questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Workmen."
},
"options": [
"Walter's wife and son.",
"Policemen.",
"Workmen.",
"Robert's wife and son."
],
"question": "Who may Terence Reif and Glenn Fajardo most probably be?",
"question_type": "factiod_que... | Robert Kohout, 39, was working outside his home last October when he heard a frightening noise. He turned round and saw Walter Graham's car sinking into 8 feet of water of the inground swimming pool a little distance away from his yard. Kohout immediately called to Graham's wife, Evelyn, to phone 911. Then he ran back to his house to get Terence Reif and Glenn Fajardo to help, who were at work inside the house. "There was no time for second thoughts," said Reif, a farmer's son. "The only thing to do is to get in the pool."
The car doors were locked. Graham, 73, was unconscious, and his
was rapidly filling with water. Reif struggled to break the driver's side window with a hammer but had trouble getting it done underwater.
Finally, some four minutes after the car had fallen into the pool, the glass was broken. By then, Graham was floating at the top of the flooded passenger compartment.
The three men pulled Graham out through the broken glass. He wasn't breathing and his heart stopped beating, so they performed mouth-to-mouth
. The rescue team arrived in no time. Doctors supplied him with advanced life support on the way to the hospital.
"These people were getting to Graham through the glass," said Dr. Jeff. "All three acted without regard for their own safety." Added Evelyn Graham, "they were truly angels, watching over us". | high15779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Before a Christmas."
},
"options": [
"After a Christmas.",
"Before Zero Waste starts.",
"Before a Christmas.",
"When Zero Waste is very popular."
],
"question": "When is this passage probably written?",
"que... | Going Zero Waste means more than just managing the rubbish we create.It means reducing it too.While it might seem like a difficult thing to do, it's well worth it.And what better time to start than Christmas?
We need to copy the way Nature wastes nothing.Many things are created by human society that we know will soon become useless and be thrown out.How many plastic bottles or even PCs end up in the rubbish bin? Instead,we should design products that can be more easily repaired,reused and recycled.
Kamikatsu, a Japanese village,has already gone Zero Waste.The 2,000 villagers compost their leftovers,and recycle everything else.There are 34 different boxes at the re-cycling centre! Residents grumble about the inconvenience,but they also see the benefits.
People who live Zero Waste lives are careful about what they do.They never take more than they need.Reusing plastic bags at supermarkets is a great way to reduce waste.And those who plan before they shop avoid having to throw food out later.Also,it's best not to go food shopping when you're hungry:You'll be sure to buy too much!
Let's think about how to enjoy a Zero Waste Christmas.By sending recyclable cards,we can help our friends and family reduce waste.And what better way to enjoy the spirit of Christmas than with a real tree that can be replanted in the spring?
Going Zero Waste requires us to think more about what happens before and after we act.It takes ambition,and it's not always easy.But just think how good it would be,both for ourselves and for the environment, if we never had to waste anything. | high1897.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "By analyzing the materials gathered in the past years."
},
"options": [
"By analyzing the materials gathered in the past years.",
"By asking some students questions about their study.",
"By doing some experiments on the objec... | In a world as fast-changing and full of information as our own, all of us need to know how to learn well. Yet evidence suggests that most of us don't use the learning techniques that science has proved the most effective.
The scientific literature evaluating these techniques goes back to decades and across thousands of articles. It's far too _ and complex for the average parent, teacher or employer to look through. Fortunately, a team of five leading psychologists have done the job for us.
Professor John Dunlosky and other psychologists closely examined 10 learning strategies and rated each from high to low utility on the basis of the evidence they've gathered. Here's part of their conclusions:
In contrast to familiar practices, the effective learning strategies with the most evidence to support them aren't well known outside the lab. Take distributed practice, for example. This strategy involves spreading out your study time, rather than engaging in one marathon. Cramming information at the last minute may allow you to get through that test or meeting, but the material will quickly disappear from your memory. It's much more effective to look through the material at intervals over time.
And the longer you want to remember the information, whether it's two weeks or two years, the longer the intervals should be.
The second learning strategy that is highly recommended by Dunlosky is practice testing. Yes, more tests---but there not for a grade. Research shows that the mere act of calling information to mind strengthens that knowledge and aids in future retrieval . While practice testing is not a common strategy---despite the strong evidence supporting it ---there is one familiar approach that captures its benefits: using flash cards. And now flash cards can be presented in digital form. Both distributed practice and practice testing were rated as having "high utility" by Dunlosky. | high6120.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they have no similarity in their character"
},
"options": [
"they both are too shy",
"they live in different villages",
"they are too familiar to talk",
"they have no similarity in their character"
],
"question"... | Though there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely, Zoque-Ayapaneco, a native Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct, because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently do not talk to each other!
