questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Greek or Roman names must be used for American food the students may cook."
},
"options": [
"Each student is made to take part in at least one Olympic event.",
"Greek myths or the songs that will be performed are rewritten by the t... | Greek Roman Festival
Friday, April 28th
You can join one group. As a member of the group, you will take part in at least ONE of the following activities.
1Compete in an Olympic event. Remember there is only small space for each event, so don't be late.
Hercules Throw. Throw a football through a hoop 20 feet away.
Three Headed Race Three people line up with touching legs tied. Then they run 100 metres in the playground.
Toga Barrow Race This is like a wheelbarrow race. (Runners take hold of partners feet while partners walk on hands.)
2Make Greek or Roman food. Mrs Jones has a list of recipes from ancient Greece and Rome. You may make American food, but be sure to give it a special, mythological name. For example, call your chocolate cake "Zeus's Delight." This is a great way to practice your skills in the kitchen.
3Create a work of art for the museum. Be sure your artwork shows ancient Greek or Roman culture. Artworks may include sculptures, paintings, mosaics, drawings or models. The museum is a great place to show off your artistic talent.
4Perform a new short performance, song or dance for the talent show. Rewrite your favorite Greek myth by using modern language, or change the words of a popular song to tell a Greek or Roman story. Send your creative ideas to your English teacher for agreement. You must first perform for a group of teachers. The teachers choose the BEST performance groups for the talent show, so be sure your group has prepared for it.
This timetable will help groups know when each event will take place and where to go.
Group Number1:00-1:251:30-1:552:00-2:252:30-3:30IOlympics/
Playground Museum/Library Food Court/
Dining Hall IIFood Court/
Dining Hall Olympics/
Playground Museum/Library IIIMuseum/Library Food Court/
Dining Hall Olympics/
Playground Talent Show/
School Theatre | middle3546.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they have very good memories"
},
"options": [
"they always sleep very well",
"they often eat good food",
"they read a lot of books",
"they have very good memories"
],
"question": "Some people can easily learn ma... | We each have a memory . That's why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again. Many of the great men of the world have got surprising memories.
A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.
But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.
,. | middle2658.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "impotant."
},
"options": [
"impotant.",
"not important.",
"unpopular.",
"impossible."
],
"question": "Sports are _ in English life.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Sports are important in English life. The people of England are sports lovers. Some of the world's famous sports began here such as football and cricket.
Football is a game played in winter and early spring. Lots of people play football in parks or playgrounds just for fun. With hundreds of year's history, it is one of the most important sports in England. The English love football very much and they turned most of their main players into famous persons. David Beckham and Bobby Charlton became heroes for many children. The most interesting part of the English football year is the FA(Football Association) Cup Final each May. | middle5137.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A specialist in teenager studies"
},
"options": [
"A specialist in teenager studies",
"a headmaster of a middle school",
"a parent with teenage children",
"a doctor for mental health problems"
],
"question": "Th... | Recently a specialist in teenager studies does some research on teenage problems. He thinks parents shouldn't be blamed of themselves because there is nothing they can do to deal with the teenage problem. Whatever they do, sometimes a wonderful, kind and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I've seen friends deal with _ in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, should stand up, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman whenever anyone entered the room. I saw him last week when I visited them. Lying on the sofa, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in. His mother was angry. "I don't know what to do with him these days," she said. "He's forgotten all the manners we taught him."
He hasn't forgotten them. He's just decided that he's not going to use them. She said that she would like to throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, "I don't like your dress, it's ugly." One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
"Where did we go wrong?" Her parents are now very sad. Probably nothing is wrong with the parents. | middle3220.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "friend"
},
"options": [
"brother",
"cousin",
"friend",
"sister"
],
"question": "Tom is Mark's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text"... | Hello! I'm Tom. Here is a photo of my friend. His first name is Mark. His last name is Hand. He is English. His school ID card number is 19922.My school ID card number is 12299. That's interesting . Look at the photo! He is in a black and red jacket. His backpack is blue, and his watch is yellow. A baseball is in his hand .His telephone number is 235-3577. | middle5889.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "at school"
},
"options": [
"at school",
"at home",
"in the hospital",
"in the store"
],
"question": "The writer was _ when hearing the news.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | New Baby Brother
I was sitting in school when I heard the news.
"Your baby brother is born,and wants to see you!"
Dad got me from school and to the hospital with no delay.
Hurrying on our journey,he almost forgot the way!
My brother's hands were tiny,and wrinkly soft, like a prune.
After he smiled at me,Mom said, "He'll come home soon!"
Everyone "oohing" and "aahing",they say "He is so sweet.
And one day he'll walk around on those little baby feet!" | middle7046.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to go to college."
},
"options": [
"to be a super basketball player",
"to get a scholarship",
"to go to college.",
"to play for NBA"
],
"question": "What' s the girl's dream!",
"question_type": "factiod_ques... | I watched a little girl playing basketball every day from my bedroom window. One day, I asked her why she practiced so much. She said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship . I like basketball and I want to be the best player in college. My dad told me, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." She never changed her mind. Whenever she was in junior high school or senior high school. One day, before she graduate from senior high school, I saw her sitting on the grass sadly. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her coach said she was too short to be a good basketball player, so she should stop dreaming about going to college. She was heartbroken and it made me feel bad, too. Then she smiled and told me her father said to her, "If you really want to play for the scholarship of a good college, nothing but yourself can stop your dream." The next year, she and her team went to a big game she was seen by a coach of a famous college team and was offered a scholarship to the women's basketball team of their college. She was getting the college education that she had dreamed of. "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." It is true. | middle1437.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "some"
},
"options": [
"most",
"many",
"some",
"all the"
],
"question": "It is reported that students in Fuzhou can have _ problems with their minds.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answe... | A recent report from Fuzhou Daily says about 18% of Fuzhou teenagers can have problems with their minds(,).Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Zhang Qiong, a junior 2 student from Fuzhou, could not understand his teachers in class and was doing badly in his lessons. He was afraid of exams. When he looked at the exam paper, he couldn't think of anything to write. Another student, a15-year-old girl called Wu Yuan from Xiamen often argued ( ) with herclassmates even her parents because of some difficult ideas. She became so angry with them that she started to cut her finger with a knife.
However, many students who have problems won't go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don't want to talk about their secrets. here is some advice for the teenagers to solve the problems: Firstly, talk to your parents or teachers often. Secondly, take part in group activities and do sports. Thirdly, go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell. | middle6358.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Chinese"
},
"options": [
"Australian",
"Chinese",
"English",
"American"
],
"question": "_ people like to use paper cut for their festivals.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Paper cut can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People put it on windows, doors and walls for the festival.
A thousand years ago, paper cut was used for decoration . In Tang Dynasty women used paper cut as headdress. In Song Dynasty, it helped make gifts more beautiful. What's more, people would feel happier when they saw paper cut on windows, doors and walls. Now people use paper cut to express their wishes for welcoming the New Year.
There are different kinds of paper cut in different parts of China. Pictures usually cover nearly all things, from flowers, birds to the famous people. Now, there are factories for paper cut in China. Paper cut has changed from decoration to a kind of art. At the same time, paper cut also appears in cartoons, magazines or TV programs. | middle7052.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Monthly Returns"
},
"options": [
"Big City Savers",
"Monthly Returns",
"Day Returns",
"Family Returns"
],
"question": "If you want to go to a city75 miles away for four days ,which kind of ticket will you choose... | Do you want to save money when you travel by train? Here are some ways .
Day Returns:
This kind of ticket can save you 45% on the fare.You have to travel before 8.00 a.m. and after 6.00 p.m from Monday to Friday, but you can travel at any time on Saturday or Sunday.
Big City Savers :
You can save much money with these tickets.You have to buy them by 4.00 p.m the day before you travel.
Monthly Returns :
You can use these tickets for most journeys over 65 miles. Go any day return within(.....) a month. Monthly Returns can save you 25% on the fare.
Family Returns:
You can get a card of Family Returns for PS20. After you buy your own ticket ,you need to pay only PS3 for each of the other family members.You can travel as often as you like within two months. | middle1423.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "some effect on most persons' intelligence"
},
"options": [
"a great effect on everyone's intelligence",
"some effect on most persons' intelligence",
"some effect on a few persons' intelligence",
"no effect on most perso... | If you are like most people ,your intelligence changes with the seasons ,You are probably a lot sharper in the spring than you are at any other time of year . A famous scientist ,Ellsworth Huntington (1876--1947),concluded from other men's work and his own among people in different climates that climate and temperature have an effect on your mental abilities .
He found that cool weather is much more favorable for creative thinking than summer heat .This does not mean that all people are less intelligent in the summer than they are during the rest of the year. It does mean, however , that the mental abilities of large numbers of people tend to be lowest in the summer .
Spring appears to be the best period of the year for thinking One reason may be that in the spring man's mental abilities are affected by the same factors that bring about great changes in nature .
Fall is the next-best season ,then winter .As for summer ,it seems to be a good time to take a long vacation from thinking . | middle5645.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "30"
},
"options": [
"10",
"20",
"30",
"40"
],
"question": "If each of the two pots could be filled with 20 kilos of water, the woman would probably get _ kilos of water from the river to the house.",
"qu... | Once upon a time, an old woman had two large water pots. Each hung on the end of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect, From the river to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. And the other pot was always full. The perfect pot took pride in its talent. But the poor cracked pot felt sad for its own disadvantage.
One day by the river the cracked pot said to the woman, "I feel bad about myself, because the crack in me causes water to come out all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled and said, "Why are there flowers on your side of the road, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your crack. So I planted flowers on your side of the road, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my house, There would not be this beauty without you. Each of us has our own cracks. But the cracks make our lives so interesting and beautiful."
So, to all the cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the road! | middle2894.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "on the north"
},
"options": [
"on the north",
"to the north",
"in the north",
"to the east"
],
"question": "Russsia is _ of the China.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | Russia is on the north of China. It is bigger than other countries .How much do you know about it ? Let's talk about something about its capital ----- Moscow . There is a famous square called Red Square in Moscow .It is the centre of Moscow .Is the square red? Why is it called Red Square ? Red has another meaning ---- beautiful . So " Red Square " means a beautiful square .As we all know ,there is a palace to the north of Tian'anmen Square .And there's a palace beside Red Square , too . Now , it is the offfice for the Russian government . A High bell tower stands in the palace . There is a shining red star on the top of the tower .
,, . (1,5) | middle3552.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A dog"
},
"options": [
"A dog",
"An elephant",
"An ape",
"A monkey"
],
"question": "What kind of animals can guard a house?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | Can animals do work for us? Some scientists think that animals may do a lot of jobs. They say that we may see many elephants, monkeys, dogs, bears and other animals do a lot of things. Animals can get something to eat if they do some work for people.
Some scientists say that many different animals may do lots of jobs if they know they will get something to eat. Of course, dogs can guard a house, and elephants can do some heavy jobs. And we can also teach animals to work in factories. In America apes can help people make cars. Scientists believe that these big monkeys may drive cars. | middle49.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "have a rest"
},
"options": [
"have a rest",
"learn languages",
"look for interesting jobs",
"visit museums"
],
"question": "Mr Smith goes out to _ when it's summer or winter holidays.",
"question_type": ... | Mr Smith teaches English in a university . He is often very busy with work. When it's summer or winter holidays, he goes out to take vacations to relax. Usually he goes to France because he thinks it's an interesting country. And he can speak French very well.
But last month he said to his wife , "I'm not visiting France this time. I want to go to a different country. I _ Japan. But I can hardly speak Japanese, so I'm going to study it for a month before I go."
He studied pretty hard for a month, and then his vacation started.
Ten days later, he came back. His wife asked him, "How about your short vacation in Japan? Did you have any trouble with your Japanese there?"
