questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat"
},
"options": [
"rent a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley",
"find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat",
"share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet",... | * Share Flats: Happy Valley big flat, 1 room ready for use immediately. Quiet and convenient, fully furnished, park view. $6,800 including bills with maid. Female nonsmoker. No pet. Sara 25720836 or 10077809.
* Moving Sale: 2 armchairs, red/brown at $400 each; coffee table, black, wood, $800; oil painting, big, $900; Tianjin carpet, green 3x7, $600; double bed, $500; mirror, big, square, $500; fridge, big, double-door, $1000; old pictures, $140 up, each; plants, big and small. Tel: Weekend, 25216011/Weekday, 25245867.
* Part-time Laboratory Assistant Wanted: Required by busy electronics company to help with development of computer. Should have an electronics degree and some practical experience of working in an electronics laboratory. Hours 9:30a.m.-1:0p.m. Mon.-Fri. Fourteen days paid leave. Salary Y=6598-10230 dependent on experience. Letter of application to: Mrs. G Chan, NOVA ELECTRONICS, 45 Gordon Rd, Hung Hom Kowloon. | high2784.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It is able to influence the consumers' choice of purchase."
},
"options": [
"It describes the product.",
"It helps the product designer to express himself.",
"It may put the purchaser in a spending mood.",
"It is able t... | Color is very important in our daily life. It can influence our choice of purchase when we go shopping and can also affect the way we look and feel. A person can be naturally attracted to one particular color1 while finding another color1 repulsive. The influence of color1 on human emotions and feelings is very powerful and designers, advertisers, artists and even doctors use _ in their professions for different purposes.
Every day, without even thinking about it, we use color1 to communicate our feelings. For example, the color1 we choose to wear is one way of expressing ourselves. It says something about the person, how he or she feels, and how he or she wants others to feel about the wearer. In other words, color1 talks.
A person who wants to appear stylish and mature will usually wear dark color1s or black. A person who wishes to appear youngish, pure and innocent dresses in white, like the choice of a bride's wedding gown. Also clothed in white are doctors, dentists, nurses and hospital in-patients as the color1 expresses comfort, cleanliness and professionalism. Brown, blue or grey clothes are the usual color1s worn by office workers so as not to draw unnecessary attention to them. They are, in a way, conveying the message that they want to be noticed for their work, not their appearance. People who wear bright, strong color1s like to be attractive and these color1s are particularly popular with actresses, singers and party goers.
In the past, common people were not allowed to wear certain color1s. In Thailand, for example, only kings, queens and members of the royal family could wear purple while in ancient China, yellow was the color1 reserved for the emperor and the empress. Nowadays, people can wear whatever color1 they like or as they think appropriate. | high20300.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Traditional food is less frequently cooked."
},
"options": [
"People prefer to cook at home.",
"More people choose to eat out.",
"Traditional food is less frequently cooked.",
"People eat faster than before."
],
... | "Food in France is still primarily about pleasure,"says Mark Singer, technical director of cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris."Cooking and eating are both pastimes and pleasure."The French might start their day with bread, butter, jam, and perhaps something hot to drink -- it's a time of the day when the whole family can be united. Singer, born in Philadelphia, has lived in France for more than 40 years.
"Although things have changed greatly in the past 20 years when it comes to food in the country,"he says,"and what was a big affair with eating has been slowly softened up, there are still events in the year, like birthdays and New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve that are still really anchored in traditional food and cooking. But it's not every day."
Some people think French food life may be a performance, adds Jennifer Berg, director of graduate food studies at New York University."They want to believe that France is this nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food. The reality is most croissants are factory-made, and most people are buying convenience food, except for the very small group of people in high society. But part of our identity relies on believing that myth."
In Italy, as in France, takeout is still ly rare."Eating fast is not at all part of our culture,"says Marco Bolasco, editorial director of Slow Food and an Italian food expert. Our meals are relaxed, even during a lunch break. Food in Italy is love, and nutrition, and pleasure, he says. An Italian child's first experience with food is not small round cakes or rice or eggs, but probably ice cream, notes Bolasco. Status and wealth play less of a role in food. | high19581.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They all feature timetravel."
},
"options": [
"They are all about love.",
"They all describe what happened in ancient times.",
"They are all based on true stories.",
"They all feature timetravel."
],
"question":... | In the last couple of years, there has been a craze about timetraveling TV series in China.This year, it seems like the South Korean drama writers have fallen in a deep, neverending love with the timetravel trend.
Rooftop Prince
A prince from the Joseon era (18th century), Lee Gak is _ 300 years forward into the future in Seoul 2012 with his entourage when he tries to investigate the suspicious circumstances which surround the death of the woman he loves.In the present, he finds a young woman who looks exactly like his beloved crown princess.
Queen Inhyun's Man
The drama, set during the Joseon era, features the hero Kim Boongdo as he tries to restore the exiled Queen Inhyun.It is in this time period he is given the timetraveling power that transports him to the future world where he makes friends with an actress playing the role of Queen Inhyun for a drama in her time.
Dr Jin
Jin Hyuk is a genius neurosurgeon.Through a mysterious power, Jin finds himself transported back in time 150 years.He begins treating people there, but the lack of equipment and medical knowledge of the period forces him to seek new ways to aid the sick.Through this challenging process, Jin eventually becomes a genuine doctor.
Operation Proposal
Kang Baekho realizes that he falls in love with his best friend, Ham Yiseul, on the day of her wedding to another man.He travels back in time to various events of their lives hoping to change the outcome of their relationship.Will Kang be able to change the course of their future? | high5955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The study condition"
},
"options": [
"The climate",
"The scenery",
"The study condition",
"The living condition"
],
"question": "What, according to the author, should be considered first if you want to study in ... | If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live in are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-related fields of study. However, if you want to study oceanography , your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.
Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.
California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in southern California is another story, though. Life in LA is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes dangerous. As for me, I enjoyed the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland and these states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as Northern California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.
Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won't like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace? Then you probably should stay away from America's large cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D. C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. The place you live in could be the difference between a great study-abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth. | high4493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "China has begun to take steps to prevent A/H1N1 flu."
},
"options": [
"A/H1N1 flu killed more than 80 people.",
"A/H1N1 flu is spreading from human to human.",
"China has begun to take steps to prevent A/H1N1 flu.",
"Al... | Since weeks ago, China has been involved in a worldwide A/H1N1 flu that has already killed more than 80 people in the middle of May, 2009, in Mexico and has turned into a global _ .
The central government has asked people entering China from the virus-hit countries to report flu-like symptoms to the authorities.In an emergency notice issued on Saturday night, the country's top quality watchdog ordered the Customs to check passengers' temperature, too.
A Beijing airport official Li said Customs officers are on a high alert level.
"Three temperature detectors are now in operation.We're ready with protection garments and equipment, too.Passengers flying in from Mexico and other A/H1N1 flu-hit countries are being monitored closely," he said.
The Ministry of Health, however, said yesterday there was no evidence to suggest that a person would contract the disease by eating pork.
Hong Kong, too, has raised its alert level against the flu to "serious".Secretary for Food&Health, Mr.York Chow urged people to avoid visiting places from where A/H1N1 flu cases have been reported, and said the virus would be added to Hong Kong's list of the diseases which have been noticed.
The terrible A/ H1N1 flu has been contracted by about 4000 people in Mexico, and most of the killed were aged between 25 and 45.
The virus has also infected about 5,000 people in the US.The US Center for Disease Control said this kind of virus is spreading from human to human, raising fears of a global pandemic. | high21778.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The law of the country."
},
"options": [
"The sticker's low cost.",
"The mass production.",
"The goodwill of motorists.",
"The law of the country."
],
"question": "What may probably contribute to the application... | You may have experienced the frustration of receiving a parking fine or finding your car towed away after leaving it parked for a couple of minutes.
But now a high tech car sticker could help motorists avoid such a situation by allowing a traffic warden to get in touch with them.Car owners can buy the sticker and place it inside their car's windscreen,having set it up with vital information,such as their phone number.The slim design will i nclude a sensor that will send a text message warning a driver about a coming fine when touched by a traffic warden.The message will ask them to move their car immediately.The driver could then type a reply for the warden us ing their smartphone,which will appear on the sticker's screen.They may choose to write something along the lines of"back in two minutes"in a bid to avoid a fine.Frankfurt-based IT consultant,Daniel Kalliontzis,came up with the idea and is raising funds on Indiegogo to put his 54 sticker into production.
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic wardens and critically,a German law.The law states:"An officer has to choose the most e fficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle."It could be cheaper for the authorities to contact the driver than to tow his car.
At the time of writing,Mr Kalliontzis has raised just over 3,000 of his 50,000 goal on Indiegogo.If he manages to raise the money,the stickers will be shipped in June 2015.But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages,because anyone could touch the smart sticker. | high11863.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Changes in the British bird population."
},
"options": [
"The results of global warming.",
"Changes in the British bird population.",
"Increasing environmental pollution.",
"Worsening British weather."
],
"quest... | Experts believe that storms and severe weather in North America and Asia have disrupted bird flight paths across the world and swept huge numbers of bird species towards the British Isles.
Birds flying to the other side of the Atlantic or to the Pacific to lay their eggs have been trapped in Britain and Ireland, adding their numbers to native species, and causing great excitement in the bird-watching community.
Local birdwatchers have already observed a total of 442 species in the British Isles this year. The highest number ever seen in one year is 445, in 2008.
"We only need four more to break our record," said Lee Evans, who runs the British Birding Association. "With three months to go I'm sure we'll do it."
Last month an extremely rare Siberian Rubythroat bird was seen in Scotland, sending hundreds of birdwatchers north in the hope of catching a glimpse of this colourful Asian beauty. Another very uncommon bird, the bufflehead duck was cited in Cornwell and caused similar excitement. "I couldn't believe it," said Evans. "The poor thing was completely _ . It must have been blown to England by the storms while trying to fly from Canada to the southern United States for the winter. That's 3000 miles!"
Evans said that global warming over the past decade was playing a key role in transforming bird movements across the world. In addition, melting Arctic sea ice may also be opening up bird flight paths over the North Pole, making it easier for birds from the Pacific -- such as the slaty-backed gull and tufted puffin, both of which appeared in London earlier this year -- to reach Britain.
Bird-watching is becoming an increasingly popular hobby among all age groups, added Evans. "A fifth of our members are under 18. This is a round-the-year hobby that you can enjoy from the kitchen window or from a car. More and more people are bird-watching, and as a result more and more unexpected species are being spotted in the British Isles." | high20466.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People thought she was too old to work"
},
"options": [
"Nursing clinics were hard to find",
"She found it difficult to trust others",
"People thought she was too old to work",
"People didn't think she had enough work e... | A job is more than a job,especially to the old. "It's not the money that matters,but the sense of self-worth."56-year-old Cbeng Wonlan said. So,every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels,letters and documents and does her rounds in North Point. She's a courier
Five years ago.Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic. She had worked there for 30 years but was Jobless when the doctor migrated. It was difficult for her to find another job as a nurse. "People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am,"she said. After two years of searching, she eventually found another nursing job. But then after two years,she quit Why?
'My colleagues were young and they didn't understand me because of my age. They often asked me 'You are so old what are you working for? I was very unhappy" She said. So while the rest of her family left for work,she was left to lonely boredom at home .Then her neighbours told her about Employee's Retraining Board(ERB)offering retraining courses for older people. These courses are specifically designed to encourage the older people back to work.
"I was interested in courier work. I didn't think my age was a barrier because I was fit." She said .Upon graduating,Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company. But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict:she was caught between honour and employment"I felt embarrassed about carrying and delivering letters and parcels." she said. It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind:there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job. So she went off to work as a courier.
Ms Cheng's employer is delighted with her responsible attitude and said."I hired older people because they were able and reliable .Age is not an important factor but attitude is Many old people will not run from difficulties but the young ones will" | high6284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Develop the positive attitude"
},
"options": [
"To live with an aim in life",
"To be a pessimist or optimist",
"Life is full of ups and downs",
"Develop the positive attitude"
],
"question": "What might be the b... | When you enter a crowded room or go on a picnic or to a party, who is the most attractive and appealing person? It is the person who is cheerful, has a smiling face and behaves as if he or she is enjoying every moment of the event! Such people have an optimistic opinion on life. They are the ones with a positive attitude. On the other hand, let's see that fellow in the corner with a long face. He is most probably thinking about the time and money wasted in having fun. He is a pessimist, one with a negative attitude.
A person with a positive attitude gets on well with the job at hand. He doesn't worry about what's gone before or what might happen in the future. If there is a problem, he quickly thinks of ways to solve it. If the problem cannot be solved singly, he seeks help from someone else. He doesn't feel that it's beneath his dignity to seek assistance.
When Sonal lost her history notes days before an important examination, she sat down and cried. Then she pulled herself together, borrowed a friend's notes, worked day and night and managed to copy down whatever she had lost. Sonal passed the exam with flying color1s.
It's just not possible, even for the greatest optimist, to smile all the time and feel good all day. Everyone has a period of blues now and then, when everything seems sad and without cheer. But once you develop a positive attitude, once you realize that life is a series of ups and downs, dark clouds and bright sunshine, in no time at all, you've _ , ready to welcome the world again with open arms and a huge smile! So from this moment on, keep your face to the sunshine and you'll never see the shadows. | high22271.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Hamad and his talent for painting."
},
"options": [
"Hamad's painting exhibition.",
"Hamad and his talent for painting.",
"The popularity of Hamad's works.",
"The similarities between Hamad and Picasso."
],
"que... | An 11-year-old boy who has been compared to Spanish Impressionist , the great Pablo Picasso, is holding his first exhibition at Llangollen's Gardening Show this weekend.
Hamad al-Humaidhan, who was born in Kuwait but now lives in Bath, Britain, had no previous knowledge of art history when he first picked up a brush.
But he began to paint his favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, using Picasso's trademarks --bright colours and impressionistic forms.
His father said, "I've got lots of books about Picasso and I showed them to Hamad but he didn't know anything about Picasso --it's just naturally the way he sees it and he just loves to paint."
His first painting of Ronaldo, done when he was just nine, was sold at auction in Bath for PS650, which drew the attention of local art businessman Steve Turner. "A colleague sent me some pictures of Hamad's work and I just couldn't believe the size of it and how the colours blended together," he said. "He had talent and I thought Picasso had been reborn.""I've shown his work to private art collectors. They liked them very much and everyone was eager to buy, so the first six paintings have been _ . I bought two of them myself. The next set of his works will go on show for the first time at Llangollen, which will be the first opportunity for the public to see his amazing talent."
Hamad enjoys maths at school but ranks painting higher. "I think I prefer painting! It makes me relaxed and when I feel tired I just pick up a paint brush," he said. "I just close my eyes and see how it's going to look and then I just paint it --I paint every day. I just love the colours and I want people to enjoy my paintings."
Now Hamad is nervously waiting for the opening of his exhibition. | high6290.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A new attempt making students change their bad behavior."
},
"options": [
"How a school keeps students good at drama and arts.",
"Why students are interested in learning drama and arts.",
"A new attempt making students change... | The prefix = st1 /Windsorboys' secondary school used its school founding to save its local arts centre and establish a learning support unit there.
Now expelled pupils and students who are likely to be expelled are studying a course at the unit in Windsor arts centre while also working with artists. One pupil was asked to show Naomi Jackson, the drama teacher at the unit, how he had acted in a fierce argument with a teacher on the rugby filed, which led to his expulsion . Then he showed her how to imitate his attitude.
Ms. Jackson said, "He saw that the teacher had to get him out. Until then, he didn't really understand because he didn't have that self-awareness."
"It gave him the chance to look at himself from the outside."
Students also work in groups, acting as the aggressor, the victim and an observer to help them develop more awareness and understanding.
A professional theatre group, Everyday Theatre, which consists of former pupils, is at the school and works in the learning support unit.
An arts therapist also helps students in the unit to express their problems and a street dancer builds up their discipline, concentration and capacity for hard work.
Jane Turner is the teacher in charge of the Starts Project, which stands for Supportive Training and Arts.
She said, "It's about using the arts to develop social skills as well as anger management, rather than just trying to make them good at drama or arts." | high22265.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To recommend an interesting family activity."
},
"options": [
"To recommend an interesting family activity.",
"To stress the importance of family activities.",
"To encourage children to read more books.",
"To introduce ... | When you don't have anything planned for the day or it's rainy outside and your children are stuck in the house, why not sit around and tell them riddles? Telling riddles will make your family laugh and sometimes even scratch their heads, trying to figure out what the answer is.
