all over. The man fell down on Saturday night."
The doctor then turned to the man, "You had your pay on Saturday and went to a public house and drank too much. You got muddy and wet on the way home. Because you had drunk too much, you fell on the fire and burnt your knee. Is that right?
"Yes, sir," said the man. | middle7481.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "fisherman"
},
"options": [
"fisherman",
"driver",
"worker",
"farmer"
],
"question": "Jack's father is a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"ans... | Jack was born in a poor family. His father had a small boat and went fishing in the morning and sold the fish in the market in the afternoon. Then he bought some food for his family. When winter came, they were often hungry. One morning the hungry man fell into the river and nobody found him. Jack's mother left her three-year-old son without saying goodbye. His aunt had to look after him.
Twenty years passed. Jack became a tall, strong man. He worked on a farm. He worked hard and wanted to get more money to marry . He often went to see his aunt with some nice presents. The woman was very happy. But one day she died in a traffic accident . The young man was very sad. After he buried her, he decided to buy a beautiful tombstone for her. He went to the town and came into a shop, but all the tombstones were too expensive. He asked, "Do you sell an old tombstone, sir?"
"Yes, we do, sir," answered the shopkeeper.
"Is it as expensive as the new one?"
"No, it is much cheaper," said the man. "But another name was engraved on it."
"It doesn't matter," said the man. "My aunt could not read." | middle564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the bell ring"
},
"options": [
"the telephone ring",
"the bell ring",
"someone knock at the door",
"someone shout"
],
"question": "Mr. Li was trying to go to sleep when he heard _ .",
"question_type": "cl... | Mr. Li was in bed and was trying to go to sleep when he heard the bell ring . He turned on the light and looked at his clock. It was half past twelve. "Who can it be at this time of night?" he wondered. He decided to go and find out .So he got out of bed, put on his dressing gown and went to the door. When he opened the door, there was nobody there. "That's very strange." He thought. Then he went back to his bedroom, took off his dressing gown, got back into bed, turned off the light and tried to go to sleep.
A few minutes later he heard the bell ring again. Mr. Li jumped out of bed very quickly and rushed to the door. He opened it, but again he found no one there. He shut the door and found a piece of paper with some words on it: "It is now after midnight, so it is April 1st. April fool to you!"
"Oh, it was the English boy next door!" Mr. Li exclaimed, and almost smiled, He went back to bed and fell asleep immediately. The bell did not ring again. | middle202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "uncle"
},
"options": [
"father",
"mother",
"uncle",
"aunt"
],
"question": "Scott likes to go fishing with his _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Many people like spring, because they can go out and do many kinds of activities. We made a survey about the activities that people like to do in spring. Here are the results.
Scott:
In spring, I often visit my uncle and I like fishing with him. I also like boating and enjoy the beach. Last spring my uncle and I went boating. The dolphins came so close to us. It was very amazing. I hope that I can go there again soon.
Linda:
My favorite spring activity is gardening . I think it is relaxing to work in the garden. I grow many flowers in my garden every year. They are so beautiful.
Nancy:
I love spring. I love going to the beach and spending a whole day there. It is so relaxing to lie on the beach. I also like surfing in the sea.
James:
I am twelve years old. My favorite spring activity is swimming. I started to learn swimming when I was seven years old. I always have a good time with my friends in the river. | middle1796.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Katherine learnt that two children died from malaria one minute."
},
"options": [
"When Katherine was six, she began helping children in Africa.",
"Katherine learnt that two children died from malaria one minute.",
"Katherine... | Katherine Com male is an 11-year-old girl from Pennsylvania. At the age of five she began raising money to buy nets for children in Africa to help stop the spread of malaria .
When she was five, Katherine learnt about malaria in Africa. She learnt that every 30 seconds a child died from this disease. She, also learnt that people wouldn't get that disease if they had enough bed nets. "I was really sad to learn that a child died every half a minute because of malaria." Says Katherine, "I wanted to send nets right away, so that's what I did."
Five-year-old Katherine made presentations at churches and schools. She told students and others how important bed nets were for Africans. After people heard the presentations, many of them donated money. Katherine sent the money to NBN. NBN is an organization that sends bed nets to Africa.
Besides,every holiday Katherine makes something called " net gift certificate" with the help of her friends and brothers. On each l0-dollar certificate there is a message. It explains that a bed net would be sent to Africa. When more certificate orders come, Katherine gets help from students in her school.
Katherine has helped to raise $200,000 for NBN. "It makes me proud to help African children. I won't stop working until everyone in Africa has a bed net." says Katherine. | middle3181.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Happy and excited."
},
"options": [
"Lonely and sad.",
"Bored and homesick.",
"Angry and impatient.",
"Happy and excited."
],
"question": "How do you feel during the first stage of culture shock?",
"question... | We may know that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture. This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock , is the way our head and our personality react to(...) the strange new things we meet with when we move from one culture to another.
Culture begins with the "honeymoon stage". This is the time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We see new things, hear new sounds and language, eat new kinds of food. This stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are very excited.
Unluckily, the second stage can be more difficult. After we have got used to our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture. This time of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to pulling away from the new culture.
The third stage is called the "adjustment stage". This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor!
The fourth stage can be called "at ease at last". Now you feel quite comfortable in your new place. You can deal with most problems that you have. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.
There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don't know about. This is called
"reverse culture shock". Surprisingly, this happens when you go back to your own culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle! | middle4836.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "plate"
},
"options": [
"size",
"plate",
"part",
"number"
],
"question": "Beta 400s is a _ of car.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text"... | Mr. Perkin did not like to be different from other people, so he always tried to wear the same clothes, eat the same food, and do the same things after work as others.
One day Mr. Perkin stood at the bus-stop. As he watched the cars go by, he noticed that many of them were new Beta 400s and most of them were yellow.
The following week, Mr. Perkin bought a new bright yellow Beta 400s. He was very pleased with it, and drove to work in it the next day. He was even more pleased with his new car, when he saw all the other Beta 400s, in front, behind, and on both sides of him.
Mr. Perkin parked his car near his office, and walked the rest of the way. But when he came back at five o'clock, there were so many bright yellow Beta 400s that Mr. Perkin didn't know which car was his. He tried his key in some of the cars, but people gave him a strange look which he didn't like, so he stopped.
Poor Mr. Perkin had to wait nearly two hours until there was only one yellow Beta 400S left. | middle1966.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the writer's team won"
},
"options": [
"no team lost",
"the writer's team won",
"Class Two won",
"the result was 0:0"
],
"question": "From the passage, we know _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | We have fun with our school life every day. Our school often holds different after-school activities. There was a football match on the school playground yesterday afternoon.
Our class played against Class Two. Every player tried their best as soon as the match began at 4:00 o'clock. The players from the two teams played very hard and well. At the beginning of the match, a big and strong player from Class Two got the ball and passed several of our players. He kicked the ball hard to the goal."Oh, dear!"my classmates shouted surprisedly. Luckily, our goalkeeper Steve caught the ball. At the end of the first half of the match, there was no score.
After resting for ten minutes, the match began again. Our headteacher Mr. Zhang cheered us on all the time."Teamwork! Teamwork!"he kept shouting. At this time, Kangkang got the ball. He kicked the ball to Jack and Jack kicked the ball to our captain Li Lei. He passed four players with the ball and then kicked the ball into the goal. The crowd jumped cheerfully. My classmates felt excited. Finally, we won 1 to 0.
My school life is colorful. I love my school life.