"No, I didn't," answered Mr Smith. "But the Japanese did!" | middle1345.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "An American"
},
"options": [
"A German",
"An American",
"Frenchman",
"Japanese"
],
"question": "Who really invented the car first? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | The car was invented just a century ago. You may know all kinds of cars' names, but many people don't know who was the inventor of the first car. The first car was invented not by a German, but by an American. His name was Henry Ford. Henry was born in a poor family. He was the eldest of six children. When he was a boy, he became interested in mending watches and machines. When he was twelve years old, his mother died. Soon he had to work in a machine shop for two dollars and fifty cents a week. In the evenings he repaired watches for another dollar a week. The hard life made him strong and able.
At that time there was another interest in the life of the young ford. He dreamed to make a machine. It could run without a horse, so named "horseless carriage." He over-came a lot of difficulties and in April 1893, the "horseless carriage" was finally finished. It was the first car.
Later Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company . He was really the first inventor of the car in the world. | middle809.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Only sadness is measured in the study."
},
"options": [
"Students' emotions are measured by asking questions.",
"Only sadness is measured in the study.",
"The study shows relationships are a source of happiness.",
"Thos... | Next time you're unhappy or complaining about your life, don't turn to a cheerful comedy. You might find a tear-jerking tragedy is just the thing you need to brighten your day.
A team of researchers at Ohio State University, US, has found sad movies can make people happier, Science Daily reported last month.
Many people find tragedies make them realize how good their own lives are, the study showed.
"People seem to use tragedies as a way to reflect on the important relationships in their own lives," said Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, leader of the study. "Tragic stories often focus on themes of eternal love, and this leads viewers to think about their loved ones and count their good and helpful things."
In the study, researchers gathered 361 college students and showed them the 2007 movie, Alonement. The movie is about two lovers who are separated and finally die during Worid War II. Before and after the movie, the students were asked questions measuring how happy they were with their lives. Researchers also asked them before, afier and three times during the movie to measure various emotions, including sadness.
Researchers found that the sadder students felt while watching the movie, the more likely they were to think about real people they had close relationships with in life. This increased their happiness afier watching the movie. Knobloch-Westerwick explained that negative moods make people more thoughtful.
"Positive emotions show that everything is fine, you don't have to worry, you don't have to think about problems in your life," she said. "But negative emotions, like sadness, make you think more critically about your situation. So seeing a tragic movie may make you sad, but that will make you to think more about your own close relationships and appreciate them more."
The link between watching a tragic story and feeling better has long been recognized. The ancient Greeks even had a word for the feeling of happiness afier seeing something sad that led to the modern English word "catharsis ".
The study also showed that relationships are a very important source of happiness in our lives, so it is no surprise that thinking about your loved ones makes you happier, researchers said. | middle2664.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "There is something more important than money in life."
},
"options": [
"Parents should not ask their children to live a lie.",
"There is something more important than money in life.",
"Young people should make their own caree... | A situation in which a student is troubled by his parents asking him to go into a job area that makes good money but he doesn't want to go into, is a bad situation. The question is whether he should go into this job or not.
To start with, you need to go for what is best for YOU, even if there would be some negative results. You can't be happy if you don't make decisions that are right for you. If you do not make your own decisions and make decisions that will be good for you, your life would be a big lie to yourself, which is not a sign that you have done something you wanted to do.
Living a lie would not be a very good life. The truth is much better than living a lie. If your whole life is a lie, then it is not a very beautiful life at all. In the song Lyin' Eyes, the woman is living a lie by pretending she loves the old man, while in reality she was just in it for money. As a result, her life is miserable and a big lie.
And finally, money cannot buy happiness. A good example of this is also from the song Lyin' Eyes. The only reason why the woman married the old man was for the money and gifts she would receive. This results in her life are not happy at all. This just goes to show that no matter how much money you have, your life still might not be happy. It takes a lot more than _ to make your life a good one.
In conclusion, doing what you want is best. If you don't do what you want to, you won't be happy with your life. | middle6402.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "15 minutes"
},
"options": [
"half an hour",
"15 minutes",
"10 minutes",
"5 minutes"
],
"question": "It often takes Dick about _ to walk to school every morning.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Dear Linda,
I'm glad to hear from you and I would like to be your pen friend. In your letter, you said you wanted to know something about my school life .
I walk to school at 7:30 every morning because the school is near our house. When I get to school at about 7:45, I often do the cleaning with my classmates. After that we do some reading for half an hour. We have four lessons in the morning. I often have my lunch at 12:00 at school. We usually have two lessons in the afternoon. The school is over at about 5:00 and then I go home.
My favorite subject is Chinese. I like all the teachers because they are friendly. I am keen on sports and I enjoy playing football best. I'm a member of our school football team. What about your school life?
Best wishes!
Dick | middle61.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The young man."
},
"options": [
"The young man.",
"The old man.",
"The young woman.",
"Mum and Dad."
],
"question": "Who gave the boy a meal box?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | It was a cold winter afternoon before Christmas. My parents and I sat on the bench in Washington, D.C. Union Station, waiting for the train. Inside the waiting hall were many people.
A boy sat nearby. His worn jacket, pale face, dirty hands all seemed to tell me that he was homeless.
"He must be cold and hungry. Maybe I should help him," I said to myself.
Just at that moment, a well-dressed young couple walked towards him.
"Excuse me," the man bent down. "My wife and I bought two meal boxes but one was enough for us. We hate to waste good food. Can you help us out and put this to use?" he handed the boy a meal box.
The boy thanked them and opened the box with joy and care. Suddenly he stopped. In the direction to which he looked, I saw an old man _ in a worn sweater, worn trousers and open shoes, entering the hall.
Putting the meal box aside, the boy stood and helped the old to his seat. He took off his jacket and covered it on the old man's shoulders, saying, "A gentleman brought me this warm meal but I just finished eating. I hate to waste good food. Can you help me out?" He placed the still-warm meal box in the old man's hands without waiting for an answer.
"Sure, son, but if only you share that sandwich with me. It's too much for a man at my age. "
We were all touched. Dad went away and soon returned with cups of hot chocolate and a big pizza. Mum and dad went up to those rags, "Excuse me..."
I rushed into a KFC and took out my pocket money. It was so cold that afternoon but I felt much warmer than I had ever thought possible. | middle6364.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "two"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "There are _ kinds of camels in the world.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"a... | Many people think the camel stores only water in its hump ,but it does not,Instead,the camel stores something else there----food.The camel's hump is really a hump of fat.When the camel,often called"a ship of the desert",is not travelling and is in a place where there is plenty of food and water,it eats and drinks a lot. As it does so, its hump rises from the fat its body makes. Then when the camel is travelling through the desert and when there is little food,it can live off the stored fat.
A camel can go on for days or weeks with little feed or water.However its hunger reaches the point starvation ,its hump shrinks and may even slip off its back and hang down its side.
Camels are not fussy about what they eat.Thorny plants don't hurt their mouths,grasses of any kinds will do and so will hay,dry grain,cactuses.(,,)
There are one--humpcamels and two--hump camels. Camels with one hump are calledArabian camels,mainly coming from North Africa. Camels with two humps are mainly from Asia. | middle5679.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "France"
},
"options": [
"the United States",
"France",
"Scotland",
"Spain"
],
"question": "It is said that people first celebrated 'Fool's Day' in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Every year, we celebrate many special days-Mother's Day, Father's Day, and New Year's Day. In some countries, there is a special day for playing tricks on others. In North America and parts of Europe, this day is known as April Fool's Day, and is celebrated on April 1.
Many people believe that the French started April Fool's Day. Centuries ago, New Year's Day in Europe was April 1. In 1582, the calendar changed and King Charles IX of France moved it to January 1.
Some people did not like this, and chose to keep April 1 as New Year's Day. Many called these people 'April fools' and played jokes and tricks on them. Over time, April 1 became a day to have fun in France. It then spread to England and Scotland, and later, to North America.
On April Fool's Day, jokes are common. In the United States, for example, a person may move a friend's clock ahead one hour, or change the sugar and salt. In Scotland, April Fool's Day lasts for two days. The second day is called 'Taily Day'-for one's 'tail'. On this day, people might secretly put a sign saying 'kick me' on a person's back or behind. Other countries have their own 'Fool's Day'. In Spain and Mexico, people play tricks on each other on December 28. In India, it happens on March 31.
In many countries around the world, April 1 is a day of fun. Jokes bring about a lot of laughter, and many shouts of 'April Fool'! | middle2116.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "transportation"
},
"options": [
"growing",
"collection",
"transportation",
"producing"
],
"question": "During the course of _ , food in supermarkets produces a lot of CO2.",
"question_type": "cloze_questi... | There are a lot of reasons why growing your own food is a good idea. GIY helps reduce carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions . Food in supermarkets travels a long way and that produces a lot of CO2. If you grow as many vegetables as you can at home, you can help save the earth.
Vegetables you grow are also good for your health because they have more nutrients than supermarket vegetables and they don't have chemicals.
How much money can you save? First of all, seeds are a lot of cheaper than vegetables, and secondly, you can save more by planting the most expensive and the most productive vegetables. You can give your vegetables to fiends and neighbors. It can make you very popular.
Don't worry if you don't have much space. To GIY, you don't even need a garden. You can use pots on your balconies . And don't worry if your space doesn't get much sun. You can plant vegetables that don't need a lot of sun to grow.
Grow your own vegetables now. You will have both a healthier body and a healthier social life. | middle3208.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "bad habits;good ones"
},
"options": [
"good habits;bad ones",
"bad habits;good ones",
"bad habits;good one",
"good habits;bad one"
],
"question": "It is easier to fall into _ than into _ .",
"questio... | It is easier to go down the hill than to climb up the hill,so it is easier to fall into bad habits than into good ones.Bad habits do not come suddenly. They come little by little without one being aware of their danger. School boys first pick up little bad habits in the school and on the street. When they can't write their lessons,they copy from their schoolmates. If they see bigger boys smoking,they also want to learn to smoke. If they see their friends gambling ,they want to gamble. When they get bigger,the habits become stronger and stronger,so that they can no longer get rid of(,)them. From copying,they learn to steal,from gambling,they learn to cheat. At last they become distrusted by everybody. How necessary it is that we get rid of the bad habits in the beginning. | middle4567.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "New Year's Eve"
},
"options": [
"New Year's Day",
"the night before New Year's Eve",
"the night of New Year's Day",
"New Year's Eve"
],
"question": "People begin to have great celebrations for the New Year on _... | There is a one-day holiday in most western countries on New Year's Day. The real celebration begins on New Year's Eve-the night before New Year's Day. There are several interesting customs in the west, and there are many differences in different countries.
Though Christmas is a good time for families to get together, New Year's Day is a time for some western people to be with friends. On New Year's Day, there are always parties. At such parties, there is food, drinks and dances until New Year comes
At midnight, people often say "Happy New Year! "to each other. In many western countries, _ are let off at midnight and some people like to shout aloud to drive away evil spirits. | middle75.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "This book was specially written for kids ages nine through thirteen."
},
"options": [
"This book is written to help parents who get divorced.",
"Only people aged from thirteen to nineteen will get help from this book.",
"This... | Kid Power in Action!
Kids wanted aChicken Soup book of their own, so here it is!Children Soup for the Kid'sSoul is for kids ages nine through thirteen, and it's "all that!"
Sometimes you feel like life is a complete blast , from scoring the winning goal to hanging out with your friends. Yet other times, life is too difficult: You seem to see violence everywhere you turn, more parents are getting divorced , your best friend moves away, or you feel like you don't fit in.
Now there is a place to find answers and encouragement and to help you realize that your dreams really can come true.
With funny stories about friendship and family, and serious stories about brave kids and difficult choices, this book will make you laugh, cry, think, and feel good about yourself.