Riddles have been a pastime for centuries. Not only have riddles been something for passing the time, but they have also been used to pass on secret information during the Second World War. Even the ancient Greeks used riddles. They would tell riddles at parties and whoever was the first to get them right would receive prize.
Most riddles use words that have double meanings or share the same sound like "hear" and "here". So in order to get the riddle, you will have to do some creative thinking and think of all the possibilities of different words. The difficulty of figuring out the riddle is based on the riddle itself. The riddle has to provide you with enough clues to come to the right answer, but that doesn't mean that the clues have to be easy.
If you are looking to tell riddles but don't know any, you can look online and you will find a large number of sites that will have hundreds of different riddles to choose from. If you would like to look somewhere else then you could look at your local bookstore, where you will be able to find many different books with thousands of riddles to choose from. You can even find websites and books that will tell you how to write your own riddles.
After you have found some resources that have different riddles, you will need to read through them to find the right ones for you and your family: You will also need to make sure that your kids will have a chance to figure out the answers. So take your time and choose the right family riddles to tell. | high4487.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "feel the same as you do"
},
"options": [
"are polite and nervous",
"will help you",
"feel the same as you do",
"will learn the new rules with you"
],
"question": "The author says that you're not alone because ot... | Are you afraid of moving up to senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've put together a guide to help you.
You are not alone
Remember that everybody else in your grade is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they are just as nervous as you are.
Moving up to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is be polite and learn the new rules.
The teachers will help
If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to because they have experience in helping new students.
Everything changes
There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will have your lessons with different teachers in different rooms. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organized.
Other points
If you've got an elder brother or sister at senior high school, then ask them for advice.
Be yourself! It sounds simple, but people will respond much better to you if you act naturally.
Going to bed early makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning! | high11877.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the opinion about national air"
},
"options": [
"the way they traveled",
"the opinion about national air",
"the way they lived their life",
"the life style of internet"
],
"question": "The haze affected people m... | Hu Li's heart sank due to the color of the air.Driving 140 kilometers from Tianjin City to Beijing last week,she held her breath as the air became a charcoal grey haze .The 39yearold businesswoman has lived in Beijing for a decade,and this past month,she said,brought the worst air pollution she has ever seen.It gave her husband a cough and left her sevenyearold daughter housebound ."My husband as well as I is working here,so we have no choice," she said."But if we had a choice,we'd like to escape from Beijing."
The extended heavy pollution over the last month,which caused punishment in return for a day last week-called the "airpocalypse" by internet users- has largely changed the way that Chinese think about the country's air.On one day,pollution levels were 30 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).Flights were cancelled.Roads were closed.One hospital in east Beijing reported they had treated more than 900 children for breathing issues.Bloomberg found that for most of January,Beijing's air was worse than that of an airport smoking area.
The smog's most threatening aspect is its high concentration of PM 2.5 - particulate matter that is small enough to breathe deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream,causing breathing infections,lung cancer and possibly damaging children's development.The WHO has estimated that outdoor air pollution accounts for two million deaths per year,65% of them in Asia. | high5799.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "more of the same kinds of foods eaten by people over 10,000 years ago"
},
"options": [
"more foods as humans living 10,000 years ago did",
"as humans living 10,000 years ago ate",
"more kinds of food eaten by people living ov... | Two American scientists told the people in industrial nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of foods eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.
The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since human first appeared on earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times. So they are called "diseases of civilization". Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that early stone-age people used very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and life today.
Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than farm animals. They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables, and fruits. They did not use milk and other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of dairy products and grain foods. We eat six times more salt than stone-age people. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
People today probably do not want to live as people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate as those ancient people did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet foods. | high2790.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To show the win-win situation in micro-blog marketing."
},
"options": [
"To indicate how fast he got the tea.",
"To strengthen micro-blog based marketing.",
"To show the win-win situation in micro-blog marketing.",
"To ... | Micro-blog is no longer simply a platform for self-expression, gossip and networking, as it is becoming an increasingly fierce battlefield for businesses wanting to promote their products and services.
Over the last year, micro-blogging has become wildly popular in China, with some 65 million China based micro-blog accounts registered by the end of 2010 and the number is growing by more than 10 million each month, according to Data Center of the China Internet (DCCI).
At present, China's largest web portal Sina claims to have 5,000 company micro-blog users, including Starbucks, Channel, and IKEA. On the micro-blog pages of the companies, visitors can not only view advertisements, but also see consumer feedback and even commentaries on hot social issues.
E-commerce expert Lu Bowang says micro-blogging has opened a whole new dimension of marketing. Through micro-blogs, companies can quickly grasp the attention of potential consumers and interact with them on a regular basis so to develop a friendly link with consumers, Lu said.
An Internet surfer nicknamed Xiaoben posted on his micro-blog page that he enjoyed drinking Puer tea, and within 10 minutes, a micro-blogger who owned an online shop selling Puer tea recommended his shop to Xiaoben. "It is a little bit like magic. I just make a wish, and then I get a micro-blog response."
However, with more and more people micro-blogging to make money, experts warn that marketing via micro-blog could be a double-edged sword.
Huang Heshui, professor from Xiamen University says micro-blogging is highly personal and private, and that too many advertising messages can annoy micro-blog users leading them to dislike certain brands.
Further, a brand can be as easily damaged as established through micro-blogging, as consumers' negative feedback about a certain product or company can be very quickly spread in the micro-blog community, Huang added.
The micro-blog managers should set up some rules and regulation to supervise micro-blog marketing, and at the same time, business organizations need to strengthen self-discipline and try to build up an honesty-based business culture, e-commerce expert Lu Bowang suggested. | high20314.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Disappointed."
},
"options": [
"Disappointed.",
"Excited.",
"Anxious.",
"Content."
],
"question": "How did the author feel after receiving Camille's e-mail?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | My divorce was now final and I needed to find a new home for me and my six-year-old son, Dash. A few days earlier I'd seen an ad. I was willing to try anything, so I contacted the owner, a woman named Camille. When she e-mailed me back I discovered she wasn't renting a house at all. She was renting the attic apartment. I left her a message calling off our meeting.
But Camille called me back and insisted I come over. So here I was. I pulled the car to a stop and looked up at the tiny cottage. The house was small as it was. The attic window looked too tiny to let much light in. We couldn't live in a dark, depressing place. I could make do with almost anything. But Dash needs a good home, a place he really feels safe.
No sense in wasting her time or mine. I knocked. The woman who opened the door was small and bright-eyed. She was much older than I'd guessed, but I could see she had the energy of someone half her age. She looked so sympathetic that I found myself wanting to keep talking to her."We have to leave our home,"I explained."My marriage ended. I only have a few days to find something else, but I want it to be right."
Camille nodded."You're a good mother. You never know the miracles that await youaround the corner."Camille walked me to the door and wished me well. I got back in the car and snapped out of it. I drove off slowly, hoping to make the feeling last. I turned down a side street I didn't recognize. I glanced out of the side window. Just up ahead was a cottage with a sign out in front: for rent.
I pulled over. I found the owners had just bought the house themselves and were decorating it, hoping to find the perfect renters. They took me on a tour of the house that was like a copy of my list: a big bedroom for Dash, a backyard with trees, and a great school nearby. The house was meant for us!
Camille was right. Miracles await us, just around the corner. | high19595.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The cashier was playing a joke on him."
},
"options": [
"The boy was shopping by himself.",
"The boy's mother asked her to do so.",
"The cashier was playing a joke on him.",
"The boy's mother was away for something else... | All you have is what you bring with you
I've always felt a need to be prepared for whatever situation I've found myself in.
My mother once took me to a store when I was seven years old. She and I got to the checkout counter, and she realized she had forgotten a couple of things on her shopping list. She left me with the cart and ran off to get what she needed.
"I'll be right back." she said.
She was gone just a few minutes, but in that time, I had loaded all the things on the belt and everything was rung up. I was left staring at the cashier, who was staring at me." Do you have money for me, son?" she said. "I'll need to be paid."
I didn't realize she was just trying to amuse herself. So I stood there, ashamed and embarrassed.
By the time my mom returned, I was angry. "You left me here with no money! This lady asked me for the money, and I had nothing to give her!"
Now that I'm an adult, you'll never catch me with less than $200 in my wallet. I want to be prepared in case I need it.
I've always admired people who are over-prepared. In college, I had a classmate named Norman. One day he was giving a presentation on an overhead projector and in the middle of his talk, the light bulb on the projector blew out. We would have to wait ten minutes until someone found a new' projector.
"It's Okay." he announced. "There's nothing to worry about."
We watched him walk over to his bag and pull something out. He had brought along a spare bulb for the Overhead projector. Who could even think of that?
I often told my students, "When you go into the wilderness, the only thing you can depend on is what you take with you." And essentially, the wilderness is anywhere but your home or office. So take money. Pack a light bulb. Be prepared. | high18853.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "show that in fact humans are not so rational as known when making choices."
},
"options": [
"reveal the serious housing problems of modern society.",
"explain how to make a more reasonable choice when buying houses.",
"show t... | Classical philosophers called humans "the rational animal". Clearly, they never looked closely at ants. A new study suggests that ant colonies avoid irrational decisions that people and other animals often make.
Consider the following scenario: You want to buy a house with a big kitchen and a big yard, but there are only two homes on the market---one with a big kitchen and a small yard and the other with a small kitchen and a big yard. Studies show you'd be about 50% likely to choose either house---and either one would be a rational choice. But now, a new home comes on the market, this one with a large kitchen and no yard. This time, studies show, you'll make an irrational decision: Even though nothing has changed with the first two houses, you'll now favor the house with the big kitchen and small yard over the one with the small kitchen and big yard. Overall, scientists have found, people and other animals will often change their original preferences when presented with a third choice.
Not so with ants. These insects also shop for homes but not quite in the way that humans do. Solitary worker ants spread out, looking for two main features: a small entrance and a dark inside. If an ant finds an outstanding hole---such as the inside of an acorn or a rock crevice---it brings another worker ant to check it out. As more ants like the site, the number of workers in the new hole grows. Once the crowd reaches a critical mass, the ants race back to the old nest and start carrying the queen and larvae to move the entire colony.
To test ant rationality, Stephen Pratt, a behavioral ecologist at Arizona State University in Tempe, and a colleague designed a series of possible nests for 26 ant colonies. The duo cut rectangular holes in balsa wood and covered them with glass microscope slides. The researchers then drilled holes of various sizes into the glass slides and slipped plastic light filters under the glass to vary the features ants care about most. At first, the colonies only had two options, A and B. A was dark but had a large opening, whereas B was bright with a small opening. As with humans, the ants preferred both options equally: The researchers found no difference between the number of colonies that picked A versus B.
Then the scientists added a third option, called a decoy , that was similar to either A or B in one characteristic but clearly worse than both in the other (a very bright nest with a small opening, for example). Unlike humans, the ants were not tricked by the decoy, the team reports online today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Although a few colonies picked the third nest, the other colonies did not start favoring A or B and still split evenly between the two.
Pratt speculates that ant colonies avoid making the irrational decision because, unlike humans, each ant doesn't evaluate all options before making a choice. When the scouts find a nest, they're unaware of what else is out there, and either they pick the nest or they don't. "The group may do better precisely because the individuals are ignorant," Pratt says.
Melissa Bateson, an ethnologist at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, believes the findings could have "really interesting implications for the benefits of collective decision-making, which we could learn something from." Many grant-review boards, for example, behave like ants: Reviewers see only a subset of the total grant applications and thus have to make a decision without seeing every option. | high22503.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "accepted the European standard of beauty"
},
"options": [
"realized the importance of good memory",
"didn't mind others saying she was black",
"accepted the European standard of beauty",
"didn't think her mother was ver... | It took me several years to realize that my black skin is beautiful and I have accepted the fact that indeed black is beautiful now. This skin I have been in for so many years determined my self worth.
I had so many factors "against" me in my mind when I was a little girl. I was a tall, thin, dark skinned girl with a gap tooth smile. Growing up, the only role model that I had was my mother, who has beautiful deep brown complexion . It's amazing how I could find beauty in my mother's complexion but not my own. One of the most outstanding memories of my childhood is the words "Oh, she is so cute for a dark skinned little girl." People spoke as if I wasn't in the room, as if I couldn't hear.
From a young age, I felt ashamed that my black color wasn't good enough, so I buried myself in books to stay away from the mirror. I knew that my education would and could take me further than my looks. I stopped watching TV, absorbed in my studies and I was happy with my decision. Now I have been admitted to my ideal Coppin State University, which is for black students and has a long history.
It wasn't until I was at age 16 that I officially decided to fix my deep rooted issue about my dark complexion. I had been brainwashed to subscribe to the European standard of beauty for so many years. I no longer accept this standard, because I set my own. My black is beautiful including my full lips, the wideness of my nose, and the intensity of my eyes. I believe that there are plenty of beautiful dark skinned women in the world. | high13906.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "how serious the earthquake is"
},
"options": [
"where the earthquake takes place",
"when the earthquake takes place",
"how serious the earthquake is",
"how long the earthquake lasts"
],
"question": "People use R... | 2008 sadly saw the worst earthquake in China in over 30 years. The Great Sichuan Earthquake was 8 on the Richter scale and killed around 70,000 people in May, not to mention the tens of thousands who were injured or went missing.
On 26thJanuary, 2009, the biggest earthquake in India took the lives of 25,000 people. In the morning, when everybody was enjoying holiday, the earthquake began, It was about 7.5 on the Richter scale. "There is nothing left between the sky and the earth any more. Everything has been pulled down. " said one of the villagers alive. " There is no water, no food and no one has come to help."
Nobody died in Pakistan, a country next to India. The City of Lahore was lucky. In Lahore American School, where I was studying, all of the students were safe. They were in the field, so most children didn't feel anything. The earthquake was felt by the teachers that were on the second floor. However, though Mrs Young was also on the second floor, she didn't feel anything. She didn't know what happened until a teacher told her about it. Those teachers who were on the other floors had different feelings. Mr Emond, the maths teacher from Australia, said that when the earthquake started he thought there was something wrong with him, but then another teacher said that it was an earthquake. After those words Mr Emond felt better. Mrs Davis and Mr Frost didn't feel anything either.
My mother didn't feel anything. She didn't even know that it was an earthquake till she saw a shaking light. My dad saw the computer shaking and then he looked out of the window and saw many people going out. | high1299.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked"
},
"options": [
"the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep",
"much more hard-working than other inventors",
"the first person to design a sewi... | Early one morning,more than a hundred years ago,an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep.He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.
Though he was tired,Howe slept badly.He turned and turned.Then he had a dream.He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine.When he tried to do so,Howe ran into the same problem as before.The thread kept getting caught around the needle.The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe.They came up towards him with their spears raised.But suddenly the inventor noticed something.There was a hole in the tip of each spear.The inventor awoke from the dream,realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem.Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle,he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle.This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practical sewing machine.
Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.Thomas Edison,the inventor of the electric light,said his best ideas came into him in dreams.So did the great physicist Albert Einstein.Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.
To know the value of dreams,you have to understand what happens when you are asleep.Even then,a part of your mind is still working.This unconscious ,but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day.It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed.It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake.However,the unconscious part acts in a special way.It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first.This is why dreams are sometimes called "secret messages to ourselves ". | high7830.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they start walking"
},
"options": [
"they can talk",
"they are five or six years old",
"they have no fear of the water",
"they start walking"
],
"question": "Little children can learn to swim as soon as _ .",... | Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid, to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous.
To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn, as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, Breaststroke, and crawl. I feel that one of these-the breaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.
In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:
1). Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don't risk drowning by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.
2). Don't go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach, Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is no good. Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.
3). Don't smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.
4). Work at any activity that builds muscles. | high16856.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "even if you don't have health problems"
},
"options": [
"if you can't bear high temperature",
"if you have some health problems",
"even if you don't have health problems",
"when the temperature is very low outside"
... | Hot yoga is not terribly different from regular yoga. You will do the same poses. However, the catch is that the temperature will be at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit and sometimes higher. The heat is what makes this type of yoga not for everyone. Regardless of your overall health, talk to your doctor before taking a hot yoga class and let your doctor know that you plan to take one.
Due to a condition that is greatly worsened by temperature extremes, I'm an example of someone who can't do this form of exercise. I can do regular yoga, but the 100 degree Fahrenheit would be severely uncomfortable and possibly dangerous to me.
