questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "there was no information about his mother"
},
"options": [
"the agency didn't give him any help",
"there was no information about his mother",
"his mother didn't turn up online",
"he missed the information about his mot... | Steve knew he'd been adopted as a baby, and when he turned 18, in 2003, he decided he'd try to track down his birth mother. The agency from which he'd been adopted gave him his mother's name: Tallady. But online searches didn't turn up any results about it, and Steve had to let it go.
In 2007, though, he searched for the name again online. This time, the search results included a home address near the Lowe's store where Steve, then 22, worked as a deliveryman. When he mentioned the coincidence to his boss, his boss said, "You mean Tallady, who works here?"
Steve and Tallady, a cashier, had said hello to each other a few times at the store, but they'd never really talked. He hadn't even known her name. Steve thought there was no possible way she was his mother though they shared the same name. For a few months, Steve avoided Tallady. "I wasn't sure how to approach her," he told a local reporter. Finally, the agency volunteered to arrange their reunion.
When Tallady realized that the nice guy she'd been waving at was his son, she sobbed. She'd always hoped to meet her birth son one day. Later that day, mother and son talked for almost three hours at a nearby bar. She'd given him up for adoption in 1985, when she was 23. "I wasn't ready to be a mother," she told him. Married with two other children, Tallady says, "I have a complete family now." | high6642.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "his dancing skills are amazing"
},
"options": [
"he is a popular singer with a rich voice",
"his dancing skills are amazing",
"he is very modest and friendly",
"he shares the same name with Michael Jackson"
],
"... | Rain, who was born on June 2, 1982 in Seoul, South Korea, is a popular singer with a very deep and rich voice. Jung Ji Hoon is his real name, known as the "Michael Jackson of Korea" for his amazing dancing skills. Rain is very modest and friendly, even a little shy.
He released his first album Bad Guy in 2002, which caused a sensation. It took him to all the major award ceremonies, and many of them honored him with Best New Award. His following album How to Run from the Sun was successful, and his third album It's Raining topped the charts for weeks.
Rain is not only a singer but also an actor, who has given impressive performances in two TV series, Sang Doo! Let's go to school(<<,>> )in 2003 and Full House(<<>> )in 2004. Rain's leading role in Full House made him win Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards and also deeply touched the hearts of many Asian female fans. At the same time it made him become one of the most popular Korean actors in Asia.
Now Rain is very popular in China. It's Raining has already sold more than 100,000 copies in China. Rain received the "Korean Artist of the Year" award at the MTV -- CCTV Mandarin Music Honors held on July 24, 2005 at the Workers Stadium in Beijing, China. His recent Beijing concert caused a great hit, creating "Korean Fever" in China. | high10163.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she wanted to help \"the old woman\" out in the bad weather"
},
"options": [
"\"the old woman\" asked her to",
"she recognized \"the old woman\"",
"she knocked \"the old woman\" down",
"she wanted to help \"the old woma... | A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift.
"I can't leave her out in this weather," the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door.
"Do you want a lift?" she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, "Have you been waiting for a long time?" The old woman shook her head. "Strange," thought the young woman. She tried again. "Bad weather for the time of year," she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what she said, the hitchhiker gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug.
Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker's hands which were large and hairy.
Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. "I can't see out of the rear screen," she said. "Would you mind clearing it for me?"
The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off.
When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp -- inside the bag was a gun. | high2424.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "will be broken if it gets stolen"
},
"options": [
"will be safe if it is fully used",
"will be broken if it gets stolen",
"will be expensive if it gets repaired",
"will not be stolen even if it is unlocked"
],
"... | It's a bicyclist's dream: a bike that can't be stolen. The Yerka, designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is the latest entry in a trend of bikes. They use their saddle seat as a lock. They can also use their handlebar as a lock. But the inventors of the Yerka have made an improvement to it. The bike's lower frame opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post and locked to a post, so thieves would have to destroy a Yerka to get it unlocked.
"That's why our motto is 'A bike that gets stolen is no longer a bike'. What we have here is truly an unstealable bike," said Cristobal Cabello, who came up with the design during a college engineering class with childhood friends Andres Roi Eggers and Juan Jose Monsalve.
In Chile and elsewhere in Latin America, the spread of cycling lanes, storage racks and bike share programs are encouraging people to change from cars to bikes , which are cheaper and environmentally friendly. Cristobal Galban said a study by his team in 2013 found that the use of bikes has doubled among Chileans in five years.
The main problem in Chile and elsewhere is robberies. The most effective strategy commonly used in London today is to take the bike into the office with the rider. Other strategies involve using a bike that looks so unattractive that nobody will want to steal it. But now the Yerka can help solve the problem.
Now, while waiting for the patent to be approved and carrying out more tests the team plans to raise funds. They're also looking for a partner who can invest $300,000 needed to produce 1,000 bikes first that they hope will be sold by mid-2016. | high19621.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Taking buses."
},
"options": [
"Taking buses.",
"Buying houses.",
"Flying with an airline.",
"Visiting amusement parks."
],
"question": "According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the prin... | We've considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers , or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).
Markets and queues--paying and waiting--are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, "First come, first served, have an egalitarian appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.
The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it's the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.
Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: "Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received." This is essential for the morals of the queue. It's as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.
But don't take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people's calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to "score" incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.
Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we've considered--at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors' offices, and national parks--are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered. | high4055.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "8"
},
"options": [
"7",
"10",
"9",
"8"
],
"question": "For how many days does Hanukkah last?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Can... | Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival. It is celebrated on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev , which is usually sometime in December. It is often called the festival of lights. The festival celebrates the time, over 2,000 years ago, when the Jewish people fought against an emperor who would not let them follow their own traditions and religion. When the Jewish people won back their temple in Jerusalem, they found there was only enough holy oil to keep the sacred light burning for one day. However, to their surprise, this small amount of oil kept the light burning for eight days and nights, until the people had time to make more oil.
At the center of the Hanukkah celebrations is a candlestick (called a Menorah) that holds nine candles. On the first night of Hanukkah the first candle is lit, and each day this candle is used to light another candle, until on the eighth day, the last day, all the candles are lit. During Hanukkah, people go to the synagogue to pray and to remember the miracle of the holy oil. Hanukkah is a time for family and friends to come together. People exchange gifts and greeting cards, and children go to parties. Parents often give their children money at Hanukkah. Potato cakes, called latkes, are a traditional Hanukkah food. | high16512.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It causes an increase in writing mistakes."
},
"options": [
"It becomes far more acceptable.",
"It causes an increase in writing mistakes.",
"It helps students learn informal expressions.",
"It makes informal expression... | The Internet has greatly changed the way people communicate. But some teachers think the changes are not all for the better.
Eleanor Johnson, an English professor, thinks that text messaging has made students believe that it is far more acceptable than it actually is to just make terrible spelling and grammatical errors. And she says her students over the past several years have increasingly used less formal English in their writing. Words and phrases like "guy" and "you know" now appear in research papers.
Professor Johnson supposes there is a strong relationship between the rise of informal online communication and an increase in writing mistakes. But she says there may not be much scientific information, at least not yet.
David Crystal, a British linguist , says the actively changing nature of the Internet makes it difficult to keep up-to-date in studying its effects. But he believes its influence on language is small. The main effect of the Internet on language is the way it has added to the expressive richness of language, providing language with a new set of communicative tools that haven't existed in the past.
Erin Jansen is founder of NetLingo.com, an online dictionary of the Internet and text messaging terms. She says the new technology has not changed existing language but has greatly added to its vocabulary. Basically it's freedom of expression.
And what about those teachers who find these new kinds of mistakes in spelling and grammar in their students' work? What is her message to them?
Erin Jansen said, "I am always on the students' side and won't get angry or upset about that. If it's helping the kids write more or communicate more, that's great. That's what teachers and educators want--to get kids communicating."
But Erin Jansen and David Crystal agree with Eleanor Johnson on at least one thing. Teachers need to make sure students understand the uses and rules of language. | high19147.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Sleep problems have become a worldwide concern."
},
"options": [
"Nobody can stay awake for several days.",
"All people are going through sleep problems.",
"Sleep problems have become a worldwide concern.",
"The majorit... | Do you sleep well? Some people get off to sleep as soon as the head hits the pillow, but many others are not so lucky.In fact,the lack of quality sleep has become a public health issue around the world.According to the World Association of Sleep Medicine,45 percent of the world's population suffer from sleep problems.One in eight people don't sleep well and are easily woken.7.6 percent sleep less than 3 hours each night.Some even can not fall asleep for several days in a row.
As a basic bodily and mental need,sleep is essential for our survival.It helps us to fight diseases,strengthen our memory, perform better in work and school and improve our quality of life.Lack of sleep is known to have a significant negative influence on health,both in the short and long term.Poor sleep has been associated with obesity, weakened immune systems and even some cancers,as well as depression and anxiety.
The World Sleep Day, held on the third Friday of March,is an annual celebration of sleep to lighten the burden of sleep problems through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
Unhealthy lifestyle may be the first to blame for sleeplessness.More and more people use cellphones and computers in bed,with many staying up until midnight.Modern technology does make our life convenient,but abuse of it ruins our health.Environmental conditions,such as temperature,noise,light,bed comfort also play an important role in one's ability to get proper sleep.Besides,improper evening diet,like a full or an empty stomach,coffee and alcohol all contribute to sleep problems.Of course,when it comes to causing poor sleep stress from finances,family or work should never be ignored.
However, those who suffer from sleep disorders don't necessarily have to continue to do so--most sleep problems can be solved. | high16274.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "agriculture"
},
"options": [
"transportation",
"developing countries",
"agriculture",
"developed countries"
],
"question": "According to the passage, more greenhouse gas might be given off in the future from _... | The spread of Western eating habits around the world is bad for human health and the environment. These findings come from a new report in the journal Nature.
David Tillman, a professor of ecology at the University of Minnesota, America, examined information from 100 countries to identify what people ate and how diet affected health. He noted a movement beginning in the 1960s. He found that as nations industrialized, population increased and earnings rose, more people began to adopt what has been called the Western diet.
The Western diet is high in sugar, fat, oil and meat. By eating these foods, people began to get fatter and sicker. David Tillman says overweight people are at greater risk for non-infectious diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Unfortunately when people become industrialized, if they adopt this Western diet, they are going to have these health problems, especially in developing countries in Asia. China is an example where the number of diabetes cases has been jumping from less than one percent to 10 percent of the population as they began to industrialize over a 20-year period. And that is happening all across the world, in Mexico, in Nigeria and so on.
And, a diet bad for human beings, is also bad for the environment. As the world's population grows, more forests and tropical areas will become farmland for crops or grasslands for cattle. We are likely to have more greenhouse gas in the future from agriculture than that coming out of all forms of transportation right now.
Mr. Tillman calls the link between diet, the environment and human health, "a trilemma": a problem offering a difficult choice. He says one possible settlement is leaving the Western diet behind. | high10605.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "driving circumstances are bound up with(...) the risk of accidents"
},
"options": [
"different age groups have different peer pressure",
"teenagers often give wrong judgments above passengers' noise",
"underdeveloped brain ma... | Learning to drive is important to the independence of teenagers, but it is also a great responsibility.Although having a law that keeps 16-year-old drivers from having more than one teenager in the car with them at first seems unfair, there are convincing reasons for this requirement.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that teens are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile accident.It also reports that 16-and 17-year-old drivers are twice as likely to have an accident if they have two teenage friends in the car and four times as likely to have one if they have three or more teenage friends in the car with them.Fatal ( ) crashes of 16-year-old drivers involve the highest percentage of speeding, driver error, and number of passengers.This information is enough to cause any reasonable person to wonder about the wisdom of allowing new teen drivers to take a carload of friends anywhere, even if the law permits it.
A study at the National Institutes of Health indicates that the part of the human brain that controls judgment and evaluates the consequences of our actions might not be fully formed until the age of 25.Until this study, researchers had placed the age at 18.If this is true, it could explain the reckless behavior of many teens, behavior that often extends into their twenties.It also could be a strong reason for being cautious about the driving circumstances of young people.
This is not the only study that indicates such caution is necessary.One study at Temple University in Philadelphia examines the results of peer pressure in risky driving situations.The study, which uses a driving game, has an individual guide a car through a course, both alone and in the presence of friends.Three different age groups participated in the study: 13-16, 18-22, and 24 and older.Members of the oldest group showed caution whether driving alone or with friends present, but the two younger groups took more chances when they were with their friends.Furthermore, because these drivers were accustomed to the noise and distraction of many passengers, they were unable to see their own mistakes.Once again, this is a good indication that a law restricting the number of teenagers in the car with a young driver is a good idea. | high2342.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Pop culture"
},
"options": [
"Western countries",
"Pop culture",
"Singlelikes",
"Contemporary society"
],
"question": "In Michael Cobb's opinion, what should be responsible for people's fear of singledom?",
... | As people in China celebrated Singles' Day on November 11, the media eagerly discussed why so many marriageable young people fail to find their other half.
While single people in China are pitied, their counterparts in some Western countries feel they are being discriminated against. In the US, where more than a quarter of all households consists of one person, single people often pay more insurance than married people. They don't get the same tax breaks and they seldom get promoted at work.
There seems to be a bad name attached to their status - somehow their personality is flawed
and therefore they are not to be trusted.
Activities have created the term "singlism" to describe discrimination against unmarried people. It means stereotyping , stigmatizing and discrimination against those who are single.
Globally, the number of people living alone is skyrocketing. Many people are at peace with being single and some even choose to remain single. But why are so many of us worried about singledom?
Michael Cobb, professor of English at the University of Toronto in Canada, says that pop culture is to blame for people's fear of singledom. His book Single: Arguments for the Uncoupled is a critical examination of singleness in favor of the couple, making singletons one of the most despised sexual minorities in Western countries. In pop culture, singles are viewed as immature, whereas fully adults are able to form relationships and live meaningful lives.
The overall message is clear: go ahead and be yourself, but if you want real happiness, make sure you get coupled up. You may get that idea from US comedy series Sex and the City and the most recent Girls, or UK's Bridge Jones' Diary. | high18259.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity."
},
"options": [
"People who surf the Internet are good workers.",
"Not everyone surfs the Internet for fun during office hours.",
"Surfing the Internet... | Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee, according to an Australian study.
The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive than those who do not. Study author Brent Coker said, "Surfing the Internet at times helps increase workers' attention."
"People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention," Coker said on the university's website. "Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day's work, and as a result, increases productivity ," he said.
According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Internet for their own reasons during office hours. Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos. "Firms spend a lot of money on software to _ their workers from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online," said Coker. "That's not always a good idea."
However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation , or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. "Those who spend too much time surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without." he said. | high14463.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The photos on the site are really reliable."
},
"options": [
"It offers you a lot of travel information.",
"It tells tourists where the cheap hotels are.",
"The photos on the site are really reliable.",
"The representat... | Do you want to go out of town for a bit of rest and relaxation? Before you start packing, visit these best travel sites for vacationers. In my opinion, they help people deal with common problems that pop up during a trip.
Oyster.com
Based on the advertised photos, the hotel you are considering appears to be clean and modern. Take a second look through the eyes of Oyster.com. Their representatives inspect resort areas and post the real images uncovering marketing lies. You see ACTUAL pictures of the rooms, attractions and beautiful beaches.
Skyscanner.net
Are you planning to travel on a budget? Discover the best deals for flights, hotels and car rentals at Skyscanner.net. They offer reasonable and comprehensive travel comparison. The best part is that their services are free. You don't have to sign up, provide personal information or go through a social network.