And, it's not because they live in different countries, states or even villages. In fact, Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez, both in their 70s, live within 500 yards of each other, in the village of Ayapa in the Southern Mexican State of Tabasco. They, however, refuse to communicate because they simply don't have much in common. Segovia is apparently a little flank in nature while Velazquez is described as shy.
Segovia was at least able to talk in Zoque-Ayapanece with his brother until he passed away about 12 years ago, and still manages to practice it with his family, especially his son Manuel, who for the last five years has been trying to learn it and hopes to become fluent enough to teach it to the next generation. Velazquez on the other hand, has not been heard speaking in the language with anybody.
The two men say the language used to be widely spoken in the village, but the younger generation _ it for fear of being laughed at, and it therefore began to die a slow death, as the elders passed away.
Unless the two men get their acts together, the only way to hear the language will be to either listen to Manuel's not-so-fluent statement or see them talk in a documentary entitled "Lengua Muerta" (Dead Language) that is being filmed to capture Zoque Ayapaneco and 364 other native Mexican languages that are in a similar state.
We sure hope Segovia and Velazquez soon find something common to talk about. Maybe the fact is that the language is dying and that they should start encouraging and teaching the next generation together. | high14467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "John thought her a considerate and thinking lady"
},
"options": [
"John believed her one of her old friends",
"she took good notes with a soft handwriting",
"John thought her a considerate and thinking lady",
"she was b... | John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew,but whose face he didn't,the girl with the rose.Thirteen months ago,in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin .The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.
In front of the book,he discovered the name,Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address.He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch.
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail.A romance started.John requested a photograph,but she refused.She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.Later they agreed on their first meeting--7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.
"You'll recognize me," she wrote,"by the red rose I'll be wearing my coat." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.
A girl in a green suit was coming toward him,her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers.Almost uncontrollably he came to her,and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell--a woman well past 40.The girl was walking quickly away.
He did not hesitate ,saying,"I'm John,and you must be Miss Maynell.I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?"
The woman smiled, "I don't know what this is about,son," she answered,"but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat.And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street.She said it was some kind of test!"
It's not difficult to admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. | high9213.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "it can do something without instructions"
},
"options": [
"it is loaded with special sensors",
"it can make all kinds of dog noises",
"it has quick response to the commands",
"it can do something without instructions"
... | Roll over, sit and fetch aren't commands normally given to a robot, but the smart toy company WowWee has developed a new way of owning a puppy.
CHIP (Canine Home Intelligent Pet) is a robotic dog with blue LED eyes and pointy ears and can sit, shake, dance and make all types of dog noises. It also has tracking capabilities to help locate its owner. "The beauty about CHIP is that it has its own thing going on," said Sufer, CTO at WowWee. "It has its own life and own kind of intelligence. Even if you're not around, it's always doing something."
CHIP uses wheels to get around and is loaded with sensors that give it a 360-degree view to find its ball. The pup is Bluetooth enabled, which connects to a wristband worn by its owner. The wristband, similar to a watch, displays icons for different commands such as a thumb-up, which allows you to give your pup a digital belly rub. With its owner wearing a smart wristband, it can even follow him around the room.
"We worked on CHIP for about five to six months," Davin Sufer, told dailymail.com, "We typically come up with a concept, model and product and get it on shelves within a year." The company plans to start shipping units by next fall, which will allow them to load up the robotic dog with sensors and add many more animated responses per-owner interactivity.
The high-tech toy company made its debut in 2004 by releasing the 1.5 foot RoboSapien, which sold millions of units. MiP, which hit shelves last year, is a seven inch tall robot covered in white with black accents. Users can direct it, change its emotions and make it dance to any song on your iPad. It's loud, fast and active.
About 15 years ago, a company called ToyQuest developed the first ever electronic robotic dog---Tekno, the Robotic Puppy. The company sold over seven million units in the first season and 40 million more during its original four years of production. Tekno was built with over 160 emotions and instructions, but most importantly offered consumers a quick look into the future. | high13308.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "own lasting love and friendship"
},
"options": [
"share our wealth with others",
"have good fortune and money",
"know the secret of a jam recipe",
"own lasting love and friendship"
],
"question": "The author thi... | Fannie Cratty wasn't really my aunt. I only referred to her as "My Aunt Fannie" because the name always made my father laugh and gave my mother cause to look angrily at both of us---at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior.
As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse owned by Fannie Cratty. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fannie make the best blueberry jam ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. Aunt Fannie was well known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with another living soul. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive (and she lived to be ninety-six!), she never made the jam without Ms. Cratty in our kitchen to direct the process and preserve the secret.