,. | middle3817.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Beijing"
},
"options": [
"London",
"Beijing",
"Paris",
"New York"
],
"question": "Jack is going to _ by bus.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"... | Jack gets to the bus station very early. The bus for Beijing is leaving at twelve. He sees many people at the station. Some are waiting in line, and others are walking around. Jack looks around but there is no room for him to sit in. He walks into a restaurant. He looks up at the clock there. It's only 11:30. Then he finds a seat and sits down. At that time, Tom, one of his friends, comes in and sits in front of him. They talk and drink. After a while, Jack looks up at the clock again. "Oh, my God. It's still 11:30. The clock doesn't work at all." Jack becomes very sad because he misses the bus. | middle558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "it would be easy for him to have more work in the city"
},
"options": [
"he hated the small town",
"he couldn't make a living in the small town",
"it would be easy for him to have more work in the city",
"it made him sp... | Mr. Lewis was a dance teacher. He was a nice man and always had a lot of students. One year he moved to a new town, and was soon teaching many students in the dance school there, but he decided to move again to a big city. He would have more work there.
When one of his students heard that he was going to leave, she said to him, "The new teacher won't be as good as you are." Mr. Lewis was happy when he heard this, but he said, "Oh no. I'm sure he'll be as good as I am ---- or even better." The student said, "No. Five teachers have come and gone while I've been here, and each new one was worse than the last." | middle3803.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "on October 31st, 2015"
},
"options": [
"in 1970",
"in January, 2015",
"in January, 2014",
"on October 31st, 2015"
],
"question": "The official Xinhua news agency reported that China would allow two children fore... | On October 31st, 2015, the official Xinhua news agency reported that China would allow two children for every couple. That meant that the country's one-child policy came to an end.
To control the population growth, China started a policy of one child per couple in the 1970s. Why does China decide to relax the policy now?
In fact, China began relaxing the policy in January, 2014, allowing couples to have a second baby if the mother or father was an only child. The change was thought as a major liberalization of the family planning of over thirty years. But new figures in January, 2015 suggested that fewer people than expected would like to have a second baby. Health officials said that there were about 11 million couples under the new policy. However, only 1 million couples applied to have a second child. Some couples said, "Two kids? Thanks but no." The influence of one-child policy seems hard to go in a short time.
China's government has said that China will become the country with the most old people in the world in just 15 years, with more than 400 million people over the age of 60. And in the one-child families, when the only child grows up and gets married to another only child, they two have to take care of two old couples, the stress seems really heavy. To solve the problem of the _ population, one-child policy isn't suitable any more, and two-child policy is needed and necessary. | middle7654.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "on foot"
},
"options": [
"on foot",
"by bike",
"in a wheelchair",
"by bus"
],
"question": "Tom passes the shop _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | The day is like any other day in his life. Tom walks past the shop on the street corner. He stops to look at the front row of shoes, and he feels happy to see that the pair of shoes he wants very much is still there. Looking down at his old shoes, he feels sorry for himself. He really wants to have them for his birthday.
He sadly walks away and thinks how to tell his mother about it. He knows very well she has little money. He decides not to go home at once , as he looks sad and his mother will notice it. So he goes to the park and sits on the grass. There he sees a boy moving a wheelchair with his hands . Tom looks at him and is surprised to see that the boy has no feet. He looks at his own feet. "It's much better to be without shoes than without feet", he thinks. There is no reason or him to feel so sorry and sad. He goes away and smiles, thinking he is happier. | middle969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "detective"
},
"options": [
"policeman",
"teacher",
"doctor",
"detective"
],
"question": "Conan is a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer... | She's a lovely girl. She has long and black hair. She is quite tall and slim. Her eyes are bright and black. She is 13 years old.
She is good at singing. She likes listening to music. She is S.H.E.'s fan . Do you know Conan? He is a little detective .The lovely girl also likes him.
Oh, sorry. I forget to tell you who the girl is. It's me. I'm a lovely girl. You can call me Kacely or Kacelin.
Now I study at Sunshine Middle School. I'm in Class 1, Grade 7. Every day, I get up at 6:00 a.m. The classes begin at 7 o'clock. I like lunchtime because I can chat with my friends at that time. After school, I usually play badminton with my friends. I like playing badminton and I am good at it.
I want to be a superstar when I grow up. | middle1225.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "running for a ball"
},
"options": [
"visiting his father",
"walking with his dog",
"talking with his dog",
"running for a ball"
],
"question": "Toby is _ in the street when a car hits him.",
"question_type... | Toby, an 11-year-old boy, is playing with a ball. The ball goes into the street and Toby runs for the ball. A car hit Toby.
An ambulance takes Toby to the hospital in 30 minutes. The doctors at the hospital tell Toby's parents, "Toby is in a coma." Every day Toby's parents visit him at the hospital. They sit next to Toby's bed and talk to him. But Toby never talks to them. He just sleeps.
One day, Toby's father says ," Wake up, Toby. Wake up, come home and play with Rusty." Rusty is Toby's dog.
When Toby's father says 'Rusty', Toby moves his arm. "Rusty!" Toby's father says again. Again, Toby moves his arm .
Toby's parents have an idea. They tell the nurse, "We want to bring Toby's dog to the hospital." The nurse says "OK".
The next day, Toby's parents bring Rusty to the hospital. When they put the dog on Toby's bed, Toby opens his eyes and hugs the dog.
Toby's parents bring Rusty to the hospital every day. One day Rusty jumps onto Toby's bed and scratches his arms. Toby says his first words "Bad dog!".
After eight weeks, Toby is well. He leaves the hospital and goes home. | middle5043.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "swimming"
},
"options": [
"mathematics",
"philosophy",
"history",
"swimming"
],
"question": "The clever man knew a lot of knowledge except _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | Once a clever man was crossing a turbulent river. He wished to amuse himself by talking to the boatman.
"Do you know mathematics?" he asked.
"No sir." answered the boatman.
"Then you have lost one quarter of your life," said the wise man. "Do you know history?"
"No sir." answered the boatman.
"Then you have lost three quarters of your life." Just then a sudden gust of wind overturned the boat. "Do you know how to swim?" asked the boatman.
"No," answered the wise(="clever)" man.
"Well then," replied the boatman, "you have lost your whole life." | middle3432.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "daydreaming"
},
"options": [
"winter sleeps",
"sleep dreams",
"daydreaming",
"predictions"
],
"question": "The passage is mainly about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and decided to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us have been told from earliest school days that daydreaming is a waste of time. I don't think so.
L. Giambra, a psychologist, says, "Daydreaming isn't a waste of time. _ , daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn't do all the thinking that it has to do during a normal day. You can't possibly do all your thinking with a conscious mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states of mind have silent conversations ."
Early psychologists paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even thought they were harmful . At one time people thought that some psychological illness caused daydreaming. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinges, a professor, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinges says, "We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures. Daydreams really are a window on the things that we are afraid and the things we long for in life."
Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams. Sleep dreams may be hard to understand. It's easier to get a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you know the difficult situations in your life and found out a possible way of dealing with them.
Daydreams cannot be predicted: they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy. | middle3354.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "make our city more beautiful"
},
"options": [
"make our city more beautiful",
"offer the chance to have fun",
"help students meet old friends",
"have a nice weekend"
],
"question": "The main purpose of \"Clean &... | Want to know what we can do to help make our city a better place to live in? Why not take part in "Clean & Green weekend"? Join us, and you can make new friends and help protect the environment at the same time.
Park Life
Do you like hanging out in the park with your friends? If so,why not take the chance to come with us and tidy up the park as you go?To add some fun, there is a gift for the person who collects the most rubbish! Meet us at the south entrance to Taohe Park at 9 a.m. next Saturday if you want to join in.
The Air You Breathe
A great way to make the air we breathe cleaner is by planting lots of trees!It is a fact that trees slowly filter a lot of pollutants from the air. So come and help us plant some new ones in Fenhe Park at 2 p.m. next Sunday.
War on Graffiti
Some people think graffiti is cool. Well, it is not! The best way to stop buildings from becoming totally covered in ugly graffiti is to get rid of it as soon as possible. And that is exactly what we are going to do. We are repainting the school walls from 1 p.m. on Saturday. You don't have to bring any tools, just remember to wear some old clothes!
,. | middle5725.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In the northeast of Australia."