Ever since the firstChicken Soup for the Soul was published in June 1993, we have been getting requests from kids all over the world asking for a Chicken Soup book just for them. So here it is, the first full-lengthChicken Soup for the Kid's Soul, written by kids and by grown-ups who haven't forgotten what it's like to be a kid.
We would like to know how the stories in the book will affect you and which ones are your favorites, please write to us and let us know. We also invite you to send us any stories that you would like us to consider for the second book: Helping of Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul. You may send stories and poems that you have written, or ones that you have read and liked.
For more information, you can visit the Chicken Soup for the Soul site on American Online at keyword:chickensoul. | middle6416.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "after school"
},
"options": [
"before school",
"in class",
"after school",
"during her holidays"
],
"question": "Nancy spends a lot of time on her hobby _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Nancy's hobby is collecting sharpeners. She spends a lot of time on it after school. She has been collecting more than one hundred sharpeners from different countries. They are all different in color and size.
Nancy likes sharpeners with animals and birds on them. In this way, she learns the names of many animals and birds. She also borrows books on animals and birds from her school library. She learns a lot about them from books.
Sometimes Nancy has many sharpeners of the same kind. She gives them to her friends. Then they give her other different sharpeners in return.
Nancy has many pen pals in many countries. She sends them sharpeners of her country. In return, they send her sharpeners of their countries. Nancy's father also gives her sharpeners. He brings them home from his friends for her.
Many of Nancy's friends collect other things. Some collect coins and others collect matchboxes or stamps. But, all of them say that Nancy's collection is the most interesting of all. | middle835.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Breakfast."
},
"options": [
"Breakfast.",
"Lunch.",
"Supper.",
"A,B and C"
],
"question": "What is one of the most important meals of the day?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | I think all of us should know it's necessary to have breakfast. It's one of the most important meals of the day. If you want to keep fit, you should have a good breakfast. Choosing the right food is also important. For it, you may have bread, eggs and milk.
But in fact, many students go to school without breakfast. This does harm to their health. Maybe they say they have no time because it's too late or their parents are too busy to prepare breakfast for them.
What will happen to the students on an empty stomach ? Because of no energy, they can't keep active. They may not grow fast. When they feel hungry, they are not able to study well and they have no energy to play well, either. What's worse , they will spend more time getting better once they fall ill.
Therefore , we shouldn't go to school without breakfast, no matter what reason it is. | middle7708.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was so lonely."
},
"options": [
"He was so lonely.",
"He was ugly.",
"He had two heads.",
"He had three tails."
],
"question": "Why was the monster unhappy?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": ... | Once upon a time there was a monster( ). He was very ugly ( ), and had no friends. No one wanted to talk to him. Even other monsters thought he was ugly. He lived alone and was very unhappy because he was so lonely.
"I wish I had a friend." he said to himself every day. "One friend would be enough. Someone to talk to."
"Dear Editor( )." he wrote. " I am an ugly monster. How can I find a friend?"
"Dear Monster." the Editor replied. " Advertise( )for a friend in this magazine." The monster wrote an advertisement.
"Monster wants a friend, male or female. I have two heads, four arms, six legs and three tails. I have one blue eye, one green eye and one brown eye. Smoke comes out of my noses. But I am really a kind monster and will be a good friend to someone. If you would like to meet me, please stand outside Blake's Store at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd. Write to me at Box 45. Everybody's Magazine."
A few days later he went to the magazine.
"Do you have any letters for Box 45?" he asked.
The Editor looked in Box45.
"Yes, there is one." she said, and gave it to him.
The monster opened the letter, and read, "Dear Monster, I think a person's character ( ) is more important than his appearance( ). I will wait outside Blake's Store on Friday. Please carry a flower so that I will recognize you. Yours sincerely, Alice Green. " | middle4201.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the earth"
},
"options": [
"the earth",
"the moon",
"the sun",
"the stars"
],
"question": "These satellites go round _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index":... | Man-made satellites have been sent up into space by many countries. These satellites go round the earth and help us to learn more about the earth, the weather and other things. Most countries use these satellites to sent and receive messages. For example, with their help China can send their programs to America, too. We can also use satellites to help us to make telephone calls to foreign countries. | middle2670.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "increases in value"
},
"options": [
"will be thrown away",
"increases in value",
"is not worth buying",
"is worth no more than its face value"
],
"question": "When a mistake is made in the printing of the stamp,... | How can a small stamp be worth $16,800?
Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value.
Do you think it impossible? Well, it is true. And this is how it happened.
The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the former British colony of M auritius , a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to London. Mauritius was about to become the fourth country in the world to put out stamps.
Before the order was filled and the stamps arrived from England, a big dance was planned by the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces on the island. The dance would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius. Stamps were badly needed to post the letters. Therefore, an islander, who was a good printer, was told to copy the pattern of the stamps. He carelessly put the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid", two words seen on stamps at that time, on the several hundred that he printed.
Today, there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left--- fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because there are so few Two-Penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as $16,800 for one of them. | middle2843.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Toddlers"
},
"options": [
"Children",
"Toddlers",
"Kids",
"Grown-ups"
],
"question": "_ are all lovely and lively.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Children are children after all, and most of them speak their mind. When they are just toddlers , they are all lovely and lively. And it's so interesting to watch them speak like a grown-up. But as they grow, these same kids seem annoying and ill-mannered if they try to be a grown-up.
Conflicts go between parents and children. It's hard to tell who are right and who are wrong. A child of 7-8 always finds some reasons to have a conflict with it's parents. Whether it is about some toy, studies, a party or a company, there is always a difference between them. And it becomes worse when they answer you back. Scientists tell us that children should be treated with care. Yes, sure they should respect their elders.
We are partly responsible for this. At an early age we encourage children to behave like adults, just because we find it funny. The kids on the other hand consider this same behavior as normal and get used to it. And when it is not funny for us any more, we expect them to stop it, but by then it is already too late. Only when they reach a certain maturity will the children realize that answering back and being rude are not acceptable . Until then, most of the time their behavior is difficult to change, unless by force . And use of force is against the every good idea, as it weakens the child's confidence.
So it is one thing to bring a child into this world but quite another to make them into well mannered citizens. The best way is to be a good example ourselves, as our children are the mirrors of us adults. | middle3585.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Zoos."
},
"options": [
"Sick people's homes.",
"Hospital.",
"Old people's homes.",
"Zoos."
],
"question": "Which place is not mentioned about volunteering in the US ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | Each country has many kind people who volunteer to take care of others. For example, some high school and university students in the US often spend many hours as volunteers in hospital or old people's homes. They read books for the people or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.
Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of the sick people. They clean up their houses or do the shopping. For boys who don't have fathers there is an organization called "Big Brothers". University students and other people take these boys to play baseball games and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.
Each city has a lot of clubs where boys and girls can go to play games or take part in other activities. Some of these clubs show movies or have short trips to the mountains, the beaches or the museums. Most of these clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers because they can understand the problems of these boys and girls more easily.
Volunteers believe that some of the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others. | middle1392.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Cold water"
},
"options": [
"bread",
"Butter",
"Coffee",
"Cold water"
],
"question": "_ is usually served before you order at American restaurants or coffee shops.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | If you are sitting at a table with people you don't know, it is impolite to smoke without first asking if it will disturb them. At American restaurants and coffee shops, cold water is usually served before you order. You may find the bread and the butter are free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores and restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in big cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day. Serving in restaurants are often large. If you can't finish the meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask the waiter or the waitress for a "doggie bag" . It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you are taking the food for yourself. Tips are not usually added to check. You should leave a tip of about 15% on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a waiter or waitress often brings your check on a plate, and you can put your money there. Then the waiter or the waitress brings you your changes. | middle160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Japan"
},
"options": [
"France",
"Japan",
"Germany",
"Australia"
],
"question": "The e-waste found in Hong Kong last month was from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | It is reported that some developed countries have shipped broken parts of computers to China. Such a thing can be founded every day although it is against international laws. Last month Hong Kong officers found 131,000 kilograms of broken computers, TVs and phones sent from Japan.
Things like these are called electronic waste, or e-waste. Dealing with them is not an easy job because dangerous poison like mercury and lead can be found in them. Every time an old computer breaks down, it needs to be dealt with safely. But at present, broken computer parts are usually _ . It may be hundreds of years before they are really goes in the earth.
Many places in China are polluted by e-waste. Guiyu in Guangdong province is one of them. This town is named as "the e-waste capital of the world". It has to deal with 1.5 million kilograms of e-waste each year, from which it makes 75 million years. But it comes at a cost. Many of the poison in e-waste find their way into the environment. Plastic is burned outdoors and chemical water is poured into rivers, Greenpeace, an environmental group, has found the air, the earth and the rivers in Guiyu badly polluted.
The Chinese government wants the country to develop, but in a way that doesn't do harm to the environment and people's life. This year, China presents a new protection law, the strictest one we have ever had. Computer companies like Lenovo and Dell will be asked to take back their old computers. This is because the companies that make computers know best to deal with them safely. Hopefully, the problem with e-waste will be solved in the near future. | middle5692.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "Leo has _ good friends.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "... | I'm Leo. I'm 13 and I'm in Class Six. I have three good friends. They are Lily, Gina, and Ben. Lily and Gina are in Class Seven. Ben is in Class Six, too. We're all in Grade Seven.
We like sports. My favorite sport is ping-pong. It is interesting. I have three ping-pong balls and four ping-pong bats. Lily and Gina are sisters. They don't like ping-pong. They think it is boring. Their favorite sport is tennis. They have five tennis balls and they play tennis with their parents and two brothers. Ben's favorite sport is soccer. He has two soccer balls and he plays soccer very well. | middle4598.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In a big city."
},
"options": [
"In a big city.",
"In the countryside.",
"On the farm.",
"In town."
],
"question": "Where did Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Mr. and Mrs. Wilson lived in a big city. They liked traveling. One summer they went to the countryside for their holiday. They enjoyed it very much, because it was a quiet and clean place.
One day they went out for a walk early in the morning and saw an old man. He lived on the farm, and he was sitting alone in the warm sun in front of the house. Mr. Wilson asked him, "Do you like living in the quiet place?"
The old man said, "Yes, I do."
Mr. Wilson asked, "What are the good things about it?"
The old man answered. "Well, everybody knows everybody. People often come and see me, and I often go and see them. And there're lots of children here."
Mr. Wilson said, "That's interesting. And what are the bad things?"
The old man thought for a minute and said, "Well, the same things." | middle5686.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "5 pm on Wednesday"
},
"options": [
"9 am on Sunday",
"5 pm on Wednesday",
"7 am on Thursday",
"9 am on Saturday"
],
"question": "You can use the facilities in the Shine Sports Centre at _ .",
"question_typ... | Come And Join Us!
We warmly welcome you to the Shine Sports Centre!
All the young people in this city can become members of the Shine Sports Centre and each member should pay $10 every year. To be a member of us and get your membership card ,you need to come to us between 2 pm and 6 pm, Monday to Thursday. I have to tell you that we don't accept new members on Friday. Now, there are three things that you must remember to bring with you when you come for a membership card. They are your ID card, a recent passport-sized photo of yourself and the money. We can't give you the card unless you bring all the three.
Once you have got your membership card, you need to bring it with you whenever you come to book or use any facility in Shine Sports Centre. Booking over the phone is not allowed, so you have to come here with your card when you want to book. There is one more thing I have to tell you. Our opening hours is from 9 am to 10 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 6 pm on weekends. We hope that every member can have a great time in the Shine Sports Centre. | middle174.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "recognize faces"
},
"options": [
"protect the owner",
"help a school child",
"recognize faces",
"call the police"
],
"question": "The new smart camera is different from the ones in many homes because it can _ ... | Many homes have cameras to protect them from danger. The cameras can tell the owners if someone has entered. But the cameras do not know whether the person is a family member, a friend, a postman or a criminal .