Each August, when blueberry season would roll around, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie's visit. It was vital that I should be on my best behavior. After all, the woman was old, wealthy, very strict with children. Whenever she was at the house, I didn't need to be reminded to guard my thoughts and watch my tongue.
One year, after I had been particularly helpful with the jam process, Aunt Fannie gave me a quarter(25) and then made me promise that I would never spend it. "Hold onto this quarter," she said, "and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first quarter, given to me by my grandfather." It had obviously worked for her. So, I kept the 1938-quarter into a small box, put it in my dresser drawer, and waited to become rich.
I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the quarter from Aunt Fannie. In people's eye Aunt Fannie's success was due to that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither has significantly contributed to my wealth, but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build. | high5429.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Afternoon tea, a very British tradition"
},
"options": [
"Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford",
"Tea, the most important of English drinks",
"Anna, a person introducing afternoon tea to England",
"Afternoon tea, a very... | Tea, the most important of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid 17
th century that tea first appeared in England.
Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked her servant to bring a tray of tea, bread, butter and cake to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper class and society women would change into long gowns , gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock.
Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches, scones served with cream and jams. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver teapots into delicate bone china cups.
Nowadays, however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag. | high16270.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "children's age"
},
"options": [
"children's hobby",
"children's age",
"the price",
"the type of sea animals"
],
"question": "The activities in Summer Adventure Days are divided according to _ .",
"questio... | Aquatic Adventures!
Help Us Get Ready for Showtime!
Trainer Program
What does it take to work with seals or sea lions? Find out with Atlantis Marine World's Trainer Program and go behind the scenes with our Marine Mammal staff and:
.Learn how we train our animals and help train our sea lions to learn how to paint
.Go into the seal exhibit with trainers
.Join in a seal training period - and get to pet and feed one of our harbor seals
.Help prepare food for seals
.Attend our Sea Lion Show
.Get a kiss from sea lion, Java - and take home a photo
Summer Adventure Days - Camp! Atlantis Style!
Our camp program adds interactive excitement to your child's summer vacation. Children ages 3 to 14 discover the wonders of the sea environment through age - appropriate activities.
Pirate Snorkel Adventure
Yo-ho-ho, this is a whole lot of fun! Join us this summer for our interactive Pirate Snorkel Adventure and help Captain Poseidon locate missing treasure. While searching our lake, don't miss tropical fish from all around the world. When you're done, you'll walk away with some booty of your own - a $2.00 game card and a pirate eye patch featuring our very own Jolly Poseidon!
Smooth Sailing: Taste Long Island Wine Cruise Now Accepting Reservations!
Experience the magic of Taste Long Island, a Saturday evening wine and cheese cruise aboard the Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat. Featuring local wines, this adventure along the Peconic River is a relaxing way to enjoy both beautiful scenery and fine wines. Guests 21 and older only. Members and Green Key Cardholders enjoy 25%off. | high4737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They are more comfortable."
},
"options": [
"They have much emotion in the old ones.",
"They are more comfortable.",
"New shoes always harm the feet.",
"They look better than the new ones."
],
"question": "Why d... | How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. Your attitude to change can make the whole transformation process much easier.
Imagine change as a pair of shoes and this will help you understand change and how it works. I am sure that you have ever had a comfortable pair of shoes in your life. A pair of shoes is so comfortable that you really don't want to get rid of them.
You know you need a new pair, and may even have them, but you don't want to wear them because you are comfortable with your current pair. Besides, the new pair may hurt your feet, give you blisters or be awkward to wear to start with. So, you resist the new shoes. However, you know that this new pair would be much better for your feet, and after the initial discomfort they would probably be even more comfortable, yet you still resist.
Do you know I'm doing this now? I'm wearing my comfortable shoes and they feel good. They have a hole in each heel, and the sole is starting to fall off, but I'm persisting in wearing them.
This describes change exactly; change of our habits, change of our thought patterns. We stick with the old patterns because they are comfortable. Yet once we get over the initial pain of the transformation, the new pattern will be comfortable and feel good until the time comes when we need another new pair of shoes. | high16516.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was out of work"
},
"options": [
"He was out of work",
"He was bored with his job",
"He wanted a higher position",
"He hoped to find a better boss"
],
"question": "Why did Jimmy apply for a new job?",
"qu... | Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has a good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.
One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, "Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It's the least I could do. Please, I insist." Jimmy agreed.
Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applicants waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer's office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, "Do you really need to be interviewed?" Jimmy's heart sank. "With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?" he thought to himself.
Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy's surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.
"Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you'd be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!" Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job. | high4051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "they spread too fast and make great damage."