},
"options": [
"On the beaches of Canada.",
"In the south of Australia.",
"In the northeast of Australia.",
"Everywhere in the world."
],
"question": "Where can we find rainbow l... | The rainbow lorikeet is a kind of parrot in the northeast of Australia. It is the most colorful and noisy bird in the world. The bird has green, orange, blue, red, yellow, purple and grey colors on its body.
Rainbow lorikeets are small birds. They are usually 11 to 12 inches long and weigh 120g to 140g. It is said that they can live for over 20 years in the wild.
They usually live in groups. At night, they sleep in the trees in a big group. But during the daytime, they move in much smaller groups (about 20 birds). Late in the evening, you can sometimes see a larger group flying back home.
These birds spend a lot of time looking for food. Most of their food comes from trees, like flowers, nuts and fruit. But sometimes they eat insects. They can get water from the leaves that they eat or drink water directly.
Rainbow lorikeets usually start to have families when they are around two years old. When they have baby birds, both the parents help to feed them. | middle7132.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Chinese Moon Festival"
},
"options": [
"Chinese Mid Festival",
"Chinese Moon Festival",
"Chinese Festival",
"Spring Festival"
],
"question": "The other name of Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is ( ).",
"questio... | Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Chinese Moon Festival, takes place at the 15th day of the eighth Chinese lunar month. The reason for celebrating the festival during that time is that it is the time when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.
The Mid-autumn festival is one of the two most important occasions in Chinese calendar (the other being the Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year) and it is an official holiday. It is a time for families to be together, so people far from home will gaze longingly at the moon and think about their families.
The traditional food for mid-autumn festival is the moon cake which is round and symbolizes reunion. | middle6238.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "buy copies of ancient advertisements"
},
"options": [
"buy copies of ancient advertisements",
"see more than 400 drawings",
"get some paintings at the box offices",
"display your works for free"
],
"question": "... | Alderbury International Festival Society
FESTIVAL 22ND MAY-9TH JUNE 2012
Art
Displays of paintings, drawings and photographs from Europe and Asia are all part of the Festival programme, with a total of more than 400 pieces of work to be seen.
Early century advertisements will be on display at this year's festival. Copies of these advertisements are to be sold at the box office.
Music
There will be a huge rang of music in this year's festival from 14thdance music to modern jazz. Many famous musicians will be visiting the Festival as well as at least two internationally famous bands.
Lunchtime concerts-Every day of the Festival!
All lunchtime concerts begin at 1:00p.m. and last about 55 minutes, except on Monday, 26 of May, which is to be held in the Guildhall. All tickets are priced at PS2.00.
How to get the tickets
Telephone reservations: 63362/6641 from 1stApril
Payment for tickets reserved by telephone must be received at the Festival Box Office within 3 days. The tickets will then be sent by post.
One can buy tickets in person from 1stMay. The Festival Box Office will be open as follows:
Monday to Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Sunday(during the Festival only )9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. | middle1557.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because he wanted to pay less money for a hearing aid."
},
"options": [
"Because he wanted to pay less money for a hearing aid.",
"Because he was a poor old man.",
"Because he thought all the hearing aids were the same.",
... | Mr. Baker is retired at home now. He feels bored every day and he thinks he is growing older quickly. When he watches TV, he has to turn it up. But this often disturbs his neighbors. So he decides to buy a hearing aid. As he is a _ man, he doesn't want to pay much money for a hearing aid.
One day, he went to a clinic and asked the clerk, "How much do these hearing aids cost?"
"That depends," said the clerk. "They cost from 2.00 dollars to 2 000 dollars."
"Let me see the $2.00 model," he said.
The clerk put the device around Mr Baker's neck. "You just put this button in your ear and run this little string down to your pocket," he explained.
"How does it work?" Mr. Baker asked.
"For $2.00 it doesn't work," the clerk answered. "But when people see it on you, they'll talk louder!"
Mr. Baker was angry, and he said, "I want a hearing aid that really works!" | middle7126.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "451-3175"
},
"options": [
"451-3175",
"535-9861",
"415-3175",
"553-9861"
],
"question": "Frank's phone number is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | Good morning! I am an English boy. My name is Frank Smith. My telephone number is 451-3175.My pen is blue, and my ruler is white. The girl is Grace Brown. Grace is a nice girl. Her telephone number is 535-9861. Her pen is black, and her ruler is red. Grace and I both like numbers. Numbers are interesting. | middle8215.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "On the farm."
},
"options": [
"On the farm.",
"In the city.",
"On the sixteenth floor of a flat.",
"On the right of a woman."
],
"question": "Where does Mr. Lee live?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | Mike's father, Mr. Lee, is a farmer. He lives on the farm. He is happy to see his son move to a new flat in the city. One day, Mr. Lee comes to visit his son with a big orange pumpkin, about 10 kg. He grows it all by himself. "I'll let my son share it with his neighbours . Everyone likes pumpkin. Then Mike and his neighbours will become good friends," Mr. Lee thinks.
At noon, Mr. Lee gets to the community centre . The building is so tall. There are twenty floors. Mike lives on the sixteenth floor. But he is not at home.
Mr. Lee thinks, "I'll give the pumpkin to Mike's neighbours. They will be glad too see the gift." And he does it. But to his surprise, the neighbour on the left says coldly, "Thank you, but I don't like it at all."The woman on the right says nothing and closes the door quickly.
The old man feels sad. At last, he goes to the market, sells it and goes back home. "Are they really neighbours? " he says to himself. He doesn't know why. | middle5731.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Four."
},
"options": [
"Three.",
"Four.",
"Five.",
"Six."
],
"question": "How many ways are mentioned to build a better community?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | We all want to live in good neighborhoods, but not everyone lives in a good neighborhood. How can you build a better community for yourself and your family? There are many things you can do.
Paint your intersection . A street intersection is not something you think of as interesting. However, In Portland, people in some neighborhoods have made them really worth stopping for. Some paint, creative people and a bright design are all it takes to bring neighbors together and produce something the whole community can be proud of.
Make a poetry box. The idea is simple, really - create a box with a glass or clear plastic front. Put this box on a post. Write your own poem or print out your favorite classic and display it in the box for all your neighbors to see. You can also set up a drop box and encourage neighbors to write their own poems and drop them in the box. Display the poems from your neighbors as the poems come in.
Set up a tool library. How often do you need a leaf blower? Or a chain saw? And how often do you use that electric cake mixer? To01 libraries have space where neighbors can drop their hardly used tools to share. Check with a local business, community center or church group about space that can house a tool library.
Turn your front yard into your backyard. How often do you meet your neighbors in your backyard? Probably never. Moving your typical backyard activities to the front immediately makes you more visible . You can create front-yard gardens, build community benches and even just barbecue in your front yard. They are all great ways to connect with your community.
With effort, you'll make your neighborhood a much better place. | middle5057.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the old days"
},
"options": [
"his old house",
"the old days",
"his life now",
"his family"
],
"question": "Mr. Ellis often talks about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Mr. Ellis is very old. He has seen many changes in his home town.
He knows that things are different now. But he never forgets the old days. He likes to talk about them. He often talks about his favourite birds, the robins (----). "When I was a boy, these houses were not here. There were wide fields and tall trees. Every spring robins would come. Thousands of them would fly up to the north from the south. They spent the winter in the south. Some would build their nests in the trees near our houses. Then people started to cut down trees, and they built more houses. The robins stopped coming. They couldn't build their nests near our houses because there were no trees."
"Now there are too many houses and too many roads. There are no places for the robins. They do come any more ." | middle2738.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "her ambition"
},
"options": [
"her family numbers",
"her spare time",
"her house",
"her ambition"
],
"question": "In this letter, Jessica doesn't talk about .",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer... | Dear Addie,
Greetings from New Jersey, how is New Zealand? I'm very excited to have you as my pen pal. I guess it's my turn to tell you about myself.