Virtualtourist.com
Chat with someone other than a travel agent about a location. At Virtualtourist.com, fellow travelers and locals talk about their experiences in specific areas. This site is set up like a forum , so you can ask questions and get answers in the comfort of your own home. Find out where to eat, play and get pleasure in a place without getting food poison or robbed by criminals.
Travel.state.gov
Unfortunately, Americans get into trouble abroad sometimes. Prepare for possible emergencies by visiting Travel.state.gov. There, the Bureau of Consular Affairs offers advice on how to handle the bad things that happen to good people in other countries. You learn what to do in the case of child abduction , a lost passport and illness. In addition, these officials post travel warnings regarding dangerous regions and why foreigners should avoid them.
Are you ready to do your homework? Prepare for your departure by checking out these best travel sites for vacationers. Learn what you need to know now before walking out of the door. | high6124.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Exercise is important and don't sit too long."
},
"options": [
"Sitting too long may help increase one's life.",
"Exercise is important and don't sit too long.",
"Watching TV is bad,but can broaden one's horizons.",
"St... | The human body is designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around. As we know. we're while we're eating; we sit in the car and we sit while we watch TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work.
New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years. Peter Katzmarzyk,a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States,says that sitting is ubiquitous in our lives,meaning it is something we do all the time,everywhere.
However,Mr. Katzmarzyk says that does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours. He also says you may exercise often,"We can't throw away physical activity. It's extremely important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. "
Mr. Katzmarzyk and his coi leagues are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day affects length of life. "Studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and mortality or television viewing and mortality are very rare. There's only been a few of them,actually five or six now,in the last four or five years. "They found that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one-point four years to life.
Luckily,change is already coming to some offices,especially in the design of desks. A "standing desk"lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the "treadmill desk. " A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U. S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycle to keep children moving. That's one of the strategies that many companies are using now.
Mr. Katzmarzyk also says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives. | high12012.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It was ruined by an earthquake and a war, but was twice rebuilt."
},
"options": [
"Its population was doubled.",
"It was twice destroyed by natural disasters and was twice rebuilt.",
"Serious social problems emerged.",
... | Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also one of the world's most modern cities. Twice last century, the city was destroyed and rebuilt. In 1923 a major earthquake struck the city. Thousands of people were killed and millions were left homeless as buildings collapsed and fires broke out throughout Tokyo. It took seven years to rebuild the city. During World War II, Tokyo was destroyed once again. As a result of these disasters, there is nothing of old Tokyo remaining in the downtown area.
After the war, the people of Tokyo began to rebuild their city. Buildings went up at a fantastic rate, and between1945 and 1960, the city's population more than doubled. Because of the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964, many new stadiums, parks and hotels were built to treat visitors from all over the world. As a result of this rapid development, however, many problems have risen. Housing shortage, pollution, and waste disposal have presented serious challenges to the city, but the government has begun several programs to answer them. | high1893.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "hire a motorhome"
},
"options": [
"take an adventure",
"travel to England",
"try a new lifestyle",
"hire a motorhome"
],
"question": "The main purpose of this text is to explain why it is a good idea to _ .",... | Do you want a bit of an adventure? Would you like to discover all the corners of the UK, or travel abroad? Maybe you have never tried the motorhome lifestyle before. Well, read this article and you will know why a motorhome is a good choice.
Nothing is better than a motorhome. It has so many uses that it is considered the most _ vehicle and it is also very comfortable. If you are thinking about hiring a motorhome this summer, then the best choice is to book it early, especially if you are considering the school holidays. The motorhome hire service is very seasonal and motorhome hire companies will never have extra vehicles available in the summer months.
There are a lot of companies throughout the UK, and some of the big ones have motorhomes spread all over the country. At present, the largest network for motorhome hire is provided by Motorhome which is based in Cambridge. If you are in the UK, you may phone 0800612-8719 for details of its motorhome hire information. Motorhome has a network of over 500 vehicles all over England, Scotland and Wales.
Most people wishing to hire a motorhome are families that are looking for an alternative to a European package holiday, especially as flying now has become more expensive, and is considered to be environmentally unfriendly. There is no doubt that the idea of no-fly holidays is going to become more popular as fewer people think it is safe to fly. This explains why more and more people are choosing to hire a motorhome for their holidays. | high8109.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "HKFYG & HKUST"
},
"options": [
"HKFYG & HKU",
"HKFYG & HKUST",
"HKU & HKUST",
"HKUST & SSEL"
],
"question": "The Art of Public Speaking is organized by _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Summer School for Effective Leadership 2014
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) partners with 2 world-class universities, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to offer you the best international summer schools in town! This year the Summer School for Effective Leadership (SSEL) is divided into the HKU Chapter--An Overture to Global Leadership, and HKUST Chapter--The Art of Public Speaking. Please find out more from the introduction below:
HKU Chapter--An Overture to Global Leadership
An Overture to Global Leadership, now in its seventh year, is cooperation between the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and the University of Hong Kong with the aims:
1. To nurture youth leaders with solid fundamental knowledge and intensive leadership skills;
2. To strengthen their critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills and problem solving abilities;
3. To reinforce their willingness to serve the community;
4. To further develop global perspective and promote intercultural awareness amongst participants.
Date
Between 18 July 2014 (Friday) and 26 July 2014 (Saturday).
Full attendance is _ for the 9-day-8-night programme. Shared-room accommodation in the University dormitory is required.
Application Deadline
Non-residents of Hong Kong: 6:00 p.m., Friday, 16 May 2014 (Hong Kong Time)
Non-residents of Hong Kong may need to apply for a student visa, please visit the website: http://l21.hkfyg.org.hk/ssel/hku/overview.html for further details.
For application, please visit: http://l21.hkfyg.org.hk/ssel/hku/application.php
HKUST Chapter--The Art of Public Speaking
The Art of Public Speaking is a new collaboration between the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with the aims:
1. To enhance the leadership skills and public speaking skills of participants;
2. To allow youth leaders and speakers to learn from one another, and encourage cultural exchanges;
3. To demonstrate how public speaking skills can be used by leaders to communicate to the public;
4. To allow outstanding student leaders to serve and understand the local community.
Date
Between 14 July 2014 (Monday) and 19 July 2014 (Saturday)
Full attendance is mandatory for the 6-day-5-night programme. Shared-room accommodation in the University dormitory is required.
Application Deadline
Non-residents of Hong Kong: 6:00p.m., Friday, 9 May 2014 (Hong Kong Time).
Non-residents of Hong Kong may need to apply for a student visa, please visit the website: http://l21.hkfyg.org.hk/ssel/hkust/overview.html for further details.
For application, please visit: http://l21.hkfyg.org.hk/ssel/hkust/application.php | high14477.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "mid-latitude areas are likely to experience positive impacts"
},
"options": [
"crops yields could be increased in tropical regions",
"food production could rise throughout the world",
"chances are that food resources would be... | Climate change could affect food supplies, water resources, human health and homes.
If greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing at the current rate, global temperature is expected to rise between 2degC and 6degC by 2100. This doesn't sound much, but a 5degC change is the difference between the current warm period and an ice age.
Global warming leads to other changes in the climate: melting ice, more evaporation , changes in geographical patterns of rainfall, heavier downpours separated by longer dry spells, more frequent heat waves, more intense hurricanes, and sea level rise.
These changes could affect crop growth as drought, increased evaporation and shrinking glaciers disrupt water supply. Some crops could suffer heat stress. While there may be benefits in some regions, overall climate change is likely to have a negative impact on global food supplies. The impacts of climate change on agriculture will vary widely around the world. A global temperature rise of 1-2 degC is expected to increase food production in some regions, particularly mid-latitude areas. But in tropical regions even a small amount of warming could reduce crop yields. A temperature rise of 3 degC or more could threaten global food resources, as all regions are likely to experience negative impacts overall.
Freshwater resources could also diminish, especially in tropical regions, as rain patterns change and evaporation speeds up. Some communities could lose essential melt water as glaciers disappear, while more intense rainfall and hurricanes could cause more flooding, leading to water pollution and bacterial diseases such as cholera becoming more widespread.
Climate change could lead to a variety of health impacts - both positive and negative. On the negative side, scientists anticipate more cases of malnutrition, heatstroke and waterborne diseases such as cholera. Although some populations will benefit from a reduced risk of cold-related illnesses such as _ , overall a warming world is likely to have negative effects on human health.
Scientists also expect damage to homes and buildings from more intense hurricanes, heavier rainfall and rising sea levels. Climate change is likely to affect infrastructure by increasing the risk of both coastal and inland flooding around the world, owing to a combination of heavier rainfall, rising sea levels and increased storm damage. Homes and buildings could also be affected by the thawing of frozen ground and greater risk of forest fires.
The consequences of climate change will have an impact on people around the world. | high6130.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "people-to-people travel"
},
"options": [
"family visits",
"people-to-people travel",
"religious travel",
"medical travel"
],
"question": "Most Americans get the visa to Cuba by _ .",
"question_type": "cloz... | Traveling to Cuba as an American is like jumping through hoops .To help you better prepare for your trip,here are what you need to know about traveling to Cuba.
You wilI need to obtain a visa to travel to Cuba.You'11 need to apply for the visa associated with your travel purposes,such as religious or medical travel,family visits,or people-to-people travel,which is the most common type of visa attained by Americans.
Because of the U.S.restriction,banks have not yet been able to establish a foothold in Cuba,meaning it's a cash--focused country.You can exchange currency at the Jose Marti International Airport or at your hotel.Keep in mind that there is a 10 percent fee to exchange U.S.currency for Cuban currency.You'11 also want to be sure to carry change for tips.
You can reserve a hotel room in Cuba online.Then you can call to confirm your reservation.You can also book through a travel agency.However,payment can be tricky:Even if you pay for your room through your travel agent,the restriction may prevent your payment from reaching your hotel in time(another reason to book well in advance).Come prepared with enough cash to cover the cost,just in case.
If you expect to find the blue waters,volcanic landscapes and beautiful villages of other nearby islands,you'11 be disappointed.But beauty is not hard to find here.Old Havana--a UNESCO World Heritage Site--is home to splendid architecture and a bit of paladars(privately owned res--taurants).Limited economic opportunities have led Cubans to be creative in other ways.You can't go two blocks without coming across street paintings,art studios and joyful ballet music. | high12006.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "cared too much about what the critics had said"
},
"options": [
"was a bad pianist",
"cared too much about what the critics had said",
"refused to play in Helsinki",
"was praised highly by the critics"
],
"quest... | Jean-Michael Lourdis was a promising young pianist. But when the young man played, it seemed to him, as if his hands were iron. He worried so much about his playing that he became oversensitive to the comments of his playing. Unfortunately, in those days, a critic was not considered a critic, unless he found something wrong. This attitude of the critics would often leave the young man ready to give up his dream and return home.
He was invited to play in Helsinki. The rich, the famous, the leaders of State were all there. Jean-Michael had one of those days when everything went wrong. That night as he played, he felt as if it were the worst concert of his young life. The next day, in the newspapers, some of the comments were so unkind. The young musician was painful.
That day, as he sat in his hotel room in total despair , there came a knocking at his door. He had a visitor.The famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius had come by to congratulate the young pianist on his performance. Jean-Michael asked how he thought of that and began to quote some of the newspaper critics. " Hands of iron. No imagination. Little skill. No joy. Don't you hear what they say?" he asked.
Jean Sibelius looked at young Jean-Michael and said, "Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue for a critic." | high4727.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the people of Bali were not allowed to fight"
},
"options": [
"Bali was an island of quiet and beauty",
"speaking after argument often leads to fight",
"Bali was a safe place to have a holiday",
"the people of Bali were... | Bali is a small prefix = st1 /islandofIndonesia, with an area of only 5,632 square kilometers. It lies to the east ofJavaIslandclosely. It is a pretty island that has many mountains and a pleasant climate. For a long time Bali was cut off from much of the world.
The people of Bali were happy and had a peaceful way of life. They were not allowed to fight. At one time there had been terrible wars on Bali. Then the people decided it was wrong to fight and have wars. They made rules to keep apart those people who wanted to fight.
Bali was divided into seven small kingdoms. The land around each kingdom was kept empty, and no one lived there. Since the kingdoms did not share the same borders, the people could not fight about them.
On Bali, even the young were not allowed to fight. If two children started a fight over a toy, someone stopped them. When two boys argued, they would agree not to speak to each other. Sometimes they did not talk to each other for months. This gave the boys a chance to forget their anger.
Families who were angry with each other also promised not speak to one another. Their promise was written down, and the whole village knew about it. If they broke their promise, they had to offer presents to their gods. | high19153.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The fight against AIDS won't be stopped by the withdraw of money from charity in China."
},
"options": [
"China will have to fight against AIDS alone, though facing financial hardship.",
"Chinese organizations of fighting against A... | BEIJING - The country's top health officials state that an international charity's decisions not to give millions of dollars to Chinese organizations that fight AIDS and other diseases will not bring about the end of those organizations.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced on Monday that it will withhold $95 million from the $270 million in grants it had planned to give China. That decision came as the result of months of discussion between the charity and Chinese officials.
On the mainland, a large number of programs meant to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS have received money from the Global Fund. Many observers now fear that the announced cut will undermine those organizations' work.
Chen Zhu, the minister of health, said officials have found a way to limit the harm. "In the coming five years, the Chinese government will constantly increase its financial support of social organizations, particularly those that work to control and prevent HIV/AIDS." Chen said while addressing the 6th Experience Exchange Conference of International Cooperation Program on HIV/AIDS in China on Monday.
In a recent survey of more than 200 organizations taking part in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the mainland, nearly 80 percent of them said they had received grants from the Global Fund. About 83 percent of them said they will find it difficult to continue operating without financial support from abroad, it said. Official statistics showed the Global Fund has given China $548 million in grants since 2003.
Xia Jing, leader of a Beijing-based grassroots organization dedicated to controlling AIDS, said: "We were like children fostered by foreign milk. As foreign money began to be withdrawn from China, we were faced with serious financial hardships." Han Mengjie, executive director of Global Fund China Programs, said the Chinese government has fully recognized the important role social organizations play in controlling diseases. "The work done and efforts made by such organizations must be sustained for a long time to supplement the government's intervention work,"he said, "We have to face the truth that international money for AIDS control will gradually leave China and to prepare ourselves to deal with that." | high2356.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Room cleaning."
},
"options": [
"Room cleaning.",
"Medical care.",
"Free transport.",
"Physical training."
],
"question": "Which of the following will the host provide?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"... | Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones2,3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential . Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowed area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans Available
Continental Breakfast Breakfast and Dinner Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal ,bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit. you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much. | high5439.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "China's first direct coal-to-oil project."
},
"options": [
"The way to change coal to oil.",
"China's leading coal producer, Shenhua Group.",
"China's first direct coal-to-oil project.",
"The proven coal reserves around... | First direct coal liquefaction line produces
(Xinhua)
HOHHOT - China's first direct coal-to-oil project, operated by the country's leading coal producer, Shenhua Group, produced 866,000 tons of oil products last year.
The direct coal liquefaction line is located in Ejin Horo Banner , Ordos city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It produces 3,000 tons of oil products by using nearly 10,000 tons of coal per day, said Shenhua Coal Liquefaction and Chemical Co.,Ltd.
With an investment of 12.6 billion yuan ($2.06 billion), Shenhua Group began construction of the project in 2004, using self-developed technologies.
The project began trial production at the end of 2009 with a designed annual capacity of 1.08 million tons of diesel , naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas .
Proven coal reserves around Ordos are estimated at 160 billion tons, or 11.4 percent of the country's total coal reserves.
As part of its clean energy strategy, China has begun a number of direct or indirect coal liquefaction and coal gasification projects in Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Liaoning in the past three years. | high17618.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "unfold wings for flying"
},
"options": [
"fold and- unfold its wings",
"unfold wings for flying",
"land in the airport",
"meet flying safety regulations"
],
"question": "It takes the carplane one minute to _ .... | If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its carplane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.
" It's the next 'wow' vehicle," said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh."Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don't fly."
The car plane has wings that unfold for flying-a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both.The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National High way Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly.They say it saves you the trouble of trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you're good to go.When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road.There are no expensive parking fees because you don't have to store it at an air port-you park it in the garage at home.
The carplane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet.It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers.Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal conditions.
The Transition's price tag: $ 194,000.But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS.Another option is a fullplane parachute.
"If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option,"Gersh said.
So far, the company has more than 70 0rders with deposits. "We're working very closely with them,
but there are still some remaining steps, " Brown said. | high2430.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Science and Technology."
},
"options": [
"Science and Technology.",
"Entertainment.",
"Sports report.",
"Advertisement"
],
"question": "In which section would the passage be seen in a newspaper?",
"question_... | Xinhua Sept.25,2008
JIUQUAN, Gansu---China launched successfully its third manned spacecraft on Thursday with three astronauts on board to attempt the country's first-ever space walk.
The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9:10pm.after a breathtaking countdown to another milestone on China's space journey.
On board pilots Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng are expected to orbit the earth for three days, when one of them will float out of the cabin about 343 kilometers above the earth.
When they make it, China will become the third country in the world who is able to conduct extravehicular activity (EVA) in space following the former Soviet Union and the United States.
President Hu Jintao watched the historic moment at the launch center, joined by Chinese experts and other work staff.
Hu briefly met the trio astronauts before they entered the spacecraft Thursday afternoon, wishing them "a complete success in this glorious and sacred mission".
"During the mission, you will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit, which is a great leap for China's space technology." said Hu.
Other tasks of the Shenzhou VII crew include the release of a small monitoring satellite and a trial of the data relay of the satellite Tianlian-I.
If successful, the mission would be of great significance to the country's future plans to build a space lab and a space station, said ZhangJianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project. | high11269.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To ask for help."
},
"options": [
"To criticize his parents.",
"To ask for advice about his studies.",
"To complain about his parents.",
"To ask for help."
],
"question": "What is Jimmy's main purpose in writing... | Dear Editor,
I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don't understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I'm not! Why can't they let me be myself?
Jimmy
Hi, Jimmy,
As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!
Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won't understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.
Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you're home, you will be expected to conform again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents' involvement in your life.
Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry , and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you've learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country's culture. | high4041.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "keep calm"
},
"options": [
"give up",
"hurry up",
"be careful",
"keep calm"
],
"question": "When problems came up, the author's mother told them to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | My mother always told us there is no use crying over spilt milk. That means you should not get angry when something bad happens and cannot be changed. She also told us you have to break some eggs to make an omelet . This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.
My mother believed you are what you eat. A good diet is important for good health. She would always give us healthy food. She liked serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. The meat and potatoes can also mean the most important part of something. It describes someone who likes simple things.
People always said my father was the salt of the earth, because he would never pour salt on a wound , or make someone feel worse about something that was already a bad experience. However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life. So we had to take it with a grain of salt. That is, we could not believe everything he told us.
My manager at work does not always know what is going on in our office. Yet she is right about one thing: there is no such thing as a free lunch. Something may appear to be free, but there may be a hidden cost. When we fail to see problems at work, the manager tells us to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to pay more attention and fix the problem. I once made a big mistake at the office and felt silly. I had egg on my face.
Over the weekend, my friend invited me to watch a football game on television. But I do not like football. It is not my cup of tea.
I hope I have given you food for thought, that is, something to think about. | high19635.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In the USA"
},
"options": [
"In China",
"In India",
"In the USA",
"In Japan"
],
"question": "In which country is glaucoma the biggest danger to people's sight?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness around the world, especially in developing countries. The World Health Organization says glaucoma is a greater public health challenge than cataracts , because the blindness caused by the latter can be cured after operations.
Glaucoma is a disease that makes people around the world lose their sight, and they usually don't even know they have the disease until it has permanently destroyed at least 40 percent of their sight. The process is usually so painless and subtle , so people don't notice it. Actually, the simplest medical test can discover it.
"It is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. In Hispanics and in African-Americans, it's the second leading cause of blindness and so is the case in the Chinese and Indians." said Dr. Alan Robin, a specialist in treating glaucoma. "The glaucoma we see in sub-Saharan Africa is a much more aggressive blinding disease than the glaucoma we see in Americans or even African- Americans in-the United States." he said. .
Dr. Eric Fleischer also sees
at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. "Pretty much anybody who has ancestors in Africa has an increased chance of developing glaucoma." Age is another thing that may lead to glaucoma, although people of all ages can get it.
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that commonly produce pressure in the eye. An eye is sort of like a watch. And behind the face of the watch, liquid is made. It goes through your pupil and into the front of the watch between the face and the crystal.There's an area around the edge of the watch that drains the liquid. When that drain is blocked, the liquid can't leave the eye as fast as it is produced. The rising pressure within the eye damages and eventually kills the optic nerve. The result is blindness.
Fortunately, if caught early, glaucoma can be controlled. Glaucoma is not curable. But as researchers worldwide lean more about it, they grow more hopeful that glaucoma can one day be cured or even prevented. | high16506.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In scientific research, a higher priority should be given to understanding all living systems."
},
"options": [
"The environment crisis will not be solved unless we stop using virgin materials.",
"In scientific research, a higher p... | American's genius with high technology may have put men on the moon, but there is growing doubt about its ability to solve human problems closer to home.
In fact, a slight but significant change from purely technological solutions is already under way as scientists insist that answers to the world's problems will not come from an attractive exhibition of electronics and machines. Instead, as they see it, solutions must develop from a better understanding of the humans that drive the system and from a fuller appreciation of the limits and potential of the earth's resources.
What this means is an increased emphasis on the life and earth sciences, on sociology, psychology, economics and even philosophy.
More and more of the best minds in science, particularly young researchers, are being drawn into these developing fields.
All this is not to say that technological creativity will not play a critical role in solving energy and food shortages, or that answers to environmental difficulties will not come from further advances in the same technologies that may have helped cause the problems.
Where the real challenge lies, in the view of the new generation of scientists, is in finding ways to produce goods and meet the world's needs, using less of the raw materials that are becoming short. | high7548.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "situations are new to her"
},
"options": [
"situations are new to her",
"boys are around her",
"she changes into a leader",
"she is away from her mom"
],
"question": "Kelly is nervous when _ .",
"question... | My daughter Kelly is a cautious person.She needs to warm up to situations,is hesitant to try new things.When with close friends,she becomes a leader who laughs loudly and chants,"Girls rule,boys drool." But when that comfort zone is not around her,she is shy and nervous.
This has been challenging for me at times."Shy" is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me.But this has been a year of firsts for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of confidence.This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team.This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels.And this year she completed her first kids' triathlon .
On Saturday,with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son's birthday party later in the day,we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to participate in her first triathlon.We practiced transitions from swim to bike to run with her,we got all the equipment she'd need,and we kept talking about the race.But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn,she held my leg a little harder and told me she loved me a few too many times.She was nervous but trying to keep it together.
And then it was her turn.From the second she jumped into the water,my heart soared. My daughter transformed into the most confident human being I had ever seen.She dominated that swim,crushed that bike ride and ran to the finish with the biggest smile on her face.
I can honestly say that I never felt so proud of someone in my entire life.It wasn't because she did a sport or anything like that.It was because she was afraid of something and conquered that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn't seen before.
All day I would find myself just looking over at her and smiling.She might be wearing the finalist medal but I felt like I won that day.I won the chance to see my girl shine.
Shine on,sweet baby. | high12760.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a sailor"
},
"options": [
"a surgeon",
"an army man",
"a sailor",
"a life-saver"
],
"question": "When he was a small boy, books about the sea had made Sanders want to be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | As a boy, Sanders was much influenced by books about the sea, but by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a doctor. So he was often with the doctors and got along very well with them. When he was fourteen, he was already hanging around the hospital where he was supposed to be helping to clean the medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the doctors' conversations with patients in the next room.
During the war Sanders served in the army as a surgeon . "That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with real sufferers and on the whole making a success of my job." In Rhodes he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skill to himself and had a firm belief that he could serve those who lived simply, and were dependent upon him. Thus, while in a position to tell them what to do he could feel he was serving them.
After the war, he married and set up a practice deep in the English countryside, working under an old doctor who hated the sight of blood. This gave the younger man plenty of opportunity to go on working as a life-saver. | high1139.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To prevent her flowers being ruined."
},
"options": [
"To stop them fighting with each other.",
"To prevent her flowers being ruined.",
"To stop them stealing in the flower bed.",
"To keep the boy from being wounded."
... | On a Friday night in May 2015, Oliver and Lone Kleven heard angry shouts coming from their front lawn. Lone, 68, stepped onto the porch and saw two men in dark clothes struggling with something on the ground--right where she and her grandson had planted a flower bed the weekend before.
"Go fight somewhere else!" she shouted, worried her plants would get damaged. At the sound of her voice, the face of a boy appeared from beneath the two men. He looked 13 or 14 or so. "They're trying to kill me!" the boy screamed. Lone ran toward them and, without hesitation, caught the boy's arm, pulling him out.
"Leave _ alone!" she shouted. When the men stood up, Lone saw what looked like a sharp object in one man's hand. When she turned back toward the boy, he was moaning in pain and holding his stomach. The attackers began to move in on the boy again when Lone's husband shouted: "Get lost!" The two men walked quickly and quietly across the street and drove off in a dark car.
"I have to get to the hospital!" the boy cried. He lifted his shirt, and Lone could see a bloody wound on his stomach. Oliver hugged the trembling boy while Lone caught her cell phone and car keys inside the house. She handed the phone to Oliver. "Call 911," she told him. "I'm going after them." Lone took off but was unable to find the car.
The Klevens then learned what had happened. Earlier that night, as the boy waited for his parents to pick him up from the high school across the street from the Klevens' house, two men approached and demanded his wallet. When he refused, one of the men hit him in the face. The boy ran across the street. The men caught up with him, and one hurt him in the back and stomach with a sharp knife. That's when Lone stepped in.
The boy's wounds required operations, but he has fully recovered.
"He was alone and outnumbered," says Lone. "There was no time to do anything except what I did." | high14311.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Robots are indifferent and emotionless."
},
"options": [
"Robots are indifferent and emotionless.",
"Robots can't provide efficient services.",
"Robots don't offer to give store coupons.",
"Robots are unable to do a job... | I log onto a computer at the doctor's office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room.
There, a robotic nurse directs me onto a device and then takes my blood pressure. Some time later, in steps the doctor, who is also a robot. He notes down my symptoms and gives me a prescription . I pay for my visit using a credit card machine and return home without having met another human being.
When I call my dentist's office and actually get a human being on the line, I am thrilled. And when I see the introduction of yet more self-service checkout stations at the grocery store, I feel like shouting, "When it comes to cashiers, make mine human, please!"
After all, human cashiers sometimes give you a store coupon for items you are buying. Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can brighten a young mother's day. A cashier may also show compassion for an elderly person struggling to get that last penny out of her purse.
What technological device would do any of this? I don't want to go back to the Stone Age, but I'm also worried about a world run by machines. Sometimes when you're chatting with someone, you discover things you need to know. Maybe a receptionist needs prayers said for a sick child. Maybe a salesperson can offer a bit of encouragement to a customer who is feeling tired.
Machines can be efficient and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine. But they lack an element so important to everyday life.
Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is something no machine will ever have. It is being human that prompts us to smile at others, which may be what they need at that moment. | high9565.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Attitude makes difference"
},
"options": [
"Attitude makes difference",
"Well begun is half done.",
"The early bird gets the worm.",
"Easier said than done."
],
"question": "Which of the following would be the b... | I told my friend Graham that I often cycle the two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, "You mean fortunately." He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally as I wend my way up the incline I console myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smug smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a University degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards _ . From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. Whilst we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.
The biographies of great people are littered with examples of how they took these kinds of steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become defeatist or depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won. | high6656.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "His confidence in business success."
},
"options": [
"The large population in London.",
"His desire to own a department store.",
"His confidence in business success.",
"Affection for London architecture."
],
"qu... | Mr. Selfridge, the Wisconsin-born retailer who left school at 14, rose to become a partner in Marshall Field's. Chicago. Founded in 1852, it was one of the first and most ambitious US department scores. Mr. Selfridge had done well with Marshall Field's. He liked to say, "The customer is always right," which made the Chicago store popular. And he is believed to have invented the phrase "Only [so many] Shopping Days until Christmas".
When he visited London on holiday in 1906 he was surprised to find most of the city's department stores were no match of their American and Parisian competitors. This led Selfridge to leave the US and establish Selfridges. a department store named after him. at the west end of London's Oxford Street. In Oxford Street, Selfridge's design team shaped an ambitious classical palacc building with a wall of plate glass windows.
Opened in 1909, Selfridges offered customers a hundred departments along with restaurants, a roof garden, reading and writing rooms, reception areas for foreign visitors, a first aid room and. most importantly, a small army of knowledgeable floor-walking assistants who served as guides as well as being thoroughly instructed in the art of making a sale.
Mr. Selfridge did much to make the department store a destination rather than just a big and comprehensively stocked city shop. It became a place to meet and for ladies to lunch. Mr. Selfridge later introduced the department store as a key element of the 20th Century culture, and Chaplin acknowledged the growing trend for shopping in the department store in his film The Floorwalker. | high13495.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "complain about a mishandled case"
},
"options": [
"inform the manager of a payment",
"complain about a mishandled case",
"demand an apology from Mr. Watson",
"require the manager to fire Mr. Tan"
],
"question": ... | Dear Mr. Watson,
CLAIM AL54323432--STORM DAMAGE TO ROOF
I received a cheque for $623 dated 26 January in payment of my recent claim . However, I wish to tell you how upset I have been by the way your Claims Assessor, Mr. Michael Tan, handled this claim.
When Mr. Tan first called me, he specifically told me that he believed I had been overcharged, and he would expect to pay that price for work on a double garage, rather than a single garage like mine. Mr. Tan suggested that I neither use nor recommend this contractor again. He continued to tell me it was unlikely for me to receive full payment. Never during this conversation did he mention that the reason for not receiving full payment was because of the nature of my insurance policy.
Consequently, I wrote to Mr. Lance Ashe to complain about his pricing, stating that I was very upset thinking that he could have taken advantage by overcharging a 73-year-old woman. Mr. Ashe telephoned me immediately and explained his charges in detail. He later reported back to me that Mr. Tan explained that I would not receive full payment because of the type of policy I hold, which does not cover wear and tear. This was the first time this issue had been brought to my attention, so you can imagine my surprise.
When I received Mr. Tan's letter of 2 February, this situation was explained. If this had been explained in the first place I would have accepted it and would not have questioned Mr. Ashe's charges. Instead, by telling me initially that I had been overcharged for this work, he caused a great deal of upset, not only for me but also for Mr. Ashe.
I believed this claim was handled badly by Mr. Tan from the beginning. Therefore, a great deal of embarrassment has been caused over this issue.