},
"options": [
"they make the greatest loss of all disasters",
"huge walls of flames can burn acres of land",
"fire-retardant chemicals can't be made use of",
"they spread t... | Of all nature's disasters, forest fires are often considered the most frightening. Moving at lightning speed, huge walls of flames can burn acres of land in just a few minutes. And although technology, including the use of tire-retardant chemicals, has greatly helped the fight against forest fires, they still take great damage.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire season last year was the worst on record in terms of the number of fires and acres burned. There were 96.385 fires and9,873429 acres affected by fire in a year that was 125% more destructive than the 10-year average . These fires cost the federal govemment $1.5 billion to fight, and this figure does not include the money spent by local and state govemments as part of the effort.
Fires in the southern states represented half of the national total last year. with Texas. Oklahoma and Arkansas being home to an usually high amount of activity. Wildfire have also taken place in Western states such as California, Colorado. and Alaska throughout the past 10 years.
It is said that two-thirds of forest fires are started accidentally by people. almost one quarter are purposely set, while lighting causes 10%.
Forest fires can have advantageous effects. Charcoal enriches soil, and some plant species grow well after. The cones of the jack pine tree, for example, will not spread their seeds unless there is heat. Douglas fir trees grow best in open sunlight areas after fire. | high19625.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To assist them to get benefit from travelling."
},
"options": [
"To prove their parents grew up in a rich country.",
"To meet the friends and relatives in Britain.",
"To help them enjoy their wonderful holidays.",
"To a... | When Cath Pirret and her husband Iain took their daughters Jessie, 10, and Holly, 7, to Britain earlier this year, it was a trip that was all about showing the girls where their parents grew up. But there were also some key sightseeing opportunities, such as Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall and Tate Modern, before heading to Paris to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
So, what did the couple from Melbourne hope their girls would get from the trip? "A greater understanding that travel is not a difficult thing to do," Cath says."Some of the highlights are to meet new people and adapt to lots of different situations."
Cath believes that children, in order to truly benefit from travel, need to be old enough to understand and appreciate the experience. Sydney-based ABC Radio broadcaster and film critic C.J. Johnson travelled a lot with his parents as a child. His father was "really into rivers" and decided he was going to make it the "family mission" to see the "seven great rivers of the world".
There's no doubt, thanks to a richer society and the greater ease and access to all forms of travel, that few -- if any -- generations of parents and children have ever had the ability to journey together as far, as wide and as deep as the present one.Travel brings history to life, builds children's independence and opens their minds. A child's view also helps adults to see the world through new eyes.
For Keith Bellows, the award-winning editor-in-chief of the American National Geographic Traveler magazine says the world is simply"the greatest classroom we have". He's convinced, like Spicer, that any parent willing and financially able to give the gift of travel offers a gift that keeps on giving.
"Children who learn to travel will travel to learn," he says. "And they will do it all their lives."
With that in mind, Bellows, a father of three, wrote a book, 100 Places that Can Change Your Child's Life. | high10167.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The members do different jobs at different places."
},
"options": [
"The members do different jobs at different places.",
"They come from all parts of Beijing.",
"They are persons of different ages.",
"They are men and ... | winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing. three years ago, few people would go swimming in the city waters. but now there is a winter-swimming
enthusiasts'club and it has more than 2,000 members. the oldest is 84 years of age and the youngest is only 7. _ They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students....Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city's lakes is around 0degc, many winter-simmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.
why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one's health.
Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69 years old, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health. | high1129.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They selfpromote to stand out in their career."
},
"options": [
"They control conversation and only talk about themselves.",
"They know well how to share positive information.",
"They selfpromote to stand out in their career.... | According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, we might all be braggarts in this competitive society addicted to social networking.
Take a close look at your socialnetworking sites. Do you like to post photos of yourself in restaurants to show others what an exciting life you have? Or do you like to write about how happily in love you are? Or perhaps you are of the subtle type who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.
According to the results of a series of experiments conducted by Harvard University neuroscientists , the reward areas of our brain----the same areas that respond to "primary rewards" such as food ----are activated when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that. Unfortunately, Bernstein says, some people can't tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and direct bragging. She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.
"We are expected to be perfect all the time. The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images". says Elizabeth Bernstein, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal.
But the issue is not limited to the Internet. In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others. In fact, we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don't even realize we are doing it, says Bernstein. This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.
Bernstein talked to some experts who said that people brag for all sorts of reasons: to appear worthy of attention; to prove to ourselves we are doing fine and that people who said we would fail are wrong; or simply because we're excited when good things happen to us.
"Feel sorry for them, because they're doing this unconscious, destructive thing that won't help them in the long run," said Professor Simian Valier, a research psychologist at Washington University. | high6646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "50"
},
"options": [
"50",
"52",
"38",
"46"
],
"question": "When Hepburn began to act as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, how many years had passed since her parents' divorce? _",
"question_type": "cloze_q... | Her attractive lips seemed to speak words of kindness, while her eyes appeared to seek out the good in people. "You have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others." She used to say.