First off, I live with my parents, two sisters, and our pet dog Brighty. Our town is called Whippangong. It is only about a half-hour away from New York City. My oldest sister, Ingrid, just turned 17, that means she now has a drive's license. She drives us to the mall. Do you have a mall near you in Te Awamutu? My other sister is 11 and her name is Lucy. I guess I would say that she is my best friend. We still fight, though. She rides horses and takes lessons every Saturday morning. I have to go with her sometimes, and that is truly the most boring thing in the world. Do you like horses?
I take tap dancing classes. I like to practice in the food store. The sound of my feet stepping on the hard floors echoes . I play scores in the fall; I'm on the swim team during the summer. I like swim, but I am really looking forward to diving this year. Next year I will start music lessons in school. I think I am going to play the piano.
Our house has eight rooms and a small backyard where every year we try to grow vegetables. We mostly get zucchini because the rabbits eat everything else. I guess rabbits don't like zucchini. I have a bike and mum allows me to ride up and down our street, but nowhere else. I hope that I will get to ride it to school someday. Right now I ride the crowed and yucky bus.
Well, that is enough about me for now. I look forward to hearing from you again soon. I hope your surfing lessons went well. And I hope your mum does let you learn to play the drums.
Write soon
Love,
Jessica | middle3426.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A stranger."
},
"options": [
"The writer of the letter.",
"Amy.",
"A stranger.",
"An unknown person."
],
"question": "Who does \"a girl\" in the letter mean?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Dear Amy,
I couldn't read your two e-mails until today because my computer was broken. I'm so sorry to hear about your problem, but I'm glad you're feeling better and are recovering . I'm surprised that in China someone's liver matched yours! This is really a moving story--a stranger donated part of his liver to _ he doesn't even know!
You're right. We shouldn't care too much about our weight. I'm happy you stopped taking medicine to lose weight. From your photo I can see you are now looking very well in the hospital. To keep slim is important, especially for an actress, but nothing is more important than health. Your doctor's advice is really very good--exercise for at least half an hour every day and eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
It's not only in your country. It's the same here with us Chinese--many people are always taking medicine to lose weight. That is often dangerous. But in fact, some of them are not overweight at all. I hope these people can learn something from your story. Hope you will leave hospital as soon as possible.
Love
xxx | middle7640.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "bike"
},
"options": [
"money",
"bike",
"backpack",
"mobile phone"
],
"question": "Liu Xu's _ was robbed according to the passage.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Liu Xu is a student from a middle school in Guangxi. Once he was riding home when a robber suddenly jumped out from the roadside. He pulled Liu Xu off his bike and rode away. Liu Xu was scared, but he didn't run after the robber. He found a telephone and called the police at 110.
"Safety is the first important in such a situation," Liu said, remembering what his teacher had told him in his first aid class. "It is not safe to run after an adult who is stronger than you."
Liu's school has compulsory first aid education. Students must take the class once a week.
Teenage safety has become a serious issue recently. According to a survey, about 16,000 teenagers die in accidents in China every year.
At Liu's school the first aid classes are to "teach students skills how to protect and save themselves in emergencies ". Students there often learn by role-playing in first aid classes. For example, one student performed as a stranger knocking at a door. Another one stood inside the door and asked several questions before letting the "stranger" in. Then they changed roles and did it again. They learned a lot while having fun at role-playing.
The topics of the first aid classes are regularly updated . The students have learned skills for surviving in earthquakes. The teacher also taught the students not to go out at night. If someone tried to do bad things to them, they should quickly run into crowed place. | middle7898.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "doctor"
},
"options": [
"teacher",
"doctor",
"shop assistant",
"a waitress"
],
"question": "Miss Jones is possible a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index":... | Many parents today worry about their children's diets. Then what is a healthy diet for children? Miss Jones from Happy Children Hospital gives the following advice:
* Children shouldn't eat food with too much salt, because it can cause high blood pressure .
* Children should eat food with less fat, oil and sugar. They should not eat too much _ .
* Fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins. Children need to eat fruit and vegetables often.
* Water is important to everyone. Children need to drink enough water every day.
* Children need to eat breakfast every day. It is good for their bodies and minds. | middle1231.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "castles"
},
"options": [
"museums",
"castles",
"art galleries",
"some places"
],
"question": "If you want to visit _ , it is not the good time to visit Britain in winter.",
"question_type": "cloze_questio... | In today's world, so many people like traveling around the world. Traveling abroad can be expensive, but there are some ways of visiting Britain cheaply. So we hope we can give you some good ideas.
If you don't go there in the busy months--July and August, your visit may be cheaper. There will be fewer visitors. The weather in Britain can be pleasant from April to the end of September. Of course you can go there in winter, but it is often dark by 4 pm. Many places, such as large houses and castles are closed in winter. However, if you are interested in museums, art galleries or theaters, winter may be the good time to visit.
If you are a student, it is a good idea to apply for an International Student Identify Card. With the card, you can save a lot of money. You can get the card from your local student travel office, and you can also call (44)08708 413224 to get it. To get the card, you need to show that you are a student, get a passport photo, and pay for a little money. | middle2710.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "His car broke down."
},
"options": [
"He lost his way.",
"His car broke down.",
"He was hurt in an accident.",
"He couldn't reach the gas station."
],
"question": "What happened to Sam one evening this May?",
... | My name is Sam. I joined a club called "passing help" last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it.
One evening this May, on my way home my old car broke down .It was 25 miles from my home. I wanted to get a ride , but there was no car. It was also hard to take a taxi. I decided to take a bus home .I went to a bus stop nearby. After a while, a bus came, but it did not go to my town , the bus driver was a young woman. She was kind and she told me which bus I should take. I waited there for about thirty minutes,but no bus came .At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car .She was just the bus driver. "When I reached the bus station,I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come ,so I returned here .I just can't leave you here ,"she said , " Get in my car and I will take you back to your home."
"It is a long way." I said.
"Come on,sir, "she said,"Let's go."
On the way,she told me a story. A few days ago,there wasn't gas in her car. An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.
When we got to my home,I wanted to give her some money to thank her,but she didn't accept her. "I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along. " she said. | middle4361.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "is not very busy all the time"
},
"options": [
"has no bread that the writer likes",
"is often crowded with customers",
"don't have anything the writer likes",
"is not very busy all the time"
],
"question": "The... | We spent a few days in Paris last week. We visit the famous city quite regularly. After all, it only takes three hours from London to Pairs. It's always a pleasure visiting places we really like, exploring areas we've never been.
The only unlucky thing this time was the weather. As soon as we got there the temperature reached almost 35 degrees C (which lasted until we left). It was so hot that Matthew just couldn't _ it -- for him, it wasn't the most enjoyable trip. I felt sorry for him because every time we go there he has to put up with my endless shopping spree ...
Because of the heat, we ended up just having lots of ice-cream and drinks most of the time, although we managed to pay a few visits to the new Herme shop on rue de Vaugirard at least. It's not as busy as the shop on rue Bonaparte so you can choose whatever you like without worrying about a queue behind you! I really enjoyed his bread this time as well as the cakes. And I must say that his Croissant aux Amandes and Bostock were simply the best I've ever had. | middle955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the girl went to the bathroom by herself"
},
"options": [
"the girl went to the bathroom by herself",
"the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing",
"the girl's mother was able to blow brave breath",
"the girl's mothe... | One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, "Don't be afraid, honey. Take courage!"
"What's courage?" she asked, running to her mother's bed.
"Courage is the brave breath," her mother answered.
"Mum, do you have courage?"
"Certainly."
The girl held out her little hands, saying, "Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me."
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists nervously, afraid that the "breath of courage" would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, "It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of 'breath' to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost."
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat is nobody but ourselves. | middle1219.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In Italy."
},
"options": [
"In Italy.",
"In Canada.",
"In England.",
"In America."
],
"question": "Where is Venice?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.
Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It wasn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.