But a new camera made by a French company can recognize faces. It can tell parents at work that their children have returned from school, or that the mail has been sent to their home. It can also tell them if a stranger has entered their home. When family members enter a home, the smart camera "recognizes" them and sends information to the owner's phone. The owner can choose to see the video then or later. But if an unknown person enters a home, the camera will send a warning sound on the owner's phone.
This is what happened recently to a smart home camera owner named Damien. He lives in Paris.
"On a Friday I was at work, having a big monthly meeting when my phone moved. At first I told myself 'Oh, it must be a wrong warn,' but my phone was telling me there was a face that the camera did not recognize. Something was happening in my house!"
"I saw a person I did not know with his shoes on, which is not allowed in my apartment . I watched it on the video. I felt quite surprised. I hurried back home as fast as possible and called the police on the way. Thanks to the smart camera, the criminal was caught soon," said Damien. | middle7091.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "cities become very hot in summer"
},
"options": [
"cities become very hot in summer",
"Atlanta is the hottest city in America",
"there are not as many storms as before",
"it is not as hot on the roof as in the street"
... | For many years scientists have said that the earth is getting warmer. Now they have found something new-hot cities! In the southern US, they have found that cities become very hot in summer. For example, the city of Atlanta in Georgia has roof temperature of up to 50oC while it is 27degC in the streets! At night, the outside of buildings stays so hot that the heat of the city causes storms over the city!
China also has the same kind of problems. Every year more farmland is used for factories or offices. More housing is needed, too. As people become richer, they buy more cars. New roads are needed and new car parks are built in the city centers. This all makes cities hotter.
It isn't easy to change the situation. City planners say that we should plant more trees in the middle of cities. Every new street should have trees on both sides, they say. Trees make the temperature lower, so we should have more trees in our parks and squares. We should also paint our roofs white. If we do this, they do not become so hot. Every roof in a hot and sunny country should have solar roof panels. The electricity from these can be used to run the air conditioners in the buildings.
People continue to cut down forests around the cities. This makes the problem worse. Cities are growing faster and faster. By the year 2025, four fifths of the population will be living in cities. If we go on like this, there will not be enough farmland to feed everyone in the world | middle612.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "what water and grass looked like"
},
"options": [
"how to go through the desert",
"what they wanted to do",
"where they wanted to go",
"what water and grass looked like"
],
"question": "At first the young camel ... | One day a mother camel and her son walked through a desert. They were looking for water and grass.
The son asked, "What do water and grass look like, Mum?"His mother answered, "Water looks like the sky, blue and clear.While grass is green, fresh and nice."
After they walked for a day and a night, the son suddenly cried, "Look!Mum,there is water and grass over there!"
"What a foolish talk,my boy!"
The water and grass were on the left,while the desert was on the right.But because the mother camel was blind( )in her left eye,she could only see a sea of yellow sand with her right eye.So she didn't believe what the young camel said.
The next day they went on walking ,the young camel found a second _ ,but his mother still did not believe him. She said angrily, "No,that's not an oasis,but a desert. I have more knowledge and experience than you. You are wrong again. You should listen to me."
This time the young camel was angry with his mother,too. So when he saw an oasis for the third time, he left his mother without telling her.He ran to the grass and ate his fill. But his poor mother was still walking on and she was still hungry and thirsty. | middle2857.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "In the passage, English people usually have _ ways to get their family names.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Everyone has a family name. In China, the family name is the first name, but in English countries the family name is the last name. Do you know how English people get their family names? And what do they mean? English people usually get their family name in these ways .
Some family names come from the places of their homes. A man live on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. In England, people's names may be Wood, Lake because they live near the wood or the lake.
Some family names come from a person's job. If a person is a cook, his family name may be Cook.
And many people get their family names from their father's family names. If you hear the name "Jackson", you can know that he is the son of Jack. | middle5876.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they were not well protected"
},
"options": [
"they were not well protected",
"they could find nothing to eat",
"they died of a serious disease",
"they had the habit of living together"
],
"question": "The Milu ... | My name is Lin Hui. I like to tell stories about people who work together. What is even better is when countries help each other and build a good friendship. An excellent example of this happened when Britain and China worked together to bring the Milu deer back to China.
Milu deer, a kind of animal with large horns , used to be common in China long ago. Like other deer they lived together and ate grass and the soft parts of trees. Milu deer were often killed for food or sport. The Ming and Qing dynasties did not protect them and many were killed. That is how the Milu deer disappeared from China.
Luckily before all of them were killed, some were taken to Britain to improve the environment of the beautiful park which belonged to the Duke of Bedford. He liked them so much that he took them from China to Britain. Milu deer liked the cool, wet weather in England and their number increased year by year. As a result, when in 1985 the government of China wanted to bring back the Milu deer, the Duke of Bedford was able to help. The first deer came back to China to the Nanhaizi Milu Park 20 kilometers south of Beijing and the centre in Dafeng, Jiangsu province.
The deer certainly seem happy to be back in China because their number has grown quickly. There are now so many of them that a new park has been opened for them in Hubei Province. At the moment the Milu deer live in centres where they are being well protected and cared for. It is hoped that one day there will be enough animals to let them live in the wild again.
294words | middle7913.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Four"
},
"options": [
"Four",
"Five",
"Three",
"Six"
],
"question": "How many instruments does the ad mention ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Do you want to be an artist ( )
Do you want to be an artist? Come to our club, and you can find yourself in happiness . We have lessons about the guitar, drum, the violin and the piano for just Y=20 each. You can also learn to sing, to dance for Y=25 each. If you like art, you can be satisfied , too--it's just for Y=30 each! | middle1635.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "improve the quality of everyday life."
},
"options": [
"make more friends in Australia.",
"serve up a daily conversation menu.",
"improve the quality of everyday life.",
"offer the UK's most popular programs"
],
... | Summer Term in the School of Life will start on Friday 25 January 2015, in Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia and will become the first international school to open its doors.
To make everyday life rich, the writer Alain de Botton has worked hard at getting the best ideas and the School of Life is his brainchild . Since it began in London in 2009, more than 50,000 people have taken part in its programs and its new way of life-long learning is now well-known all over the world.
Summer Term in the School of Life is a 10-week project offering a selection of the UK's most popular programs, led by Australia's thinkers. "We are very excited to start the School of Life in Australia. We can't wait to start receiving our first guests ," says Alain de Botton.
Summer Term will include different classes, workshops and other special events held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 25January and 31 March. The conversation Cafe onsite will serve up a daily conversation menu, light food and of course, delicious coffee.
"There has been a growing need among Australians to deal with the problems in life like love, creativity, work, money, nature and death. The School of Life Australia will provide a space for us to explore these subjects," says Sara Tiefebtun, Project Director of the School of Life Australia.
Program details for the School of Life Australia's Summer Term will be announced in December 2013. For more information sign up to our mailing list at:
Updates will also be shared regularly on Twitter
and Facebook
. | middle8177.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "lots of kids don't like going to school"
},
"options": [
"lots of kids go to school every day",
"lots of kids don't like going to school",
"lots of kids don't have enough friends",
"kids can get a good future if they li... | Lots of kids hate school, a new study found. Usually this kind of feeling doesn't last long. School is a fact of life and getting a good education can help you build the kind of future life you want. So let's talk about school and what to do when you don't like it.
The first step is to find out why. You might not like school because you don't have enough friends, or maybe you don't get along with your teachers. Sometimes it's a big problem with your classes and school work. You may be getting further and further behind, and it may seem like you'll never catch up.
When you know why you don't like school, you can start taking steps to make things better. It's a good idea to talk to someone about your problems with school. Your mom, dad, or teachers will be able to help you. Another good idea is to write down your feelings about school in a notebook. It's a great way to let out emotion . Remember, you don't have to share what you've written with others.
And here are some ways to give you the best first day of school. The night before school starts, you can do something quiet and peaceful to calm yourself down, like reading a book with your parents, taking a walk or taking a photo of your smiling face. By doing these, you will have a nice day at school. | middle7244.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To raise questions and find the answers."
},
"options": [
"To read more books about it.",
"To look it up in the dictionary.",
"To turn to the teacher for help.",
"To raise questions and find the answers."
],
"qu... | When you are curious about something and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The following steps can guide you during the research.
Step 1 Write down the subject that you are interested in on a piece of paper. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write:
Discover more about robots.
Step 2 Stop and think for a moment about what you have already known about your subject. List what you have already known like the sentences below:
1. The first robot appeared in the USA in 1959.
2. A robot can do housework and act as a teacher.
3. Sometimes a robot catches viruses and causes a lot of problems.
Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions, start writing down questions about the robots on the paper:
1. What might robots be like in the future?
2. What other things can robots do for people?
3. What kind of power will robots possibly use in five years?
Step 4 _ , you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.
For example, you might discover that robots can help scientists explore dangerous places, like the sea and outer space. How? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.
The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember that learning more always brings more questions. | middle3022.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Five"
},
"options": [
"All the students.",
"Three",
"Two.",
"Five"
],
"question": "How many students should clean the classroom?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | It is five o'clock in the afternoon. It's time to go home. But we must clean our classroom. There are five students in our group. Now there are only three. Li Hong is playing games. Lin Tao is reading a story outside the classroom. I say to them, " Please come and clean our classroom!" We begin to clean it. Look! Li Hong is carrying water. Lin Tao and I are cleaning the floor. Soon we finish it. Where are the other two students in our group? We look for them and find them playing soccer on the playground. So we play soccer together with them. | middle4995.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "At least 16 glasses of water."
},
"options": [
"Only 16 glasses of water.",
"Less than 16 glasses of water.",
"At least 16 glasses of water.",
"As much as possible."
],
"question": "How much water do we need in ... | On a hot day, it can be hard to know what to do to feel good.
Playing in water is one way to feel cooler. Taking a cool bath or a shower can feel really good on a hot day.
It is also important for us to drink water. If you feel thirsty, you should drink water immediately. On hot days, you can lose about 16 glasses of water in one day, so many doctors advise that you should try to drink at least that much every day. Mixing a little fruit juice into your water is a fun way to help you drink plenty of water.
The food we eat also makes a difference in how we feel in the heat. Cold food, such as ice cream and drinks with some ice, can cool down our bodies. However, eating spicy food makes our bodies even warmer.
The clothes we wear can help us feel cooler as well. Light-coloured, light-weight clothes feel cooler in the sun than dark, heavy clothing. Loose clothes are more comfortable in the heat than tight ones.
Even though it is not healthy to run around during the hottest time of the day, that doesn't mean a hot day is not fun! You can read stories in your room. You can also paint or draw without moving your body too much. These are just some of many cool things to do on a hot day. | middle5453.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He was a popular boy."
},
"options": [
"He was a clever boy.",
"He was a poor boy.",
"He was a popular boy.",
"He was a shy boy."
],
"question": "What kind of boy was Tony at the beginning of the story?",
"q... | Two years ago,my family moved to a new city and I had to study in a new school.As I had few friends there.I felt lonely.Then I met Tony.The first time I saw him.he was standing in the center of a group of students,telling jokes.The children around laughed from time to time.Tony knew about my problem.He asked me to play basketball with his friends and helped me with my studies.We soon became good friends.
About a year ago,however,Tony's father was killed in an accident.As a result,his family had to move to a small house.Tony changed into a different person.He became silent and he even lost his interest in studies.Several times.I invited him to go out and play basketball with me,but he refused.I wanted to help him,but didn't know what to do.
Then something strange happened in my class.Two classmates lost the money in their schoolbags.
Last Friday,just before the P.E.lesson,I went back to the classroom to get my running shoes I would use.The door was half open.I went in.To my _ ,I saw Tony was searching one of my classmates'schoolbags.I was shocked... | middle5335.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "terrible"
},
"options": [
"kind",
"serious",
"terrible",
"strict"
],
"question": "According to Ian Lowe, teachers are _ in autistic children's eyes.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answe... | Autistic children may learn better from robots than from human beings, according to a study at a school in Birmingham.