It was for this rare charm and inner beauty that British movie star Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) was named the most naturally beautiful woman of all time in June, 2004.
"Her skin looks fresh in all her films and her warm and lively personality really shines through," said one beauty expert.
Life was never easy for Hepburn. Shortly after her parents' painful divorce when she was nine, she found herself in the Netherlands at the start of World War II. Hepburn watched helplessly as several of her relatives were killed. She survived by eating tulip bulbs and carried secret messages for the resistance in her ballet shoes.
She dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer but was told she was too tall and not talented enough to be a success.
Hepburn then turned to musicals and spent most of her time as a chorus girl . She had some small movie roles but it was not until Roman Holiday (1953) that she became a star. With her good manners and delicate figure, she was perfect in the role of a European princess. She took the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
In 1988 Hepburn began her most important role--as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF(United Nations Children's Fund). She traveled to the poorest places, doing her best to provide care and create awareness of the difficult situations in which some children live.
When Hepburn passed away, a message displayed at her funeral read, "In losing Audrey,
the world not only lost a movie star, we lost a princess, an angel, a person who inspired us all and whose selfless and loving examples shall always be remembered." | high14301.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "her family was badly off when she was a child"
},
"options": [
"Santa Clause forgot to deliver the doll to her",
"her daughter couldn't make a doll by herself",
"her parents left the doll in the Santa Clause's sleigh",
... | Alice's mother died when Alice was five years old. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that after her mother's death her family was too poor to even afford to give her a doll.
In December 2012, I had a job at a local bank. One afternoon, we were decorating the tree in the bank lobby . One of my customers approached me with her beautiful handmade dolls. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked my customer if she could make me a special doll for my mother--one with gray hair and spectacles : a grandmother doll. And she gladly agreed.
A friend had told me that his dad who played Santa Claus would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to deliver my Katie her presents, so I made some special arrangements.
Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time; so did Santa Claus. Katie was surprised that Santa had come to see her at her own house. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and found one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised at her name being called, indicated that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, with a message card that read:
For Alice:
I was cleaning out my sleigh before my trip this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25,1953. The present inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.
Love,
Santa Claus
My mother's reaction was one of the most deeply emotional scenes I have ever seen. She couldn't speak but only held the doll she had waited fifty-nine years to receive as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. That doll, given by "Santa", made my mother the happiest "child" that Christmas. | high9575.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "football is a mixture of a sharp mind and hard training but not just talking"
},
"options": [
"he could become a great footballer",
"he could become rich if he became a footballer",
"football is a mixture of a sharp mind and ... | From poor beginnings to most expensive player
ZINEDINE Zidane,who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month,has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words.
Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany's Leverkusen 21.
He became one of the world's most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy's Juventus for US $ 66 million.And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3-O defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final.
But despite his success,Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground.He leads a quite family life,there is hardly any gossip about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight.
"Just because I'm a public figure it doesn't mean I have to express myself on everything.I don't like to discuss some personal matters publicly."he said.
Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille,France,where he was raised by his Algerian parents,Zidane was shy.
He loved football even as a little kid."I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking,"he said.
Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread,Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich.
Before he was 10 years old,it was obvious that he could become a great footballer.He was offered his first professional contract when he was just 20.Now,at the age of 29,he has already picked up two World Player of the year awards.
This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup.But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he'll do this time. | high7558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "introduce the topic of how to let kids face rejection in life"
},
"options": [
"introduce the topic of how to let kids face rejection in life",
"suggest how difficult it was for her to join a cheerleader squad",
"show how her... | When I was 10 years old, I tried out for the cheerleading squad. I had taken gymnastics classes for two years to prepare for these tryouts. However, I didn't make the team. It was a heavy blow to me. I cried all night.
Kids today won't experience that kind of rejection. They're growing up in "everybody gets a turn" world where every child gets a chance to kick the ball, sing the song, and win the award. But that's not always such a good thing.
Parents have become fearful of letting kids fail, thinking that our children are easily hurt and will never recover from anything--that's a serious problem. Last week, my 7-year-old daughter didn't get into the school play. At first, I was upset by it. How would she react? When I gave her the news, I was ready to hug her and cry with her. She looked at me, made a slight face and said, "That's too bad. What's for dinner?"
It clearly wasn't the end of her world. Maybe if we let our kids experience rejection once in a while, we'd realize they are much stronger than we think. Kids need to be able to handle disappointments; doing so helps them to prepare for real life. Most importantly, rejection carries the possibility not only for growth and can also motivate kids to try harder the next time.
Rejection is pain. There is no way around that. How will our kids ever discover their true talents if we don't let them? Instead of complaining, maybe we should consider rejection an opportunity. | high14856.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To report the news of the banning of ivory trade."