I felt you should know how disappointed and upset I am. I trust you will look into this and ensure that such claims are handled more appropriately in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Richard | high24239.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "help the homeless start a new life"
},
"options": [
"find a home for homeless people",
"collect money for homeless people",
"help the homeless kick bad habits",
"help the homeless start a new life"
],
"question"... | There are one billion homeless people living in our world today. The Homeless World Cup exists to end this, so we all have a home, a basic human need.
The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament , uniting teams of people who are homeless to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. It has inspired and supported over 50 grass roots football projects around the world working with homeless people throughout the year.
The first tournament took place in Graz 2003 uniting 17 national teams. At the 5th Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen in 2004, 48 nations, 500 players were united for a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country. 25,000 players were involved in pre-tournament training and trials around the world.
The Homeless World Cup is full of players with courage, spirit and determination. Research shows that 73% of players change their lives for the better after the international tournament by _ drugs and alcohol, moving into jobs, education, homes, training, reuniting with families and even going on to become players and coaches for professional or semi-professional football teams. David Duke (Scotland) played in 2004, came off alcohol, passed his coaching qualifications . He became assistant coach for Scotland 2005, coach in 2006 and now owns his own home. The best goal scorer in 2004 Yevgen Adamenko (Ukraine) went on to play in a professional club in Ukraine.
The Homeless World Cup supporters include Nike, UN, Manchester United, Real Madrid and international footballers Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand. | high8848.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he got a worse mark than usual"
},
"options": [
"he was unfairly treated by his teacher",
"he was disappointed with his downfall",
"he was not smart enough at studies",
"he got a worse mark than usual"
],
"quest... | On October 23, 2011, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, wasstabbed by his smart student Jason Haffizulla. Jason got straight A's and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall. His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed wouldundermine his entrance to Harvard. After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher.
How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no correlation between IQ and emotional intelligence.
During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy. I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects. I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future. After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students. The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses. The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies. Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?
Not so. Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought. Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions.
Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent. You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate in a persuasive and exciting manner by relating to your fellow humans, you will face an uphill battle in whatever challenges you encounter. It's not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it's that people dislike you because you're rude and not understanding. The intelligent person with poor communication skills is insensitive or unaware of others' emotions. | high446.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Grow cool climate vegetables in hot areas."
},
"options": [
"Water the field with seawater.",
"Grow asparagus in hot places.",
"Grow cool climate vegetables in hot areas.",
"Cool the soil."
],
"question": "What ... | Did you know that vegetables can grow in the climates they are not used to? Cool climate vegetables like asparagus are now able to be grown in places as hot as Hawaii. In Hawaii, marine engineers have been able to actually let you believe such vegetables that they are living in cooler climates. In that way they grow faster and taste better. What these engineers have been using is very simply cold sea water. How did they use it? They place pipes in the soil and cold water flowing through them cools the earth. This causes plant growth and enables gardeners in tropical climates to grow crops from cooler climates. Also some of these pipes are exposed to the air and they make the air "wet" and thus water the gardens. What especially makes people happy about this process is that nothing to the natural conditions is being used. Another new use for cold ocean water is to cool buildings. Engineers believe that for example the entire west coast of the prefix = st1 /United Statescould be air-conditioned using seawater. | high22890.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A man was beaten due to his protecting an abused dog"
},
"options": [
"A man was beaten due to his protecting an abused dog",
"A dog's owner was put in prison due to his beating the dog",
"Stop beating the dog",
"Dogs a... | When Jamie Beondik saw a puppy getting beaten with a chain, he tried to help. What he got in return was a beating of his own and he had to go to hospital.
The neighbors saw the fourmonthold black dog named Tomba Wednesday morning being beaten, choked and dragged on a chain by a man on a bike.
Jamie decided to get involved, telling the man to stop hurting Tomba.
"He started swinging the chain around in the air and I said 'OK. Well, I'm going to call the police.' And that's when he hit me with the chain," said Jamie.
He got hit in the legs and then the man and the dog ran off.
Twenty minutes later, the man came back and attacked Jamie with a slingshot before throwing a rock at him, hitting him in the back.
Jamie now has to use the wall to steady himself and his hands won't stop shaking, but he expects to be OK.
Despite his injuries, he has no regrets. Jamie says he'd do it all again.
"He was hurting the dog. I have had a dog for 13 years that looked just like Tomba. The dog was crying for help. I just wanted him to let the dog go. I didn't think he'd beat me," said Jamie.
The police arrested the man, who would face at least one charge of assault .
Tomba obviously was not seriously injured.
"That's all that's important. The dog's okay and he's in prison," said Jamie. | high23556.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The people online"
},
"options": [
"Their friends",
"Their family",
"The people online",
"Their management."
],
"question": "Who first saw the ban's video to the song Take Me Out?",
"question_type": "factiod... | NEW YORK-- The band Atomic Tom has scored an Internet hit with its self-created video to the song Take Me Out. In the video, the band members ride a New York City subway while performing entirely on iPhones, with applications linked with mini-battery powered broadcasters for each instrument.
Singer Luck White says the production was a top-secret operation.
"We didn't tell anyone about this. It was completely top-secret from our family, from our friends, from management, from everybody. So the first time that people saw this video was last Friday when we put it on YouTube,"explained White.
It has been watched by more than 2 million on YouTube since debuting last week. "All I've wanted to do for the past few days is just stare at the YouTube page and keep refreshing it to see how far it will go, " said Espiritu, the lead guitarist of the band.
"The Internet changed everything,"Espiritu said. "It's kind of an exciting time because it forces everyone to adjust and be creative and find new ways to get your name out there."
The idea for the video came from Espiritu's 24-year-old brother Benjamin, who's hoping to go to film school. " I've seen a lot of these music applications, and they're kind of fascinating to me,"Benjamin Espiritu said. " I thought: 'What would happen if iPhones kind of took over the world? If there could actually be a band that played straight through with iPhones, what would that look like?'" So they shot the video --with iPhones also serving as video cameras. The band also tried Union Square but were stopped during playing because they didn't have a permit.
" _ ,"Espiritu said. "We've seen the jump." Their album has been in the top 10albums on iTunes.
Will their fans start cheering for iPhone-only performances? "We've gotten the most exposure and teh most fans that we've ever gotten through this, so I wouldn't be surprised if fans are going to want to see that.: Espritu said. | high8690.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Kind and determined."
},
"options": [
"Warm-hearted and crazy.",
"Friendly and confident.",
"Kind and determined.",
"Sensitive and honest."
],
"question": "Which of the following can best describe Wang Weiguo?",... | Wang Weiguo, an award-winning actor of the National Theatre Company of China, was wandering through Bejing's Panjiayuan Flea Market when he found a treasure, 20 exquisite picture frames . He bought them all.
Inside the frames was a woman's life story. There were pictures of her as a baby and a growing child and pictures with her parents. Wang Weiguo was sure someone had lost them. He contacted the police and media. He showed them to friends and to people living outside China. No one recognized the people in the photographs.
That was 1999. Wang never gave up the search. In 2010 he told the story to a TV host, Zhang Zequn, who suggested he contact China Radio International. Within three months of the story's being posted on CRI, someone recognized Julie Ege in one of the photographs. The wonderful Norwegian actress and model was the mother of the child whose growing years the photos traced.
The child was Joanna Syson. She moved to Beijing in the 1990s to study Chinese. In 1999 she returned to Norway for six months, entrusting all her belongings, including the photographs, to a friend. When she returned, the friend was gone. So were her belongings. She was heartbroken.
More than a decade passed. Then, thanks to the story posted on CRI and to a visitor to the website, the trail finally led to Joanna Syson. She traveled to Bejing to meet Wang Weiguo, who had searched for her for 12 years, and to recover her treasured photographs. | high22648.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "At about twenty-five"
},
"options": [
"At about twenty-five",
"In their earl fifties",
"At the age of fifteen",
"At any age from fifteen to forty-five"
],
"question": "At what age did most women marry around the... | The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for the children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, four or five of whom lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five years and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has to take care of children, her work is lightened by modern living conditions.
This important change in women's life-patterns has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls took a full-time job after they left school. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school- leaving age is sixteen; many girls stay at school after that age, and though women usually marry older, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more afterwards return to full-or-part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them. | high6865.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "help treat her feet"
},
"options": [
"meet her interest",
"improve her dancing skills",
"help treat her feet",
"prepare her for skating"
],
"question": "The author was enrolled in dance classes to _ .",
"q... | When I was born, my parents immediately noticed something wrong. My feet were deformed , pointing inward and curling under. I wore casts and foot braces in my first two years to correct the problem. Yet I learned to balance and walk in casts. Soon after the last set of casts came off,Mom enrolled me in dance classes as therapy for my feet. I, however,quickly decided to try something else. Not far from my house was an ice rink in the mall. There,local skaters would perform ice shows. I wanted to try skating.
I started taking group skating lessons. Performing on ice came naturally. For me,skating has never been about beating others. It's been about being my personal best. I progressed through various levels rapidly and gave my first ice performance at age seven. Soon I started winning local and regional competitions. That's because being on the ice has always been the one place I can truly express my emotions. _
I began seriously training when I was nine years old. After graduating from girls' high school,I moved to Canada. Saying goodbye to my family and friends made me homesick,but I knew deep down that I had to leave and train full-time to give my dreams a chance at reality.
I went to compete in the Olympic Games in 1992.I was the first of the final six skaters on the ice. My long performance started well,but I slipped while landing one of my easiest triple jumps,and my hand touched the ice. I didn't want to make two mistakes in a row,so next I did a jump with just two spins to play it safe. As I neared the end,I had one more jump. I landed it perfectly.
When medals were awarded,I found myself on the top step,the gold hanging around my neck and America's national anthem playing. Words can't describe the overwhelming mixture of emotions I felt. | high11282.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Cleaning floors."
},
"options": [
"Making beds and breakfast.",
"Cleaning floors.",
"Making cars and computers.",
"Looking after kids and pets."
],
"question": "What can Roomba do?",
"question_type": "factio... | It's a safe bet that a robot made your car and your computer.Pretty soon,they could be making your bed and breakfast,too.
Increasingly,engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home.Companies including Sony and General Electric are working on designs for small robots.Products like Roomba,a robot that can clean floors, are _ .
What's behind this new robot revolution ? lt's partly a matter of technology.Devices that can recognize and answer human voice have been developed.There are now a few different ways for robots to move around.They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels.Robots are being made smaller and smaller.They are also becoming more and more able.
A bigger part of the story is on the demand side.From the day the television remote control was invented,people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy.Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots, and the time secms ripe to introduce robots to the ordinary family.
To be sure,robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off.However, robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon.One thing is certain--when these robots do come into our homes,it will
change things forever. | high21341.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Residents there can enjoy beautiful night scenes."
},
"options": [
"The Strand Southbank is a 5-star holiday hotel.",
"Residents there can enjoy beautiful night scenes.",
"The Strand Southbank provides free internet access.",... | Imagine coming home after work and feeling like you're on vacation at a 5-star resort!Welcome to The Strand Southbank in downtown Jacksonville-where luxury meets comfort.Renting a luxury apartment at The Strand Southbank is a wise lifestyle choice.After your long day,you deserve to feel like you're walking into a high-end luxury resort where you can truly relax.With activities geared towards life away from the office,our community comes alive when you come home.At The Strand Southbank,we foster resident friendships through frequent happy hours,book clubs and running groups.We free up your evenings by offering catered meals and food trucks on site.You have better things to do,like sitting on your balcony and taking in the views of downtown Jacksonville's bridges lit up or smelling the salty air from the St.Johns River.
COMMUNITY AMENITIES
*Fully equipped fitness center with river views
*Business center with high-speed internet
*Controlled access garage parking
*Relaxing library with fireplace
*Frequent resident events and community activities
LOCATION
The Strand Southbank apartments are ideally located in downtown Jacksonville near the entertaining Riverwalk and the sparkling St.John's River.Perfect for Jacksonville university students,these apartments are near popular Jacksonville schools including Jacksonville University,University of North Florida,and Florida Coastal School of Law.The Strand Southbank apartments are also conveniently near the Mayo Clinic.
DIRECTIONS
From I-10 take exit 350B toward San Marco Blvd.Merge onto Gary St.Turn left at FL-5/S Main St./US-1.Turn right at Gulf Life Dr./Riverplace Blvd.The Strand Southbank is on the left.
From I-95,exit on Union Street and travel east.Turn left onto Riverplace Boulevard.The Strand Southbank is just ahead on your right. | high19806.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "No Life Exists out of the Earth"
},
"options": [
"No Life Exists out of the Earth",
"Seventy Planets Discovered",
"A Place Full of Wonders",
"Perfect Conditions for Life"
],
"question": "What's the best title fo... | I give two examples as to why intelligent life may not actually exist, though I admit that for me, or even for a physicist who devoted his or her entire life to researching and studying the universe, it's shocking to claim that completely no life exists elsewhere.
Keeping that in mind, I'd just like to consider conditions elsewhere in the known universe. You really only need to look at our own solar system or the Earth at certain periods in its own history to appreciate that most places are much worse and much less suitable for life than our mild, watery globe.
So far, space scientists have discovered about seventy planets outside the solar. But it appears that if you wish to have a planet suitable for life, you just have to be very lucky, and the more advanced the life is, the luckier you'll have to be. I'm by no means a space observer, but I can recognize some particularly fortunate breaks we've had on the Earth. For example:
We are, to a degree, at the right distance from the perfect type of star, the one that is big enough to radiate a huge amount of energy, but not so big as to bum itself out quickly. Had our sun been ten times as huge, it would have burnt out completely after only ten million years, instead of ten billion and surely we would not exist. Too near, everything on the Earth would have boiled and withered away; any further, everything would have frozen over.
The universe is a surprising place, and our existence within it is a wonder. If a long and unimaginably complex sequence of events dating back 4.6 billion years or so hadn't happened in a particular manner at a particular time --if, to take just one example, the dinosaurs hadn't been wiped out by a meteor --we might still be a few centimeters long, with whisker and a tail, and you'll be reading this in a cave somewhere. | high4914.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Britons' overweight problem."
},
"options": [
"the cause of Britons' overweight.",
"how to avoid getting overweight",
"Britons' overweight problem.",
"the relations between overweight and health problems."
],
"q... | A third of Britons are overweight, states a report published in January by the Royal College of Physicians, the result of an 18-month study. About five per cent of children weigh too much, and are likely to stay that way for life; in the mid-twenties-age-long group the proportion of the middle-aged population half are overweight.
Fat people risk severe health problems, says the report, including high blood pressure, breathlessness and various forms of heart disease. Smoking is particularly risky for overweight people.
The safest way to lose weight is to eat cereals, bread, fruit and vegetables, and cut down on fatty meals, butter and sweet foods. Fad diets so far more than good; slimming machines that vibrate muscles have not been proved useful; saunas merely remove a little body water, and health farms, says the report ,serve as expensive holidays.
Exercise is most important to health, the report emphasizes; though it doesn't necessarily reduce weight; it keeps the correct proportion of body muscle. And it isn't only for the young ; from middle age a minimum of 20 minutes of gentle physical jerks should be practiced three times a week.
The report advocates several public health measures to fight the common existence of overweight in this country. They include an increase of tax on alcohol to reduce its increasing, and dangerously fattening, consumption; and the provision of more sports facilities by local authorities. Britain's doctors, the report concludes, must learn to be more sympathetic and specific in their advice to the overweight, encouraging a change in eating habits on a long-term basis and taking into account the many-often-complex-reasons why fat people are fat. | high20739.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "real home buyers"
},
"options": [
"governments",
"developers",
"real home buyers",
"speculators"
],
"question": "The only victims of rising house prices are _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | In China ,with the development of society, more and more people are annoyed at the continually rising house prices. They want to know who is to blame for it. Local governments,developers and speculators share a vested interest in it. People who are really in need of homes are most likely to suffer heavy losses.