Even so, travel isn't difficult. The waterways have always been the best ways to get around. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you where you want to go.People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy the scenery and cool summer nights while taking boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.
Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped from a war more than 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.
Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem.
Once, people used too much underground water. This made the city get lower little by little. Now the city has gone down by 23 centimeters. Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the years. This has made the ice of the Arctic Ocean melt .
Every year, high waters hit the city in autumn and winter. When a lot of water comes, more than half of the city is underwater.
Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower.
,. | middle6210.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "almost anywhere on the earth"
},
"options": [
"in all the towns",
"in some places in the world",
"only in big cities",
"almost anywhere on the earth"
],
"question": "Today people can use the phone to talk with o... | Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone , you don't see the person you are talking with . That may change in the near future .
Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With _ , two people who are talking can see each other
Picture phones can be useful when you have something to show the person you're calling . They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to see a book. Then you'll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you want to buy, you'll go to your phone and call the shop . People at the shop will show you the thing you're interested in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over the town and never leave your room! | middle4407.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To hear birds sing."
},
"options": [
"To visit her friend.",
"To drink hot coffee.",
"To see different birds.",
"To hear birds sing."
],
"question": "Why does the writer get up early in the morning?",
"quest... | It's very early in the morning and I'm sitting outside. It's also very cold and dark. With me is Jim Nightingale, and he is the reason I'm up so early. He passes me a hot cup of coffee. "Not long to wait now," he says. I hope he's right.
After a few minutes there is a very weak light in the east, and then I hear a bird singing. It sings very loud and very clear. "That's the robin ," says Jim. A few more birds start singing with the robin and Jim knows the names of them too. Half an hour later, there are more and more birds singing, and it's very loud! Suddenly, all around us the air is full of the sound of birdsong. This is the dawn chorus , and it's beautiful.
"Wow, this is amazing!" I tell Jim, who is smiling. "Is there a dawn chorus every morning?"
"Birds can sing any time of the year but the best time is the end of winter and during the spring. This is when the birds sing most."
"Really? So, why do they sing?" I ask.
"Well, there are two reasons," explains Jim. "Most of the songbirds who sing are males. They want to find a female so they sing to show how strong they are. The females listen and choose the best singer! The birds also sing to tell other males to go away. They need their own area; they don't like sharing with another male."
I listen to the birds; the songs seem too much to me. "Do the birds sing a special song in the morning?"
"That's a good question," replied Jim. "The successful birds have many kinds of calls and songs. Sometimes they copy the songs of other birds. This makes it sound like there are many birds in that place already and other males stay away. Also the female likes songs with different notes. Some birds, for example the European wren, have songs that contain over 700 different notes per minute!"
So, how does Jim know so much about birds? Well, he works as a volunteer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He is trying to help the birds live in the modern world. "More and more of the birds' habitat disappears every year. The sparrow, for example, was a very common bird in the UK, now it's in danger."
By now the sun is up and the birds are quiet. It's light so they can start looking for food, they need a big breakfast after all that singing. | middle2076.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "get there in another way"
},
"options": [
"give up their effort at last",
"look for others' help",
"wait for a chance to come",
"get there in another way"
],
"question": "If ants have trouble reaching somewhere,... | Over the years I've been teaching kids about a simple but powerful spirit--the ant philosophy . I think we should study ants.
Ants have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part:they never give up. That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, and they'll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy to never quit looking for a way to get where they'd like to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That's an important view. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering their winter food in summer. An ancient story says, "Don't build your house on the sand in summer." There is some reason in what it says. It is important to think ahead. In summer, you've to think about the storm. You've got to think about rocks when you enjoy the sand and sun.
The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, "This won't last long;we'll soon be out of here." And on the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll go back, but then they come out again if it is warm. They can't wait to get out.
And here is the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the "all-that-you-possibly-can" philosophy.
What a great philosophy to have the ant philosophy! Never give up, look ahead, stay active and do all you can. | middle5719.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "eight school bags"
},
"options": [
"eight school bags",
"a skirt",
"two black T-shirts",
"a yellow sweater"
],
"question": "Tina has only 34 yuan, and she can buy _ in Tai Ping Clothes Store.",
"question_... | Do you know Tai Ping Clothes Store? It's a great store. I like it very much. There are lots of things at a very good price in the store. They have sweaters in all colors for 50 yuan . They have bags for sports and school. They sell them for only 4 yuan. They have black T-shirts for only 20 yuan. They have long white socks for just 2 yuan. A red skirt is only 35 yuan. If you want to buy two, You will spend only 65 yuan. You buy many things, and then you will get lots of _ for free . And that's all. You can go to the store and see for yourself. | middle4413.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "cold"
},
"options": [
"warm",
"hot",
"cool",
"cold"
],
"question": "Millions of years ago our earth was very _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Millions years ago much of our earth was covered with blocks of ice. These ice blocks were as tall as high buildings in modern cities. Most of the ice was in the northern part of the world.
Then the ice blocks started to move south. Cold and rain came with the ice. Animals and people had to move.
At last, the ice began to melt . After half a million years, most of it had melted. More than half of the earth became covered with water. The _ became much warmer. Things began to grow. The earth began to look the way it looks today. | middle2062.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he was dirty."
},
"options": [
"Because he was unfriendly.",
"Because he was naughty.",
"Because he was dirty.",
"Because he was weak."
],
"question": "Why didn't the other animals play with the little e... | Long ago, there was a little elephant. He left home and played in the forest alone. He stayed outside for many days and became dirty because he could not wash his back. All the other animals didn't play with him because he was dirty.
The elephant sat under a tree. He started to cry. He cried for two days. But nobody could see him there. So he went back home and asked for help. His mother told him," You have a long trunk . It can help you wash your back."
He and his mother went to the river and his mother taught him how to use the trunk to clean his back with water.
All the other animals came over to him and said, "You are so clean now. Do you want to play with us?"
The elephant was so happy and said, "Yes." | middle6204.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Respect"
},
"options": [
"Loyalty",
"Honesty",
"Love",
"Respect"
],
"question": "According to the passage, we are different from animals because of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | join us together and set us apart. Today, our society has a terrible lack of values. Here are some social values that everyone needs.
*Respect
Respect means to respect others in everyday life. Even if you are against a person, it is important to have respect. It is this respect that makes us human. Without this respect, we become animals. We need to respect our friends for our friendships. We even need to respect our enemies, because they help us to grow up and be stronger. Respect is one of the crucial values in a relationship.
*Love
Love is everything. With love in our hearts, we feel no need to hurt another. With love in our hearts, we will pay more attention to the similarities in opinions rather than the disagreement. If we want others to be good to us, we need to be good to them. After all, we give love to get love, right?
*Loyalty
People often forget the meaning and importance of loyalty . Loyalty is necessary for people to believe in each other. In no matter what kind of relationship, we need to believe in each other so that we can work together towards the same goal.
*Honesty
Honesty is to show other people who we really are. Honesty helps us do better, because it makes us realize our problems and find ways to solve them. It is this honesty, that will make others help you out, not because you need it. But, because they have problems too, which you can help out with. This honesty will help us follow the other values in society and, truly, "heal the world"! | middle8229.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "bigger than"
},
"options": [
"younger than",
"bigger than",
"older than",
"smaller than"
],
"question": "\"Casa Grande\" is _ the other three ones at Hearst Castle.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Hearst Castle is in California, America. A person called William Randolph Hearst built it between 1922 and 1939, at a cost of more than $30 million. Last year, I had a trip to that castle.
I spent the whole day looking around. But there was much to see, and a day wasn't enough. Hearst Castle has four houses. The main house, "Casa Grande", is the biggest one. Visitors can live in the other three ones. Many of them are Hollywood film stars, and they often come to the parties there.
At Hearst Castle, there are also beautiful gardens and two swimming pools, one inside and a larger one outside. I loved the one outside, the "Neptune Pool". It was a pity that we couldn't go swimming there!