Two robots like humans, Max and Ben, have been helping teach autistic children at Sutcliffe Primary School since March last year. The school is the first in the UK to try the new way.
Ian Lowe, the head teacher, said, "The robots have no feelings, so autistic children find that they are less terrible than their teachers."
He added, "They are really cute-looking. Autistic children are hard to communicate with adults and other children, but for some reasons they like these robots.
"Some children are not able to communicate with others. But they come into school and start to communicate through the robots."
The robots are knee-high and move like children. The school is using them to teach phonics and play cards or memory and imitation games with children from five to ten.
Dr Guldberg said, "We do many different activities with the robots acting as a model for the children's behavior. It is amazing to see how interested and concentrated the children can be when they are working with the robots. It can be very difficult to get autistic children to concentrate."
He added, "If you can meet the needs of autistic children, you can meet the needs of all children. And you know, when people feel safe and interested, they learn much better." | middle3744.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Different."
},
"options": [
"Boring.",
"Funny.",
"Bad.",
"Different."
],
"question": "Which word can describe the life in 2050?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | Scientists say life will be very different in 2050.
First, there will be no TV channels in 2050. People will choose a program from a computer and watch it on TV. In 2050, we will get information from the computers only.
Second, water will be a big problem in 2050. In many places, people won't have water to drink.
Third, cars will use new and clean fuels and they will go very fast. There will be a computer in every car. And the computers will _ the cars and there won't be any accidents .
,,. | middle7522.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because the naughty children always kicked him."
},
"options": [
"Because the owner didn't like him at all",
"Because the children didn't like to play with him.",
"Because the naughty children always kicked him.",
"Beca... | Once upon a time, there were two doors in a house. One was a beautiful living room door, and the other was just a normal bathroom door.
There were some naughty children in the house, and they always kicked the door. The living room door was always very angry about it and hated the children. The bathroom door didn't care too much when the children kicked him. Instead, he tried to comfort the living room door. He said, "Don't worry. It's normal. They're children, and they'll grow up soon. Before long, things will be better."
One day, the living door finally lost his temper . A child kicked him, and he broke at once. The owner of the house got very angry and told the children to be careful next time. This made the living door happy. However, the owner didn't repair him; he threw him into a landfill instead. At the same time, the bathroom door took the place of the living room door. And the children treated him with greater care.
The living room door realized his mistake. He shouldn't treat young children like that. He should learn to forgive others. The happiness from revenge will never last for long. | middle7536.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "many different meanings"
},
"options": [
"only one meaning",
"the same meaning",
"many different meanings",
"two meanings"
],
"question": "We know that the word \"cool\" has _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_... | "Cool" is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold. As the world changes, the word has many different meanings.
"Cool" can be used to _ feelings of interest in almost anything. When you see a famous car in the street, maybe you will say "It's cool." You may think, "He's so cool," when you see your favorite footballer.
We all maximize the meaning of "cool". You can use it instead of many words such as "new" or "surprising". Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used. A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall. On one student's paper was just the one sentence, "It's so cool". Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt.
But the story also shows a scarcity of words, it seems that some people have no words to show the same meaning without "cool" . Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word "cool"? Yes, I can. And I think they are also very cool. | middle6628.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a traffic accident might happen to her"
},
"options": [
"she was driving a second-hand car",
"a traffic accident might happen to her",
"a single man was chasing her down",
"she drove faster than any other car"
],
... | One day while driving from my home to work. I noticed a car in front of me had a wobbly wheel. It was clear that the wheel had been changed recently and had not been fixed correctly. On a slow road this would not show much of a problem but I knew a highway was coming soon. There the traffic would move much faster and the driver would be in danger as the wheel could come off at that speed.
I was driving a large jeep at the time and the car in front was a small one driven by a young lady on her own. So as I tried to flash my lights and wave her to pull over, I was worried that she wouldn' t pull over on the road side when she found in her mirror a single man chasing her down in a jeep and waving for her to pull over.
Thankfully. she trusted more in the good nature of people and pulled over where I could explain the problem. She said the wheel was changed only the night before and that she would pull into the nearest garage where the repairman had tools to fix the wheel correctly.
My belief is that the act of kindness was hers and not mine. How so? Well, it was she who chose to believe in the possibility that people are good over the belief that bad things would come from being waved over to the side of the road by strangers.
I am glad I was able to wave her down in time and so a serious accident might have been avoided. But I am even happier that she believed in a stranger. | middle5321.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They wanted to sell the salt and buy some food."
},
"options": [
"They wanted to buy some salt and food",
"They wanted to sell the salt and buy some food.",
"They wanted to check the old belief.",
"They wanted to foreca... | A story tells about an elder villager who led other villagers carrying salt day and night to a town in order to buy food for the winter. One night they camped in an open air with a starry sky above. The elder villager, following the tradition passed down from ancestors, took out three blocks of salt and threw them into the campfire to tell the change of weather in the mountains.
All people waited for the old man's "weather report": if the salt in the fire produced crackling sound , they would have good weather; if no sound was produced, it then meant the good weather would soon end and a storm would come at any moment.
The elder villager looked serious. The salt in the campfire made no sound at all. He urged the whole team to set out immediately. A young man in the group thought it absurdly superstitious to "forecast the weather by using salt".
It was not until the next afternoon, the weather suddenly changed, with cold winds blowing and a snowstorm coming. In fact, the method used by the elder man could be well explained by modern science: whether or not salt produces sound in campfire depends on air humidity .That is to say, when a snowstorm _ , lead to high humidity, the salt blocks will not produce any sound in fire.
Young people often don't mind the philosophy of the old, regarding their ideas as out date and useless. To be honest, however, some beliefs in life are just like salt blocks that are distilled from the sea: old as they are, they remain crystals , and carry with them deep memories of the sea.
,. | middle3988.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "make more friends"
},
"options": [
"study better",
"make more friends",
"stay healthier",
"finish your homework"
],
"question": "The above rules will help you _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Do you know that you are not outgoing enough? Do you want to make friends, but are you
too shy? Read the following rules. They will help you.
Feel comfortable.
Always be clean. Shower, brush your teeth, and try to look nice. Dress in clean clothes.
They must make you feel good and comfortable. Those make you feel more confident .
Smile more often.
Try to smile more often at people. It will get them to think that you are friendly Then they'll talk to you more even if they don't know you.
Just talk
Some people worry about talking because they think,"What am I going to talk about with that person?" Outgoing people don't even think about it.They just go up to people and say what they think.
Listen to people.
You can't just talk. People will think that you're self-centered .You have to listen to others and give your ideas. Let them know what you think.
Read the news.
Don't just stay at home and do nothing. Surf the net for news and information, and talk about them when you're with friends.
,. | middle4759.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"one",
"two",
"three",
"four"
],
"question": "I have _ boxes.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "full"
... | I have some boxes. One is small . It's blue . One is full of books .It's red. The third is new. There is nothing in it . There are some old bottles in a big blue box. Today, I want to put the red box in the car, but I can't carry it. My mother helps me. And she can put the box in the car. | middle2328.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Three."
},
"options": [
"Six.",
"Five.",
"Four.",
"Three."
],
"question": "How many virtues Americans have are mainly talked about in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Many people think that the ideas about right and wrong are only personal ideas. Bennett wrote The Book of Virtue in which he suggested that great moral stories can build character. The success of Bennett's book shows that many Americans still believe in moral values, just like honesty, courage, loyalty and many others.
For Americans, one basic moral value is honesty. The story about George Washington and the cherry tree teaches this value clearly. Little George cut down his father's favourite cherry tree. When his father asked him about it, George said, "I did it." Instead of punishment, his father spoke highly of him. Sometimes American honesty--being open and direct--can make people angry. But Americans still believe that "honesty is the best virtue".
Another virtue is perseverance . A story tells of a little train climbing a hill. The hill is too high to get over it. But the train just kept pulling, all the while saying, "I think I can, I think I can." At last, the train was over the top because he did not give up.
Compassion may be the queen of American virtues. The story of "The Good Samaritan" from the Bible describes a man with compassion. On his way home, he found a poor traveler lying on the road. The kind man, instead of just passing by, stopped to help this person in need.
Compassion can even turn into a good cycle. In 1992, people in Iowa sent plenty of water to help Floridians hit by storms. The next summer, during the Midwest flood, Florida returned. Millions of Americans are quietly passing along the kindness shown to them.
In no way can this book cover all the moral values honored (...) by Americans. But moral virtues are priceless, and they are the base of American culture and any culture. | middle5447.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Saturday morning"
},
"options": [
"Saturday morning",
"Sunday morning",
"Saturday night",
"Sunday night"
],
"question": "When did the quake take place in Ya'an? On _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | YUXI, China -- Many people of this city in southwester China spent Saturday night in tents, too scared to sleep in their homes after an earthquake which killed 188 people early that morning.
Countless homes were destroyed and lots of people became homeless after the earthquake which is believed to have a magnitude of 7.
The quake was not as serious as the 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 2008 that left more than 70,000 people dead in the Wenchuan area. But villagers who work in Chengdu, about 100 miles away, hurried back home Sunday morning, many on foot, the lucky ones on motorbikes, to check on their homes.
Song Yuanqing, 43, a worker, arrived back after a 22-hour trip and found his house was still there but had already been very unstable . "We would like to do something, but we can't do anything," Mr. Song said as he sat with neighbors around an outdoor fire built by the village leader in his backyard.
In all, the government sent about 7,000 soldiers and People's Armed Police officers to the earthquake-hit area. By Saturday evening, there were so many rescue workers in the area that the government asked volunteers to stop coming.
Li Keqiang, China's prime minister, flew to the area and slept in a tent on Saturday evening in Lushan County.
The earthquake shook Sichuan Province at 8 a.m., when people were getting up a little later than usual because schools and universities were closed.
"We were just getting up and getting dressed in our dormitory when the building shook, and I looked outside from our window and saw a row of houses had collapsed," Xu Yan, 22, a student at the Agricultural University in Ya'an, said in a telephone interview. " _ ."
The Chinese government said early Sunday that the death toll was 174, and about 5,700 people had been injured.
The earthquake was also felt in Chengdu, one of China's biggest cities and the capital of Sichuan Province. People described water getting out of home aquariums and things like balls falling to the floor.
In the town of Longmen, another hard-hit area near Ya'an, a local man, Zhang Yan, said 90 percent of the buildings had collapsed.
"About 100 people died around here," Ms. Zhang said in a telephone interview. "Rescue teams have not yet arrived. There is no water or electricity."
In the 2008 quake, many schools of poor quality collapsed and killed thousands of students. This time, many people also expressed their worries about students on their micro-blogs.
Sichuan Province is also one of China's best-known hometowns for pandas, and at the Bifengxia reserve, about six miles north of Ya'an, workers said that 20 pandas in the park were safe. "We examined the panda area after the quake, and they were not affected," said Chen Yong, an officer of the reserve. | middle1621.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "two Go lovers"
},
"options": [
"Two Go beginners",
"two Go lovers",
"father and daughter",
"husband and wife"
],
"question": "According to the passage, the Go games are played by _ .",
"question_type":... | Two people sit down to play Go . One of the players is an old man. He is now 89 years old. He has spent all of his life playing this game. The other person is a young woman. She has been playing Go for only three years. Before this, the woman was an expert at playing computer games. Now she plays Go the same way she played computer games---by becoming a machine herself.
They will play many games, until they know who the winner is. The woman shows no feelings but thinking about all the possible ways of placing her next stone. The old man, on the other hand, looks at the movements of her hands and of her face. This has always helped him to win.
He wins the first three games. She wins the next game, and the man is surprised. He has never lost to a woman. The old man worries about the way the young woman is playing the game. He can't read her face, he does not understand her way of playing.