},
"options": [
"To report the news of the banning of ivory trade.",
"To introduce the crisis that elephants face in Africa.",
"To call on people around the world to protect ... | Elephants scored a big win in 2010. Representatives from 175 countries at the United Nations' Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar, rejected a bid to allow the sale of ivory. Two African nations, Tanzania and Zambia, had asked to open the ivory trade.
Conservationists feared that weakening a 21-year-old ban on the sale of ivory would have encouraged illegal hunting and hurt elephant populations. African elephants once numbered in the millions. Today, there are fewer than 500,000.
"People born in 100 years should be able to see an elephant, " said Noah Wekesa, Kenya's minister of forestry and wildlife. His country voted to keep the ban.
In the 1980s, as many as one million elephants were killed throughout Africa. Hunters killed the animals for their ivory tusks, which were used to make jewelry and other items. " The slaughter of elephants in Africa was just terrible, " says Paul Todd of the International Fund for Animal Welfare ( IFAW ). The group works to protect animals.
The ivory wars continued until 1989, when CITES voted to ban all trade in ivory. With trade controlled, demand for ivory fell. Elephant populations began to increase slowly.
Tanzania and Zambia asked CITES to allow ivory sales from government stockpiles . Ivory is so expensive that it's known as "white gold". Tanzania holds almost 200,000 pounds of ivory, which is worth as much as $20 million. Zambia has 48,000 pounds of the "white gold". The two countries argued that their ivory had been taken from hunters or had come from animals that died naturally. They said this income from the sale of ivory would help the countries.
Wildlife experts, who believe that the ivory trade encourages illegal hunting, cheered the CITES decision. "It's a rare victory for elephants," said Jason Bell-Leask, the IFAW's director for southern Africa. | high23022.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "More than one hour."
},
"options": [
"About thirty minutes.",
"More than one hour.",
"Nearly two hours.",
"Just thirty-five or forty minutes"
],
"question": "How long does it take to get to the volcano from Reyk... | Tour Inside a Volcano in Iceland
Operation dates: From June 15th -July 31st
Departure times: 8:00 AM / 10:00 AM /12:00 PM / 14:00 PM.
Duration: 5-6 hours (up to 1 hour inside the volcano)
Fitness level needed: Average. No knowledge of hiking or climbing is needed.
Distance Walked: About 2.5 km (1.7 miles) each way.
Age limit: 12 years
Included:
Pick-up at your hotel in Reykjavik
All safety equipment
Soup, coffee/tea and perhaps some sweets as well
Transfer back to Reykjavik
Bring with you:
Good shoes. Sneakers will work, but we don't recommend them.
Water. The walk over the lava field is a good workout!
Outdoor clothing. Dress according to weather for the walk. A warm sweater or a jacket would be useful.
About the tour:
This volcano tour takes you inside a volcano, through the top crater and down to the bottom of its magma chamber .
The Thrihnukagigur volcano has not erupted for 4,000 years and shows no signs of coming to life again anytime soon. Hence, you are safe!
You depart from Reykjavik and drive to the area of Blafjoll mountains (About 30 minutes' drive). From there, an easy 35- to 40-minute walk awaits you, in order to get to the volcano.
Using a system normally used to carry window cleaners outside skyscrapers, you will go down 120 metres in an open elevator, a basket lift that is supported by cable wires.
The group is split into smaller parties of four to five persons. The trip takes about 10 minutes and the first ones to go down will be the first ones to go up.
After exploring the volcano on the inside, you will walk back over the lava field where the coach awaits and transfers you back to Reykjavik. | high17387.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to discuss Scola's inclass performance"
},
"options": [
"to discuss Scola's inclass performance",
"to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten",
"to find a language partner for Scola",
"to work out a study plan for Scola"
... | (2013*,D)About 30 years ago,I left Cuba for the United States with my son.After getting settled finally in Brunswick,New Jersey,I enrolled my son in kindergarten.Several weeks later,my son's teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher's office,and exchange of greetings was followed by his questions:"Is your son mentally retarded ?Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?"
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? NO,no,it can't be.What a helpless,lonely moment!I told him that Scola was a quiet,sweet little boy,instead.I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher's directions,he told me,and thus,Scola was _ the class,Didn't he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry;"Why hasn't your son been taught to speak English? Don't you speak English at home?"
No,I didn't speak English at home,I replied.I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months,and I didn't want him to forget his native language.Well,wrong answer!What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? "Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country,never wanting to be a part of this society?"
Needless to say,I tried to tell him I was not one of "those people".Then he told me the meeting was over,and I left.
As I had expected,my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over.He went on to graduate from college and got a job,earning close to six figures.He travels widely and leads a welladjusted,contented life.And he has benefited from being bilingual .