The climate is said to help with muscle flexibility and you will sweat like there is no tomorrow -- which is believed to force out more toxins .It is important to keep in mind that even if you are in good health, the high temperature can take some getting used to. You may want to start a shorter class and work your way up.
You will be sweating greatly in hot yoga temperature. Drink plenty of water before, during and after your class. It is also important to pay attention to your body. If you are feeling very tired, it is time to sit down and get some water. You should also remove yourself from the hot environment, but not into a very cold environment. For example, just go into hallway -- a place that has a normal temperature and start to drink some water.
Things like heat stroke are possible with this type of yoga. These issues are most often seen in those over 60 years of age, but younger people with chronic health problems are also at risk. Anyone can fall victim to heat stroke. Children are also especially vulnerable to heat stroke, so leave the kids at home while you attend your yoga class.
If you ever start to feel had during class, immediately stop and tell your instructor so that he or she can offer you help. Don't try to finish the class. | high17590.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "His grandmother grew up in Zhejiang."
},
"options": [
"He was born in Zhejiang.",
"His sports shirts are made in Zhejiang.",
"He once visited Zhejiang.",
"His grandmother grew up in Zhejiang."
],
"question": "Wh... | HANGZHOU, China -- Millions of Chinese basketball fans who were upset about the retirement of Yao Ming, are excited to see another even more shining star, Jeremy Lin, rising from the N.B.A and becoming a household name all across China.
"We are amazed by Lin Shuhao's magic performance and should cheer him on," one Internet user wrote.
"His sport shirts have sold out, even including the counterfeit ones," said Zheng Xiaojun, a 24-year-old clerk.
Lin's amazing success over the last month has caught the imagination of the Chinese. He has been particularly popular here in northern Zhejiang province, from which his grandmother went to Taiwan in the late 1940s.
Cai Qi, a well-known micro blogger, posted a message on micro blog over the weekend stating that Lin's hometown is Jiaxing, a city near Hangzhou where Lin's grandmother grew up.
Cai Qi's nephew Yu Guohua, a 56-year-old factory worker, is Lin's closest still living in northern Zhejiang. He said in a telephone interview that Lin had come to play basketball with the Jiaxing High School team last May and had been surrounded by admirers.
Yu said he did not have a chance to meet Lin in the crowd, but managed to speak with his family. "His father was very supportive of Lin's playing basketball, but his grandmother was not, for fear he would be injured," Yu said.
Lin may owe his height, 6 feet 3 inches, to his grandmother's family, Yu said. Chen Weiji, the father of Lin's grandmother, was well over 6 feet and all of Chen's children were tall as well, he said.
The N.B.A. believes that 300 million people in China play basketball. The retirement last year of Yao Ming took its main Asian draw away from the N.B.A. But Lin's appearance has helped the league remain a hot topic of Chinese online chatter. | high21022.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The Highlander Motor Inn"
},
"options": [
"Americana Hotel Crystal City",
"Days Inn Arlington",
"Hyatt Regency Crystal City",
"The Highlander Motor Inn"
],
"question": "Which hotel does not provide service to dr... | Convenient location 5 minutes from Washington ,D.C. and one block to Crystal City Metro, Crystal City Underground. Alexandria. Free Parking, free Deluxe Continental breakfast and complimentary Hotel Shuttle Service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
14000 Jefferson Davis Hwy(endurance on S. Eads St.)
Phone (703) 979-3722
DAYS INN ARLINGTON
Days Inn Arlington is located two miles from the Pentagon ,Lincoln Memorial .There is a restaurant which serves American style food ,plus two meeting rooms and an outdoor pool. Complimentary shuttle service runs to the Rosslyn Metro Station. Complimentary parking is available on the property .An experienced staff welcomes our guests.
Phone(703)525-0300
THE HIGHLANDER MOTOR INN
Comfortable rooms at moderate prices. Convenient location only minutes away from Washington area attraction. Near VA Square Metro Station and Ballston Commons Shopping Centre. Free continental breakfast, free parking.
Phone(703)524-4300
HYATT REGENCY CRYSTAL CITY
Conveniently located next to Washington National Airport and two miles from Washington D.C. Complimentary Shuttle to and from National Airport, metro, local restaurants and shopping .Experience a view to remember at our rooftop restaurants "Chesapeake Grill". Call for Reservations.
Phone(073)418-12341 | high9835.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "doubtful"
},
"options": [
"supportive",
"doubtful",
"uninterested",
"indifferent"
],
"question": "What's Anna Sosa's attitude towards companies claiming that their toys are educational?",
"question_type": nu... | A new study says electronic toys are not helping babies learn.
"Even if companies are marketing them as educational, they're not teaching the babies anything at this time," said Anna Sosa the study's author.
Researchers listened to audio recordings of parents playing with their babies aged 10 months to 16 months. The researchers compared the experiences when the children played with electronic toys, traditional toys such as blocks, or when the children looked at books. What they found is that parents talked less with their babies when the babies played with electronic toys.
Why is this important? Research shows that how quickly children develop language is often based on what they hear from parents. When the infants played with electronic toys, parents said little to their children. But with traditional toys, such as blocks, parents shared the names and descriptions of the animals, colors and shapes as their children played. There was even more information given by parents as their babies looked at the pictures in books.
Of course, there is no need for parents to throw out electronic toys, but they should look at their infants' play with such toys as entertainment, not a learning experience.
Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Adrienne Appell responded to the study. She said it is important that parents make time to play with their children. "Playing is a way that kids can learn so much, not only cognitive skills, but social and developmental skills," she said. She added that play should be balanced, including time for just "make believe" activities, as well as traditional and electronic toys. | high14099.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the teachers who have taught him"
},
"options": [
"the members of his family",
"his girlfriend",
"the teachers who have taught him",
"his schoolmates"
],
"question": "According to the 22-year-old student,he woul... | Since long ago,greeting cards have been considered a time-saver.More than 150 years ago,a busy Englishman,Sir Henry,asked a friend to design a card so that he didn't have to labour to write holiday letters to his friends at the end of the year.Those paper cards are now the tradition.
_ .That's why the Internet is ready to make a change in holiday greeting customs.Already,those,who are always busy,like sending video greetings by e-mail.So,don't be surprised to find a lively card in your electronic mail box at the end of the year or at any time you should have one.
A recent survey by the Shared Greetings Company found 50 percent of all the Internet users will send online cards especially during the holiday seasons."That is a lot easier,and it is lively,"said Carol,a New Yorker,who had stopped at the Shared Greetings Company demonstration online.With her children's help,she sent her first e-card before Thanksgiving Day."It was the first time I had done something like this;it's quite enjoyable,"she said.
"I will send online Christmas cards to my friends,"said Marcos,a 22-year-old student."It costs so little and you can even send numbers of greetings at a time."But he added "the e-card also has its limits,and I don't think it is ready to replace the paper card for the more formal or traditional occasions.For some people,I would rather buy paper cards and mail them traditionally.I believe it is more personal and respectful in that way,"he said.
Well,for those who are very busy but still prefer to do a lot of greetings to different receivers in the holiday season,the Internet may have another way."Now you can use the Net to decide and send as many as 50 beautiful cards,which allows the buyer to choose the inside saying,as well as the ink colour and typeface,only costing about 30 minutes,"said Julie,vice-president of marketing for an electronic card company-Hallmark Company."And if you are in less of a hurry,you can spend another 30 minutes sitting in your home or office to create a photo card,showing off your kids,your pets or even your new house-anything as your favorite design for your relatives and friends." | high7818.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a new way of highway speed control"
},
"options": [
"a new way of highway speed control",
"a new pattern for painting highway",
"a new way of training drivers",
"a new type of optical illusion"
],
"question": "T... | Believe it or not, optical illusion can cut highway crashes.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent strips, called chevrons , painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundations For Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan's success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.
Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fifty of all fatal traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest-curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction of highway speed and the number of traffic accidents. | high725.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they are more expensive than traditional newspapers"
},
"options": [
"they are more expensive than traditional newspapers",
"you can choose the kind of voice you like to hear",
"you can get more information from them easily",... | In the near future, daily newspapers and monthly magazines will probably disappear. Electronic media can provide the same information faster and cheaper. The Internet, together with laptops and cellphones, makes it possible that almost everyone can at any time and in almost any place get some news for free or for few fees.
You'll browse the computer newspapers or magazines just like switching on TV. An electronic voice will tell you stories about the latest events. You'll even get to choose the kind of voice you want to hear. Want more information on the brief story? A simple touch makes the entire text appear.
There are the predictions from the experts working on the newspapers of the future. Pictured as part of home-based media and entertainment systems, computer newspapers and magazines would unite printed and broadcast news, offering information and analyzing video images of news events.
The continuing loss of readers will result in a small number of advertisements in newspapers. It makes no sense to spend millions of dollars to print ads.
With the development of technology, more and more electronic medium have been created until now, but replacing the traditional newspapers and magazines has a long way to go, because the _ to computer newspapers and magazines from journalism may be much stronger. Since it is such a cultural change, it may be not until the present journalists, who aren't used to it, die off that the newspaper industry is not considered as an industry any longer. Anyway, technology is making the traditional newspapers and magazines disappear gradually. | high13090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "landing"
},
"options": [
"taking off",
"landing",
"orbiting",
"walking down"
],
"question": "The word \"descent\" in the passage means _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's _ clearly showed several white trails streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant .
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. ... America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts. | high23153.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "changing our lives is down to us"
},
"options": [
"the harder we work,the more successful we will become",
"our work and life are closely connected with others",
"changing our lives is down to us",
"we will have a bette... | One day the employees of a large company in St Louis,Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said:"Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym."
At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died,but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be.
The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered:"Who is this person that was hindering my progress? Well,at least he's no longer here."
One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they became speechless. They stood over the coffin,shocked and in silence,as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin:Everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said. "There is only one person who can set limits to your growth:it is YOU."
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness,your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your family changes,when your friends change,when your boss changes,and when your company changes.
Your life changes when YOU change,when you go beyond your limiting beliefs,when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. | high8295.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It helps doctors know whether patients are vegetative or not."
},
"options": [
"It leads to studying how to cure vegetative patients.",
"It attracts society to pay more attention to vegetative patients.",
"It helps doctors kn... | (NEW YORK)---Scientists have discovered small signs of awareness in some vegetative brain injury patients and have even communicated with one of them---findings that are beneficial to how to assess and care for such people.
The new research suggests that standard tests may ignore patients who have some consciousness, and that someday some kind of communication may be possible.
In the strongest example, a 29-year-old patient was able to answer yes-or-no questions by picturing specific scenes the doctors asked him to imagine.
"We were stunned when this happened," said one study author, Martin Monti of the Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. "I find it really amazing. This was a patient who was believed to be vegetative for five years."
Ever since a research paper four years ago described obvious signs of awareness in a vegetative patient, families of patients have been demanding brain scans, said Dr. James Bernat, a spokesman for the American Academy for Neurology.
But experts said more study is needed before the specialized brain scans could be used in medical treatment. "It's still a research tool," Bernat said.
Experts also pointed out that only a few tested patients showed evidence of awareness. And they said it is not clear what degree of consciousness and mental abilities the signs imply.
They also noted that the positive signals appeared only in people with traumatic brain injury---not in patients whose brains had been lacking in oxygen, as can happen when the heart stops.
The new study used brain scanning called functional MRI, for 23 patients in a vegetative state and 31 that are minimally conscious.
Patients are said to be in a vegetative state if they are tested and found unable to do such things as move on command or follow a moving object with their eyes. Minimally conscious patients show signs of awareness, but they are minimal and discontinuous. | high11687.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They play board games and cards with the residents."
},
"options": [
"They share everything with the residents.",
"They play board games and cards with the residents.",
"They watch the residents play games.",
"They buy ... | Every Wednesday, I go to Cantata Adult Life Services, a local retirement community in Brookfield, Illinois, US, with my classmates to do community service.
After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.
Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we're there.
You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about "life back then", but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.
Whether it was talking to 98-year-old "Hurricane Hilda" about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.
Even the residents who don't have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn't recall much about her past, but she told me she'd never forget how kind I was just to listen to her "rambling ". It made me realize that it's the little things that make life worth living. That's something I won't forget anytime soon.
If there's one thing I've realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it's that presence - just being there - means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there's always time to make someone's day.
For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.
It's easy to feel like you don't have anything in common with the elderly - especially when you're a teenager. But that's not true at all.
I hate to be overly cliched here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it's important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too. | high10599.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Confused"
},
"options": [
"Frightened",
"Enjoyable",
"Confused",
"Usual"
],
"question": "How did the Japanese feel when seeing the stuck lizard?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | This is a true story that happened in Japan.In order to _ the house, a Japanese tore open the walls. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stuck there because a nail from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, feeling pity and curious.When he checked the nail, he found ti was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.
What happened? The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! It has been in a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving! Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step......since its foot was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard: what has it been doing?what and how has it been eating? Later, he didn't know from where another lizard appeared, with food in its mouch.Ah! He was astonished and touched deeply. The free lizard had been feeding the stuck one for the past 10 years......
Such love, a beautiful love! Such love happened with this tiny creature... What can love do? It can do wonders! Just think about it: one lizard had been feeding the other one untiringly for 10 long years, without giving up hope on its partner. If a small creature like a lizard can love like this... just imagine how we can love if we try. | high21750.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "between two passengers"
},
"options": [
"on a farm",
"between two passengers",
"before a long plane journey",
"in a shop"
],
"question": "The story took place _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | Two men were sitting together on a ship. They were on a long travel. One of them was a professor. The other was a farmer. They sat without talking for a while, and then the farmer said, "Let's do something to pass the time."
"What do you want to do?" the professor asked. "We can ask each other riddles." The farmer said, "You start." "Let's make the rules first," the professor said. "That's not fair. You are a professor with much knowledge. You know more things than I do. I am just a farmer."
"That's true." The professor said. "What do you want we should do?" "If you don't know the answer to a riddle, you pay me $100. And if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $50." The farmer said. The professor thought about this, then he said, "OK. That's fair. Who will go first?"
"I will," The farmer said. "Here is my riddle. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?" The professor man repeated the riddle, "What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies? Mm, that's a good one. I'm afraid I don't know the answer." He gave the farmer $100, then said, "Tell me the answer. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?" "I don't know." The farmer said and gave him $50. | high13084.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "African countries"
},
"options": [
"The USA",
"European Union",
"African countries",
"France"
],
"question": "Which area has the most mobile users according to the text?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions... | The World Bank estimates there are about 650 million mobile phone users in African countries south of the Sahara Desert. That is greater than the number of users in the United States and European Union.
Samia Melhem worke for the World Bank to increase information technologies in Africa. She says mobile phones are the fastest growing technology on the continent.
"Faster than TV, definitely faster than electricity. More people have access to mobile phones and therefore communication. More people have internet access today in Africa than they have access to water, clean water, or even sanitation .So we can say that this has been the most significant revolution in terms of changing the African landscape and how people live their daily life."
CNN television recently named seven ways of life it says have been revolutionized because of mobile phones. They include political activism, education, entertainment, disaster management, agriculture and health.
Another area is banking. Reports say half of more of the adults in Gabon, Kenya and Sudan use mobile money. Rene Mendy sells goods in the streets of Dakar, Senegal. But he never had enough money to open a bank account.
Now he uses a mobile phone banking service called Orange Money. With his telephone, he can add or take out as little as one dollar. He can make payments and send money to family members who live far away.
Orange Money says it serves four million customers in ten countries. The World Bank's Samia Melham notes that the French company is facing competition from other mobile banking services.
"The mobile banking is a huge trend. And people in the West don't understand it, because most people have bank accounts and they have credit cards. It-mobile banking-is the instant possession fo cash at a much lower cost. The cost is the cost of sending an SMS, which is almost nothing compared to what traditional transfer agents, like Western Union, would charge-10 dollars or more for a particular money transfer." | high23147.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because people love watching magicians make the impossible happen."
},
"options": [
"Because Liu Qian is known for his interaction with his audiences.",
"Because people love watching magicians make the impossible happen.",
"B... | Here's an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. Liu's magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in prefix = st1 /China.
As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include theUnited States,Japan,South Koreaand theUK.
Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people's love for magic. Liu is known for his interaction with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship. "It is actually thinking, rather than one's manipulation skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more intriguing ," Liu said.
Liu's success dates back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he wonTaiwan's Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a decent job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career. To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for pedestrians , policemen and farmers. "Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds." Liu said. | high22259.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Something unknown."
},
"options": [
"Bats.",
"Monkeys.",
"Infected humans.",
"Something unknown."