The guide told us that Mr. Hearst travelled around Europe with his mother at the age of ten and looked at paintings and castles. He never forgot that tour and wanted his house to look like a castle. When Mr Hearst died in 1951, his family gave Hearst Castle to the people of California. Now it's a museum. | middle941.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Find English names for ourselves."
},
"options": [
"Tell the teacher our Chinese names.",
"Find English names for ourselves.",
"See an English film.",
"Draw pictures."
],
"question": "What do we do in the first ... | I will never forget my first English class. It is very interesting. It's the first class in the morning. The teacher goes into the classroom with a smile on his face. At the beginning, he makes a self-introduction . And he tells us that his English name is John. Then he asks all of us to think of English names for ourselves. We are very excited to find a good name. Then he asks us to write our names down on a piece of paper. I think about my English name for a long time. Then I come up with a beautiful name ---Shirley. All the students write their names down and give the paper to the teacher. When the teacher calls "Shirley" to answer his question, three girls stand up at the same time. | middle799.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "His knife goes into the water."
},
"options": [
"His father gives him a knife.",
"He goes into the river.",
"An old woman goes into the water.",
"His knife goes into the water."
],
"question": "What happens to M... | Today Mike is playing near a river. Suddenly, his knife goes into the water. He likes the knife very much. Now it's lost. So he is very _ . Then an old woman comes up and asks Mike what is wrong."I lost my knife." He says. The old woman gives him a gold knife and asks "Is it your knife?" "No," says the boy.
The old woman gives him a silver knife and asks again " And this one?" "No," says the boy.
Then she gives him an iron knife."Yes, that's mine." Calls out the happy boy.
The old woman says, "No, take the gold and silver knife. You are a good boy." | middle6562.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "telling the teacher the five students were the best in the class"
},
"options": [
"teaching the five children himself",
"asking the five children to find a new teacher",
"telling the five students to work harder than ever bef... | A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university. At the start of the school year, the teachers were given the names of five children. They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class. But the fact was that these students were only average,and they were not the best students at all. Well, guess what? At the end of the year, all the five average students scored among the highest in the class.
What made these average students change so much to become top students?The only difference was the change in their teachers' attitude. Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students,they expected more from them. And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves. So they worked harder to do as well as they could.
Do you know why? If you expect the best from people, they'll usually want to give you their best. A great leader said, "Treat a person just how he appears to be on the outside, and you'll make him even worse. But treat a person like he's already a success,and you'll help make him the best he can be."
Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny, his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said,"Johnny,you're the naughtiest boy in this class. I'm sure you'll never change." The next year Johnny had a new teacher. And on the first day of class,she met with Johnny after school and said,"Johnny, I've heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don't believe a word of it." And every day after that, this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things. Later on, Johnny became a school leader. Because that's the power of our belief and attitude toward children. | middle2937.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he was really happy with his life"
},
"options": [
"he was happy but wanted to have a change",
"he was really happy with his life",
"he hoped to grow up quickly",
"he wished to get a gift from him"
],
"question"... | Some time ago I received a gift from both of my children. It had nothing to do with Father's Day. Yet, at the same time it had everything to do with Father's Day.
My son was studying in a high school in Colorado. He lived in the school. While we were talking on the phone he shared some wonderful news with me.
He said, "You know Dad, I am really happy with my life. I can't think of a thing that I would change about the way that I grew up, or the way that my life is now. "
My daughter was living with her mother in Northern California at that time. She said almost the same thing to me just a few days later.
Of course, I was delighted to hear this from both of them. And I told them both how happy I was, not only that they were happy ,but that they expressed it to me.
And that was the gift that they were giving me ---with the heart to communicate. Certainly I hope for good news when I hear from them. But mostly I love that they will share their real feelings with me. Happy or sad, I love to be touched by their real thoughts and feelings.
For a child, Father's Day isn't really about giving Dad a gift. It is about understanding the love that fathers express when they help put food on the table, teach their child to ride a bike, cheer at a soccer game, etc.
For a father, Father's Day isn't so much about receiving gifts for a job well done. Remember, the greatest gift that we give our children is the real expression of our love. It isn't enough for them to feel love inside ourselves: we need to express that love. | middle772.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "have a wonderful voice"
},
"options": [
"have a good looking face",
"have special talent",
"have a wonderful voice",
"dance and sing well"
],
"question": "If you want to be the winner of The voice of China, you ... | The voice of China was not hot during the summer of 2012.
The voice of China is a large music show in China. This show is also the only one which regards the voice as the only ruler. It premiered at 21:15 on July 13,2012,on the Zhejiang Television. It has attracted great attention. The show became an overnight sensation.
The first season used "Real voice, real music " as its slogan . As a mentor ,singers like Liu Huan, Na Ying, Yu Chengqing and Yang Kun were responsible for seeking world-shaking voices of China in the following three and a half months, through four steps ,namely "blind choosing" "blind selecting" "team PK" "yearly grand ceremony".
It is really a miracle that The voice of China can stand out in the flood of today's talent shows in China , and attracts the audience . A great number of audience said this was the best television show last summer. They were all proud of these good voices of China.
The students' beautiful voices moved everyone. Xu Haixing , a girl from Chengdu ,sang Self to realize her father's dream and Liu Huan was moved to tears by her song . Huang Yong sang In Spring showing his sticking to his dream and Yang Kun cried for this. The blind girl Zhang Yuxia, a busker from Taiwan, played while singing. She was called "Deng Lijun No.2" for her unique voice, and her sincere feeling touched everybody. Na Ying went to the stage to sing with the students together twice.
The voice of China doesn't care about magnificent clothes and wonderful dancing. It regards "inspiration" and "professionalism" as the ruler of music. The singer uses their songs to tell real stories and the happiness of life. | middle6589.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "One."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many advertisements are for waiters?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Red Star Restaurant
The biggest and busiest restaurant in Jinan is seeking 20 waiters who have relevant experiences in high-grade restaurants. About Y=800--1,500 per month.
Red Star Restaurant is located at 66 on Park Street.
Our phone number is 0531-8278-4560.
3 People wanted
Need 3 people who would like to work 4 evenings per week showing films. Earn $300 per week possibly. Call 469-867-6042.
Baby-sitter wanted
For a year. 3 days a week. Some flexible hours required.
Knowledge: above senior middle school.
Call 0431-478-9971. | middle1580.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Stan Lee."
},
"options": [
"Stan Lee.",
"Marvel.",
"Peter Parker.",
"Superman."
],
"question": "Who created Spiderman?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,... | Spiderman is one of the most famous comic book heroes of all time.He was created by Stan Lee in 1963 and was first introduced to the world in the pages of Marvel comic books.
Spiderman's story is the story of Peter Parker,a child who lost his parents and lives with his aunt and uncle.Peter is a shy,quiet boy wearing glasses and has few friends.One day,on a high school class trip to a science lab,he gets bitten by a special spider.Soon Peter realizes he has amazing powers:he is as strong and quick as a spider and also has a type of sixth sense.He no longer needs his glasses and he can use his super power to fly through the city streets! Remembering something his Uncle Ben has told him,that"with great power,there must also come great responsibility ,"Peter decides to use his powers to fight enemies who do cruel things to people.And so,Spiderman is born.
Life is not easy for Peter even though he is a superhero.He is in love with Mary Jane but cannot tell her about his amazing powers.Besides,his best friend Harry hates Spiderman! Peter is also short of money and time.He has to sell photos of Spiderman(himself!)to a newspaper and he keeps losing his other jobs because he's so busy saving people! Yet he has to fight different kinds of cruel enemies. | middle2089.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "angry"
},
"options": [
"curious",
"angry",
"crazy",
"worried"
],
"question": "Holmes was _ about John's death.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Holmes said, "Somebody sent a letter with five pips in it from India, and arrived seven weeks later to kill John's uncle. Then they sent five pips from Scotland and arrived three days later to kill John's father. Now they have sent five pips to John from London!"