Many local governments depend on selling land to keep its normal operation. The higher land prices,the more money. Therefore,developers back the local governments by buying land at high prices. In return,the governments make favorable policies to help the developers. For example,drive all the possible home buyers to this nasty market. They even encourage large numbers of speculators to catch more people.
Rising house prices have already become the fence which divides the Chinese society. It has caused widespread dissatisfaction. The government will lose the support of the common people if leaving house prices out of control. Besides,rising house prices will stop us building the new countryside as the present policy actually forbid people to flow freely from cities to the countryside.
Collecting taxes on houses can fundamentally solve this problem. On one hand,it will discourage the speculators. On the other hand,it will offer a stable tax resource apart from reducing the sales cost of the developers. secondly,stop the developers selling the houses before completion. If so,the developers will certainly try their best to sell all their houses once completed. And this will also lower speculators' expectation of price rising,which will decrease speculations. | high21427.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "All of the above."
},
"options": [
"The Chinese.",
"The Pacific Islanders.",
"The Mayan Indians.",
"All of the above."
],
"question": "Who discovered how to make paper?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"... | The Chinese invented paper in 105 A. D. They mixed the bark of a tree and rags with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper. They dried the paper in the sun.
The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century. The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world.
The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world.
For centuries, all paper was made by hand. Rags were the main material. Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too. Finally, in the eighteenth century. a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood. | high10822.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the second Sunday in May and the third Sunday in June"
},
"options": [
"the second Sunday in May and the third Sunday in June",
"the second Sunday in June and the third Sunday in May",
"the third Sunday in May and the second ... | People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother's Day,on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June.
Mother's Day was proclaimed a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Graffon, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation.
In 1909, Mrs Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910, the first Father's Day was _ in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped establish Father's Day as a national commenortative day , in 1972.
These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get togher at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is " the thought that counts". Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays. | high320.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "modern"
},
"options": [
"strange",
"modern",
"artistic",
"amazing"
],
"question": "The writer's new school is a very _ one.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | The First Day at My Senior High School
Today is September1,2012.It is the first day of my senior high school.Everything in the school is new to me.
The school is very modern. The gate of the school is artistic . When you go through the main gate,you can see a high stadium on the left side of the road, which has a 400-meter runaway and a soccer field with green grass. Buildings are tall and beautiful. The library is the most attractive building on the right side of the main road. There are many green trees and colorful flowers on both sides of the roads. The classrooms are amazing. They are big, clean and bright. In each classroom, there is a computer and a big screen,through which our teachers can show us tests,photos, and so on.
In my class, there are 60 students. We don't know each other, but we are all friendly.Everyone has a smile on his/her face. When we meet, we always say "Hello"to each other.
Most of our teachers are young. Some students think young teachers cannot teach well, but I do not think so. In my opinion,young teachers are very energetic and easy to make friends with. What's more, they may have a lot of new teaching methods.
I love my new school very much. I hope, in my new school, I can learn more from my teachers and make progress together with my classmates. | high1878.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "has vegetables and fruit as its main food"
},
"options": [
"likes to stay on vegetables and fruit",
"eats nothing but vegetables and fruit",
"prefers to stay on vegetables and fruit rather than anywhere else",
"has vege... | Another small animal that tigers eat in Ranthambhore (a wildlife park in northern India) is the porcupine .These animals are spread widely across India in open areas and grasslands; they often live in the earth and between rocks.They are good diggers, and in Ranthambhore are nocturnal ; they only come out at night.They weigh 12 to 16 kilograms and reach the length of 80 to 90 centimetres.They live usually on vegetables and fruit and seem to have a good sense of smell.Porcupines defend themselves when attacked by moving backwards with their quills upright, often making a strange noise.
Several times, I have found the remains of quills where a tiger has killed and eaten a porcupine, but I have never actually seen the kill.In spite of the quills, experienced tigers will try to kill clearly by biting the porcupine's head, its weakest spot.But the quills are very sharp and can give painful injuries to young tigers.If the quills have gone in very deeply or if they are stuck in the tiger's paw, it will try to pull them out.Often, it will be successful, and the wound will get better.But, if the quills have gone in very deeply or if they are stuck in the tiger's neck or mouth, where they cannot be reached, the wound will often turn bad.If this happens, the tiger is in pain and is less able to hunt animals.It has to look for easier prey and so may turn to cows on the edges of the forest.From this, it is a small step to becoming a man-eater. | high15796.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Polite."
},
"options": [
"Loud.",
"Brave.",
"Polite.",
"Confident."
],
"question": "What were Android users found to be like?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | IPhone owners are vainer and spend more on clothes and grooming than those who have BlackBerrys and Android phones, new research claims.BlackBerry owners earn the most and are more likely to have long-term relationships, while people with Android handsets are most creative and the best cooks.
The study, carried out by TalkTalk Mobile, surveyed 2,000 owners of the three major smartphone brands to determine whether the choice of handset was an extension of their personality. The study rated users in various walks of life using a point scoring system including personalities, daily habits and the type of industries they work in.
Other results from the study found that people with an iPhone are more _ and generally consider themselves more attractive than those with other handsets. They are most likely to describe themselves as adventurous, bright and are most likely to work in media, publishing and education. They also believe their boss rates them highly. Apple owners also tend to have done more travelling and are the most active on social media sites.
BlackBerry owners were found to be the least punctual , but despite putting in the least hours at work they are the most active phone user--sending more texts and making more calls in the average day than any other phone user. They are more social and have more friends overall. They also earn nearly two and a half thousand pounds a year more than other smartphone owners, with an average salary of $27,406. BlackBerry users classed themselves so loud and mainly work in the health, finance or property sectors. They were also found to drink more tea and coffee each day than any other phone user.
Android owners were found to watch more TV than others and drink the most alcohol--consuming more in an average week than iPhone and BlackBerry drinkers. They have the most jobs in engineering, the government and public services and environmental services. They have the best manners and are more shy and relaxed than their counterparts.
Dan Meader, Director of Mobile at TalkTalk, said,"Many of us have our mobile phones on us almost constantly so they do become an extension of us in many ways. It's interesting to see then how the choice in handset may reflect different aspects of personality and the results do show some unusual difference | high14488.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Both A and B*"
},
"options": [
"Temporary jobs.",
"Permanent jobs.",
"Free jobs",
"Both A and B*"
],
"question": "what kinds of jobs does Assured Labor offer?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | In 2007.five young people in the American state of Massachusetts developed an idea. The team knew that the world is filled with mobile phones.About eighty percent of all people are said to live within reach of a wireless telephone signal.
The idea was to use mobile phones and the Internet to connect job seekers with employers.The young people wrote a business plan and formed a company called Assured Labor.
Assured Labor won a development competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Three of the founders were graduate students there. '
Assured Labo is an electronic market place.It has two parts.One is for;the United States.That operation was launched in January in Boston.It links people with employees offering temporary jobs.
The other arm of the business is for developing markets.That operation is meant to help people get mbfe permanent jobs.A representative is currently building partnerships with universities,and international companies in Central America.
Assured Labor's president David Reich,says the companies now place job advertisements on radio or in newspapers.Some even drive around in cars with loudspeakers announcing that jobs are available.He says the companies are interested.in having more modem hiring practices.
Through Assured Labor, companies will list open positions on the Internet.People who think
they could do the job could reply by text messages or on their cellophanes.
This is how the system works inprefix = st1 /Boston.
The jobs available include house cleaning.Dog walking and home repay. People who want their house cleaned,for example,can look online at a list of twenty housekeepers.The list tells what services.they offer,and how much they want to be paid.People need two letters praising their work to get on the list of service providers.
The employer chooses workers they would like jot hire ,The company then sends the workers a text or e-mail message so they can respond quickly to an offer.
After a job is completed,the employer and employee rate each other, The rating is kept for future use.Assured Labor is not charging anyone,right now, but the plan is to have employers pay for the service. | high23224.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "football gives players room for creativity"
},
"options": [
"football is popular mainly because of its simplicity",
"the rules of football make the game safe and simple",
"football gives players room for creativity",
"p... | Many reasons can explain why football is so popular. All around the world, millions play the sport and many more like to watch it. Some would say that the simplicity of the game is the main reason for its popularity, but that can't be true as, this way, marathons or races would be the most popular sports in the world. In fact, the most popular sport in the world is football.
The main reason for the popularity of any sport is the room for creativity inside the sport. Football has plenty of room for creativity as it enables players to use their bodies in unique ways to get hold of the ball and score while at the same time keeping the other team from scoring. In addition to this, the rules ensure that the game is clean and fair, thus encouraging new players to play it.
Another reason is that this game doesn't require expensive equipment. All the kids in poor developing countries like playing it as all they need to play it is a ball and an empty playground, and that would ensure a quality time for a group of kids who want to enjoy their time. The Federation International de Football Association (FTFA) knows _ and is always trying to keep the rules and regulations applicable for poorer countries.
For fans of the sport, it is very entertaining to watch the skills and talents of the players in professional matches. The outcome of a match can easily change in the dying moments of a game. Some matches are even better than watching a thriller, because you really have no idea what the result of the match will be. | high334.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the \"Come alive with Pepsi\" campaign worked well in the US"
},
"options": [
"Chevy Nova was brought in Latin America",
"General Motors did the best market research of all companies",
"Pepsi still sold well in China owing to... | If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large American corporations have learned the hard way.
What's in the name?
Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that Nova in Spanish means "It doesn't go". Sure enough, the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America.
Translation problems
Sometimes it is the slogan that doesn't work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with its "Come alive with Pepsi!" campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States , Pepsi translated its slogan literally for its international campaign. As it turned out , the translations weren't quite right. Pepsi was begging Germans to "Come out of the grave " and telling the Chinese that "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave."
A picture's worth a thousand words
Other times, the problem involves packaging . A picture of a smiling baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in African countries, the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it, for many people there can't read.
Twist of fate
Even the culture and religious factors and pure coincidence can be involved. Thorn McAn shoes have a Thorn McAn "signature" inside. To people in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country, this signature looked like Arabic script for the word Allah. In that country, feet are considered unclean, and Muslims felt the company was offending God's name by having people walk on it. | high4900.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "International Internships Promote Students"
},
"options": [
"Dryden Proposes a New Career",
"Students Get\" Resume Radiance\"",
"International Internships Promote Students",
"Graduates Face More Severe Challenge"
],... | Connecticut College senior Paul Dryden has known for years that he'd have lots of competition for an entry--level promotions job inprefix = st1 /New York's music industry. So in a bid to get an advantage last summer, he invented a job for himself.
The job, as an intern in Universal MusiCs Buenos Aires office, had never existed before Dryden proposed it. Yet because he was willing to work without pay, he got his foot in the door and was soon translating interviews with American rock stars for his boss, who didn't speak English.
"In theU.S., lye done a lot of internships where interns do all the busywork -- copying, stapling, the boring stuff," Dryden says. "But in this position (inArgentina), I felt very valuable to the company."
International internships have been around since the 1950s, but they've become much more popular lately. Over the past three years, colleges have on average seen a 6% increase in the number of students doing international internships, according to a 39--college survey in March by the National Society for Experiential Education, an association of campus internship organizers. And the Institute for the International Education of Students says 25% of its 5, 000 annual study--abroad participants now do an internship component, up from 17% in the 1980s and 21% in the 1990s.
National data aren't available on the total number of students doing internships overseas, but career--planning experts say such experience is an increasingly popular way to get" resume radiance ." Because 84 % of college students say they'll do at least one internship before graduating, many now aim to distinguish themselves with experience _ to a global economy. | high17181.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "provide skateboards for poor children"
},
"options": [
"provide skateboards for poor children",
"donate used skateboard products to the festival",
"search for competitors for the festival every year",
"restore skateboar... | The 10th annual International "Go Skateboarding Day" will be held on June 21, 2012. Skateboarding Day is all about fun! Here is your guide to some of the events around the world.
Los Angeles, California
Over 10,000 skateboarders from around the world will gather in the streets of L.A. They have partnered with Boards for Bros, a non-profit organization that collects and restores skateboards for children who cannot afford their own, and have asked skateboarders across the U.S. to donate their used skateboard products. The celebration will last most of the daytime.
Manila, Philippines
The Skateboarding Day to be held in the Philippines will be in the Manila for the second time. Manila is hoping to promote health and skateboarding sports. The event begins at 2:00 p.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. The skateboarders start from Liwasang Bonifacio where they can skate in the streets of P. Burgos, Roxas Boulevard and up to Malate fountain in Rajah Soliman Park where the event ends with a Product Toss and Best Trick contest.
Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
If you happen to be in Alberta, Canada and the weather isn't great for outdoor skating, Incline Skate & BMX Park is the place to go skateboarding. Incline is a great place to skate, and a day pass there is only $8 for an adult, half for those below 16. On Go Skateboarding Day, they will hold a competition with the first prize winner taking home $600.
New York City, New York
Steve Rodriguez, owner and founder of SBoro Skateboards holds the biggest chapter of the Skateboarding Day in the world. Tens of thousands of people will participate, and June 21st is now an official New York City holiday. The event starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. There will be a free clinic at 10 a.m., tons of prizes, food and drinks. For details of the full day please check out _ | high21433.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Windsor Castle has been rebuilt"
},
"options": [
"Windsor Castle has been rebuilt",
"the Big Ben can be heard everywhere in London",
"only some of the hotels in England serve breakfast.",
"the London Eye can carry you w... | London has more than nine million visitors every year. They come and visit some of the most famous places in England: Big Ben, the Tower of London and the River Thames.
You can see some of the most interesting places in London by getting on the tour buses. Or you can take a ride on the London Eye. This large wheel slowly takes you 135m above the River Thames.
The River Thames is London's main waterway. It has shaped the capital's _ history and geography. So one of the best ways of knowing more about the city is to take a trip along the river.
The clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, has become one of the main symbols of London. The sound of the bell, which you can hear at the beginning of many television and radio programmes, has become well-known throughout the nation.
No visit to London is complete without a look at the Tower of London, in the eastern part of the city. After Big Ben, the Tower may be London's most visited tourist spot. Directly south is Tower Bridge, which is more than100 years old.
Along all the palaces in London, Buckingham Palace is the most famous. It has been the main London home of the royal family since Queen Victoria moved there in 1873. You can visit some of the rooms in August and September. And most mornings of the year you can watch the soldiers
outside changing the guard.
About one hour by train out of London is the Tower of Windsor. Here you can visit another of the Queen's homes-Windsor Castle. There was a fire in 1992 and many of the rooms were badly burned. But now they are full of beautiful pictures, tables and chairs again.
Sightseeing in London is great, but it can get very tiring. So, the best way to start the day is to fill up with an English breakfast.
You can buy an English breakfast in nearly every hotel, and at many restaurants and cafes. An English pub is a good place to stop for lunch and a drink. You can get hot or cold food and try one of England's many ales . Fish and chips are also a traditional English meal. So look out for fish and chip shops in cities as well as by the sea.