],
"question": "Where does the Ebola virus come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"an... | The World Health Organization reports a number of people have died of the Ebola virus in central Africa during the last few months. Ebola, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever or Ebola viral disease, is a rare and deadly illness with high death rates in humans and primates. The natural source of Ebola virus remains unknown, although bats seem to be the most likely source.
The Ebola virus began spreading after victims were discovered in northeastern Gabon. So far, it is the third time Ebola has spread through Gabon since 1994. Health officials believe people moving across the border spread the disease from Gabon to Congo. Ebola is highly infectious and kills up to 80% of its victims. Researchers do not know the method with which the virus first appears in humans, but they believe it is through infected animals. The disease then spreads from person to person through blood and other body liquids.
Ebola victims treated early have the base chance of survival. Signs of Ebola include a high temperature, diarrhea, muscle pains and bleeding inside the body, in severe cases, victims experience chest pains and death. There is no known cure for the disease and no way yet to prevent it.
Scientists at the American National institutes of Health are working to develop a vaccine to prevent Ebola. Doctor Cary Nobel is leading the research effort at N-l-H testing center in the eastern state of Maryland. He says that during the past two years, the vaccine has been tested on small animals and monkeys for safety and effectiveness.
In the most recent study, four monkeys who had been given the vaccine were completely protected from a deadly injection of the Ebola virus. The study was described in November in Nature magazine. Doctor Nobel says the tests appear to have moved scientists one step closer to a vaccine for humans. | high9821.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "to keep a record of what they did unintentionally"
},
"options": [
"to keep track of people who tend to forget things",
"to report their embarrassing lapses at random",
"to analyse their awkward experiences scientifically",
... | Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyse their embarrassing lapses ( ) in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings, nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random .
One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. "the explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer," explains the professor. "People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman's custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme," About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these "programme assembly failures,"
Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doing -- an average of twelve each, There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest . These are two hours some time between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. "Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain 'programmes' occurs, for instance between going to and from work." Women on average reported slightly more lapses- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for men probably because they were more reliable reporters.
A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazar of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly lapses by concentrating more could make things a lot worse or even dangerous. | high23621.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She has had an operation."
},
"options": [
"She is ill now with a cancer.",
"She has had an operation.",
"She is curing people of cancer.",
"She is working in a hospital."
],
"question": "What can we infer about... | Name: Julia Rosetti
Email: n1950215@droid.fit.qut.edu.au
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Drugs: No
Alcohol: No
Sports/ Activities: I used to do a lot of ballet and stage work, my ambition was to be a professional dancer before I got sick. Nowadays I love to read, and other stuff like that, as well as spending a lot of time with my family and friends.
Grades: I finished high school last year, and I haven't started college because I've been sick. But I got subject prizes in three subjects and high as in the rest.
Favorite Subject: I loved Music, English, History and Biology. Hard to pick a favorite - they're all so different.
Volunteer Work: It all depends on what you call "volunteer". Nothing really official, but I spend a lot of my time working and playing with really sick kids, and they come to me for advice a lot.
What My Future Goals Are: I'd either like to go on to do stage work, or work with kids with serious illnesses. I haven't decided which, yet.
What I do in My Spare Time: Talk to my friends and my family. Hang around with my hospital friends. Watch TV. Go to the movies when I can. I love going on picnics and other outdoorsy stuff.
How I'd Change the World: No question. Cure cancer. _ it forever.
Largest Problem: Sometimes, I think it's having too many choices, and having too many expectations and others having too many expectations of _ . And all the implications of this.
Why Would I Make a Good Counselor : I really want to help other people. I've made that my life's ambition, to help as many people as I can.
Qualifications: I spend a lot of time doing this sort of stuff "unofficially" - I am the Discussion Manager on a discussion list for seriously ill young people. People also write to me because of my homepage, often wanting advice, which I try to give them. | high731.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He loves his daughters as deeply as any other ordinary father."
},
"options": [
"He loves his daughters as deeply as any other ordinary father.",
"He loves his daughters but pushes them to work hard.",
"He is patient with his... | Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail , going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that though you both are excited about that new puppy , it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't be so important unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential --schools that challenge them, inspire them, and teach them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college--even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity .
I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and gender that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
(An extract from Obama letter to his daughters) | high16842.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To express his thanks to those who have helped him with the hook."
},
"options": [
"To show that he had expert friends in various fields.",
"To express his excitement for having published his book.",
"To express his thanks to... | I must first thank the writers and editors of Scienlljic American and Scientific American Mind for the excellent articles on which so much of this book is based; they arc acknowledged in detail in the Sources.
I am most grateful to he famous netunscicutists ( ) and experts who kindly gave their time to help re c son out what might be in the quite near future, and who have contributed much toneuroscience, especially R. Douglas Fields, Joseph l.cl)oux, Richard Davidson, Philip Kennedy, and Hank Greely, an expert on the legal, ethical, and social problems surrounding this brave new world of neuroscience.
The captivating concept for this book came from the creative and hard working team at Jossey-Bass. who arc much appreciated. For the second time, I want to give heartfelt thanks to my editor Alan Rinzler and senior editorial assistant Nana Twumasi. who have contributed so much to the shaping and creation of this book; Carol Hartland, production talent; l3ev Miller, much more than a copyeditor;first-rate writer researcher l3rianna Smith; Paula Goldstein. who designed the book's inside; and all the marketing people who put my book in your hands: Jennifer Wenzel. Erin 13carn. P. J. Campbell, Karen Warner. At Scie,rifre American, Diane McGarvey and Lisa Pallatroni were responsible fur finding archived material of so many years. Thank you.
My family, good friends, and fellow writers have once again listened to me struggle endlessly and talk wildly about the difficulties of writing about brain. Many thanks to you all, in particular to first readers Kelly A. Dakin (who corrected many of my errors and added valuable content). Ann Crew, Ferris Buck Kelley, Frank Urbanowski, and Andrea llurst (for sending this book my way) and the wonderfully productive and generous writing community of Sacramento. | high17584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a famous American writer"
},
"options": [
"a famous American writer",
"name of a book",
"a great river in America",
"a large ship"
],
"question": "\"Mark Twain\" was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | "Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835~1910) when he wrote books.His father was a lawyer,but a poor one,who lived in Florida,Missouri.The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching.He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met.His father died when he was very young,and then there was even less money than before.
Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great Mississippi River,and he did this himself at one time (1857).
Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself.It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships.When a man called "By the mark twain!" he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there,that is to say,six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the word "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young,and he used them as a pen name all his life.
During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds,and this helped him a great deal when he started to write.But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861.Many of the great ships on the river stopped work.Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother,who was at that time Governor of Nevada.There,near the town of Carson,Samuel became a gold miner,but he never made much money at the time.He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him.He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada,and this seemed more hopeful.He found that he could write.
He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy.In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon,and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing.Among his books is his own story (1908).
He is now always known as Mark Twain,and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens.He traveled in America and in England,and went to Oxford in 1907.He was one of the great American writers of the time,and could make his readers laugh--a thing which few writers can do.He died in 1910. | high20328.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "More Shanghai People Rent Cars for Holidays."
},
"options": [
"How Shanghai People Spend Their Holidays?",
"More Shanghai People Rent Cars for Holidays.",
"Why So Many Shanghai People Rented Cars For Holidays?",
"Shangh... | Shanghai ---- More Shanghai people are renting cars to travel over the coming National Day holiday, Tom reported today.
Most cars in large local car-rental companies such as Yongda,Anji and Dazhong are rented so far with the Buick Sport Utility Vehicle(SUV)in great need.
Santana and Jetta were the most popular car models rented by Shanghai people for travel last year,while the high-end Buick models have attracted more people this year. However,the rent on a Buick GL or GS model is between 650 yuanand 750yuana day,nearly double that of Santana or Jetta cars.
Compared with Santana,Buick looks better,which has greater capabilities and is safer and more comfortable,said a car renter." I don't mind paying a higher cost for a Buick to enjoy the holiday,"he said.
SUV cars are very popular in the car renting market, according to some car-rental firms.
"All the 31 Buick GL&SUV cars were rented out several days ago," said a manager in the Shanghai Yongda Car Rental Co.
Local people would like to go travel with as groups of friends,so SUV cars are a better choice,said an industry analyst. Moreover, SUV cars are safer on rough roads,the analyst said.
According to the data,most people rented cars for seven days,a lesser number rented them for two or three days. | high21036.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "her classmates needed to find an outcast her"
},
"options": [
"she couldn't play sports as well as others",
"her classmates needed to find an outcast her",
"her classmates found her clothes funny",
"family belonged to a... | My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts.From second grade on, a small group started harassing two or three of the others.I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why.In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race.But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports.We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race.This is what was so strange about my situation.Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group.But in my class, large differences did not exist.It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them.
The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around.If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent.Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense.
There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I.She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes.One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss.We walked to a comer of the playground.Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary.
I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others.Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt.If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure. | high4336.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information vis the Internet."
},
"options": [
"The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information vis the Internet.",
"The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information via GPS devices.",
"Deci... | Noise pollution in cities is causing out health to suffer, according to the World Health Organization. Recently, researchers at the Free University of Brussels in Beigium have developed an applocation: NoiseTube. It allows everyone who downloads it the ability to measure the amount of noise they are exposed to by transforming their smart phone into a sound level meter.
NoiseTube works by recording sound levels and GPS locations. Once launched the app shows decibel levels of green or red depending on the level of noise. That information is then sent to the NoiseTube server via the Internet where a "noise map" is produced and then made available to the user.
Since its launch, the app has been popular with community groups who want to monitor their own noise levels. According to D'hondt of the Noise Tube project, these groups don't think that city produced noise maps give an adequate interpretation of the level of noise they're experiencing. City produced noise maps are based on statistical models involving very few actual measurements.
NoiseTube on the other hand gives a detailed account of the level of noise experienced at a specific time and location. "Ten people walking the same area from 9 to 10 am every day for one week can make a valid and detailed map for an area of a couple of blocks," D'Hondt said. "It's reasonable effort by the community groups to produce these maps, and with it they can go to the authorities and have real evidence about what they're experiencing."
So far these sorts of noise maps have been produced for a number of European cities. The app has been downloaded by 10,000 people with 2,700 people registered on the NoiseTube website. | high19542.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "An adopted girl."
},
"options": [
"Steven's elder sister.",
"An adopted girl.",
"Jason's close friend.",
"The writer's niece."
],
"question": "Who is Katerina?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | January 1: It has happened. I got a call today saying a little girl in Russia is now my little girl. There are a lot of papers to prepare, and we have to travel to Russia to bring her home, but now it is certain. I think I'll tell some close friends. Jason is so excited. I haven't told Steven yet. How can I tell a seven-year-old that he has a sister who is already five years old?
January 10: Today I received a picture of Katerina. The picture is small and not very clear, but I look at it over and over again. I don't know anything else about her. She has lived in a home for children without parents for most of her life. I wonder how I will talk to her. I don't speak Russian, and she doesn't speak English.
February 1: Today I showed Katerina's picture to Steven. He is very happy and wants to tell all his friends about his new sister. I want to buy some new clothes for Katerina, but I don't know her size. I haven't received any information from the adoption organization, and I'm feeling a little worried.
February 16: Finally! Today we received good news! All the papers are ready and tomorrow we will go to Russia to bring Katerina home with us.
February 18: Today I met my daughter for the first time. She is very small, very thin, and very shy. On the way home in the airplane, she slept most of the time. When she woke up, she cried. I am very worried and hope that I can be a good mother to Katerina.
February 19: Steven met his sister this morning. Although Katerina was quiet at first, soon she and Steven began to talk in a mix of Russian, English, and hand movements. Steven and his sister get along well together. In fact, he is able to help her talk with Jason and me. I am worried about how Katerina will be in school. Next week she will start school. How will she speak with the other children? How will she understand her teacher?www.ks5u.com
March 21: Katerina looks much better now. She is heavier, her hair looks good, and her skin is clear. She loves to watch television with her brother, and she has learned to roller-skate. She is doing well in school, and her English gets better every day. Although she sometimes looks sad, and sometimes cries, most of the time she is happy. I think she is slowly getting used to her new life with us. After only three months, I can't believe I could ever live my life without her. | high16671.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It makes fraud more difficult."
},
"options": [
"It is cheap to make and buy.",
"It can leave voice messages.",
"It makes online shopping easy.",
"It makes fraud more difficult."
],
"question": "Why is the voice... | The card using a built-in voice-recognition chip requires users to give a spoken password that it recognizes. The idea is to prevent thieves from using a stolen card to buy goods online.
A model built by engineers in California packs a microphone, a loudspeaker, a battery and a voice-recognition chip into a standard-sized credit card. The card is the length and width of an ordinary credit card but about three times as thick. The company now plans to make it thinner.
The voice card is based on an earlier Beep card technology designed to prevent fraud in online deals. The Beep card has no microphone, but has a built-in loudspeaker to utter an audible ID signal by a computer's microphone to an online server . By confirming that signal matches the information in the card, the server can make sure that the user is not simply keying in a credit card number but actually has the card in his hand. The ID code, which only the server knows, changes each time the card is used.
This prevents fraudsters recording the beeps, noting the card details and then playing back the audible ID when they key in the details later. But this earlier Beep card technology cannot prevent illegal use of stolen cards. The new voice card can. The new voice card doesn't identify itself by its ID until it has confirmed the real user's spoken password. Thieves will be unable to use the card because even if they knew the password they would have to be able to copy the owner's voice with a high degree of accuracy. The challenge for Beep card has been to develop voice-recognition and audio circuitry .
The voice-recognition credit is powered by a mini battery. To extend batter life, the electronics have only to be switched on when the card is being used. Pressing a button on the card's surface allows one to hear a female voice saying, "Say your password." If the voice-recognition software proves that the password is real, it sends its ID, which the server then identifies, allowing the deal to continue. | high18884.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "enter the attractions through Fast Track Entry"
},
"options": [
"stay in hotels free of charge",
"buy entrance ticket in advance",
"travel to each sightseeing in London",
"enter the attractions through Fast Track Entry"... | The London Pass is a sightseeing city card which gives you entry to a choice of over 60 popular tourist attractions in the city.It makes sightseeing easy and affordable by giving you access to top sights in the city with one card.
With the London Pass you don't have to queue to buy tickets,or stand in line to get into the attraction.The London Pass acts as your ticket into every one of the 60 attractions included.It saves the trouble of carrying around cash for tickets and allows you to budget your spending as you've already made the one-off payment.As well as this,you can feel like a VIP with the London Pass as you are granted Fast Track Entry into a handful of London's most popular attractions.
The London Pass is available for 1,2,3 or 6 days--so choose the duration of Pass that best matches your trip.Your London Pass is valid for use on continuous days for the duration you have selected and is activated upon entry at your first attraction,through a bar code recognition system.
London is packed with top restaurants featuring world--class chefs serving a variety of cooking delights.However, dining out can be expensive.With the London Pass you can make great savings at over 145 restaurants,with discounts of up to 50%off or special offers such as a free bottle of wine or ice cream sundae.
So if you are planning a trip to London,do yourself a favour and check out the London Pass.You may have a more enjoyable trip. | high10200.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "on their way to school"
},
"options": [
"playing near the house",
"on their way to school",
"walking their dogs nearby",
"on their way back from school"
],
"question": "The three high students were _ when a ... | Three high students become heroes after their act of saving a baby's life.
Andrew Willis, 15, his brother Chris, 13, and friend Reece Galea, 14, were walking along Swallow Drive on their way to school on May 23, when Nicholle Price ran out of her house, shouting for help. Her six-month-old son Corey had swallowed an earring and the young mother couldn't ring for help because something was wrong with her phone. The three teenagers rushed to the aid of Ms Price, called an ambulance , calmed her down and waited with her until the ambulance arrived before heading to school.
Ms Price, Corey and his grandmother Joyce Finnie visited the school last Thursday to thank the boys for their kind action. "It's good to know that there are still some good people who will stop and help," Ms Price said. "While I was shouting for help, a woman walking her dog went straight past, without stopping. I don't know what would have happened if these boys had not stopped."
The teenagers were shocked at the attention they received at school for their heroic act but admitted that the incident was nerve-racking . "We heard her shouting so we knew something wasn't right," Andrew said. "We thought someone had died. It was scary but we just did what we had to do."
Just as proud as the boys' parents is their principal, Tim McCallum.