"The letters are all from sea ports . The writer was on a ship when he wrote the letters," I replied.
"Very good, Watson! And John's enemy is in London already!"
"Well, I hope they won't kill young John," I said.
But they did. The next morning, we read in the newspaper that a policeman found him die near Waterloo station. Holmes was very angry about it.
"He came to me for help and those men murdered him! I'm going to find them, if it's the last thing I do!" he said to me, and he hurried out of the house.
At night, when he came back, he was tired, but pleased, he said, "I know the names of John's enemies! And now I'm going to send them a surprise! This will frighten them!" He took five pips from an orange and put them in an envelope . On it he wrote "S. H. for _ "
"I'm sending the pips to captain James Calhoun. His ship is called the Star. He and his men are sailing back to Georgia, USA."
"How did you find him, Holmes?" I asked.
"Ship's papers," he said, "I've looked at hundreds of them today. Only one ship, the Star, was in the three ports at the right times, this morning the Star left London to sail back to Georgia. I found out that the captain and two of his men, all Americans, weren't on the ship last night, so I'm sure they killed John. When they arrive in America, they'll get the pips and then the police will catch them!" | middle3397.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "hurricane"
},
"options": [
"pet",
"house",
"girl",
"hurricane"
],
"question": "From the passage we know Sandy is a",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text... | Whenever there's a terrible storm, there are plenty of sad stories. Many people lost their houses, their cars and their pets. But sometimes these stories have happy endings too.
A family in New Jersey, US, had a cat named Vivien. She is very smart. She could even draw with her wet paws on the floor. They all love her very much. When hurricane Sandy hit America in October, they moved to a safer place-13km away from home. Sadly Vivien went missing. The whole family were worried about her. They put up posters on the Internet to look for her. All the nine family members searched wherever they thought she could stay, but they didn't find it. The family thought Vivien was gone forever.
But six months later, Vivien showed up at their house, according to Yahoo News. They considered her return as a wonder. No one can be sure where Vivien was for all that time.
Many animals are good at finding their way home. People usually say that dogs and cats find their way home through using their sense of smell.
But that doesn't explain how Vivien found her way back. Hurricane Sandy blew away the normal smells of home.
"I wish she could talk," said her owner. | middle3383.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In a spring."
},
"options": [
"In a spring.",
"In a river.",
"In a lake.",
"In a village."
],
"question": "Where did the young man find the water?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Long long ago, a young man found a spring of delicious clean water while he was going through the desert. He brought some back to the oldest man in his village, who had been his teacher before. After a four-day journey he sent the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village happily. The next day, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It went bad because it had stayed in the old leather container for so many days in such hot weather. The student asked his teacher why he pretended to like the awful water. The teacher _ , "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for love and kindness. And nothing could be sweeter than these."
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive small gifts of love from very young kids. Whether it's a slice of bread or a piece of colored paper, the natural and right response is to show our thanks and happiness because we get love from the gift.
To show our thanks doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults only see the thing itself. They never feel the meaning of the thing. We should tell ourselves and teach our children about showing thanks and happiness to the persons who give the gifts from their hearts because gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart. | middle1594.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Four"
},
"options": [
"Only one.",
"Two",
"Three.",
"Four"
],
"question": "How many kinds of food are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | China is very famous for its food in the world. There are many kinds of food in China. They're Cantonese food, Sichuan food, Shanghai food, Hunan food and so on. And I like Sichuan food best.
Now, Sichuan food is very popular. There are many Sichuan food restaurants all over the country. Sichuan food is very hot , but people love it. In some famous Sichuan food restaurants, you can see many people waiting there. Now in Beijing, there are more and more Sichuan food restaurants. | middle766.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "certain grammatical rules make the language learnable"
},
"options": [
"certain grammatical rules make the language learnable",
"it is made up with lots of words and sentence structures",
"characters in The Lord of the Rings ... | As one of the most well-known of the fantasy languages invented for science fiction film, television and book, and developed by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, Elvish is made up with several thousand words and different sentence structures.
Constructed languages like Elvish are real languages, made up of thousands of words created by fantasy writers, linguists and fans, with real language rules. While a widespread vocabulary is advantageous to a constructed language, there is a key differentiator we can see between just a lot of words and real language: Grammar.
Grammar is what makes constructed languages like Elvish learnable by everyday superfans. Superfans of The Lord of the Rings have built websites and created dictionaries, apps and translators, to teach Elvish. They have also created online clubs where fans can discuss and even create new words based on the already existing vocabulary, and continue to study the language.
So what does it take to be a master of Elvish?
In learning Elvish, there are a couple of grammatical rules similar to those of the English language. For example, in order to make a verb past tense in English, you have to add an -ed, making wash, washed. Similarly in Elvish, in order to change the word for wash, which is allu, to the past tense then you have to add an -ne to the word. So washed is then translated to allune in past tense.
Nouns in Elvish are different in the way that the noun changes depending on how it's used in a sentence, just like in Latin or Russian. For example, the word head in Elvish is CAS. However, if you duck your head, then the word changes to CARA. When mentioning something in your head, then it changes to CASSE. Tolkien's attention to detail in creating the fantasy world used in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, complete with multiple functioning invented languages, has attracted readers and movie viewers these years.
Elvish is only one of the many magical languages developed by J.R.R. Tolkien. Creating language for fantasy has proven to add to viewers and readers experiences. By transplanting their imagination to a new world, fans are able to learn the new language and speak Elvish with each other, much like their favorite characters. | middle7683.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "000"
},
"options": [
"1300369359",
"180042113",
"000",
"12455"
],
"question": "If there is a fire, you can call _ in Australia.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_... | Useful Information in Australia
Useful Numbers
All the telephone numbers are useful and free.
. Fire/ Police/ Ambulance --000 Telephone information--12455
. Medical Care--1300369359 Taxi--1800421113
Surfing the Internet
With so many Internet tearooms and public libraries, it's easy to surf the Internet in Australia.
Also it's very cheap for you to surf the Internet.
. Public libraries offer free Internet every day even during public holidays.
. Many travel managers provide connection which is cheap or free.
Post Service
All post offices around the country offer post services so you can receive mails as you travel around the whole country.
. Post offices are usually open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
. It costs 50 cents to send a standard letter in Australia.
Public Holidays
On public holidays all shops are closed across Australia, so are banks and post offices.
. New Year's Day--1st January
. Australia Day--26th January
. Christmas Day--25th December | middle2923.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The connection between color and business."
},
"options": [
"How to create a better work area.",
"How to become the biggest U.S. company.",
"The connection between color and business.",
"The secret of success in the bus... | How important is color in the business world?
Google, one of the biggest U.S. companies, is trying to find it out. The company has already found "a close connection between color and satisfaction with a person's work area". That's according to its spokeswoman named Meghan Casserly.
"Color is a silent salesperson," said Elyria Kemp. She is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of New Orleans.
Kemp is following color trends in business. She is studying the connection between feelings and color. According to Kemp, when people make an evaluation of a product, usually they do this within 90 seconds or less. Besides, more than half of their first evaluation is based on (......) color alone.
That's why so many companies are researching their color choices. They are spending thousands of dollars on the research, too. Just think of UPS's Pullman brown, Home Depot's orange and Tiffany & Co.'s blue.
Joclyn Benedetto is a spokeswoman for Tiffany & Co. She said the success of the company's jewelry was connected to its blue color. It is used to wrap every product. She said the color was chosen by the founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for the cover of Blue Book, Tiffany's annual collection of beautifully hand-made jewels, which first came out in 1845.
Coca-Cola's red color also dates back more than 100 years. The soft drink was shipped in barrels painted red.
A spokesperson for Home Depot said research showed that the first thing people thought of was orange when they heard the name of the company.
Smaller companies are also realizing the importance of color. But picking the right color is important.