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others;it teaches people about other cultures and other places--something very basic and obviously lacking in the"educator"I met in New Jersey. | high5818.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the study on loneliness"
},
"options": [
"the subjects of psychology",
"the study on loneliness",
"the interests of psychologists",
"the treatment of loneliness"
],
"question": "The passage mainly talks about ... | Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts a few minutes or a few hours. This kind of loneliness is not serious. In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.
The first kind of loneliness is temporary. This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation-for example, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year. Situational loneliness Is easy to understand and to predict.
The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type,
loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problem socializing and becoming close to others unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.
Many researchers agree that the loneliest people are between the ages 18 and 25, so a group of psychologists decided to study a group of college students. They found that more than 50% of the students were situationally lonely at the beginning of the term as a result of their new circumstances, but had adjusted after a few months, 13% were still lonely after seven months due to shyness and fear. They felt very uncomfortable meeting strangers, even though they understood that their fear was not reasonable. The situationally lonely students overcame their loneliness by making new friends, but the chronically lonely remained unhappy because they were afraid to do so.
Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: First of all, they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease. While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous condition. | high16099.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "How the Internet affects newspapers."
},
"options": [
"What newspapers are mainly about.",
"How the Internet affects newspapers.",
"People's different opinions on high technology.",
"Differences between newspapers and t... | What did the arrival of the Internet and 24 hours news mean for British newspapers?
At first, this looked like the end of printed newspapers. The national newspapers were worried that they would lose all the readers, so most of them decided to create an online version . But they still had a problem. How to make money?
There was simply too much news and too much information freely available "out there". But was it accurate ( )? Whose opinions should we trust? A survey for a "good newspaper", and most of those said.they believe more of what they read in paid-for newspapers.
Here was something newspapers understood--here was what they could offer: news plus comment and opinion.
And the Internet now offered new opportunities. A newspaper was just that: news printed on paper. But the Internet now offered newspapers different places to print, and in different media. Many newspapers now have podcasts and video too.
This may explain why the readership of newspaper online in the UK is very different from people who read printed newspapers.
The most popular newspaper in the UK is The Sun, The "mid-market" audience mainly reads The Daily Mail. Online, it's a different story. The most popular is The Mail. And the next popular site is TheGuardian. In fact many of these browsers are not from the UK. The Mail and Guardian are among the most read newspapers in the USA. The Guardian, may become the largest English language paper on the web; a website with a newspaper attached! | high21635.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "serve as an example of the energy conservation"
},
"options": [
"show the excellent skills of the builders",
"serve as an example of the energy conservation",
"are heated by different sources of energy",
"are warmer tha... | Ways to Deal with the Problem of Energy
There are different ways in which people try to deal with the problem of energy.One way is the greater production of common energy sources,such as coal,oil and gas.The trouble with these sources,however,is that they are not renewable.
Another way is energy conservation ,which means using energy more efficiently.In some very cold countries people build special houses to save energy.They place materials between the inside and the outside of the walls of the house to keep the cold out and warmth in.The house is heated by the lights,the body heat of the people and the other equipment in it.
Finally,renewable energy sources are used even though they are often expensive to develop.One form of these is geothermal energy.In certain parts of the world the temperature of the earth increases thirty degrees centigrate with each kilometer down.At six kilometers,therefore,it rises to nearly 200degrees.To get the heat,water is pumped down into the rocks and back up to the surface.Heat from the earth is already used in certain countries. | high2811.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Friends and friendship."
},
"options": [
"How to sail through the sea of life.",
"Friends and friendship.",
"A friend in need is a friend indeed.",
"Never forget old friends when making new ones."
],
"question":... | An African proverb says that a single hand cannot tie a bundle. Everyone needs companions to help them sail through the rough seas of life. Even the strongest and richest person still needs friends. Our money and strength would have no value if we had no friends to share with us. The best friendship is a give-and-take relationship. We need the support of our family, friends and the community. In turn we also give support to the society, our friends and our family.
The word "friend" has many meanings. It could be the bus driver who takes you to and from work every day. It could be a parent, a colleague, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or even the unknown person who helped you just once when you could not find your way. Real friends share not only our happiness but our sorrows as well. This may explain why we have the expression "a friend in need is a friend indeed".
Friendship is like the sunshine that keeps us warm. It is like the refreshing raindrops on the fields that give the farmers hope of a good planting season. Without friends our life would be like a desert where our only friend would be loneliness and sadness. The most fortunate person is the one who has friends from all levels in the society. A driver might find friends not only among his colleagues but among farmers, bankers, traders, students, politicians or teachers. We should never forget our old friends when we make new ones. We should treasure each of our friends whether poor or rich, beautiful or not. Each friend is _ in his or her own way. And all together, they enrich life and make it very colourful. | high11090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Life of high school students."