After two days in hospital, Corey has now fully recovered. "He's got two new teeth to show," Ms Price said. "I have to keep a closer eye on him. He's into everything now and grabs whatever he finds to put it straight into his mouth." | high2747.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "she had seen a murder on television"
},
"options": [
"she had seen a murder on television",
"she was being followed",
"she had been at her friend's house",
"she was a girl of rich imagination"
],
"question": "Ja... | Many television programmes are very realistic. One who watches TV often feels that whatever happened in the film could well happen to him. With only a little imagination, every man in the street becomes a thief, a spy or a murderer. Jane had been watching a spy film at her friend's house. In it, a young girl had been followed and murdered. She felt a little frightened, walking to the station. She took a train back to the centre of the city. There were a lot of people traveling with her, so she felt much safer.
A man sitting opposite her, reading a newspaper, glanced at her. She thought nothing of it until she saw him staring at her. Remember the film and feeling very uncomfortable, she got off the train and went to the bus stop. When he got on the same bus as she did, she found that he was following her. As long as she had been with other people she wasn't frightened. But when she got off the bus, the streets were almost empty. She walked as quickly as she could. She could hear footsteps following her but she didn't dare to look around. After what seemed to have been hours, she was unable to find them, because she was so frightened. The footsteps stopped behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Instead of feeling hands round her neck, however, she heard a pleasant voice. "I apologize if I frightened you. I'm your new neighbour. I thought I recognized you in the train, but I wasn't sure." | high5028.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Vitamin D helps the body fight against cancer."
},
"options": [
"Vitamin D can decrease people's risk of heart diseases.",
"Vitamin D helps the body fight against cancer.",
"Vitamin D is mainly obtained from the sun.",
... | Health experts have long known that vitamin D is important for healthy bones and teeth. It may also help to protect the body against diseases such as diabetes and cancer. And now, researchers say vitamin D might help fight brain diseases called dementia .
Dementia is a brain disease that damages thinking and memory processes, which scientists call "cognitive abilities." Dementia is difficult to treat. Taking care of someone who has dementia is extremely _ . And the disease is very frightening to sufferers. Chris Roberts suffers from dementia. He says the worst part of living with this disease was getting lost while driving. "The worst thing that I found was getting lost in the car, not just forgetting where I was going-- I wouldn't know where I was." More than 47 million people around the world suffer from dementia. The World Health Organization reports that 60 percent of them live in low- and middle-income countries.
We get vitamin D from some foods like nuts, lentils and fatty fish. We also get vitamin D from the sun. But that is not dependable. In some parts of the world, there is not enough sunlight to provide enough vitamin D. Also, sunblock prevents the vitamin from entering the body. To add to the problem, the skin's ability to process vitamin D weakens as a person ages.
Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey are exploring the relationship between vitamin D and dementia. The team recently measured vitamin D levels and cognitive ability in older people. Nutritional sciences professor Joshua Miller led the team. He said cognitive abilities differed among the study subjects. He said tests showed that about 60 percent of the group was low in vitamin D. | high14066.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Irwin Winkler"
},
"options": [
"Luis Bunuel",
"Irwin Winkler",
"Mark Osborne",
"Roberto Benigni"
],
"question": "Who is the director of The Net?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | The Exterminating Angel
Director: Luis Bunuel
Country/Date : Mexico/1962 (black and white)
Introduction : A party is organized in a high class society house. Many people are drinking and eating. It's getting late, but nobody is leaving. Even though the door is open, people seem to be locked in the house. They can't leave either the day or on the following days. So a rescue began.
The Net
Director: Irwin Winkler
Country/Date: U.S.A./1995
Introduction: Angela Bennettt is a computer programmer who has devoted her life to computers and the Internet. She spends hours and hours in front of the screen. She does everything over the Internet, and she has some close friends in a chat room, though she has never talked to her neighbors.
Kung Fu Panda
Director : Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Country/Date : U.S.A./2008
Introduction: The leading character is a panda whose name is Po. He is lazy first but he has a great dream----to be a kung fu master. To make his dream come true, he goes to a faraway temple to learn kung fu from a master. However, one of his brothers, Tai Long wants to become the kung fu master, killing many of his brothers even the master. So Po fights against Tai Long and defeats him, The film is good especially for kids.
Life is Beautiful
Director: Roberto Benigni
Country/Date : Italy/1998
Introduction: In 1939, during World WarII in Italy, Guido, a hopeful man, the main character fell in love with Dora, and they got married. Five years later, their lives changed. Guido and Joshua were taken by the Nazis to a concentration camp and Dora also went there with her husband and son. At that place, Guido tried his best to save his son's life in a special way. | high9612.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "March"
},
"options": [
"March",
"May",
"June",
"September"
],
"question": "When is the best time to visit Joshua Tree National Park?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | Visiting Joshua Tree National Park, California
Joshua Tree National Park is nearly 800,000 acres large and surrounds parts of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in South-central California. Although _ at first glance, the park is full of wildlife and provides a variety of entertainment activities from hiking to climbing. Within a 3-hour drive, Joshua Tree National Park takes at least a full day to visit.
Things to do Hiking opportunities within the park include several choices, from 12 self-guided nature trails to all-day back-country hikes.
Joshua Tree National Park has nine camping grounds, and back-country camping is also allowed.
Rock-climbing is a popular activity in the park, which has 10 mountains greater than 5,000 feet in height.
When to visit
Joshua Tree National Park is open 365 days a year, although the best time to visit is October through April, when temperature is milder. The peak season is when the wild flowers bloom, and summer months are the least crowded.
What to bring
In addition to your camera and telescope, be sure to carry lots of water. Park and trail maps can be picked up at any of the three visitor centres.
Fees
Parking fees: You can buy a 7-day vehicle permit for $15, a single entry permit for $5, or Joshua Tree National Park annual pass for $60.
Camping fees: They vary by camping ground. | high13709.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To make people recognize the contributions African-Americans made."
},
"options": [
"To provide an instructive literary book for parents.",
"To make people recognize the contributions African-Americans made.",
"To show he als... | Jabbar was one of the best basketball players in history. He was the NBA's most valuable player six times and a 19-time All-Star. When he retired in 1989 he was the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. That record has still to be broken.
After retirement, Jabbar began scoring in the literary world. He has written seven bestselling books. In his new children's book What Color is My World?, he shines the spotlight on African-Americans inventors whose achievements often went unnoticed. A reporter recently interviewed him in New York City.
R: The title of your new book is What Color is My World, but the subtitle is The Lost History of African American Inventors. Why do you say it's a lost history?
K: African-American inventors made some very significant contributions to American life and world culture, but they're not acknowledged. So I think I should put something in the spotlight.
R: Why did you choose to present this information in the form of a children's book?
K: I thought kids, especially African-American kids, needed to know this information. They should get this information at an early age so that they can have an idea of what's possible. So many kids are told that sports and entertainment are the fields that they should go into, and everything else is ignored. I wanted to put something out there that gave them a broader picture of what is possible.
R: How did you combine facts with a good story? How did you decide on which inventors to include?
K: The inventors I chose all made significant contributions to American life. So, everybody likes ice cream, but nobody knows about the guy who invented the ice-cream scoop . Everybody likes potato chips, but nobody really knows that a black cook invented potato chips. Things like that get through to people because these are things that are a part of their everyday life. Once they see black people were involved in inventing it, it changes things. | high23812.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "growing demand for pork"
},
"options": [
"growing demand for pork",
"increasing feed prices",
"competition from cheaper imports",
"outbreak of foot and mouth disease"
],
"question": "Which is not the contributio... | Today's Britain is full of TV shows like Fame Academy, which claim to offer young hopefuls an instant passport to fame and riches. But a very different kind of academy may provide a new generation of Brits with a slower, steadier path to wealth.
A 'pig academy' in the east of England is aiming to train up new pig farmers to help promote local agriculture and meet the UK's growing demand for pork. Last year consumption of pork products increased by 6,000 tonnes. But British farmers have not benefited from this rise in demand. A combination of increasing feed prices, competition from cheaper imports and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease have all eaten into their profits. Pig numbers in the UK have actually almost halved in the last decade.
Now, Fresh Start Pig Academy in Lincolnshire is launching a course which intends to redress the balance. They say pig husbandry is a growth industry and newcomers are welcome. For those of you who fancy _ , the course will teach you everything you need to know, from keeping pigs healthy to raising the capital needed to start up.
Pig farmer Anne Longthorp followed her father into the industry and believes that farming pigs is very rewarding work: "They're great, curious animals to work with. Just watching their behaviour - it's really interesting work. There is a lot more to pig farming than people give us credit for. It's very scientific."
So, while most of Britain's young people may continue to dream of overnight stardom, others will hope a more traditional career will help them bring home the bacon. | high12417.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he experienced the rescue of the whales"
},
"options": [
"he witnessed the whole process of fishing",
"he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea",
"he experienced the rescue of the whales",
"he spent the weekend with his fa... | It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. _
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn't believe it ----there aren't any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale----actually as big as our boat----was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools and waves. "She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side, "my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe----and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day, Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea. | high902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is an old science textbook"
},
"options": [
"is in its third edition",
"is an old science textbook",
"has notes on some pages",
"is in paperback"
],
"question": "We can know that Introduction to Genetic Analysis... | Science Textbooks for Sale!
Used, but in like-new condition with absolutely no writing.
+ (2-Volume Set)
Third Edition (ISBN 978-1-55581-479-3 & 978-1-55581-480-9),
Paperback--$ 110
Introduction to Genetic Analysis
Ninth Edition (ISBN 978-0-7167-6887-6), Hard Cover--$ 110
Please call 646-470-1770 or email for details. No text messages, please. Thank you!
Help an Elder
Having a fruitful life depends upon oneself. Join our Elder Helpers Program and start becoming productive now!
We will connect you with elders who are in need of care in your community. If you have a kind heart and some extra time, feel free to join our program. Register here: http://www. elderhelpers. org.)
Citizens of all states and countries are encouraged to join!
Profiles with a picture always get more attention!
(Wonderful angel who helped me greatly by Kim)
I was so lucky to find Elder Helpers on the web and even luckier that Laura decided to help me get organized. I was hit by a car in January and couldn't do much in my house for several months so things really got _ here. But this Angel of a person came and rescued me. I am so lucky and grateful to have met her and to have received her generous help.
Learn To Play Chess or Improve Your Game
Chess lessons are offered by a skilled, experienced, patient chess teacher who is also a very strong practical player.
Whether you are a complete beginner or want to improve your game, it may be a good idea for you to call me.
I work with adults and with children as young as 4.
If interested please call me directly at 1-(347)-694-0072. | high7159.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Grant found a box of old letters."
},
"options": [
"Grant found a box of old letters.",
"Grant didn't like old things very much.",
"Grant didn't burn the old letter.",
"The letter was written by a famous writer."
],... | Once a man named Grand found a box of old papers in a room at the top of his house. He burned most of them, because he didn't like old things very much, But one of these papers was an old letter. At the bottom of the letter was the name of a well-known writer. "When this letter was written," said Grant, "no one knew about the writer. But now everyone knows him. Some people like to buy letters like this. I may be able to get much money for the letter if I sell it to the right man."
But there were a lot of dirty marks all over the letter.
"It doesn't look nice," he thought. "No one wants to buy a letter if it's dirty. I'll have to clean it."
So he took a piece of cloth and some water and cleaned the letter. He worked hard and gave a lot of care. At last the letter looked better. And he was very pleased with his work.
"Now it looks nice," he said to himself. "I'll be able to sell it for a lot of money."
He took the letter to a shop in London where old papers of this kind were bought and sold.
"I want to sell this letter," Grant said to the man in the shop. "It was written by a well-known writer. You know about these things. How much will you give me for it?"
The man looked at him for a long time.
"I will give you two pounds for it," he said at last.
"Only two pounds!" said Grant. "But people pay ten pounds for a letter like this. And just look! I've even cleaned it to make it look nice."
"I can see that," said the man. "That's the trouble. People who buy old papers like them to be dirty." | high12371.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "may bring us illness"
},
"options": [
"makes our life harder",
"may bring us illness",
"keep us busy",
"gives us a break from work"
],
"question": "According to the text, technology _ .",
"question_type": ... | It's true to say that technology makes our lives easier. However, increasingly scientists are saying that we need to give ourselves a break-----otherwise we put ourselves at risk of developing hundreds of health problems. Over the summer the days are longer and sunnier. Why not put this free time to good use and do something away from technology?
You could learn a new skill. There are hundreds of possibilities: cooking, a musical instrument or a new sport. Haven't you always wanted to learn how to knit ? You could use your free time to practice these new things, which might lead to an exciting opportunity in the future.
If you just want to relax, why not head to a beach? Take along your favorite book and relax on the sand, or go for a walk along the coastline. If you don't live near a beach, you could go to your local park. Why not have a picnic, or try to explore some of the local wildlife? You could even get involved in the latest craze : adult coloring books! Coloring is a surprising thing to help you relax, and it can be a nice way to escape from the stress of modern life!
Whatever you choose to do, try something new! You might surprise yourself and find a hidden gift within you; you might make new friends along the way. Next time you find yourself changing TV channels from one to another without a clear purpose, think about what else you could spend your time doing. | high14700.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Making evidence-based arguments."
},
"options": [
"Enlarging one's knowledge.",
"Learning from respected adults.",
"Attending instructional programs.",
"Making evidence-based arguments."
],
"question": "Accordin... | As a public school superintendent , I believe the best way to prepare students for colleges and careers is to focus on providing instructional programs and opportunities that help them become good thinkers. To do this, teachers and actually everyone else in a community, should play a role as a "cognitive coach" to students, helping develop good thinkers among our youth.
The best way for you to become a cognitive coach is to seek out and engage school children and adolescents in meaningful conversations. The objective here is to get kids talking about what they think, how they feel, and what they believe whenever and wherever you may find them. It may be in a classroom. It may be at the grocery store. It may be at a basketball game. It doesn't matter where as long as you engage students in a topical conversation and, hopefully, even a debate. Mainly, you want to encourage students to voice their opinion about things. Get them to take a position on "this thing, or that thing," and ask them to support their position with evidence. Curiously enough, the simple process of engaging students in real life conversations and debates will serve to strengthen what they have learned in the classroom, and help them create their own knowledge about a subject or a topic.
Learning indicates that a student has been exposed to material, understands the material, and can recall the information. Knowledge, on the other hand, goes beyond recall and includes information processing, application to other situations, consideration of meaning, and contrasting with other concepts. Naturally, the topic of conversation you engage in with one of your learners will differ from student to student, and in the level of complexity based on child's age and developmental level. Even a kindergartener has an opinion about things that are going on in his or her life. Engaging in conversation with any members of your learning community in ways that get at what they have learned and what they know will help them develop higher order reasoning skills.
A student's synthetic thinking process occurs when a respected adult asks a question, particularly a question that requires reflection. I think all adults in a community have a responsibility to help children with this process, with the goal of producing independent thinkers. | high9174.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "became the first person to receive the Millennium Technology Prize"
},
"options": [
"became the first person to receive the Millennium Technology Prize",
"became the first person to be knighted by the Queen of England",
"bega... | The inventor of the world wide web,Tim BernersLee,has won an important award which comes with a prize bag of one million euros (PS671,000).The "Father of the Web" was named as the first winner of the Millennium Technology Prize by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation.He said he had just been "in the right place at the right time" and did not want his photo taken.
In 1991,he came up with a system to organize,link and browse Net pages which revolutionized the Internet.The British scientist was knighted for his pioneering work in 2003.
Sir Tim created his program while he was at the particle physics institute,Cern,in Geneva.The computer code he came up with let scientists easily share research findings across a computer network.In the early 1990s,it was called the "world wide web," and is still the basis of the web as we know it.
The famous man never went on to commercialize his work.Instead he worked on expanding the use of the Net as a channel for free expression and cooperation.
"The web is encouraging new types of social networks and opening up new ways for information management and business development.The web has significantly improved many people's ability to obtain information central to their lives,"said Pekka Tarjanne,chairman of the Millennium Technology Prize award committee.
Just under 80 people from 22 countries were nominated for the prize for their work in the areas of health,communication,new materials and the environment.
The Millennium Technology Prize was set up by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation,an independent body backed by the public and private money which aims to recognize outstanding creations.
Sir Tim currently heads up the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston,where he is now based as an academic. | high6247.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "all the time he is awake"
},
"options": [
"the time when he is waking up",
"all the time he is awake",
"all the time he is alive",
"all the time he is breathing"
],
"question": "In the first sentence of this pas... | Every reader of this passage must spend the whole of his waking life looking at things. Looking, like breathing, is natural; we do it without noticing it. Looking is passive--but seeing is active. Once you start seeing things you really begin to wake up. People who see things which others have only looked at, and draw conclusions from what they see, can add to man's knowledge and help progress.