"The way I think about the game", says the woman, "is that it is steps for getting what I want." Again, the old man is surprised. For him, the game is a way of life itself, and not a model of life. "There is no more beauty any longer. Everything is science and rules. Everything is about winning. Nothing is about playing," he says.
They cannot agree with each other, but it is not necessary. "Change is a necessary part of life", thinks the man. "Playing is as important as winning", thinks the woman.
They start to play their final game. | middle8163.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "clocks"
},
"options": [
"stamps",
"pictures",
"watches",
"clocks"
],
"question": "Mr. Clock likes collecting _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | People often like collecting things. Collecting stamps, books, pictures and pens are some common hobbies. I know many kinds of collections. but do you know the collection of clocks? My friend Mr. Clock, a short man, has the hobby. He has one thousand five hundred clocks.
There are clocks here and there in his house. You can see lots of clocks on shelves. As there is not enough room for so many clocks, the man has to put clocks into some boxes under the beds in his house.
Mr. Clock likes his large collection of clocks, but his wife,Mrs. Clock does not enjoy them at all. She complains every day because she has to do much work,for it is not easy to clean hundreds of clocks. She also complains about the noise. Each clock keeps a different time. So she can hear the chimes almost any time day and night. There is something even worse. With so many clocks around, she is never able to know the correct time! | middle7250.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "can't be lost in a new city"
},
"options": [
"can't be lost in a new city",
"can't find their way in different counties",
"can learn about the culture of an unknown place",
"can spend the least time getting to another p... | Imagine the situation. You are driving along in a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device which uses satellites to find the user's position. It can find your position to within 20 meters. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System , is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in you pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. the second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. _ control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate . There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.GPS | middle4771.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "May the fifth"
},
"options": [
"March the fifteenth",
"May the fifth",
"March the fifth",
"May the fifteenth"
],
"question": "Mary's birthday was on _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | It was May 5. It was Mary's birthday. She came home, and saw a card on the table. It said, "There's a present for you, Mary. Go and look for it in your room." Mary ran to her room. Her parents were watching her. They were smiling. On her bed she saw a new red box. She thought, "What's in the box?" She opened it. There was nothing but a card in it. Mary took it out and read.
"Dear Mary, I'm your present. My first letter is in the word 'book', but not in 'look'. My second letter is in 'ink', but not in 'thank'. You can find my third letter in both 'ink' and 'book'. And my last letter is in 'she', but not in 'ship'. What am I?"
Mary thought hard. B-I-K-E! She smiled and said, "Aha, I know, Mom. But where is it?" Her mother said, "Look at the back of the card." Mary turned it over and read, "Come and look for me in the garden."
Mary hurried to the garden. There under a big tree she found her present--a nice new bike!
"Happy birthday, Mary!" her parents said.
"Thank you, Mom and Dad." | middle2300.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "had problems with communications"
},
"options": [
"should go abroad for vacations",
"needed to learn foreign languages",
"should often discuss their experiences",
"had problems with communications"
],
"question"... | Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing . A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as"yes"and"no".
On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought people weren't paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked, "Do you have cold drinks? "The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows , which in Micronesia means"yes".
Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, "Do you have cabbage today? "He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means"no".
Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean"yes"or"no". | middle6166.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The first website Ma Yun set up was Yahoo."
},
"options": [
"The first website Ma Yun set up was Yahoo.",
"Alibaba raised a lot of money after it went public.",
"Ma Yun began to learn English when he was a teenager.",
"... | A short Chinese man is one of the biggest men in the world right now. He is Jack Ma(Ma Yun),the Chair-man of Alibaba Group. On Sept. 19,2014,Alibaba went public and raised$25billion . Ma,a former English teacher,has become the richest man in China.
Born in 1964 in Hangzhou,Zhejiang. Ma grew up as a happy kid. When he was a teenager he wanted to learn English. Every morning,he got up at 5 a.m., rode his bike for 40 minutes to a hotel near the West Lake and talked with foreign tourists in English. He did it for nine years , rainy or shine.
The experience made him an excellent English speaker and opened his eyes to the outside world. In 1994,Ma Yun heard about the Internet. And on a 1995 trip to the US ,Ma was shown the Internet for the first time. He searched the word "beer" on Yahoo,and found that there was nothing there about China. Seeing the chance,Ma returned to China and set up a website called China Pages without even knowing much about computers.
Four years later,Ma,his wife and his friends set up Alibaba in HangZhou. He believed in the Internet business potential when few other Chinese did.15 year later,Alibaba has developed into the world's largest e-commerce company ,owning popular shopping websites like Taobao and Tmall. | middle7278.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Mobile phones."
},
"options": [
"Mobile phones.",
"Cigarettes.",
"Clothes.",
"Computer games."
],
"question": "What do some children want their parents to buy for them ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions... | Now if you go out or surf(;)the Internet, one word is very popular among young people. That is the word "fashion". But lots of young people don't know what it really means. They just think an iPhone 6 is fashionable, new hair style is fashionable, a new kind of clothes is fashionable, and even smoking or drinking is fashionable. So they just try to do something to make themselves look fashionable.
These young people often do something wrong. Some children buy cigarettes and smoke them without letting their teachers or parents know. Some students learn to drink and it costs them a lot of money. Some children want their parents to buy them mobile phones, but they just use their phones to play games and chat with their friends. Some young students like to run after "fashionable" stars. They often do their best to see music stars and sometimes they have to go far away to see the stars face to face. They often have to look everywhere for the information of the "fashionable" stars.
But many other people don' t think so. They think fashion means everything modern and useful things to people around us. Children should try to be really fashionable. | middle6600.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "on a train"
},
"options": [
"on a bus",
"on a plane",
"in his car",
"on a train"
],
"question": "Mr.Brown was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Mr.Brown was traveling by train.He was very hungry.The train stopped at a small station.He wanted to buy some cakes to eat very much.But it rained hard.So he wanted someone to help him.Then a little boy came here.Mr.Brown asked him to buy cakes for him.He gave the little boy some money and said,"Go and buy two cakes with the money.One cake is for me,and the other is for you."
The little boy was happy and ran to buy cakes in the rain.A few minutes later the boy came back.He said to Mr.Brown,"I'm very sorry,sir.I eat the last cake.It's fifty fen.And it's very delicious.Thank you very much.Here is your fifty fen." | middle5309.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a new sickness"
},
"options": [
"a new sickness",
"an online game",
"messages",
"computer jobs"
],
"question": "The passage is mainly about _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Computers are good tools .The Internet is also good. But some people spend too much time online. They can't stop. Doctors say this is a new sickness. They call this sickness Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).
People with IAD are online a lot. They spend hours chatting to their friends or playing online games. Many people with IAD spend more time on the Internet than with family or friends. Some people with IAD even quit their jobs!
Do you have IAD? Think about these questions:How many hours a day are you online? Is it a lot or a little? When you are not online,are you thinking about playing a computer game or checking your messages? When you are online,do you forget the time? Do you get angry when you can't play a game?
If you have IAD,what can you do? Dr. Ivan Goldberg and Dr. Kimberly S.Young have some ideas. First,ask yourself "Why am I online a lot?" Then try to take a break. For example,use the computer or play games twice a week,not every day. In this way,you can have a good social life with other friends. | middle4017.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "be back home"
},
"options": [
"be back home",
"buy some food to eat",
"travel everywhere in Europe",
"enjoy himself in the ship"
],
"question": "The English traveler knew he would _ in two days.",
"quest... | An English traveler found himself in a northern European country with a little money to buy the ticket for the travel back home. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he thought that he would be all right without food. So he bought a ticket and went on board. He closed his ears to the lunch bell. When dinner time came, he refused to go to the dining hall, saying that he was not feeling well. The next morning, he didn't go to breakfast and at lunch time he again stayed in his room. At dinner time he was so hungry that he could not stand it any longer. "I'm going to eat, " he said, "even if they throw me into the sea. " At dinner he ate everything in front of him at the table, then he worried about the coming trouble. "Bring me the bill," he said. "there isn't any bill. " Was the answer. "On the ship the money for the ticket includes meals. " The traveler regretted when he heard this.
. | middle2472.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Big and strong"
},
"options": [
"Football",
"Basketball",
"Big and strong",
"Quite and tall"
],
"question": "What is David Bechham like? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | David Beckham, a well-known football player, was born in London on May 2nd, 1975. He is about 1.8 metres tall. He is very strong and big. He is very quite a good football player. He scored a lot of goals for his old team---- the National Football Team of England . He joined the Real Madrid after he left his old team. He wants to play football in Pairs in the next World Cup. | middle4003.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "storybook"
},
"options": [
"storybook",
"math book",
"science book",
"newspaper"
],
"question": "Chicken Soup for the Soul is a _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_... | We grow up, even if we don't want to. But hey, you're not the only one. Read this article. It can help you look at life the way you did as a kid.
Read a lot of Chicken Soup for the Soul----they have so many good stories about kids and getting the right feeling. Also try reading children's books, it helps you keep _
When you feel sad, smile. If you can, jump up and down, or move around until you feel sick. Act like a kid! But whatever you do, SMILE! This can help cheer you up if you feel unhappy.
Spend time with little kids. Although you won't be one again, spending time with them can make you smile more. If you have children of your own, great! Spend lots of time with them.
Think back on a time when you were a kid. Then, try to remember how old your parents were. If you're not as old as they were when you were 8, you will get the feeling that you are 8 again.
If you are a kid, take a piece of paper and write " In 15 years I am going to do." Then, put the letter in an envelope and read it once every five years. This will make you feel like a kid again. | middle6172.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A coffee shop."
},
"options": [
"A fast-food restaurant.",
"A tea shop.",
"A coffee shop.",
"A big hotel."
],
"question": "What kind of company do they run?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | .British people are famous for drinking tea. But brother and sister, Sarah and Bobby Green, became young millionaires when they opened a chain of American-style coffee shops in the UK.
Having the idea: It started when Sarah took a weekend trip to New York to visit her brother Bobby. One evening, in a Thai restaurant, Sarah told Bobby how much she wished she could buy American-style coffee in London. Bobby suggested they started their own coffee shop. Sarah fell in love with the idea.
Doing the Research: Back in London, she spent a whole day on the London subway, getting off the train at different stations to taste the coffee. "It was terrible, and I knew there was a gap in the market." In 1995, they opened their first Coffee Republic shop in central London.
Making it work: The first year was very difficult. British people were not used to the names of American coffees, like latte and macchiato. But being successful was their dream and they were not going to give up. Today, there are over 100 Coffee Republic shops all over the country and the company has PS30 million a year.
Advice for others: Sarah has now written a best-selling book about their experience, calledAnyone Can Do It ! She hopes it will help other young people to start their own businesses. She says, "If you think you have the energy, then get out and follow your dream." | middle389.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In their free time."
},
"options": [
"In their free time.",
"At the weekend.",
"On weekdays.",
"At any time."
],
"question": "When do the volunteers help others?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Are you looking for something fun and would you like to help others in your free time? Then join us to be a volunteer ! We're a non-profit organization . We have volunteer jobs of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people about seventy years old can become a volunteer.
You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children while parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children while their parents are seeing a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone.
"As a volunteer. I don't want to get anything. Seeing the children's happy faces, I'm happy, too." said Carlos Domingo. an old woman of 62. "I often played computer games in my- free time before. Now I help older people learn how to use computers," said another volunteer at the age of 18. | middle4765.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Henry"
},
"options": [
"Henry",
"David",
"Peter",
"Tony"
],
"question": "_ prefers to use the Internet to buy things.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Henry: I find the Internet is very good for shopping. I use more and more for buying books and CDs, and I even bought some clothes over the Internet. The other thing I can do is to book travels over the Internet. I booked a cheap flight once. It was very easy, and it was really good.
David: I use the Internet for games. I play chess with people all around the world. Last night I had a game with someone from Japan. I also download games from the Internet, so I can have any game I want.