Or you can sit outside one of the many roadside pubs and cafes in London, and simply watch the busy world go by. | high11296.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "breaking records brings him much joy and challenge"
},
"options": [
"he followed his guru's advice, hoping.change his life",
"breaking records brings him much joy and challenge",
"he want to exercise different parts of his bo... | Ashrita Furman loves breaking records. In fact over the last 30 years, he's broken almost 110 Guinness World Records. And be recently broke the Guinness World Record for "the most ecords held at the~time by an individual".
Ashrita broke his first record in 1979, doing 27,000 star jumps in one go. But since then,he 's set all sons of records: clapping non-stop for 50 hours, balance a lawn mowerp)on ds chin for almos two minutes... the list is endless. The 57-year-old New Yorker runs a health food shop but spends his free time training to break new records
How does he decide which records to attempt? Simple! Ashriba studies the Guinness Book
if Records online database. "I used to stay up two or three in the morning, sifting through the 10,000 records and chose the ones I was interested in." he explained. But these days, to make tare he has overall fitness. he chooses records that work different pmt of his bod3
In his attempts to break records, Ashrita often navels abroad. In 2005. he set the record for he "fastest mile on a space hopper while jumping along the Great Wall of China. In 2003, he at the record for the "longest time balancing on a Swiss ball" at Stonehenge, England. And he ikes to make his record attempts as challenging as possible.
As a teenager, he met a gum(}and began studying meditation(] ."
;hanged my life... And I soon realized that limits are all in the mind." One day, his gum told him to go and "break records". So he did and he hasn't stopped since. He recently said, "The point is joy. The point is the challenge. It's something silly, but you are the best in the world at it" | high21355.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "study and go to the business circle"
},
"options": [
"improve the lives of others",
"help her father in the election",
"study and go to the business circle",
"support her mother for the presidency"
],
"question"... | Chelsea Clinton, the 31-year-old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is stepping into her own spotlight.
According to the New York Times, NBC has hired Clinton to become a full-time special correspondent for NBC News. Her feature stories will reportedly be used in the "Making a Difference" series, which _ on "NBC Nightly News". The sections attract people who volunteer to improve the lives of others in their communities.
When Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992, the first lady asked the press to keep Chelsea out of the public eyes. As a young adult, Chelsea continued to avoid media attention in order to attend college and quietly enter the business world. Once her mother decided to run for the presidency in 2007, however, Chelsea made hundreds of public appearances, mostly on college campuses, to support the campaign. More recently, she has worked for New York University and promoted her father's latest book. She is currently pursuing a doctor's degree at Oxford.
Clinton is the second daughter of a president hired by NBC News; Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, works as a correspondent for NBC's "Today" show. | high3909.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She wonders if her method on writing is suitable."
},
"options": [
"She has trouble learning English grammar.",
"She wonders if her method on writing is suitable.",
"She doesn't get on well with her classmates.",
"She i... | Q: I currently entered college in New York. Since English is not my first language, I sometimes ask a friend to read my essays to help fix the grammar and language. I believe I'm being graded mainly on my ideas, and my friend helps me get my ideas across better in English. Is this OK?
-Mariana
A: It's good that you want to succeed in your written work at college. Making use of available resources to help you succeed is a smart strategy . But while you may believe that your instructors don't care as much about how you write as they do about your ideas, that' s not a fair assumption.
Certainly, your ideas are important. No matter how polished your writing is, it will not disguise a poorly expressed idea in a paper. But as a college student, being able to organize your thoughts clearly-whether you're speaking in class or writing a paper-is critical to show that you've mastered the material in each course. This does not mean you shouldn't ask others to review your written work before handing it in. That's OK.
You should not, however, allow a friend or anyone else to rewrite parts of your papers for you. Instead, ask them to simply let you know about any parts of the paper that are unclear and need work. Many colleges have writing centers where tutors will work with you on your writing-without doing the work for you.
Regardless of whether you consult with a friend or a tutor, the right thing is for you to talk to your instructors to ask their advice and let them know you plan to seek assistance with your writing. If you ask them in advance for guidance on what's appropriate and what's not for the written work they assign, that will allow you to be as transparent as possible about how you completed your _
-Professor Byron | high10188.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because it is academically beneficial to different learners."
},
"options": [
"Because most teachers do not like slower learners.",
"Because grouping children should be done early in life.",
"Because it is academically benefi... | But for most kids,labels applied early in life tend to stick,even if they are wrong.
Sorting school children by ability has long been controversial.In some countries,especially in Asia,school-wide tracking remains normal.Children are tested and placed in different schools that direct them toward professional or vocational careers.Movement between the tracks is rare.
School-wide tracking decreased in U.S.schools in the 1960s and 1970s.It never died out,though.Sorting students into separate tracks for math at about junior high school age continues to be common,and other forms of tracking persist as well.
Unlike tracking,which means sorting students into separate classrooms,ability grouping happens within classrooms.When done according to the latest research,it has proven to promote achievement.
Ability grouping is changeable and temporary.Within classrooms,students might be divided into different learning groups dealing with materials of different levels.Any students who master concepts can move upward between groups,and the student groups might look different from subject to subject and unit to unit.For instance,a student who stands out in language arts might be at an average or slower level in math.A student who flies through multiplication tables might need extra help with fractions.Students who lag in reading can be pulled out of the classroom in small groups for practice with a tutor until their reading improves.
Research shows ability grouping within classes has more positive benefits than tracking.However,that must be weighed against the challenges involved.In many regular classrooms,the differences between student ability levels are very big.That presents challenges for teachers and low-performing students to constantly compare themselves with students who seem to fly through school with ease.
The rigid ability groups and tracking of the past are still with us in many schools.Likely,labels are applied with more caution than in the bad old days when some teachers gave reading groups not-so-secret code names like"Bluebirds""Robins""Crows"and"Buzzards".But kids still know. | high19812.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "One week"
},
"options": [
"One day",
"One week",
"One month",
"Nine months"
],
"question": "How long do the positive effects of early-life exercise last for a mouse?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | In a time when a dangerous number of people are overweight, many people seem to have forgotten the most important way to keep healthy and slim---exercise. And as a new study carried out on mice in the lab has shown, exercise done early in life can reward you in your adult years.
A team of researchers at the University of California studied the effects of early exercise on adult physical activity, body mass and eating. They found that early-age exercise in mice has positive effects on adult levels of voluntary exercise in addition to reducing body mass.
"These results may have an effect on the importance of regular physical education in elementary and middle schools," said Theodore Garland, a professor of biology, who led the research project. "If kids exercise regularly through their school years, then they may be more likely to exercise as adults, which could have far-reaching positive effects on human health and well-being."
Although the positive effects of early-life exercise lasted for only one week, it is important to note that one week in the life of a mouse is the same as about nine months for humans. "Our results suggest that any positive effects of early-life exercise on adult exercise will need to be kept up if they are to be long-lasting."
His team of researchers found, too, that all mice that had access to early exercise were lighter in weight than non-exercised mice.
Garland explained that, in general, exercise will stimulate appetite sooner or later. However, it is possible that certain types of exercise, done for certain periods of time or at certain light levels, might not _ appetite much, if at all, at least in some individuals.
"If we could understand what sorts of exercise these might be, then we might be able to tailor exercise recommendations in a way that would bring the benefits of exercise without increase in appetite, leading to a better chance of weight loss," he said. | high13481.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "your father will sit on the right of the housewife"
},
"options": [
"you will sit on the right of the housewife",
"your father will sit on the right of the housewife",
"your mother will sit on the left of the housewife",
... | Dinner, for the English people, is the richest meal of a day and is, different from Chinese dinner, a very formal meal. Many people even wear special clothes for dinner. So if you are asked out to dinner, you must find out whether you are expected to wear a formal suit. You would feel upset if, when you got there, you were the only person in ordinary clothes.
Dinner is generally served at about half past seven. All the members of the family sit down together and are on their best behavior. The guest of honor will sit on the right of the lady of the house. There are two schools of thought as to the seating of the hostess. One is that she sits at the foot of the table but this may mess up the man-woman-man setting order. The other way is for the guest of honor to sit at the foot and the hostess to sit on his right. The wife of the guest of honor will sit on the right of the host. This is subject to change according to the wishes of your employer.
During the meal when conversation is carried on, you should try to get into conversation with the person on your right or left, but you should not try to talk to someone who is a long way from you.
Don't forget to drop your hosts a thank-you note or make a brief phone call. | high22884.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "4D printed materials reshape themselves with conditions changing."
},
"options": [
"4D printing creates a new, 3D structure out of certain component.",
"4D technology reduces need for workers to put themselves at risk.",
"4D ... | In a unique research cooperation between Stratasys, Education, R&D departments and MIT's Self-Assembly Lab, a new process is being developed, known as 4D Printing.
The 4D printing concept, which allows materials to "self-assemble " into 3D structures, was initially proposed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty member Skylar Tibbits. Tibbits and his team combined a strand of plastic with a layer made out of "smart" material that could self-assemble in water. They advanced this concept by creating materials that can change into several different complicated shapes, though this kind of material remains the bottleneck of 4D technology.
To many people that are just starting to get used to the idea of 3D printers, the name 4D is causing confusion because they cannot understand where this fourth "dimension" coming from. 4D technology shares many of the same principles of 3D printing and is essentially still about creating a new, 3D structure out of certain component; however, Tibbits states the fourth dimension at work here comes from concept of the fourth dimension of time. The difference between these 3D and 4D creations is that these new forms have the ability to transform and adapt over time.
4D printing works through self-assembly -- a system where "disordered elements form an "ordered" structure via an interaction. With these 4D printed materials, these disordered materials are strands or sheets of specially designed materials. Environmental changes then stimulate a response from them so that they form a preprogrammed shape.
The idea of having adaptable technology that only relies on energy and non-human interactions raises some interesting questions about where 4D printing can be used and the practical applications in dangerous environments. This could mean improved infrastructures in extreme conditions, leading to a reduced need for workers to put themselves at risk, but the potential goes even further than that. The technology promises exciting new possibilities for a variety of applications. A solar panel or similar product could be produced in a flat shape onto which functional devices can be easily installed. It could then be changed to a compact shape for packing and shipping. After arriving at its destination, the product could be stimulated to form a different shape that serves its function. Also it could be used to build furniture, bikes, cars and even buildings. As with many of the ideas being put forward, it is easy to go a step too far into the extreme, but this just shows the potential of 4D in comparison to 3D.
The next stage for the research is to move from printing single strands to sheets and eventually whole structures. And water need not be the process ' s only energy source. | high12947.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "our own solar system"
},
"options": [
"the right amount of atmosphere",
"our own solar system",
"steady heat and light",
"the right distance from the sun"
],
"question": "The existence of life depends on all of ... | Many scientists today are convinced that life exists elsewhere in the universe---life probably much like that on our own planet. They reason in the following way.
As far as astronomers can determine, the entire universe is built of the same matter. They have no reason to doubt that matter obeys the same laws in every part of the universe. Therefore, it is reasonable to guess that other stars, with their own planets, were born in the same way as our own solar system. What we know of life on earth suggests that life will arise wherever the proper conditions exist.
Life requires the right amount and kind of atmosphere. This eliminates all those planets in the universe that are not about the same size and weight as the earth. A smaller planet would lose its atmosphere; a larger one would hold too much of it.
Life also requires a steady supply of heat and light. This eliminates double stars, or stars that flare up suddenly. Only single stars that are steady sources of heat and light like our sun would qualify.
Finally, life could evolve only if the planet is just the right distance from its sun. With a weaker sun than our own, the planet would have to be closer to it. With a stronger sun, it would have to be farther away.
If we suppose that every star in the universe has a family of planets, then how many planets might support life? First, eliminate those stars that are not like our sun. Next eliminate most of their planets; they are either too far from or too close to their suns. Then eliminate all those planets which are not the same size and weight as the earth. Finally, remember that the proper conditions do not necessarily mean that life actually does exist on a planet. It may not have begun yet, or it may have already died out.
This process of elimination seems to leave very few planets on which earthlike life might be found. However, even if life could exist on only one planet in a million, there are so many billions of planets that this would still leave a vast number on which life could exist. | high23542.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Frightened."
},
"options": [
"Excited.",
"Sad.",
"Frightened.",
"Silly."
],
"question": "How did the boy feel when he first knocked on the old man's door?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did, he would not say hello to neighbors or passers-by, but simply glare at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man.
As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. "What do you want?" the old man said.
"Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one."
The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man's house and saw that he had dog figurines on the fireplace. "Do you collect dogs?" the little boy asked.
"Yes, I have many collectibles in my house. They are my family here. They are all I have."
The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. "Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much."
The old man was ready to close the door and said: "No, boy, I don't need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye."
The little boy was sad for the old man because he was alone in the big house. Then he thought of a little dog figurine that he had got some years earlier from an aunt. The boy headed back down to the old man's house with it. He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. "Boy, I thought I told you no magazines."
"No, sir. I know that. I wanted to bring you a gift." The boy handed him the figurine and the old man's face lit up.
The old man was surprised and said: "Boy, you have a big heart. Why are you doing this?"
The boy smiled at the man and said: "Because you like dogs."
From that day on, the old man started coming out of the house and greeting people. He and the boy became friends.
This simple nice act changed both of their lives forever. | high8684.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Two."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "According to the text, how many kinds of life are mentioned?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | What kind of life do you seek for? One that is frustrating and full of complaints every day? Or one that is filled with thankfulness, gratefulness and a positive mind?
The moment we open our eyes each day, we should be grateful that we are still alive. We are given a brand-new day. We are given another day to love. We are given another day of hope. We are given another chance to do whatever we have failed to accomplish. Those who have chosen to leave this place do not have any second chance.
We should be grateful every day. By being grateful, we will treasure the things around us. We will learn to appreciate life in a better way. Treat others better and find ourselves in a better mood every day. When we are thankful and grateful for the things we have, the universe tends to give us more.
By being thankful and grateful for our personal health, we will focus our attention on it and we would want to have a better well-being for our health. We will want to eat healthier food to nourish our body. After all, the body is the temple of our soul. We have to treat it well so that it can carry us a longer journey in life.
When we face problems in life, be thankful and grateful too. They are designed specifically for us so that we will be stronger and wiser. We are like a strong oak tree, facing the _ weather time to time. After each storm, we will grow stronger and strengthen our foundations for the next harsh weather.
The year 2013 has come to an end. Have you achieved what you aimed for in the past year? Be grateful for those you have achieved and especially for those you have not--both successes and failures. Failures and mistakes will give you valuable lessons. So, pick yourself up and try again this year. Good luck! | high6871.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results."
},
"options": [
"Students at university like to take part-time jobs to support themselves,",
"Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results.",
... | Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.
Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents.
The report, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to be more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families.
The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not.
Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to PS3,000 would have to be monitored carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said.
He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term. | high5388.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "would rather not buy"
},
"options": [
"would like very much to buy",
"badly wanted",
"would rather not buy",
"was glad to have bought"
],
"question": "In fact the husband _ the cupboard.",
"question_type... | We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. "Buy it," my wife said at once. "We'll carry it home on the roof rack . I've always wanted one like that."
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was PS20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.
In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, "There's a long line of cars behind. Why don't they overtake, I wonder?" In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
"Right, sir," he said."Do you need any more help?"
I was a bit puzzled. "Thanks, officer," I said. "You have been very kind. I live just on the road."
He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. "Well, well," he said, laughing. "It's a cupboard you've got there! We thought it was something else."