Someone recently discovered a place where metal had been worked continuously longer than any where else in prefix = st1 /England. He "saw" a wall in theForestofDean. Thousands of people must have looked at it without really seeing it, but this man noticed that among the usual stones of that place were bits and pieces of a different color1; they also felt different to the hand. A closer sight showed that these pieces had been left behind in the fires of ancient people who had melted rocks to get metals. Looking around, he found more and more information, until the history of what men had done at that place over tens of centuries was known. | high17209.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Dealing with relationship is important."
},
"options": [
"Obeying is the best quality.",
"Giving is always a pleasure.",
"Appreciating others will benefit a lot.",
"Dealing with relationship is important."
],
"q... | While working in Southeast Asia in the mid 1990's, I became a branch manager in a factory. At the beginning, I used human relations principles, such as putting myself into the others place to help gain trust. After a few months, I was told that the factory team members liked and trusted me.
Then the owner, seeing how everyone thought well of me, believed that I could become an instrument of change to carry out his several unpopular programs. The factory members resisted and eventually saw me as a _ controlled by the owner. The more I insisted that they 'follow orders' the more they found ways to weaken the new changes.
Finally, I was replaced by a manager who knew enough to please both masters. Even though the owner did not like the fact that his new changes were not immediately applied, the new manager gained his power by the support received from his team together with an intention to find a way. What I learned was that your team must always see you as supportive of their needs, even to the extent that the owner may not be pleased that you are unable to follow their wishes. At the end of the day, if your people do not follow you then you are no longer in charge and will be replaced.
At first I blamed my boss for putting me in such a position. Then in honest reflection, I began to realize that he had probably hoped that I would have found some middle ground. What I could have done was to first obtain their advice about why they did not wish to follow the new policy changes, and then I should have used my influence with both the owner and team members to find a better way.
Though, in fact it is a painful lesson for me, it has served me well along my career path! | high10566.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In San Francisco"
},
"options": [
"In Italy",
"In San Francisco",
"In New York",
"The story doesn't mention"
],
"question": "Where did Jack live?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | In 1977, Jack, an Italian-American who lived in San Francisco, flew from America to Italy to visit his s. On the way, the plane made a one-hour stop to refuel at the New York Airport.
Thinking that he had arrived, Jack got out and spent three days in New York, believing he was in Rome.
When his s were not there to meet him, Jack thought they had been caught in the heavy Roman traffic mentioned in their letters. While looking for their address, Jack could not help noticing that modernization had changed most, if not all, of the ancient city's landmarks. He also noticed that many people spoke English with strong American accent. However, he just thought that Americans got everywhere. He also believed that so many street signs were written in English especially for the Americans. Jack spoke very little English himself so he asked a policeman in Italian the way to the bus station. As chance would have it, the policeman came from Italy and replied in the same language. After twelve hours traveling round on a bus, the driver handed him over to a second policeman. After brief argument with the policeman, Jack was very surprised to find that the Rome police had employed someone who did not speak his mother tongue.
Jack did not believe he was told that he was in New York. In order to get on a plane to San Francisco, the policeman raced him to the airport in a police car with sirens screaming. "See," he said to his interpreter. "I know I'm in Italy. That's how they drive." | high21963.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "she was not able to live on her own due to her weakness"
},
"options": [
"she wanted to live with a large family",
"she was not able to live on her own due to her weakness",
"her husband passed away",
"she thought it wa... | When my grandfather died, my 83-year-old grandmother, once so full of life, slowly began to fade. No longer able to manage a home of her own, she moved in with my mother, where she was visited often by other members of her large, loving family. Although she still had her good days, it was often hard to arouse her interest.
But one chilly December afternoon three years ago, my daughter Meagan, then eight, and I were visiting her, when she noticed that Meagan was carrying her favorite doll."I, too, had a special doll when I was a little girl," she told a wide-eyed Meagan. "I got it one Christmas when I was about your age. I lived in an old farmhouse in Maine, with Mom, Dad and my four sisters, and the very first gift I opened that Christmas was the most beautiful doll you'd ever want to see."
"She had an exquisite(,), hand-painted face, and her long brown hair was pulled back with a big pink bow. Her eyes were blue, and they opened and closed. I remember she had a body of kidskin, and her arms and legs bent at the joints."
GG's voice dropped low, taking on an almost respectful tone. "My doll was dressed in a pretty pink gown, decorated with fine lace. ... _ -- my parents must have had to sacrifice so much to afford it But how happy I was that morning!"
GG's eyes filled and her voice shook with emotion as she recalled that Christmas of long ago. "I played with my doll all morning long. And then it happened. My mother called us to the dining room for Christmas dinner and I laid my new doll down gently on the hall table. But as I went to join the family at the table, I heard a loud crash."
"I hardly had to turn around -- I knew it was my precious doll. And it was. Her lace skirt had hung down from the table just enough for my baby sister to reach up and pull on it. When I ran in, there lay my beautiful doll on the floor, her face smashed into a dozen pieces. She was gone forever."
A few years later, GG's baby sister was also gone, she told Meagan, a victim of pneumonia . Now the tears in her eyes spilled over -- tears, I knew, not only for a lost doll and a lost sister, but for a lost time.
Subdued for the rest of the visit, Meagan was no sooner in the car going home than she exclaimed, "Mom, I have a great idea! Let's get GG a new doll for Christmas. Then she won't cry when she thinks about it."
My heart filled with pride as I listened to my sympathetic little daughter. But where would we find a doll to match GG's fond memories?
Where there's a will, as they say, there's a way. When I told my best friends, Liz and Chris, about my problem, Liz put me in touch with a local doll-make. From a doll supply house I ordered a long brown hair and a kidskin body to copy the outfit GG had so lovingly described. Liz volunteered to put the doll together, and Chris helped me make the doll's outfit. Meagan wrote the story of the lost doll by giving examples.
Finally our creation was finished. To our eyes it was perfect. But there was no way it could be exactly like the doll GG had loved so much and lost. Would she think it looked anything like it?
On Christmas Eve, Meagan and I carried our happily packed gift to GG, where she sat surrounded by children, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. "It's for you," Meagan said, "but first you have to read the story that goes with it."
GG no sooner got through the first page than her voice cracked and she was unable to go on, but Meagan took over where she left off. Then it was time to open her present.
I'll never forget the look on GG's face as she lifted the doll and held it to her chest. Once again her tears fell, but this time they were tears of joy. Holding the doll in her frail arms, she repeated over and over again, "She's exactly like my old doll, exactly like her."
And perhaps she wasn't saying that just to be kind. Perhaps however impossible it seemed, we had managed to produce a close copy of the doll she remembered. But as I watched my eight-year-old daughter and her great-grandmother examining the doll together, I thought of a likelier explanation. What GG really recognized, perhaps, was the love that inspired the gift. And love, wherever it comes from, always looks the same. | high2021.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "quite large"
},
"options": [
"quite small",
"medium sized",
"quite large",
"small"
],
"question": "In the past, American families tended to be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer... | In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children's emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent's own personal interests. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining. The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are. | high11678.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was afraid of being turned down."
},
"options": [
"He was afraid of being turned down.",
"He didn't think he ought to get a raise.",
"He wife didn't support him in this.",
"His superior had refused him once."
],
... | One Friday morning, Andrew announced to his wife that he finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt worried --- what if Mr. Larchmont refuses to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard and of course, he deserves a wage increase.
The thought of walking into Larchmont's office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he finally _ up the courage to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever-frugal Harvey Larchmont agreed to give him a raise!
Andrew arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina had prepared a fine meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office might have broken the good news to her!
Next to his plate Andrew found a lettered note, reading: "Congratulations, my love! I knew you'd get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!" He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.
After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen when he observed a second card had slipped out of Tina's pocket onto the floor. He picked it up. He read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase."
Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew's eyes. Total acceptance! Tina's support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.
The fear of rejection is often softened when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure. | high5996.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She wanted to correct the mistakes Jim made while talking."
},
"options": [
"She wanted to tell her sons her will.",
"She wanted to have something to eat before she died.",
"She wanted to correct the mistakes Jim made while t... | Mom was a teacher most of her life. When she wasn't in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren: correcting our grammar; starting us on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks; or inspiring a discussion on her most recent "Book of the Month Club" topic. Mom made learning fun.
It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her ailing in her later years. At eighty-five, she suffered a stroke and she went steadily downhill after that.
Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair. While we waited for the staff to lift her limp body back into bed, Mom fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly.
After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound coming from across the room. We stopped talking and looked at Mom. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us. We went to her side.
"Whirr," she said weakly.
"Where?" I asked. "Mom, is there something you want?" "Whirr," she repeated a bit stronger. My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly.
Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could muster said, "Not was, say were!"
It suddenly occurred to us that Mom was correcting brother Jim's last sentence. "If it was up to me..."
Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered. We smiled at each other and once again shook our heads...this time in awe of a remarkable teacher. | high4450.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She experienced a hard time."
},
"options": [
"She experienced a hard time.",
"She got wide attention as an actress.",
"She tried hard to prove herself a good actress.",
"She enjoyed the life as a university student."
... | US actress Natalie Portman,33, has always been praised for her smarts. At 18, she went to Harvard University following the release of her film Star Wars: Episode I in 1999. Four years later, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Then she took graduate courses at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She speaks six languages and has twice been published in scientific journals.
You may think she has achieved all of these things easily thanks to her fame as actress, but only Portman herself knows what she has been through.
In late May, the Oscar winner revealed that her time at Harvard had some "dark moments" when she gave a speech to graduating Harvard students.
"I felt like ... that I wasn't smart enough to be in this company, and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove that I wasn't just a dumb actress," she said.
It was that fear that helped her carve out her own path, Portman admitted
"My belief that I could handle these things (her own limitations) ... was half the battle. The other half was very hard work," she said.
"Sometimes, your insecurities and your inexperience may lead you to take on other people's expectations, standards, or values," she added. | high19224.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To promote the country's satellite communication network for space docking."
},
"options": [
"To test the function of a Long-March-SC carrier rocket.",
"To carry some astronauts into space to do some research.",
"To send more... | Beijing--(13, July) China sent up a new data relay satellite , Tianlian I-02, on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in South-western Sichuan province.The new satellite will promote the country's satellite communication network for space docking .
The satellite was launched on a Long-March-3C carrier rocket at 11:41 p.m., sources at the centre told Xinhua News Agency.The satellite separated from the rocket 26 minutes after its launch and was then successfully delivered into a geostationary transfer orbit .
Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite is the country's second data relay satellite.The first, Tianlian I-01, was launched on April 25.2008.
The two satellites will form a network to improve communications between China's spacecraft and bases on Earth, according to the centre.They will also be used to help the nation's first space docking, scheduled for the second half of this year.
As planned, China will launch space module Tiangong-I, which was designed as a platform that will dock with an unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou, for the county's first space-docking mission this year.
Two more Shenzhou spaceships will dock with Tiangong-I next year, and one will be manned by two or three astronauts, according to China Manned Space Engineering Office, which was the main user of the Tianlian I series data relay satellites.
"The new satellite can cover a greater area to track and command the country's space vehicles in low-Earth orbits, such as manned spacecraft and remote sensing satellites, from a higher position in outer space.Only three satellites of this kind are needed to form a global communication network, and China has two now." Pang Zhihao, a researcher and deputy editor-in-chief of Space International, said.
The satellite could also equip astronauts with real-time communications, which will benefit the country's future manned space flights, he said. | high5982.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "prose"
},
"options": [
"prose",
"poetry",
"discussion papers",
"essay"
],
"question": "The genre of this article is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}
] | Some years ago I had a nephew starting college. I decided to write him an email with some study advice. I just wrote about all of my study habits in college that got me earning A's in almost every class that I took. Since then I have forwarded that email to countless friends and s with kids heading off to school.
I decided to stop cutting and pasting emails and put this advice up on a website to make it easier to send on.
Inside this site are some very specific things that you can do to get an A in every college class. No magic. Just a set of college study methods and some common sense behaviors that when consistently followed will increase the likelihood of any student getting an A in any class in college.
The beauty is that this is simple, common sense stuff, but it works. For example, one plus one equals two.
I believe that most anxiety issues are the result of poor performance, not the cause of it. When kids are successful in college, their stress and anxiety go down and they're happy, well-adjusted and enjoying the challenges that go along with it. They aren't looking for excuses for their failure and a reason to come home.
The practices you'll find in here include concrete, practical tips that anyone can apply. They will create successful, happy students who get good grades.
This isn't a site that you scan through. If you want to learn how to study in college properly, you need to put down the beer and dedicate the time to read it all from start to finish. Developing good study habits takes some time, but only a fraction of the time you'll waste struggling in a just a single class.
My intent is to help you make the transition to a successful, and less stressful, college experience. I include some specific, tangible study techniques and time management practices to get you doing things the right way fast. When you follow these methods, you'll have more time for the sports and parties, and you'll still get A's - I promise you that. | high19230.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Our body clock"
},
"options": [
"Morning people",
"A warm shower",
"Our body temperature.",
"Our body clock"
],
"question": "_ can tell us what time of day we can perform best at.",
"question_type": "cloze... | What time of day can you think most quickly? Are you a morning person? Or does it take you a few hours to get your brain going? A lot of recent research suggests that we should pay attention to our body clock. It can tell us what time of day we can perform best at.
Many people work best later in the morning. This is because the body's temperature takes time to rise through the day. Taking a warm shower when you wake up can help your body's temperature rise quickly.
But everyone's body clock is different and some are special. Morning people will get up early and
work better early in the day. Evening people will work later but work better towards the end of the day. Research shows that we're better at some activities at certain times of the day. Physical performance is at its best between 3 pm and 6 pm, so it's better to exercise later in the day.
Between noon and 4 pm, people begin to pay less attention. This is because we think less quickly
after a big meal. Research also shows we become sleepy around 2 pm. This is why people in Spain take a short sleep in early afternoon. Finally, it is best to eat when we're active. This allows our body
to burn calories better and stops our blood sugar levels from getting too high. | high4444.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "newspaper"
},
"options": [
"newspaper",
"travel guide",
"reference book",
"textbook"
],
"question": "You can most probably read the passage in a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | Name: Off the Beaten Path
Cover price: $30.00
Our price: $l9.80
The best-selling Reader's Digest travel book has 40% new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to-date maps. It spotlights over l, 000 of the United States' most overlooked must-see destinations.
Name: Container Gardens by Number
Cover price: $l5.95
Our price: $9.49
A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs. Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display, with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information. The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden.
Name: Best Weekend Projects
Cover price: $l7.95
Our price: $l3.96
Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space. The projects are practical, as well as attractive, and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend. These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow style that addresses readers in an accessible, user-friendly tone.
Name: l80l Home Remedies
Cover price: $40.00
Our price: $29.96
Plenty of health complaints can be handled at home. Each and every remedy will be tested by a doctor to make sure it is safe and sound.
Dozens of conditions are covered, from headaches, sunburn, bad breath, and blisters to allergies , and hiccups . | high16103.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "great"
},
"options": [
"important",
"great",
"serious",
"strong"
],
"question": "To children their fathers are usually very _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_... | Children, especially boys, tend to idealise their fathers when they are young.Every little boy wants to grow up to be just like his father, and every little girl thinks her father is the smartest man on the earth. It's not very easy to be a good father, but it's not that difficult either. Children will truly enjoy spending time with their fathers, not just when they are kids, but even when they are adults.
Not all children communicate well with their fathers. Communication is often left to mothers, while fathers dispense advice as and when necessary. Don't expect all conversations to centre around the dinner table. Go to your children's bedrooms and talk to them about school, their teachers or their friends. Remember that the conversation cannot be one-sided. When your children open up to you, you also need to open up to them.
If your children come home from school feeling upset, go up to them and ask them what is the matter. And if it is something which seems to you to be a silly reason to be upset, don't voice your opinion. It may be silly to you, but to your children it is important enough. So don't wave the topic away by telling them not to bother about such stupid things. Simply discussing their problems with them will help them feel better.
Don't shy away from having discussions about your teenage children's love lives. Generally speaking, your children are definitely not going to discuss _ details with you. Try to let them know that you are relaxed about topics on love. Tell your children how you met your wife. It is perfectly normal for children to go through feelings for the opposite sex as they grow up, and by keeping the topic closed for discussion, you are only shutting them off from discussing their feelings with you. All they will do is turn to their friends. | high12365.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Germany and the UK."