Peter: I use the Internet for anything I need to help me with my schoolwork. I use the online dictionaries, encyclopedias and magazines. It's great because I can download pictures or articles and use them to help my homework. It's very easy to use and it's free, so I like it.
Tony: Well, the main thing I use the Internet for is to e-mail. I usually write to my customers by e-mail, and my customers answer me by e-mail, too. We probably send and receive four or five hundred e-mails a month. But of course, I also use e-mails to keep in touch with friends and family. My daughter is in Australia and we send e-mails to each other every day. | middle2314.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "You can keep warm."
},
"options": [
"You can burst.",
"You can keep warm.",
"You can shout loudly.",
"You can be careless."
],
"question": "What will happen if you are the boss of your anger?",
"question_typ... | Sometimes you just get so angry that you feel like you are going to burst . It may seem like your anger will be the boss of you, instead of you being the boss of your anger. What can you do to work off that anger and keep yourself and others safe? Here are some ideas to help you.
*Take a deep breath before you feel your heart slows back down again.
*Count to ten slowly in your mind before you open your mouth. Count to another ten if you are still feeling out of control. Stop and think about what to say and do, then make a good choice.
*Walk away the place that makes you angry and go somewhere else until you've thought about what you can do.
*Use your words to tell your feelings. You should never hurt someone with your hands, feet or by what you say.
*Say what you say in a strong voice, not a loud shouting voice.
*Doing a chore that you really hate is a pretty good idea. It can keep your anger away and you can feel good about getting that chore done too. In this way, you make anger useful. | middle4956.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she didn't know it was Mother's Day"
},
"options": [
"she didn't have a present",
"she was far away from her mother",
"she didn't know it was Mother's Day",
"she wanted to see her father"
],
"question": "The you... | It was Mother's Day, but the young mother was a little unhappy, because she was 800 miles away from her parents. In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day, and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs in the garden.
Later that day, when she told her husband about the lilacs, he said, "I know where we can find all that you want. Get the children and come on." So they went, driving down the country roads. There on a small hill, they saw a lot of beautiful purple lilacs. The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers. Carefully, she picked a few here and there. On their way home there was a smile on her face.
When they were passing an old people's home, the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair. They stopped the ear and the young woman walked to the old woman, put the flowers in her hands, and smiled at her. The old granny thanked her again and again. She smiled happily, too.
When the young mother came back to her car, her children asked her, "Who is the old granny? Why did you give our flowers to her? I don't know her," their mother said. "But it's Mother's Day, and she has no children. I have all of you, and I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her." | middle362.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "England."
},
"options": [
"America.",
"England.",
"China.",
"Japan."
],
"question": "Which country is Tony from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Dear friends,
My name is Tony. I am English. I am thirteen years old this year. I am tall, and I am good at playing football. I am in Grade Seven. There are thirty boys and twenty girls in my class. We are learning Chinese in our school. Our Chinese teacher is Mr. Wu. He is a little short, but he is very strong. He is very nice to us. I have some good friends in my class. Tom is a tall boy and has short black hair. He is good at playing football, too. Alice is short and she loves wearing red dresses. She is good at English. Shelly has long hair. She can speak Japanese and she likes running. We all study hard.
What about your school and your friend? Please write soon.
Yours,
Tony | middle1190.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "People keep their eyes protected against drying by blinking normally."
},
"options": [
"Dr. Bonilla-Warford thinks using computers causes nearsightedness.",
"People keep their eyes protected against drying by blinking normally.",
... | Children can spend hours a day looking at computer screens and other digital devices . Some eye doctors say this leads to an increase in "computer vision syndrome ."
Nathan Bonilla-Warford is an optometrist in Tampa, Florida. He has seen an increase in problems in children. "A lot more children come into the office either because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red or watery eyes or discomfort, or because their nearsightedness appears to be increasing and they're worried," he says.
Dr. Bonilla-Warford says part of the problem is that children may be more likely to pay no attention to early warning signs than adults. "Even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, they're less likely to tell their parents, because they don't want to have the game or the computer or whatever taken away," he explains.
He says another part of the problem is that people blink less often when they use digital devices. He says, "A person who uses an electronic device blinks about one third as much as we normally do in everyday life. And so that can result in the front part of the eye drying and not staying protected like normal."
Eye doctors offer suggestions like following which is known as the 20/20/20 rule. That means every twenty minutes look away twenty feet or more for at least twenty seconds from whatever device you're using.
Other suggestions include putting more distance between you and the device and using good lighting. Of course, another way is to spend less time looking at screens. Many experts say children should spend no more than two hours a day using digital devices--with no screen time for children under two.
But not all eye doctors have noticed an increase in problems in children. Dr. David Hunter, from Children's Hospital Boston, has not seen an increase in his practice. "While it is possible to develop _ looking at screens for a long period of time, there's certainly no proof that it actually causes any damage to the eyes." he says. | middle404.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "didn't get angry"
},
"options": [
"got angry",
"didn't get angry",
"fought with the tree",
"said nothing"
],
"question": "The grass _ when the tree laughed at it.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Long long ago, There was a tree and some grass . The grass grew next to the tree. The tree was very tall and the grass was short. The tree often _ the grass.
One day, the tree said to the grass, "You are weak . Even the grasshopper is too heavy for you."
The tree also said that it was big and strong. No strong wind was able to blow it down.
The tree laughed at the grass. But the grass didn't get angry. The grass only said, "I'm not afraid of the wind."
That night, there was a strong wind. The wind blew down the tree. The tree was very poor. It was thrown on the ground. But the grass was still there. The wind couldn't blow down the grass. It even danced in the wind.
,,. | middle6827.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "seven"
},
"options": [
"five",
"six",
"seven",
"eight"
],
"question": "There are _ people in the family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answ... | Let's look at the picture. The boy's name is John. The girl in a white blouse is his sister, Rose. The other one in a yellow blouse is his sister, Mary. John and his sisters are students in No. 11 Middle School. The two sisters are in Class Three, Grade One, but John is in Class Two, Grade Two. The man and woman are their father and mother. The man is a worker and the woman is a teacher. The old man and the old woman are John's grandfather and grandmother. The family is a big one. | middle3787.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "in a small town"
},
"options": [
"in a small town",
"in the city",
"in the country",
"in a tall building"
],
"question": "The writer lives _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | I live in a small town near Xing'an in Guilin. You can't see it on the map of China, because it is too small. The air here is very fresh .
There are not many tall buildings in our town. The tallest building is in our school. There are five hundred students and twenty-five teachers in our school.
In the front of the school, there is a playground. I often play basketball with my classmates on it. There is a little garden behind our school. And we can grow beautiful flowers and plant trees there. Next to the garden, there is an orange orchard . You can hear birds singing everywhere.
There is a river not far from our school. In summer, we usually go swimming with our teachers in it. We study Chinese, English, Maths and other subjects at school. The teachers are very nice. We love our school.
Do you like my town? I hope you can come here to have a look. | middle2499.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "student; doctor"
},
"options": [
"student; doctor",
"doctor; student",
"student ; worker",
"worker; student"
],
"question": "Xiao Qing is a _ and his brother is a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | Xiao Qing is a schoolboy. His brother works in a hospital of Beijing. This summer his brother lets him come to Beijing. Xiao Qing is very happy. He comes to the hospital for the first time.
One evening, Xiao Qing's brother gives him a ticket for a football match. It begins in the Capital Stadium at eight clock in the evening.
Xiao Qing likes to watch football matches very much, but he doesn't know the way to the Capital Stadium. He asks a young man at the bus stop, "How much is the ticket to the Capital Stadium?" "Three yuan." Answers the young man.
Xiao Qing finds only two yuan in his pocket. He has to run to the next stop. When the bus comes to the stop, he sees the young man again. He asks the young man, "Now how much is the ticket?"
"Four yuan," the young man says with a smile. " You run in a contrary direction." | middle3793.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in the waiting room"
},
"options": [
"in the post office",
"in the waiting room",
"on the train",
"on the chairs"
],
"question": "The three men were talking _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Three travelers, Allan, Carl and Paul were sitting on the chairs in a train station. They were waiting for a train that was very late.
To pass the time, they began talking to each other.
At first, they talked about the weather and their work. Then Paul said, "Tell me--what would you most like to do if your doctor tell you that you have only three months to live?"
The other two men thought about this for a while, then Carl spoke.
"Well," he said, "if I have only three months to live, I'll take all my money out of the bank and go to foreign countries for holidays with my best friend, Erik. I'd like to travel to the places in the world as many as possible. And I'll stay at the best hotels and then eat the best food. I think I'll have a wonderful time."
"That's very interesting." Paul said.
With these words, he turned to the other man, saying, "And what about you?"
"I'll tell you a secret," Allan said. "I always want to be a racing driver. So if I have only three months to live, the first thing I'd like to do is to sell my house. With the money I'll buy the fastest car in the world. Maybe I can enter all the big motor races."
Then he laughed, "I might even end up (......) world champion."
"Now it's your turn," Allan went on, "If your doctor tell you the bad news, what would you most like to do?"
"Oh," said Paul with a smile. "I'll go and see another doctor." | middle410.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The story didn't tell us about it."
},
"options": [
"She arrived in a taxi",
"She got there by bus.",
"She got there on foot.",
"The story didn't tell us about it."
],
"question": "How did the young woman get to... | A pretty, well-dressed young lady stopped a taxi in a big square, and said to the driver, "Can you see that young man at the other side of the square?"
"Yes," said the taxi-driver. The young man was standing outside a restaurant and looking impatiently at his watch every few seconds.
"Take me over there." said the young lady.
There were a lot of cars and buses and trucks in the square, so the taxi- driver asked, "Are you afraid to cross the street."
'Oh, no !" said the young lady. "But I said that I would meet that young man for dinner at one o'c1ock, and it is now a quarter to two. If I arrive in a taxi, it will at least seem as if I have tried not to be too late." | middle1184.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "rushing air filled the space"
},
"options": [
"his hands clapped loudly",
"rushing air filled the space",
"electricity traveled through the air",
"thick clouds knocked into each other"
],
"question": "The writer... | I don't have too many memories of my father because he was so sick in the last years of his life. But there aresome that I am often reminded of and which may have developed my love ofscience.
When I was small, I was somewhatafraid of lightning and thunder . My father explained it. The explanation wasin words that a child could understand but was basically correct. I gained a betterunderstanding and learnt something from him.
What he said was that there was electricity in the cloudsand it traveled to the ground like a spark . When it traveled through the air, it made the air so hot that it burned. Then there was nothing where the air had been and the air all around rushed in to fill the space. Saying this, he clapped his hands together very loudly, pretending to be the air rushing in, and said that makes the thunder. When I hear thunder, I can still hear that clap clearly.
He also explained why a cloudy winter night was warmer than a clear one. When there were clouds, they were like blankets which kept the earth and us warm. He said that if there were no clouds, we had no blankets and were _ to the universe. Our warmth was going toheat the whole universe. Even today, I still feel on the edge of space on a very clear night.
I am sure there were many other lessons that Itook but no longer remember most of them now. What I didlearn, in general, was that there were explanations and that the more I understood them, the more comfortable the world was to live in. I was not taught that there were mysteries but that there was understanding if you looked for it. This may be why I have always takenaninterest in science. | middle6833.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a collection of items for people to look at in the future"
},
"options": [
"a collection of clocks and watches",
"a machine for travelling through time",
"a collection of items for people to look at in the future",
"a c... | In 1901, the citizens of Colorado Springs in the USA decided to collect everyday items and to seal them in a special box. The box was marked "To be opened after midnight, December 31st, AD 2000",and was kept in the Colorado College Library.
One hundred years later, on the appointed day, 300 people gathered to watch the opening of the box. Many in the crowd were the descendants of people who had placed things inside the box.