My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. " Yes, it's a cupboard, but thanks again."I drove home as fast as I could. | high3921.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she was somehow influenced by cartoon characters"
},
"options": [
"the zoo keepers didn't warn her of the danger",
"she didn't know the bear was a wild animal",
"she was somehow influenced by cartoon characters",
"she c... | They're WILD animals
By Ernst-Ulrich Franzen
March 11, 2010(3) Comments
The story about the woman who lost some fingers while feeding a bear at a zoo in Manitowoc, after she ignored warnings and barriers , reminded me of the story I heard about a couple who put their baby on the back of a wild horse in South Dakota to get a really cute picture. We all do silly things at times -- no one is immune -- but treating wild animals as lovely pets has to fall into a special category. Teddy bears and Disney movies aren't actually representative of real bears.
Comments (3) View Comments
3 Comments
_
1. TosaLeft - Mar 11, 2010 10:46AM
Don't you think that maybe, just maybe some alcohol was involved?
2. tk421 - Mar 11, 2010 11:09 AM
It was already approved that alcohol was involved. Stories that begin with a drunk person saying "Hey, I got an idea, watch this!" rarely end well.
3. Tristan Kloss - Mar 11, 2010 11:41 AM
Alcohol certainly isn't involved when people decide to keep "pets" like chimpanzees, baby tigers, etc. Stupidity, definitely. Dogs are pets because of thousands of years of domestication. Even farm animals, which have been kept by humans for thousands of years as well, aren't let in the house. So why keep animals that treat human contact with, at best, indifference(, ) and, at worst, violence? | high8874.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To pay for his schooling"
},
"options": [
"To pay for his schooling",
"To save for his future",
"To support his family",
"To gain some experience"
],
"question": "Why did the writer have to take many jobs at tha... | In the course of working my ways through school , I took many jobs I would rather forget . But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard ; the pay was poor ; and, most of all , the working conditions were terrible.
First of all , the job made huge demands on my strength . For ten hours a night , I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck . Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night .
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time -- two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay , I felt eager to get as much as possible . I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months , all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money , and the conditions under which I worked . By the time I left , I was determined never to go back there again. | high24205.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "sudden inspirations"
},
"options": [
"sudden inspirations",
"necessary discoveries",
"great achievements",
"unexpected results"
],
"question": "The \"eureka\" moments in history actually refer to some _ .",
... | History is rich with 'eureka' moments: scientists from Archimedes to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are said to have had flashes of inspiration while thinking about other things. But the mechanisms behind this psychological phenomenon have remained unclear. A study now suggests that simply taking a break does not bring on inspiration -- rather, creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander.
The discovery was made by a team led by Benjamin Baird and Jonathan Schooler, psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The researchers presented 145 undergraduate students with two 'unusual uses' tasks that gave them two minutes to list as many uses as possible for everyday objects such as toothpicks, clothes hangers and bricks.
After the two minutes were over, participants were given a 12-minute break, during which they rested, undertook a demanding memory activity that required their full attention or engaged in an undemanding reaction-time activity known to elicit mind-wandering. A fourth group of students had no break. All participants were then given four unusual-uses tasks, including the two that they had completed earlier.
Those students who had done the undemanding activity performed an average of 41% better at the repeated tasks the second time they tried them. By contrast, students in the other three groups showed no improvement.
"We've traditionally found that rapid-eye-movement sleep grants creative insight. That allowing the mind to wander does the same is absolutely fascinating. I think they are on to something really interesting here, " says Sara Mednick, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside.
Participants who engaged in the undemanding task did not do any better than others on unusual-uses tasks that they encountered for the first time in the second round. "The implication is that mind-wandering was only helpful for problems that were already being mentally chewed on. It didn't seem to lead to a general increase in creative problem-solving ability, " says Baird.
As well as revealing that breaks on their own do not encourage creative thinking, Baird's work suggests an explanation for one of psychology's great mysteries: why we zone out.
From an evolutionary perspective, mind-wandering seems totally counterproductive and has been viewed as dysfunctional because it compromises people's performance in physical activities. However, Baird's work shows that allowing the brain to enter this state when it is considering complex problems can have real benefits. Zoning out may have aided humans when survival depended on creative solutions. | high6681.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "changing weight"
},
"options": [
"carrying the bags of sand' '",
"keeping drinking-water",
"carrying ropes of the basket",
"changing weight"
],
"question": "The metal box was used for _ .",
"question_type... | On Nov.18th,1908,three men went up in a balloon .They started early in London. The headman was Auguste Gaudron,and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.
Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope ,and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight .It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand.
After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.
At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had traveled 1,797 kilometers from London! | high22674.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Smiles turn away colds"
},
"options": [
"how to get rid of colds",
"Attitude determines life",
"Smiles turn away colds",
"Different opinions about colds"
],
"question": "What is the text mainly about?",
"que... | People who are cheerful and relaxed are less likely to suffer from colds. It's possible that being full of vim and vigor helps the body fight illnesses, say the researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh.
"We need to take more seriously the possibility that a positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk," says psychologist Sheldon Cohen, the study's lead researcher.
In a previous study, Cohen and his colleagues found that people who tended to be cheerful and lively were least likely to develop sniffles, coughs, and other cold symptoms .
Those findings were interesting, but they didn't prove that a person's attitude affects whether he or she gets sick. Instead, it was still probable that a person's underlying personality is what matters.
Evidence suggests, for instance, that certain people are naturally more likely to be outgoing and optimistic, with high self-respect and a sense of control over life. This would mean that who we are, not how we feel, finally decides our chances of catching colds.
To figure out which mattered more (personality or emotions), the CMU team interviewed 193 healthy adults. The researchers talked to each person over the phone every evening for 2 weeks. They told the researchers about the positive and negative feelings they had experienced that day.
The results showed that everyone in the study was equally likely to get infected. Their symptoms, however, differed depending on the types of emotions that they had reported over the previous 2 weeks.
Among those who reported good moods and had been infected with the flu virus, for example, 28 percent developed coughs and stuffy noses. On the other hand, those symptoms struck 41 percent of people who had been less positive. Scientists argue about whether negative emotions or positive emotions have a stronger effect on how healthy we are. For now, it can't hurt to look on the bright side more often than not! | high6859.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "more people are in the service industry than before"
},
"options": [
"the service industry mainly relies on females",
"manufacturing industries are steadily increasing",
"more people are in the service industry than before",
... | A new age is coming.Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society.It all translates to a fundamental change in the way we work.Already we're partly there, the percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen dramatically in the Western World.Today the majority of jobs in America, Europe and Japan are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise.More women are in the work force than ever before.There are more part-time jobs.More people are self-employed.But the range of the economic transformation can't be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to important new way of thinking about the nature of work itself.Long-held ideas about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers - all these are being challenged.
We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead.No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip , would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots.Tomorrow's achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes.But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more valid, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth.Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write.The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be valued above all else.If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information service will be superior.It will be the way you do your job. | high22112.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the British people hate success"
},
"options": [
"the British people hate success",
"the British people are hardworking",
"love of success is Britain's national character",
"they are considered as \"green - eyed monster... | Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy. As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were "unloved, unwanted and misunderstood." Jealousy is sometimes known as the "green - eyed monster" and the UK is its home.
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little were given the chance to destroy the large amount of money given to others - but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that the UK is now the world's fourth largest economy. That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
"It is not really success that the British dislike," says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. "It's people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots."
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them. | high1850.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he wanted to make a good impression on the children"
},
"options": [
"he wanted all the children to live a happy life",
"he wanted to make a good impression on the children",
"he liked paintings very much",
"he liked al... | It was several years since Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany. And now his army was marching into some parts of Europe. He must be in the prime of his career.
One day Hitler went to an exhibition where the works of school children were on show. He seemed to have great interest in the exhibits--inventions as well as carvings, drawings. After having walked around the hall and examined everything, he said he was ready to meet the young artists. And soon a group of children came into the room to salute(-----) him.
"Well, well. You did very good work." nodded Hitler in satisfaction. "I promise on my honor I'd satisfy you with whatever you want. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?"
"A sailor sailing the sea." one of the boys answered.
"Good. I'll have you join my navy and some day you will rule the oceans."
"Ask for anything? What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" he asked a second boy.
"A painter as great as Rembruant."
"Good. You are to be sent to the Fine Art School and surely you will make an even greater painter."
When Hitler caught sight of a sad-looking boy he frowned , then quickly forced a smile, "There my boy, in spite of my point of view towards the Jews, I'd do you a favor and your dream will come true. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?"
The boy looked straight at the man.
"An orphan(the child who has no parents)." he murmured. | high15966.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "informative speeches"
},
"options": [
"persuasive speeches",
"informative speeches",
"inspirational speeches",
"introductive speech"
],
"question": "The passage mentions the H1N1 flu to show the function of _"... | The art of public speaking began in ancient Greece over 2,000 years ago. Now, twitter, e-mail, blogs and QQ chat offer approaches to communication-- but none can replace the role of a great speech.
The spoken word can handle various important functions: persuading or inspiring, informing, paying tribute , entertaining, or simply introducing someone.
Persuading is used in dealing with or _ different points of view. When the leaders met in Copenhagen in December, 2009, persuasive words from activities encouraged them to take former action.
Inspirational speeches deal with emotions. They focus on topics and matters that are close to people' s hearts. Last year, during the fighting in Iraq, generals used inspiring speeches to prepare the troops for battle.
Some speeches spread knowledge and deepen understanding. When the H1N1 flu was announced, the disease scared many people. Informtive speechs from World Health Organization (WTO) officials helped people to keep their panic under control so they could take necessary preventive measures.
Sad events are never easy to deal with but a speech that pays tribute to the loss of a loved one and gives praise for their contribution can be comforting. Madonna's speech about Michael Jackson after his death showed the fact that he will continue to live on through his music.
It's not only in world forums where public speaking plays an important role. It can also be helpful in the course of our own life. You may be asked to do a presentation at college or work to inform others about an area of great importance. On a more personal level, a friend may be upset and need comforting. Or you might be asked to introduce a speaker at a family gathering or to speak at a wedding, where your language will be needed to move people or make them laugh.
Great speaking ability is not something we're born with. Even Barack Obama works hard to perfect every speech. | high1688.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She got them for free."
},
"options": [
"She bought them at a low price.",
"She borrowed them from her relatives.",
"She got them for free.",
"She made them herself."
],
"question": "How did Jiang Nan get her cl... | Jiang Nan, a full-time mother in Beijing, keeps a dozen or so cloth bags at home, carefully selecting one or two before heading out to get groceries. "Most of them were giveaways from advertising marketing campaigns, but others had been handed out in the street by various environmental protection organizations," she explained.
Since June 2008 China has forbidden the production, sale and usage of plastic bags thinner than 0.025 millimeter , and retailers are not allowed to provide free plastic bags to their customers, no matter how thick they are.
Many Chinese consumers like Jiang have learned to refuse plastic bags whenever possible in their shopping. "A plastic bag may only cost a few jiao, but it's more about how bad they are for the environment," Jiang said.
The plastic ban is for the most part well carried out in big cities, and has been obviously effective in reducing white waste. On the first anniversary of the plastic ban Global Village of Beijing, an NGO environmental organization, shows that during the year of the ban the consumption of plastic bags fell by about 40 billion pieces in chain supermarkets alone, saving more than 1.2 million tons of petrol.
However, enforcement shows rather less muscle in smaller cities, towns and countryside. In a remote town like Lichuan, the awareness of environmental protection is not as strong as that in big cities. Street vendors worry that they are likely to lose customers if they charge them for plastic bags. Seeing no significance in the issue, local government often turn a blind eye to banned bag trade in the market.
There are still those who don't have an interest in living green. Cui Lin, another Beijinger, often forgets to bring a cloth bag when shopping, and has to buy plastic bags. "Anyway I think plastic bags are neater and cleaner, and I don't mind paying a couple more jiao," he shrugged.
Mrs Yu, a vegetable vendor in Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, recalled that before plastic bags became popular in the early 1990s, Chinese people always carried a bamboo basket when they visited the market. "Plastic bags are more convenient," she comments, and her view might be that of the tens of millions of people in the nation who still _ plastic bags, paid or free. This is suggested by her trade where piles of plastic bags are still passed out every day. | high4928.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Master and pet dog"
},
"options": [
"Wife and husband",
"Daughter and father",
"Teacher and student",
"Master and pet dog"
],
"question": "What is the relationship between Maggie and the writer?",
"question_... | It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods.We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cell phone and a credit card sitting on the road.We took them home.We always find amazing things on the street and she looks upon them as a movable feast-a chicken wing here or a barbecue rib there.
I found another cell phone a few years back, too, and called a number in its phone book.I explained the situation to the guy who answered.He said it was his sister's and that he'd come to pick it up, which he did.
And that was that.No verbal thank-you, no written thank-you, no "here's a box of chocolates" thank-you.
I didn't have time to call anyone on my latest found cell phone.I was pouring myself coffee when it started to shake and dance across the kitchen counter.
"Who's this?" someone asked when I picked up.
"Who's this?" I countered ."Sarah?"
She was surprised at my knowing her name until she realized her name was on the credit card."Could you send them to me?" she asked.
She lives in Arlington, which is 2 miles from my house.
"Hmm, no, "I replied, adding that I thought she could come to get them, and that if I wasn't at home, they would be in my mailbox.
A day later, when I was out for a run, someone got them back.There wasn't even a piece of paper put in the mailbox with "Thanks" on it.In this age of e-mail and cell phone, there's really no excuse.Years ago, I found something more precious than a $100 bill on the street:a driver's license.I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me, so I called him up.He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door.
"I guess I could, "I replied.
And that was that. | high2381.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To mail a package."
},
"options": [
"To mail a letter.",
"To mail a package.",
"To sort out the mail.",
"To get the mail and deliver it."
],
"question": "Why did the author go to the post office?",
"question... | The postal clerk laughed and said, "I have never had anyone hand in money before, but I will put it in an envelope. Please write your name and telephone number on the front. If no one claims the money, we will call you."
The lady explained, "I have lost money before and it was never turned in. I remember how I felt. I don't want to make someone else feel that way." Then she left the post office. At almost the same time a very young man rushed in. He approached the postal clerk and asked, "Has anyone turned in any money recently?"
He told the clerk the amount, and the clerk laughed again. "As a matter of fact, yes!" she responded. "It was turned in just a couple of minutes ago."
The look of relief on the young man's face is a memory I will have for a long time. He said he thought the money was safe in his coat pocket when he walked in to check his mailbox. Only when he arrived home did he realize that it was no longer there.
I finally finished preparing the package to be mailed, but I was the one who had a very special surprise in the post office. | high20705.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Vacations Cost More Than You Think"
},
"options": [
"Tourism Causes Bad Effects.",
"Tourism Calls for Good Behavior.",
"Vacations Bring a Lot of Fun.",
"Vacations Cost More Than You Think"
],
"question": "What i... | What's your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world. So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money.
We know what our vacation costs us. But do we know what it might cost someone else? It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income. Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them.
It might cost their homes and lands. In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas.
Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood and dignity. Local workers often find only menial jobs in the tourist industry. And most of the profits do not help the local economy. Instead, profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries, When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to city slums. Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing for photos.
Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago. But now some non-government organizations, tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them. Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure.
The result is responsible tourism, or "ethical tourism." Ethical tourism has people at its heart. New international agreements and codes of conduct can help protect the people's lands, homes, economies and cultures. The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex.
But take heart. The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit. Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages.
They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel, restaurants and guide services. They can share profits fairly to help the local economy. And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism.
What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens. We can then make our choices and tell them why. And while we're abroad, we can:
Buy local foods and products, not imported ones.
Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price.
Avoid flaunting wealth.
Ask before taking photographs of people.
They are not just part of the landscape!
Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too. | high19184.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy"
},
"options": [
"remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes",
"introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy",
"criticize the poor manageme... | New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week--schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts and heavy snow.
Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.
Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy's power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of "super-storm", the Guardian reported.
The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy's arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides .
"The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides," Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. "With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we're very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas."
Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country's financial and political centers to a stop.
"The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making." Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist. | high2395.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She struggled to ride a little bike with three wheels."
},
"options": [
"She struggled to ride a little bike with three wheels.",
"She competed in a bike race in the Olympic Games.",
"She had a quarrel with a man who called h... | People were hanging out of their apartment windows screaming down at me,"Just give up,you fool! You'll never make it with that little bike."I kept telling them repeatedly,"All I have is this three-wheeled tricycle."I kept tipping to the side,but I kept my balance and ignored the people who were making fun of me.
Then at one point a man left his home and ran out into the middle of the street. "This bike will take forever at the speed you're going!" He continued screaming words of discouragement right in my face. I replied,"I must push forward;I must get to the finish line! "
I held on as tightly as possible and rode straight ahead with great determination. I had unshakable faith that I would make it! I also knew it did not matter how long it would take,because I knew it was worth it. At that point,the dream came to an abrupt end
I got up and remembered the dream very clearly. I also remembered that the night before I was feeling discouraged -- but now I felt happy and peaceful, and my spirit felt alive with hope.
I think we've all been given small tricycles as adults,and we struggle to balance our lives down the dark,narrow streets of mortality . I now consider the tricycle to be my three wheels of hope. The dream has given me courage and hope that I will finish the race inch by inch. I know I must never give up,but press forward always. | high20711.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because the two men smelt terrible."
},
"options": [
"Because they were very polite to the two men.",
"Because they were moved by the two men.",
"Because the two men smelt terrible.",
"Because the two men seemed unfrien... | I have recently completed my college degree. The last project was called "Smile". The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around I smelled a horrible body odour and saw two poor homeless men standing behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was "smiling". The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is all, Miss," because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it-I embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals on and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." When I sat down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that because of the good fortune that we had been given.
I turned in my project. My teacher said, "Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to heal people and to be healed.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn. | high1844.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was frightened by the earthquake"
},
"options": [
"experienced the tsunami in 2004",
"is a panda researcher from Britain",
"knew why the pandas moved rapidly before the earthquake",
"was frightened by the earthquake"
... | Did the endangered animal--pandas in China's Wolong Reserve know that Monday's earthquake was coming before it hit? A British tourist, who was watching the pandas as the earthquake hit, offered a deep observation.
He said, "They had been very lazy, just eating a little bit of bamboo then, and all of a sudden they were moving rapidly around their pen and looking back. They must have sensed something was wrong."
Some scientists say animals can sense danger by discovering subtle or sudden changes in the environment. When the tsunami hit in 2004, there were reports that elephants in Sri Lanka fled to higher ground well before the waves crashed into the coastline. Panda researcher Marc Brody says some animal species, such as elephants who are known to hear low frequency sound waves, hear things very quickly and may get an early warning.
Some animal species have a greater awareness of shaking in the ground than humans, so they may sense smaller _ before a big earthquake.
The tourist said, "We were looking forward to seeing the pandas, but we were not sure whether the pandas were going to come out of the pen or not, So we were waiting for that to happen when we heard this huge noise which is just what you can't describe. What was it like? It was just a huge noise and the land was shaking underneath you. Certainly it was a terrible experience to be standing there going through the earthquake." | high22106.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Radio."
},
"options": [
"Music.",
"Radio.",
"Sound.",
"Television."
],
"question": "What is the passage mainly about?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_t... | About fifty years ago, when television first came out, people thought that radio was no longer useful. Television has both sounds and images . It is much more real and interesting to watch television than to listen to the radio.
However, fifty years later radio is still very popular and it will be here for a long time. One reason is that we don't need to see an image when we listen to the music on the radio. In fact, listening with your eyes closed is the best way to listen to a piece of music. You can imagine yourself on a sandy beach or up high on a mountain. In other words, you can create your own images.
Moreover, while listening to the radio, you don't have to take your eyes off your work. For example, you can listen to the radio and drive at the same time. Or you can read a book and listen to the radio. Television, on the other hand, doesn't have this advantage.
A radio is much smaller than a television. You can take a radio anywhere and turn it on anytime you want. In a quiet place you can use headphones to listen to the news or music on the radio. In this way you won't disturb anybody.
Moreover, a radio is much cheaper than a television. For less than $ 20 you
can buy a small radio and have fun with it. | high23218.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "can work wonders on computer"
},
"options": [
"can work wonders on computer",
"is the best technician in the world",
"has done a hard job in three months",
"has united InteliData Technologies Corp. with another computer... | Sometimes, something that is considered to be negative turns out to be an advantage on the job. Though he is only l8 years old and blind, Suleyman Gokyigit is among the top computer technicians and programmers at InteliData Technologies Corp., a large software company with several offices across the United States.
"After our company united with another one last October, two different computer networks were driving us crazy," recalls Douglas Braun, the InteliData president. "We couldn't even send e-mail to each other." In three weeks Mr Gokyigit created the software needed to connect the two networks. "None of the company's 350 other employees could have done the job in three months," says Mr. Braun. " Suleyman can 'see' into the heart of the computer."
Mr. Gokyigfi's gift, as Mr. Braun calls it, is an unusual ability to form an idea of the inside of a machine. "The computer permits me to reach out into the world and do almost anything I want to do," says Mr. Gokyigit
The young programmer is _ as well, thanks partly to a highly developed sense of touch. Mitzi Nowakowski, an office manager at InteliData, remembers how he easily disconnected and reconnected their computer systems during a move last year. "Through feel, Suleyman can find the position of connectors, pins and wires much faster than most other people with sight," he says.
Much of the student programmer's speed comes from his ability not to be interrupted while at the computer. When typing, he listens carefully to the synthesizer . His long, thin fingers fly over the keyboard. "Nothing seems to shake his attention," says Mrs. Nowakowski, his boss.
Mr. Gokyigit is the only company employee who is available 24 hours a day. "We consider him our top problem solver." says Mr. Braun. | high308.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the growing economic pie should be shared among the people"
},
"options": [
"the poor should get help from the rich",
"the government should help the rich",
"the growing economic pie should be shared among the people",
... | During the past Spring Festival, many children may have received red packets from their families. But Xing Pu, a 40-year-old economist, is asking the government to give red packets to every Chinese citizen.
Xing suggested the government give out 1,000 Yuan to each Chinese since the government income has increased rapidly in recent years. He said his suggestion would allow everyone to directly enjoy the fruits of the country's economic success, help the lower-income groups deal with rising prices and increase consumption around the country.
Recent years have seen the government carry out a series of pro-poor and pro-rural policies, including increasing spending on public healthcare and calling off the agricultural tax. But the lower-income group still needs more help while being hit hard by an 11-year high in prices and recent snowstorms.
Xing said while making the draft, he has borrowed many ideas from practices in countries like the United States and Singapore. Earlier this year, the governments of the two nations offered cash handouts to their citizens as the result of a surplus in government income. As for in China, "We can even encourage the rich to donate their 1,000 Yuan red packet to the poor," said Xing.
Although Xing's suggestion has gained wide support among ordinary Chinese on the Internet, many other economists criticized it as unpractical. Even Xing himself admitted he made the suggestion without any careful calculation. But they agreed with Xing's point that the growing economic pie should be shared among the people.
"To better use the increase of money, handing out money is not a solution that holds good for all time. It could be better to improve the public service or cut the price of energy use in daily life," said Qiao Xinsheng, an economic professor. | high8860.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "All above is right"
},
"options": [
"Mobile phones will kill them",
"Mobile phones cause memory loss",
"Mobile phones heat the brain",
"All above is right"
],
"question": "What worries people who use mobile phon... | "Mobile phones killed our man,"screamed one headline last year. Also came claims that an unpublished study had found that mobile phones cause memory loss. And a British newspaper devoted its front page to a picture supposedly showing how mobile phones heat the brain.
For anyone who uses a moblie phone, these are worring times. But speak to the scientists whose work is the focus of these scared and you will hear a different story.
What we do have, however, are some results suggesting that mobile phones'emission have a variety of strange effects on living tissue that can't be explained by the general radiation biology. And it's only when the questions raised by these experients are answered that we'll be able to say for sure what moblie phones might be doing to the brain.
One of the odd effects comes from the now famous"merrory loss" study. Alan Preece and his colleagues at the prefix = st1 /UniversityofBristolplaced a device that imitated the microwave emission of mobile phones to the left ear of volunteers. The volunteers were all goood at recalling words and pictures they had been shown on a computer screen. Preece says he still can't comment on the effects of using a mobile phone for years on end. But he rules out the suggestion that mobile phones have an immediate effect on our cognitive abilities."I'm pretty sure there is no effect on short-term memory," he says.
Another expert, Tatterasll, remarked that his latest findings have removed fears about memory loss. One result, for instance, suggests that nerve cell synapses exposed to microwaves become more----rather than less-----receptive to under-going changes linked to the memory formation.
It would be an even happier outcome if microwave turned out to be good for you. It sounds crazy, but a couple of years ago a team led by William Adey at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California, found that mice exposed to microwave for two hours a day were less likely to develop brain tumours when given a cancer-causing chemical.
So should we forget about mobile phone radiation causing brain tumours and scrambling our minds?
"If it doesn't certainly cause cancer in animals and cells, then it probably isn't going to cause cancer in humans,"says William. And while there's still no evidence that mobile phone does mangle your memories or give your cancer, the _ is:Don't panic. | high24211.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "different animals use different languages"
},
"options": [
"animal languages are simple to learn",
"people can understand animal languages",
"different animals use different languages",
"animals communicate with each ot... | Simply, language is what people and animals use to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings. Of course, animals communicate with each other differently from humans, and each type of animal communicates differently. For example, a bee uses a dance to tell the rest of the bees in the hive where there is food, while whales communicate through the use of pleasant-sounding sounds. One could say then, that animals use different languages.
Like animals, people also use different languages. Each culture has its own words and symbols that are used by people within that culture to communicate with others in the same culture. For example, a person living in Japan will use the Japanese language to communicate with other Japanese. Unlike animals though, some cultures use more than one language. People within these cultures are said to be either bilingual or multilingual . One such place is Canada. It is very likely that a person living in Canada may speak both French and English. Likewise, a person living in Switzerland may speak Italian, German and French.
Not only do people use different languages to communicate, but languages also have different dialects. A dialect is a difference of a language which uses words and grammar somewhat differently from the standard form of the same language. For example, people who live in Manchester, England speak a dialect that is a little different from people who live in London, England; however, people in both cities speak English.
There are also some people who don't use a spoken language at all. These people use their hands to communicate. This type of language is called sign language and is most commonly used by people who are deaf.
Now that we know how people communicate, we are faced with a question. Are we part of a certain culture because of the language we speak, or do we speak a particular language because we are part of that culture? To put it more simply, is a Chinese person Chinese because he speaks Chinese, or does he speak Chinese because he was born in China? What part does language play in the definition of culture? | high6695.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "worse abroad"
},
"options": [
"worse abroad",
"the same abroad",
"better abroad",
"worse, but now things are better abroad"
],
"question": "According to the writer, things used to be _ .",
"question_type":... | Before the grass has thickened on the roadside and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags and discarded bottles on every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?
The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a _ little country we have now.
Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.
What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor , they behave squalidly. Now, much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years? | high22660.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In 1759."
},
"options": [
"In 1753.",
"In 1759.",
"In 1997.",
"In 2002."
],
"question": "When was the British Museum opened to the public for the first time?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | The British Museum
Description:
The British Museum is a museum in London, which is one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. Its collections, which number more than 13 million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.
The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions. Until 1997, when the British Library (previously centered on the Round Reading Room)moved to a new site, the British Museum housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Since 2002 the director of the museum has been Neil MacGregor.
Admission and opening hours:
The museum is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 5:30pm)and it charges no admission fee, except for loan exhibitions.
How to get there:
By train: 7:00-18:30 every day.
By Underground: 8:00-18:30 every day.
By bus: 7:30-18:30 every day.
By coach: 7:00--19:30 every day.
Nearest underground stations:
Tottenham Court Road (500m)
Holborn (500m)
Russell Square (800m) | high17803.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the traveller was not doing well with her camera"
},
"options": [
"they didn't want to stop playing",
"the traveller forgot to take off the cap on her head",
"the traveller was not doing well with her camera",
"they did... | A traveller was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveller's face turned red and she apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveller then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens cap!" | high21369.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "has a clear idea about her future career all along"
},
"options": [
"is confident she will get a scholarship to college",
"has decided to sign with a better production company",
"shot a music video for her first single after ... | Cymber Larkin's face lights up, her red hair shining in the late afternoon sun ,as she talks about her musical ambitions.
"I am hoping my career just takes off, and everything will be exactly how I want it, like my dream come ture," she says.
The 16-year-old daugher of baseball Hall of Farmer Barry Larkin is creating her own identity as an R&B/pop singer.
She is also one of Central Florida's top lacrosses players and plays for Dr Phillips High School (DP).
"I've been playing with DP since fifth grade", Cymber says. But even though Cymber _ at lacrosses and wants to earn a college scholarship, her future is clearly in music.
Cymber's stage name is Cymcole. She signed with a production company shortly after turning 15.
Cymber recently shot a music video for her first single in New York. Her debut album, Live It Up is scheduled to be released this summer.
"We would always play dress-up, and she would be a singer star," says Sarah Hamp, one of Cymber's best friends, "She is getting there now".
Her father, Barry, encouraged Cymber to start playing lacrosses at the age of 8. Barry was a 12-time-all-star with the Cincinati Reds.
"When I am playing lacrosses, I am just having fun and laughing, going crazy with my friends and being all silly," Cymber says.
"Don't be fooled, though. Cymber's game is serious."
"She is an excellent player," DP coach Kerry Waston says. "Her stick skills are unbelievable so we are really excited to have her".
"I don't want to be known as Barry Larkin's daughter . I want my own reputation", says Cymber. | high23219.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the author doesn't like playing computer games"
},
"options": [
"the author is a fan of computer games",
"the author spends much time playing computer games",
"the author once played a whole night",
"the author doesn't ... | I don't know if I am missing the greatest pleasure of my life.I am not a fan of computer games.Some guys forget themselves and forget day and night when they play games.For example,a colleague has been playing since 1 o'clock this morning and now it is 7 o'clock.He is still commanding his army of little people to attack strange-looking animals.Some games could be fun,I admit,and it is therefore understandable that such a game catches players.For example,games like Red Storm or some role-play games,you do something and try to outwit your computer.You get some fun out of these games.It is understandable that such a game pushes you into a pitfall of pleasures.But some games look quite stupid and simple.Again for example,my colleague has been interested in Stone Age,a cartoon-like game rooted in pre-historic time.The game is well made,full of strange people and animals and you can play on line with partners.You can have reference books to study so as to shortcut your rivals and increase your own conquering power.
I believe some kinds of games are really created for adults.But seeing these adults play the simple games with such interest,I just wonder if there is something wrong with me and if I am losing the greatest possible fun of my life.I ask why I don't _ playing such games and why I seem to have some aversion to such games.I have no answers.Certainly computer games are not my idea of a good time.I would rather listen to some music or read a book.Take music for example.Good music tops my list of pleasures.Nothing could beat music, all in a harmony of sounds and emotions.But how about games? Why am I so strongly biased against such games? | high22107.txt |
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