},
"options": [
"The US and Japan.",
"The US and the UK.",
"The UK and Japan.",
"Germany and the UK."
],
"question": "In which countries people can get the SmartEyeglass first?",
"questi... | A developer edition of Sony's augmented reality smart glasses will go on sale in ten countries next month, the tech giant has announced.
Pre-orders for the SmartEyeglass, costing $840 (PS620), are now being taken in the UK and Germany, with Japan and the US to follow shortly. The black-framed glasses are compatible with recent Android operating systems. Last month Google announced that it was withdrawing its smart glasses for redevelopment. Sony's initial model will come with a software development kit to encourage people to design apps for it, the company said.
The glasses, which weigh 77g, contain an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, image and brightness sensors, 3-megapixel camera and a microphone. They also come with a controller, designed to be attached to clothing, which contains a speaker, touch sensor and the device's battery. Text is displayed in front of the wearer in monochrome green.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has been open about his dislike of glasses as a wearable device. "We always thought that glasses were not a smart move, from a point of view that people would not really want to wear them," he told the New Yorker. "They were intrusive , instead of pushing technology to the background, as we've always believed."
Stuart Miles, founder of tech site Pocket-lint, said: "I think [Sony is] wasting their time, energy and effort."
"Google Glass obviously needed a complete rethink... I can't see how something thick-rimmed and more invasive-looking than Google Glass is going to catch on.
"People are keen on wearables like fitness bands and watches, but they care about their faces. Wearing something on your head is a lot stronger than wearing something on your arm," he added. "The industry keeps pushing it but consumers just don't want it." | high9160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To be a comedy actor."
},
"options": [
"To be a comedy actor.",
"To go to a famous university.",
"To take part in a talent show.",
"To make more new friends."
],
"question": "What was Brian's wish as a student?"... | As a funny student, Brian loved watching comedies best and hoped to become a comedy actor one day. When he heard about the talent show to be held at this school, Brian decided to take part in it.
He had never acted in public before, and he was very excited. But some students laughed at him. "You are not funny but silly," Ken, one of his classmates, said to his face. "No one will like what you do," another boy also said to him, loudly.
Brian couldn't understand why they were so unkind to him. For a moment, he thought about giving up the show. But he remembered how much his friends liked his jokes, and also his teachers said he was very funny. So he decided to prepare for the show.
Brian did a great job at the talent show. Everyone loved his performance , and he won the first prize! His teachers and friends were proud of him. Even so, Ken told Brian that he was not funny, and that he would never be successful. Brian didn't understand why Ken said so, but he realized that it had nothing to do with him. He confidently continued to work towards his dream.
As the years went on, Brian met more people like Ken. "You'll do a terrible job," they said to him. Luckily, most people encouraged him and some helped him to become even funnier. He got a lot of chances to perform in movies. He was even invited to appear on television. His fans thanked him because his comedies made them feel good when they were unhappy.
Now Brian is a big comedy star! He is doing what he loves best. He never feels worried like those unkind people, and he laughs all day long! | high14714.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "\"At least I won't slip,\" he thought, \"the studs are like sharks' teeth!\""
},
"options": [
"..., the boy felt as if someone had poured ice into his brain.",
"\" ...,\" he finally gasped, \"should be exactly my size.\"",
"H... | For the rest of the week, Joe practiced kicking football hard, concentrating on his each kicking. Sometimes Joe hit the ball straight. Sometimes it went wide again. But it seemed that the more he believed he could do it, the easier it was.
"I'm not a joke now," thought Joe. "Not a joke at all!" But a practice wasn't like a real match and his boots were still not giving him enough power.
He should have told his mum and dad about it straight away but, of course, he didn't. He was always shy to ask for things.
Finally, late on the night before the match, he could hold himself back no longer.
"Dad, I haven't got any proper football boots ..." he said.
"Ah," said Dad, "I might be able to help you there."
At the words, Joe was excited. New boots! He thought. "He's got me some new boots! He must have got me them for Christmas," thought Joe, "But now that I'm in an important match, he's giving them to me early. Wonderful!"
Dad went upstairs. Joe excitedly tried to watch the football preview on TV. He wasn't playing for Manchester United or Liverpool, of course, but he was part of it all now; part of the thrill. His legs twitched with every kick on the screen. His head shook with every centre. And all the time, his mind was racing ahead to his own great game the next morning, in his super new boots.
It was ages before his dad came downstairs again. He put a large pair of shiny black boots in front of Joe.
As he stared at them, the boy felt as if someone had poured ice into his brain. The boots were awful!
"Good, eh?" said his dad.
Joe found it hard to speak. He had never seen anything like them before.
They weren't low-cut, soft or.... They had big, hard square toes, great big long studs and they were high at the ankle. They were his dad's old rugby boots, polished up.
Joe was filled with disappointment. They had been good boots, quality boots. And they were his size. Joe's feet were enormous for his age. But he could imagine what everyone at school would say.
" ...," he finally gasped, " should be exactly my size."
"At least I won't slip," he thought, "the studs are like sharks' teeth!" Then he couldn't help thinking about those in Ashton's windows, which he had been longing to get.
That night, he went to bed early but he didn't sleep much because he was so terrified of being late. He woke at 1.17, 2.49, 3.37, 3.43, 4.55. The numbers jumped off the big face of his digital clock. Then 10.40!
Ahhh!!!
He jumped out of bed. He seized the clock. 6.03! 10.40 had been only a dream. At eight, breakfast time, it was raining like mad.
"Might get called off, Joe," suggested his mum.
"Never, Mother. ...will not be like cricket," said his dad. "Will take a lot to stop football."
Joe checked everything for the tenth time. He put his boots at the very bottom of his large bag, well out of sight. He had decided to put them on when nearly everyone had left the changing room. Then his classmates wouldn't make fun of him. Soon, it was time to set out.
"Good luck!" said his mum, giving him a kiss.
His dad had his coat on, ready for his morning deliveries. "Want a lift to school?" he said. "I hope to get down to watch you when I've done the trip to Eccles."
"Okay," said Joe.
As Dad's van carried him down the hill to school, Joe was thinking about the boots. If only ... but no, he had to stop that kind of thinking. It doesn't matter about the boots, he told himself. | high9606.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "after 18, you still have the possibility to become smarter"
},
"options": [
"as the age grows, you will become smarter",
"a 35-year-old man is surely smarter than himself at the age of 18",
"you will be smarter if you have a ... | Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.
New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching careers.
The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is static by the age of about 18. Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilize .
But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can "upgrade" their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation from others is crucial as the "brain seems to be rather like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets". However, the opposite is also true - so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels fall as a result.
He found the "understanding quality" of a family changes the IQs of all members, especially children. It can "lift" or hold back, depending on the "gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents". A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage, compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings. However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up.
Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. Therefore, the best way to boost IQ level is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer. | high14072.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "All people are afraid of something."
},
"options": [
"Some people have never experienced fear.",
"Kids don't like watching scary movies.",
"All people are afraid of something.",
"People often cry loudly when they are sc... | Everybody is afraid of something.That's what more than 1,700 kids told us when we asked them about fears and scary stuff.We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked which one frightened them most.Here are the top 5 answers from our survey :1 Scary movies and TV shows;2Scary dreams;3Thunderstorms,hurricanes ;and other horrible weather;4War and terrorism ;5Sounds heard at night.
But not everyone is afraid of the same thing.And what makes one person scared can be of no big deal for someone else.Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn't on our list.
What is fear?
Fear is a feeling that eyeryone has--it's programmed into all of us--and that's a good thing because fear is there to protect us.We're born with a sense of fear so we can react to something that could be dangerous.The baby cries,and their mom comes over to comfort him or her,helping the baby feel safe and OK again.Real vs.Pretend
The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it.As kids get older,they understand more and start seeing the difference between what is real and unreal.So when William's imagination leads him to think of witches,he can tell himself,"Wait a minute.They're only pretend things.I don't need to worry about them."
The same goes for the dark.A kid's imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out.What's under my bed?Is that a thief I hear?With the help of a parent,kids can get more comfortable in the dark.Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there's nothing there can help kids fight that fear. | high6535.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She will fill that time with much work."
},
"options": [
"She will do what she likes.",
"She will go to see a film.",
"She will fill that time with much work.",
"She allows herself to have a good rest."
],
"ques... | My husband and I both work from home.We have four children, so the times when I am alone in the house are few and far between.Like many work-at-home moms, when I do get a chance to be by myself ,I do something, whether it's related to my career or taking care of the household chores .
One Thursday,things really came to a head.My husband was heading out to the gym,just thinking that I had nothing to do but watch the twins.My older boys were making plans with their friends without bothering me and they were expecting me to drive them there.The twins,being young,wanted my undivided attention.Even my customers seemed to be demanding that day.They sounded not satisfied with the products and wanted to cut down the prices more.Nobody bothered to ask if I might have plans of my own.But the truth was, I seldom did have any plans for myself, and everyone knew it. I always put their needs before my own.They took advantage of that.
The next day,when the kids were at school, I headed for the movie theater--alone.I'd never been to the movies alone before.Would I look pitiful going to the theater by myself? Was I being silly by seeing a movie when so much work awaited me at home? I forced myself to take back these thoughts.And then I walked into the theater with my head held high and enjoyed every minute of the movie.For a couple of hours, I was nobody's wife or mother.I was just myself.
From that point on,I decided that Fridays would be mine,at least for a couple of hours.Some Fridays, I head for the beach with a good book.Other Fridays, I go shopping.I really look forward to my Fridays after a long week of caring for my family.
By forcing myself to slow down and put the needs of my family out of my mind, I feel closer to myself.I'm not completely responsible for caring for my family.I don't need to do it all myself. I just need to remember to spare some time to be with myself. | high23806.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The Adventure Aquarium."
},
"options": [
"The Monterey Bay Aquarium.",
"The Adventure Aquarium.",
"The Georgia Aquarium.",
"The first aquarium in London."
],
"question": "Which aquarium opened again after its re... | Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins.
Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called _ is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world.
By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums.
The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world's largest fish.
Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits.
Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets. | high12403.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he was not free at the moment"
},
"options": [
"he was not free at the moment",
"he was sure Brownie would be OK",
"he didn't like Spotty at all",
"his missing dog made him sad"
],
"question": "At the very begin... | Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their houses.
One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn't show up the next day, and, although they made their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing, Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie's house alone, barking and jumping. Busy with their own lives, they paid no attention to the nervous little neighbor dog.
Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take "no" for an answer. Ted, Brownie's owner, was continuously disturbed by the angry, determined little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking all the time, then rushing toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, "Follow me! It's urgent!"
Eventually, Ted followed Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty stopped to race back and barked encouragingly. The little dog led the man to a deserted spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his legs crushed in a steel trap . Frightened, Ted now wished he had taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously.
Then Ted noticed something. Spotty had done something else besides leading Brownie's human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found some food remains of every meal. Brownie had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in the hope of keeping his friend alive. Spotty had actually stayed with Brownie to protect him from hunger and other dangers, and keep his spirits up.
Brownie's leg was carefully treated and he soon got well again. For many years thereafter the two families watched the faithful friends chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses. | high916.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the war broke out between Kuwait and Iraq"
},
"options": [
"she was engaged to Jordan' s Prince Abdullah",
"she wanted to attend a business school there",
"Jordan was a more developed country than Kuwait",
"the war brok... | A businesswoman, a mother of four, an international fashion icon , a woman committed to making the world a better place for women and children--Queen Rania of Jordan is truly changing the world.
Rania was bom in Kuwait, in 1970.Shortly after Iraq invaded that country in 1990, her family fled and settled in Jordan.After graduating from a business school, Rania became successful in the business world.
When she was just 22, she went to a dinner party that changed her life forever.It was there that she met Jordan' s Prince Abdullah.Six months later, Rania and Abdullah had a royal wedding and started a family.
After the death of her father - in - law, King Hussein, in 1999, Prince Abdullah was crowned King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Rania became the world' s youngest living queen.
In her role as Queen, Rania has become well known around the world for her charity work and her efforts to improve educational opportunities for girls.She is an outspoken advocate of women' s rights, education reform, and child abuse.She is also well - known for her efforts to remove Western stereotypes about the Muslim world.
Rania explains that there is a direct relationship between increasing education and eliminating poverty." You can change the course of a nation through education," she says." One of the most important things you can do for a girl is empower her with her education.Once she has the education she can then have control over her income, she can change her life, she can have choices."
In the future, Rania says, she hopes for a more open and secure world."We look at problems happening halfway across the world and we think,' Well, that' s their problem.' But it' s not," she says." When you solve somebody else' s problem, you are solving a problem for yourself, because our world today is so interconnected." | high8518.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Frightened."
},
"options": [
"Frightened.",
"Regretful.",
"Delighted.",
"Comfortable."
],
"question": "How did John feel when he saw the old man?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | It was dark. As John was walking on his way home, he suddenly found an ugly old man staring at him. The old man said, "Son, why don't you get a book? It will keep you company." John noticed all the books the old man had were related to the super nature . Trying to act bravely, he found one and the old man said, "That's an interesting book. It's $25."
The old man kept staring at John, which almost frightened him. He quickly searched his pockets and found $25.John quickly paid for it. Then the old man called out, "Whatever happens, don't turn to the last page. Do remember, or you will regret it!"
Reaching home, John heard his parents talking about a strange old book seller that appeared only at night during a full moon and then disappeared. Nervously, he ran straight to his room.
At midnight, as he was sound asleep in bed, a blast of cold wind blew in through the window and woke him up. He looked at his table and saw the book. For a while, he was frozen in fear, but he was so curious. Slowly he got out of bed and carefully picked up the book.
As he took a look at the last page, he cried out and fainted .
This is what he read on the last page!
Original Price:$10.99 Promotional Price: $2.99 | high19556.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Closing the windows to keep pollen out of the house."
},
"options": [
"Using a humildifier in the room instead of a dehumidfier.",
"Using air and carpet fresheners.",
"Buying a mattress cover to protect against dust mites.",
... | Watching a child struggle to breathe during as asthma attack is frightening for any parent. So it is only natural that most moms and dads will try just about anything, including spending a lot of money -to keep an attack at bay. Trouble is, more than half of parents are trying strategies that simply do not work and wasting hundreds of dollars in the process.
According to Dr. Machael Cabana, a pediatrician at the prefix = st1 /UniversityofMichigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, who led the study, one of the most common mistakes was to buy mattress cover to protect against dust mites for a child whose asthma instead was made by plant pollen . Many of those parents then neglected to do what would have helped a lot more; shut the windows to keep pollen out. Another was using a humidifier for a child who was allergic to dust mites; a humidifier tends to be a place where dust mites like to breed. With those allergies, a dehumidifier works better.
Worst of all was the number of smokers with asthmatic children who didn't even try to quit or at least limit themselves to smoking outdoors rather than just moving to another room or the garage. Many smoking parents purchased expensive air filters that have what Cabana called " questionable utility. "
Part of the problem, Dr. Caban and his colleagues believe, is that parents are bombarded by television ads that encourage them to buy products such as air and carpet fresheners, ionizers and other remedies that are often expensive but medically unnecessary. And doctors may not always take the time, or have the time, to explain to parents what will and won't work in their child's particular case. For example, allergies are usually a problem for older children with asthma, while kids 5 and younger more frequently have trouble with viral repiratory infections. So make sure you understand what the cause of your child's asthma really is. | high16665.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Roger"
},
"options": [
"Craig Mello and Andrew Fire have found the way to cure cancers, AIDS and Parkinson's disease.",
"Roger",
"George F. Smoot will get US$1.4 million prize for his work.",
"Kornberg is the youngest o... | FIVE Americans _ the three Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine last week. It was the first American sweep of the Nobel science prizes since 1983.
It's rare for Americans not to receive any of the science prizes, especially in recent years. In 2004, seven Americans were among the 10 laureates for the science prizes. Last year, the figure was five out of 10.
The huge sums of money invested in scientific research is one factor that has helped many Americans to win awards. Another reason is the vast number of researchers working in the US. American universities also often have a more "creative university environment"where people can focus on research for a long period without any pressure, said Anders Liljas, member of the Nobel Committee.
New hope for AIDS patients?
AMERICAN scientists Craig Mello (top) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Andrew Fire (above) of Stanford University School of Medicine won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine last Monday. Their discovery is a process that researchers hope to use to silence disease-causing genes . It offers new ways for disease treatment.