When the box was opened after midnight, the things inside the box were in very good condition. There were newspapers, photos, diaries, name cards, family trees, books and lots of letters, including one written by Theodore Roosevelt, who became the President of the USA later that year. One of Roosevelt's friends lived in Colorado Springs at that time.
Many of the letters were written to their descendants. They describe the hopes that the people of 1901 had for the people of the next century. At that time, Colorado Springs had just a few thousand people. Now nearly half a million people live there.
Colorado College Library has scanned the materials and put them on a website. Cecil Muller, whose grandfather had placed a collection of postcards in the box, said that the time capsule was a great treasure. "This is a wonderful educational resource . We can learn so much about our history,"he said. "I never knew my grandfather, but now I feel very close to him. " | middle376.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Healthy snacks can be accepted ."
},
"options": [
"Snacks shouldn't be eaten.",
"Healthy snacks can be accepted .",
"Kids can only have snacks at home.",
"It's not necessary to have snacks at home."
],
"question... | No matter how old your kids are, you can take steps to improve a healthy diet and to encourage good eating habits.
Tip One: Family Meals
Family meals are nice for both parents and kids. Children like to guess what they are going to have and parents get the chance to introduce new foods to children. Parents can also use the mealtime as a chance to talk with their kids about their life.
Tip Two: Healthy Snacks
Kids, especially younger ones, will eat mostly what can get at home. That's why it's important to have enough healthy snacks, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt and whole-grain biscuits.
Tip Three: Being a Good Example
The best way for you to encourage healthy eating is to eat well yourself. Kids will follow the lead of the adults they see every day. By eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding fast food and sweet drinks, you are sending the right message.
Tip Four: No Shouts about Food
Parents might find themselves shouting at children to get them to have healthy foods in front them. This in fact can make children dislike what they are asked to eat. You need to work a bit on different cooking methods .
Tip Five: Get Kids Included
Most Kids will enjoy making the decision about food. Talk to them about making choices and planning a healthy meal. It can help them to make good decisions on their own about the foods they want to eat.
,,A, B, C, D,. (2,10) | middle5484.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because all her friends are going to graduate soon."
},
"options": [
"Because she won't have any more birthday parties.",
"Because she wants to remember her teachers and parents.",
"Because she has many popular television sho... | Questions
My 14th birthday is coming and I'm ready to plan my birthday party. I spent a lot of time planning my party to make it interesting. I was thinking about having a "Remember the Good Times" party. Everyone who is coming is going to graduate soon. I thought I should put up some photos of my friends and pictures from popular television shows on the wall. The food could be the things we've always loved (hamburgers, ice creams and French fries). I don't know if my idea is going to be good for my birthday party. What do you think, Miss Lee?
Answer:
Hi, Maria, I love the idea of the "Remember the Good Times" party. It sounds like a graduation party. I love the idea of eating your favorite foods! It's fun, easy and cheap! You can bring photos of your class trip to remember the places where you went. I hope you will have a wonderful birthday party! Have a wonderful 14th birthday! | middle8188.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "His wife."
},
"options": [
"His friends.",
"His parents.",
"His wife.",
"His children."
],
"question": "Who is Mr. White going to China with?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Do you know the Chinese saying "He who doesn't reach the Great Wall is not a true man"? Mr. White knows it. Next month he is going to Beijing with his wife. They are going to visit the Great Wall. They are staying in Beijing for about a week. They have a lot of Chinese friends there, so they are visiting them. Then they're flying to West Lake in Hangzhou. They are going boating there and staying there for about three days. Mr. White knows that the Yellow Mountain is very famous in China. So they're going to Anhui to go hiking in the great mountain. After two days in Anhui they'll have to go back to Sydney.
"I'm taking lots of photos in China. When I get back to Sydney, I am going to show the photos to my friends. I want my friends to know more about China." said Mr. White. | middle1812.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "wanted to sell the trousers"
},
"options": [
"Was trying to fool him",
"was trying to steal the trousers",
"wanted to sell the trousers",
"wanted to buy the trousers"
],
"question": "At first the owner of the sh... | Tom walked into a shop. It had a sign outside:" Second-hand clothes bought and sold. " He was carrying an old pair of trousers and asked the owner of the shop." How much will you give me for these?" The man looked at them and then said, "Two dollars ." "What!" said Tom. "I had guessed they were worth(...) at least five."
"No," said the man, "they aren't worth a cent more than two dollars."
"Well," said Tom. Taking two dollars out of his pocket, "Here's your money. These trousers were hanging outside your shop. The list price of them was six dollars and a half. But I thought that was too much money, so I wanted to find out how much they were really worth. "
Before the shop owner could think of anything, Tom walked out of the shop with the pair of trousers. | middle3963.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "by taxi"
},
"options": [
"by bus",
"by taxi",
"in a car",
"on foot"
],
"question": "Bill and his mother went to the doctor _ that morning.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | One morning, Bill said he was ill. His mother called a taxi and took him to the doctor. The doctor asked Bill, "What's the matter, young man?" Bill answered, "I'm feeling sick. I'm coughing and having a headache . I won't be able to go to school today, I'm afraid." The doctor looked him over carefully, and then asked his mother, "What did he have for breakfast?" His mother said, "He had four pieces of dread, two eggs, a bottle of milk and an orange." The doctor smiled, "Don't worry. It's nothing serious. The boy will be all right after the football match." The mother said, "I don't understand, Doctor." The doctor smiled again," This afternoon, the biggest football game of the year will be on TV. Your boy doesn't want to miss it. I think he will be fine after the game. You wait and see." | middle438.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They only ate its best part."
},
"options": [
"They ate it in a polite way.",
"They only ate its best part.",
"They ate every part of it.",
"They shared only one piece."
],
"question": "How did the writer and hi... | When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father's friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.
Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie's place. We' d sit on the edge of the dock , feet dangling , and got ready for a big meal.
Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we'd bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart--the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part--and throw away the rest.
Bernie was my father's idea of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie's wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.
What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don't take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life's small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.
For many years, I forgot that lesson I'd learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.
Well, I've relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That's _ . I have learned again to throw the rest away. | middle3977.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he didn't want to pay"
},
"options": [
"he was very busy",
"he didn't want to pay",
"he didn't have enough money",
"he had cleaned his shoes"
],
"question": "At first the young man refused to let the boy clean h... | A boy who was cleaning shoes in the street said to a young man, "Let me clean your shoes." The young man said, "No, thank you." "You may pay me only one dollar for them." Said the boy. But the young man refused again.
And then the boy told the young man that he would clean his shoes for nothing. The young man agreed to his, and soon one of his shoes became as clean as a new one. The man gave the other shoe to the boy, but the boy refused to clean it because he wanted the man to pay two dollars for his work. The young man refused to pay anything and went away.
But the dirty shoe looked so bad that he couldn't walk away. He had to turn back and gave the boy two dollars. In a very short time the other shoe became clean. | middle1806.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "using vocabulary that we have learnt very often"
},
"options": [
"repeating vocabulary at times",
"revising vocabulary at a proper time",
"learning new vocabulary as much as possible",
"using vocabulary that we have lea... | We recycle rubbish, so why not language? Recycling language means using vocabulary that you have learnt before again and again. However, unlike rubbish that piles up in our environment, if we do not recycle language, we simply forget it. So how do you recycle language?
There are basically three ways to do it. The first is through reading. Go back to your favourite articles and read them once more. Just reread them and do not worry about each vocabulary item. If there are some that you are not sure about, make a guess and you will probably guess right. The second way to recycle is through writing. Look at some of your favourite articles and write either a short paragraph or a few sentences in your own words. After you have done this a few times, go back and read through what you have written, checking vocabulary functions. Don't worry if you have made mistakes. That's how you learn. The third way to recycle language is by having an imaginary chat with yourself about your favourite articles at home. You can pretend there is someone with you who speaks English and tell him what you are thinking about or how you feel. | middle3976.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Four"
},
"options": [
"Two",
"Three",
"Four",
"Five"
],
"question": "How many kinds of \"boxes\" does the man from Mars tell us?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Dear Earthmen ,
I enjoy my stay on your interesting planet .
I think I know the life on Earth now and I would like to tell you my ideas.
First of all you live in boxes. Every morning you leave your boxes and get into smaller boxes on wheels . All these small boxes run around and around, and finally stop to rest. You leave these boxes on wheels and go to very large tall boxes.
After resting all day, you get back in your little boxes. There you sit and look at very small _ boxes with moving pictures in them.
There is only one thing I don't know. Some angry boys fought for a little round ball. Everyone shouted but they kept fighting. They were angry, because they had to stay in boxes all day, I think.
Thank you for this chance to get to know you.
Yours,
The man from Mars | middle1807.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "China"
},
"options": [
"the USA",
"China",
"England",
"Japan"
],
"question": "Hu Jing is from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_tex... | Hi! My name is Martin. I come from the USA. I'm in Shanghai, China now . My telephone number is (021)83130761. I am in No. 6 Junior High School. I'm in Class Five, Grade Seven. Hu Jing and Xiao Bin are my Chinese friends. We're in the same school. We are all thirteen .
Miss Qiu is my English teacher. She has a round face, a big nose and big eyes. I like her very much .
,. | middle8189.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "basketball"
},
"options": [
"volleyball",
"tennis",
"basketball",
"ping-pong"
],
"question": "From the passage , we know Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are _ players .",
"question_type": "cloze_questio... | Do you want to be a basketball player like Kobe Bryant , Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming ? Come to join us ! We have many sports clubs : basketball , ping-pong , soccer , volleyball , and more . The price is 5 dollars for each lesson .
Do you want to join our sports clubs ? Please call Mr. Green . He plays basketball very well . His telephone number is 371-1236 . His e-mail address is spcb@163.com . Or you can call Miss Jones at 371-1237 . She is our tennis coach . She is good with the students . Her e-mail address is jiayi@126.com . | middle439.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "borrow a book from Mike"
},
"options": [
"come to Mike's house",
"lend him a book",
"borrow a book from Mike",
"buy him a book"
],
"question": "What did Jack want to do in Mike's Home? He wanted to _",
"q... | One day, Jack came to Mike's house and said , "Mike, you have so many good books. Can you lend me a book to read?" Mike didn't want to lend a book to his friend, and he said, "Why do you want to take my book home? You can read it here in my house."
Jack found that his friend was very selfish, but he said nothing. The next day, Mike came to Jack's house and said, " Jack , you have a good garden-knife, I want to work in my garden tomorrow. Can I use it for two days?"
Jack answered, "Why do you want to take my garden knife home? You can work with it in my garden." | middle3962.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "called up the company to show his thanks"
},
"options": [
"become angry with the company",
"complained about the test",
"called up the company to show his thanks",
"gone to another company for a job"
],
"questio... | There was a young man named Bill in England. Before leaving school, he began to look for a job as a clerk. Few companies needed new clerks due to the financial crisis at that time. It became harder and harder to find a job. Luckily, a chance camp up to him. A company wanted to employ one person. He and the other twenty people joined in the first interview. After that, three persons were allowed to enter the final test which would decide one person to be employed in the end. Bill was lucky to be among them.
On the day of the second interview, Bill and the others arrived at the company on time. To their surprise, the interview was very easy. The interviewer only had a free talk with them, and then asked them to go back home waiting for the result. The next morning, Bill received a letter from the company which said he wasn't accepted. Certainly, he felt disappointed. On the evening of that day, Bill surprisingly received another letter, which said he was employed. But why was he accepted? As a matter of fact, the first letter sent to Bill was also part of the test. Every one of them got a letter which had the same meaning that morning. Only Bill replied with "Thank you" while the others said nothing.
Life isn't all fun. There is always something making us unhappy. When you feel disappointed, please say "Thank you" to the person who disappoints you. That shows your great generosity and politeness to others. If you do so, you'll have more chances than others. | middle6832.txt |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.