"You know when something is right because you get a feeling of safety, and it's not something that you think about. It just will hit you," said Emil Hagopian, a distributor for Mar Plast Color Building Accessories in Ann Arbor, Mich. "And sometimes, if it's done wrong, that also hits you." | middle5094.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "UK"
},
"options": [
"USA",
"PRC",
"UK",
"UN"
],
"question": "The Wetland Centre in the passage is in the _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"a... | In Barnes London Wetland Centre, you can enjoy a large number of wild birds and wild animals. Adults' fare is PS7.95, and children's fare is PS4.50. But if holding a London pass, you can have free admission .
London Wetland Centre is thought to be the European City's best place to contact wild animals. London Wetland Centre is the UK's most worthy of showing off, and the most exciting wildlife projects, including 43 hectares of grassland, as well as pools.
Barnes wetlands are located in the Thames. This award-winning centre always interest many scientists. There are many different kinds of animals, including the cormorant ,the Kingfisher and the endangered water vole .
In London Wetland Centre there are a large number of different habitats. When visiting the centre, visitors can watch movies through the video to learn more about wetlands and the knowledge of biological species .
For children, London Wetland Centre is a good choice to learn a lot about the knowledge of nature.
There are many other interesting places about wildlife. If you are interested in wildlife, why not go to London Zoo, Regent Park or River Thames _ to experience the world's most beautiful gardens. Holders of London Passes can visit them freely. | middle7873.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a call"
},
"options": [
"her friend",
"Mr. Baker",
"Billy",
"a call"
],
"question": "Mrs. Jones is waiting for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Mrs. Jones is waiting for an important telephone call, but she has no vegetables at home, so she leaves the baby and says to her five-year-old son, "I'm going to the shops, Jimmy, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
While she is out, the telephone rings, and Jimmy answers.
"Hello," says a man. "Is your mother here?"
"No." answers Jimmy.
"Well, when she comes back, tell her Mr. Baker telephones."
"What?" says Jimmy.
"Mr. Baker, write it down B-A-K-E-R."
"How do you make a B," asks Jimmy.
"How do I make B? Listen, little boy, is there anyone else with you? Any brothers or sisters?"
"My brother Billy is here."
"Good, I want to talk to him, please."
"All right." Jimmy takes the telephone to the baby's bed and gives it to Billy. When their mother comes back, she asks, "Does anyone telephone?"
"Yes," says Jimmy, "a man. But he only wants to talk to Billy." | middle996.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because he is fair"
},
"options": [
"Because he is bad.",
"Because he is fair",
"Because he is brave.",
"Because he is a god."
],
"question": "Why does Bao Zheng have a black face?",
"question_type": "factio... | Beijing Opera is my favourite. Bao Zheng always has a black face and Guan Yu has a red face in Beijing Opera. But many people don't know why.
I come from America and I have lived in China for six years. I like Beijing Opera very much. I think Beijing Opera is very interesting. I can learn a lot about Chinese history. Now let me tell you the art of Beijing Opera facial paintings .
In Beijing Opera facial paintings, different colours and patterns are for different roles. For example, a black face for fair people. A red face is for brave people. A white face is for bad people. Blue and green faces are for heroes . The gold face is for gods. | middle5902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "EQ is more important than IQ."
},
"options": [
"EQ is more important than IQ.",
"EQ is less important than IQ.",
"EQ is as important as IQ.",
"EQ and IQ are not important."
],
"question": "What is the writer's o... | Are you a person who has high EQ? If you want to be a successful man, you should have high EQ. Some people even say that EQ is more important than IQ. I think so. So we can know the importance of having high EQ.
If you don't have high EQ, try to make yourself become a person with a good temper . In this way, your EQ may become higher and higher. Here are some ways for you to control your temper when you are angry .
Don't say anything when you are in a bad mood because it's possible for you to hurt others. In fact, maybe you don't mean to hurt them.
Take a deep breath when you can't stop your anger. In this way, you will feel relaxed and you won't be that _ .
When you are angry, ask yourself some questions:
"Why am I so angry?"
"Do I have to be so irritated?"
"What will happen if I don't get angry?"
So, try the ways above. Everything could be simple since you try to think it in other ways. | middle5916.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he had work there"
},
"options": [
"he went there for a holiday",
"he had work there",
"he went there to visit his friends",
"his home was there"
],
"question": "Dick flew to New York because _ .",
"ques... | Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram ." His wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31stand found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address to this post office."
,,. | middle7867.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It's a dusty, cold world almost without air."
},
"options": [
"It's cold without dust.",
"There is no water or air.",
"It's warm with some thin air.",
"It's a dusty, cold world almost without air."
],
"question"... | The question whether there is life on Mars has made the public think a lot for more than a century. The closest look showed Mars to be a dusty, cold world, covered by air too thin to breathe. A British spaceship and Europe's Mars spaceship plan to land on Mars or enter orbit around it. One of the NASA's spaceships is expected to land on January 3, the other is going to land on the opposite side of Mars on January 24. Since 1960, over twenty spaceships sent to Mars have failed. Most have been lost on flying up or landing because those are the most difficult times of any flights. Scientists wanted to find out whether there was water in Mars. In October, a team of scientists reported that Mars had been a dry wasteland. But weeks later, a second team reported differently that they had found some marks showed clearly that they were made by the rivers. Such marks told us that Mars was a warmer place billions of years ago -- just as life first appeared here on Earth. Scientists at once raise a question: if what they said is true, what happened on Mars? Then what about the earth? | middle1351.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "behind a garden"
},
"options": [
"next to a zoo",
"behind a garden",
"behind a zoo",
"in front of a garden"
],
"question": "Li Jing's apartment is.",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer... | My name is Li Jing. Today let me show you around my community. In front of my apartment , there is a very small garden with a table, four chairs and some flowers. I love taking a walk in the garden in summer.
After getting out of the garden, I can get to a big market soon. I walk past the market when I go to work every day. There are fresh vegetables, fruit and meat there. I often buy some fresh fruit there with my friends. After passing the market, I will be near the main road . There are a lot of shops on both sides of the road, like shoe shops, clothes shops ...
After walking straight along the main road for fifteen minutes, I can see a bus stop. I only need to pay 0.5 yuan, and then I can go almost anywhere. That's very cheap. I feel very happy to live in a community like this. | middle7720.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "About 3 tons"
},
"options": [
"About 10 tons",
"As much as a baby elephant",
"About 80 tons",
"About 3 tons"
],
"question": "How much does a new-born blue whale weigh?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | The largest animal ever to live on Earth is the blue whale . It weighs about 80 tons-more than 24 big elephants. It is more than 30 metres long. A new baby whale weighs as much as a big elephant. Cats won't die if they fall off very high places because they can turn themselves up the right way so as to keep their bodies safe. One cat fell off 32 floors onto the street, but it was just hurt a little. A bear can run as fast as a horse. A new-born panda is smaller than a mouse and weighs about 100 grams. Elephants are the most careful animals in their love. A male elephant may show his lady love for up to three years until the female elephant takes his love. They often show their love by touching each other's body. Usually, wolves do not hurt people. For years a Canadian newspaper says that they would give anyone a lot of money if he or she could show that a wolf could hurt a person. But nobody could do that. Wolves do not usually go together though they may do this in winter and they only hurt people at an unusual time. | middle2880.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Tom"
},
"options": [
"Tom",
"Bill",
"Tony",
"Rick"
],
"question": "This is a letter for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Bec... | Dear Tom,
I go on a trip to Beijing with my father Rick. On the first day, we visit the Palace Museum. It is in the centre of Beijing. There are many rooms in it. You can see "No photos!" in some places. If so, you need to follow the instructions . On the second day, we visit the Summer Palace. It's great fun to boat there. I can swim, so I'm not afraid of water. Tomorrow we will go to the Great Wall.
I also make a new friend Tony who comes from Australia. When he leaves, he gives me his e-mail address and telephone number. After the six-day trip, we can go back to New York by plane. I hope to see you soon.
Bill | middle4229.txt |
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