Scientists now hope to develop a new technique that could be used to treat diseases, such as cancers, AIDS and Parkinson's disease.
Like father, like son?
AS the son of a Nobel Prize winning professor, Roger D. Kornberg (left) had a lot to live up to. But, nearly half a century after his father, won his award, Kornberg, 59, a Stanford University professor, won his own last Wednesday: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His research into how cells read their genes is very important. It could help lead to the development of new drugs to fight cancer , heart disease and other illnesses, experts said.
First light of the universe
TWO Americans won the Nobel Prize in Physics last Tuesday for measuring the oldest light in the heavens. It is considered as "one of the greatest discoveries of the century". It convinced scientists that the Big Bang theory of the universe's origin is correct. George F. Smoot (top), 61, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, and John C. Mather (above), 60, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, will share the US$1.4 million prize for their work. Beginning in 1989, they measured weak light that originated as early as 380,000 years after the Big Bang. | high10214.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "She was in complete memory loss."
},
"options": [
"She believed she was not talented.",
"She didn't love her husband any more.",
"She refused to recall her past life.",
"She was in complete memory loss."
],
"que... | There was a woman, about 30 years old, married with two children. She had grown up in a home where she was constantly criticized and often treated unfairly by her parents. As a result, she was negative and fearful, and had no confidence at all.
One day, she was hit by a car. When she awoke, she found herself in a hospital. She could still speak, but had no recollection of any part of her past life. She was a total amnesiac! Her husband and children visited her daily, but she did not know them.
Determined to understand what had happened to her, she began reading medical textbooks and studying in the specialized area of amnesia and memory loss. She met and discussed with specialists in this field. Eventually she wrote a paper on her condition. Not long afterward, she was invited to address a medical conference to deliver her paper, answer questions about her amnesia, and share her experiences and ideas. During this period, something amazing happened. She became a genuinely positive, confident, outgoing woman, well informed, and very much in demand as a speaker and authority in the medical profession. All memory of her negative childhood had been wiped out. She changed her thinking and changed her life.
Each person comes into the world with no thoughts or ideas at all, and everything that a person thinks and feels is learned from babyhood onward. The adult becomes the sum total of everything he or she learns, feels, and experiences while growing up.
Everyone is born with no self-concept at all. Every idea, opinion, feeling, attitude, or value you have as an adult is the result of an idea or impression you took in and accepted as true. When you believe something to be true, it becomes true for you, whatever the fact may be. You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. | high2753.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his father"
},
"options": [
"his mother",
"his teacher",
"his father",
"his son"
],
"question": "Tony Tolbert offered help to others because he was inspired by _ '",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | A 51-year-old lawyer has moved back in with his mother-after giving up his Los Angeles home to a family of strangers for a year.
Tony Tolbert looked for a family in need after his father set a glowing example when he was growing up by always welcoming people to stay in their spare room. "You don't have to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Oprah," Tolbert told CBS. "We can do it wherever we are, with whatever we have, and for me, I have a home that I can make available. " His mother, Marie Tolbert, added, " He is go giving, and he's always been that way. "
Tolbert went to Alexandria House, a shelter for homeless women and children, and came across Felicia Dukes, who lived in a single bedroom with three of her children. Her family had been separated as the shelter was just for children and her eldest son was unable to join them. Tolbert told the staff he wanted to bring the. family back together, and offered his home.
The family has now moved into the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home - with Duke's oldest son. It is worth nearly $400,000, according to online estimates. "My heart just fills up with appreciation, " Dukes said, as she wiped away her tears.
The heartwarming story comes after the report that l0-year-old Gracie McNulty, from England, served Christmas dinners t0 50 homeless people, achieving her fathers last Christmas wish.
Her father Craig, 38, was a regular charity volunteer who had served breakfast to the homeless on Boxing Day. But as a roofer, he suffered serious head injuries when he fell while working. And 'he died soon after the accident in August.
"It's been the best Christmas ever, " Cracie said. "I was just at school feeling sad and so I decided I wanted to do something to make him proud and this felt like the perfect thing. " | high18648.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "her mother's pain"
},
"options": [
"her father's death",
"her mother's pain",
"the ache of her own heart",
"the pain of Janie's parents"
],
"question": "After she learns Janie's story,the writer thought of _ .... | "It's over!Thank goodness!"
School was over and I was tired.I sat at the front of the school bus.
Janie,the driver,tries to break the uncomfortable atmosphere by striking the match of talks.I try to listen politely,but usually I am too busy thinking about my day.On this day,however,her talk was worth listening to.
"My father is ill,:she said to no one in particular.I could see worry in her eyes.I had never seen her like this before.She always meets students with a smile.
With a sudden change of interest,I asked,"What's wrong with him?"
With her eyes wet and her voice unusual,she answered,"Heart trouble."Her eyes lowered as she continued,"I have already lost my mum,so I don't think I can stand losing him."I couldn't answer.My heart ached for her.
I sat on the seat thinking of great pain my own mother was thrown into when her father died.I saw how hard it was,and still is,for her.I wouldn't want anyone to go through that.
Suddenly I realised Janie was not only a bus driver,that was just for her job.She had a whole world of family and cares too.
I suddenly felt very selfish.I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver,I had judged her by her joband brushed her off as unimportant.I shouldn't have been so selfish and self-centered. | high24199.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a new television series"
},
"options": [
"a television host",
"a new television series",
"how colours influence us",
"the popularity of a recent television show"
],
"question": "The main purpose of the text is t... | Different colours can affect us in many different ways, according to Verity Allen. In her new series ' Colour me Healthy', Verity looks at the ways that colours can influence how hard we work and the choices we make. They can even change our emotions and influence how healthy we are.
"Have you ever noticed how people always use the same colours for the same things ?" says Verity. " Our toothpaste is always white or blue or maybe red. It's never green. For some reason we consider green products as being a bit unacceptable. It's the same for businesses. We respect a company writing its name in blue or black, but we don't respect one that uses pink or orange. People designing new products can use these ideas to influence what we buy."
During the four-part series, Verity studies eight different colours, two colours in each programme. She meets people who work in all aspects of the colour industry, from people designing food packets , to people naming the colours of lipsticks . Some of the people she meets clearly have very little scientific knowledge to support their ideas, such as the American " Colour Doctor" who believes that serious diseases can be treated by the use of coloured lights. However, she also interviews real scientists who are studying the effects of green and red lights on mice, with some surprising results.
In a word, it's an interesting show, and anyone who watches it will probably find out something new. But because Verity goes out of her way to be polite to everyone she meets on the series, it's up to the viewers to make their own decisions about how much they should believe. | high8530.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "depressed"
},
"options": [
"annoyed",
"depressed",
"stressed",
"encouraged"
],
"question": "If a person feels blue, he is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_in... | Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.
Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste.
Pink is a lighter kind of color. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Someone who is blue is very sad.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. If a person is green at his job, he may be a newcomer and inexperienced. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a new sports car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because their friend has more dollars.
The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. | high15344.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The history of Tin Pan Alley."
},
"options": [
"American popular music.",
"Tin Pan Alley's future.",
"American music Industry.",
"The history of Tin Pan Alley."
],
"question": "What.is the passage mainly about ?... | In the late nineteenth century, ^5,000 pianos were sold in the United States each year and, with over half a million youths learning to play the instrument, there was a huge demand for sheet music .Indeed the demand was so huge that publishers rushed to enter the profitable market.During the last fifteen years of the century, many publishers began to set up shops in New York, the center for the production of the musical arts
By the turn of the nineteenth century many important publishers had their offices on 28thStreet between Broadway and 5th Avenue, and this Is the area that became known as Tin Pan Alley.It was here that publishers adopted new, aggressive business practices and marketing techniques to achieve great sales.
How it became to be known by that name is unclear, but the general opinion is that it is down to a visiting journalist by the name of Monroe Rosenfeld.He described the area as being drowned in the noise coming from the producers' offices, sounding as though hundreds of people were hitting tin pans .He used it several times in his newspaper articles in the early twentieth century and the term stuck.With time this name was popularly embraced and many years later it came to describe the U.S.music publishing industry in general.
The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885,.but the end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear-cut .Some date it to the start of the Great.Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph and radio replaced sheet music, as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into thel950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll.
There's a plaque on the sidewalk on 28th Street in honor of the influence of Tin Pan Alley on American popular culture, but the buildings that were home to the legendary Tin Pan Alley publishers and songwriters are up for sale and may be torn down to make room for modern high-rise buildings. | high11122.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The problems you have when you go to another country."
},
"options": [
"Something you feel surprised at.",
"The problems you have when you go to another country.",
"The frightening feelings you have.",
"Something differ... | Each year,millions of people go abroad to work,study,or travel.It's a great way to find out what life is like in another part of the world! You're probably hoping to make new friends and learn about the culture in your host country everything from attitudes and beliefs to social customs and popular foods.But constantly having to deal with new situations can be frustrating ,even stressful.
Homesickness,stress,fear,and confusion are all symptoms of"culture shock".At first,you may feel like getting on the plane and heading home.It's OK to have those feelings,but the following are some tips to help you handle the challenges that you will face.
Don't expect to be perfect.You may feel frustrated that you have culture shock,especially since you probably spent so much time preparing for your trip.No matter how much information you read,or how well you speak the host language,it is natural to feel over-whelmed sometimes.If you give yourself some time,things will gradually get easier.
Have an open mind.While it's certainly OK to feel frustration or confusion in your new surroundings,try not to form an opinion about the new culture too soon.Don't think of the host as better or worse,just different--you'll be more willing to try new things.
Participate.This is obvious,but everybody needs to be reminded.Just watching life go on around you isn't good enough.You really need to try things for yourself.Don't worry about making a mistake;people in your host country will generally be very understanding and willing to help if you have question.Your study abroad experience is fl unique and special time in your life,one that you'll never forget.If you follow our suggestions,you'll be able to handle it well,and have a wonderful time.Good luck ! | high16895.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "friends or partners"
},
"options": [
"the old and the young",
"gardeners or farmers",
"friends or partners",
"teammates or classmates"
],
"question": "The word buddies in the first sentence probably means _ ."... | Grandfather and 3-year-old boys are natural buddies. On this particular day in May, the grandfather was pleased to have the company of his best little pal when planting the vegetable garden. For a while, the boy seemed to like it too. His small fingers were just the right size to pick up tiny seeds and drop them into Granddad-made holes. They were a great team.
But before long the boy became restless and directed his anger at the seeds themselves.
"What's this one, Granddad?"
"Beets ."
"Ugh, I hate beets."
"Well, then, let's do the pumpkin instead."
"Yuck. I really hate pumpkin."
"Okay, buddy. What would you like to plant?"
"How about ... doughnuts ?"
Just in time, the grandfather stopped himself from saying there was no such thing as a doughnut seed. Looking at the unhappy little face, he suddenly got an inspiration.
"Wait a second. I have to go inside and get the right seeds."
Granddad returned with a handful of seeds. He and the small boy solemnly planted them in a special corner of the vegetable garden.
Weeks later, when the real seeds began to break through the soil, the boy became delighted with the tiny seedlings. He spent many afternoons helping Granddad water and hoe and watch them grow. And when the first baby vegetables were harvested, he liked them after all.
For weeks, he forgot all about the doughnuts. But then one day at lunch, he said, "Granddad, what happened to our doughnuts? How come they didn't grow?"
Granddad paused a moment. "Well, you know, doughnuts are tricky. Some years when you plant them, you get lots of doughnuts." He sighed sadly. "But other years, all that comes up are the holes." | high17553.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the types of the product lie on the people rather than its nature"
},
"options": [
"goods are classified differently in different countries",
"the types of the product lie on the people rather than its nature",
"Frenchmen oft... | The traditional distinction between products that satisfy needs and those that satisfy wants is no longer adequate to describe classes of products. In today's prosperous societies, the distinction has become unclear because so many wants have been turned into needs. A writer, for instance, can work with paper and pencils. These are legal needs for the task. But the work can be done more quickly and efficiently with a word processor. Thus a computer is soon viewed as a need rather than a want.
In the field of marketing, consumer goods are classed according to the way in which they are purchased. The two main classes are convenience goods and shopping goods. Two lesser types are specialty goods and unsought goods. It must be emphasized that all of these types are based on the way shoppers think about products, not on the nature of the products themselves. What is regarded as a convenience item in France (wine, for example) should be a specialty goods in the United States.
People do not spend a great deal of time shopping for such convenience items as groceries, newspapers, toothpaste, aspirin, and candy. The buying of convenience goods may be done routinely, as some families buy groceries once a week. Such regularly purchased items are called staples. Sometimes convenience products are bought without enough thinking; someone has a sudden desire for an ice cream sundae on a hot day. Or they may be purchased as emergency items.
Shopping goods are items for which customers search. They compare prices, quality, and styles, and may visit a number of stores before making a decision. Buying an automobile is often done this way.
Shopping goods fall into two classes; those that are recognized as basically the same and those that are regarded as different. Items that are looked upon as basically the same include such things as home appliances, television sets, and automobiles. Having decided on the model desired, the customer is primarily interested in getting the item at the most favorable price. Items regarded as essentially different include clothing, furniture, and dishes. Quality, style and fashion will either take precedence over price, or they will not matter at all. | high5014.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he didn't notice the writer"
},
"options": [
"he didn't want to take the passenger",
"he didn't notice the writer",
"he had a cold and could not speak",
"he didn't feel well"
],
"question": "Why did the driver s... | He must have been completely lost in something he was reading because I had to tap on the windshield to get his attention."Is your cab available ?"I asked when he finally looked up at me.He nodded,then said apologetically as I settled into the back seat,"I'm sorry,but I was reading a letter."He sounded as if he had a cold."I am not in a hurry,"I told him."Go ahead and finish your letter."He shook his head."I've read it several times already.I guess I almost know it by heart." "Letters from home always mean a lot" I said.
"This isn't family," he replied."although it might just as well have been family.Old Ed was my oldest friend.In fact,we used to call each other 'Old Friend'--when we'd meet.I'm not much good at writing."
"I don't think any of us keep up our correspondence too well,"I said."I know I don't,but I take it he's someone you've known quite a while?" "All my life.We were kids together, went to school together and all the way through high school.""There are not too many people who've had such a long friendship,"I said."Actually,"the driver went on,"I hadn't seen him more than once or twice year over the past 25 or 30 years because I moved away from the old neighborhood and you kind of lose touch even though you never forget."
"You said 'was'.Does that mean---?" he nodded."A couple of weeks ago." "I'm sorry" He didn't say anything more,and we rode on in silence for a few minutes.But I realized that Old Ed was still on his mind when he spoke again,almost more to himself than to me." "I should have kept in touch with him." "Well,'' I agreed,"we should all keep in touch with old friends more than we do.But things come up and we just don't seem to find the time."
When I got to my hotel room I didn't unpack right away.First I had to write a letter --and mail it. | high17235.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "since there were mail-order catalogues"
},
"options": [
"before long",
"after the Internet",
"since there were mail-order catalogues",
"since he worked as a businessman"
],
"question": "Larry Pollock has been fa... | Local businessmen are increasingly facing competition from on line retailers. Larry Pollock, owner of Camera Co/Op on South Congress, said he has been dealing with this kind of problem for years, even before the Internet. The struggle began with mail-order catalogues, which are similar to online retailers in that they have few employees to pay, no sales tax fees and no business venue to lease and manage.
"Their overhead is lower, but they don't offer a service like we do," Pollock said.
Pollock, however, said providing a valuable service to customers does not always guarantee continued sales.
"We spend 30 minutes to an hour with somebody and they go home and buy it online," he said.
According to the state comptroller's office, online shopping is developing at a more rapid rate than traditional businesses.
In spite of how fair or unfair online shopping may be to the local businessmen, consumers will continue to turn to the Internet for its variety and accessibility, said Mitch Wilson, an online shopper. "You have a larger selection and it's easier to compare prices."
Wilson said he built his personal computer and paid a third of the price by shopping online.
"Before the Internet, I would have had to go and buy an assembled computer from somebody like Dell," he said. "Before I started shopping online I could never find all the pieces I wanted. No single store had everything needed, so shopping online saved me from having to buy from Dell."
Janny Brazeal, a psychology freshman, said online shopping is too impersonal.
"I'd rather see it in person, touch it, know that I'm getting it," she said.
Brazeal also said she would not give out her credit card number or other personal information online no matter how safe the site claims it is. | high20499.txt |
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