},
"options": [
"Stories of successful people.",
"How to do well in exams.",
"Life of high school students.",
"How to make friends online."
],
"question": "What's a John Hughes' mo... | What is more important to a high school student than being popular? Anyone who has ever gone to high school or at least seen a John Hughes' movie knows the answer to that question. When Theresa Sommers first discovered MySpace three years ago, the teen from Minneapolis, St. Paul thought she had found the real high school popularity contest. She could spend hours a day creating an online picture, finding cool pictures and music to make her page look more beautiful, and looking for interesting-looking people to be her online friends. And along the way, she could compete with her friends to see who had the most friends or most-visited page.
The more she used the site, however, the less interested she became in only being popular; she started using her time for more heartfelt conversations with friends and went more deeply into her personal interests. As a beginner in taking pictures, she put her best pictures on the site and looked for advice from people who are good at taking pictures.
At the same time,she began to get in touch with the students of the colleges she wanted to go to. She opened up a new account on Facebook. And she even began to put some of her own creative writing on the website and would ask for advice on homework from her friends. She asked them," How long did you spend on your homework?" or "How would you write it?" Often she would put her homework online. | high16927.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It is probably their son will have either blue eyes or grey ones."
},
"options": [
"their son will have blue eyes.",
"Their son is sure to have grey eyes.",
"their son's eyes will share both that of father's and mother's.",
... | DNA is a substance that makes up genes. Everything alive has genes. Plants have genes. Animals have genes. You have genes. Genes are the basic units of heredity . Heredity means all the characteristics you inherit from your parents. You get your genes from your parents. You inherit half of your genes from your mother. You inherit half of your genes from your father. Genes are a kind of code. A tree's genes tell what shape its leaves will be. A cat's genes tell what color1 its fur will be. Your genes tell what color1 your eyes will be. Your genes tell what color1 your hair will be. Everything about you comes from the code in your genes. Genes line up on strands called chromosomes in cells. Everything alive is made up of cells. Chromosomes are in the center, or nucleus, of cells.
An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first saw inherited patterns in pea plants. He experimented with pea plants in the 1860s. One of the things, or traits , Mendel studied was what makes some pea plants tall and some short. He said that the traits must come from units of heredity passed from the parent plants. These units were called genes.
In the mid-1900s, scientists discovered that genes are made of DNA. In the 1970s, scientists learned how to change DNA with genetic engineering. Scientists also learned that problems with certain genes cause diseases. Muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia are some genetic diseases--diseases caused by problems in genes. Today, scientists are looking for ways to cure genetic diseases by _ genes through a process called gene therapy. | high23744.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Dark reddish purple."
},
"options": [
"Blue.",
"Light yellow.",
"Red.",
"Dark reddish purple."
],
"question": "What is the colour of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?",
"question_type": "factiod_... | Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it's outside the body, when it's sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it's more of a dark reddish purple colour. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
This question depends on whether you're busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you're sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn't because they're shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity . Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again?No, because old people don't really shrink!It is not that they are growing backwards--their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it's because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning make you dizzy ?
Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're feeling. The brain senses that you're spinning using special gravity and motion sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning , the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you're moving while you're not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area--from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet. | high7969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Every possible means is being carried out to save the brave teacher."
},
"options": [
"Every possible means is being carried out to save the brave teacher.",
"It's increasingly difficult to save the brave teacher.",
"The only... | Zhang Lili, a 29-year-old middle school teacher at the No 19 middle school in the city of Jiamusi in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province was crossing the road just outside the school's gate when a school bus suddenly came rushing toward nearby students at 8:38 pm on May 8, 2012.
"There were three buses at the school gate ready to pick up students, but the one in the back suddenly crashed into the second bus and pushed it into the first one. There were several students standing between the first and the second buses and they were about to be crushed," said Liu Ye, a student of No. 19 middle school.
"We were waiting to board the bus when suddenly _ began moving toward the teachers and students. Zhang Lili immediately pushed the students out of the way, but unfortunately she didn't escape. The bus crushed her legs. " added Liu.
Zhang Lili was sent to hospital at about 9 pm and she was critically injured and her blood pressure was low. The situation was quite serious when rushed to hospital.
After consulting specialists, the doctors decided that the only way to save her life was cut off both of her legs.
Upon learning about the accident, the deputy mayor of the city, Sun Zhe, asked the hospital to "save the young teacher regardless of the cost"
"If necessary, we will invite more specialists from the capital city, even from whole nation," said Sun.
Fortunately, after 58 hours of emergency medical attention after being transferred to the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Zhang finally regained consciousness on May 15.
" _ , and the doctors are still working full out to save the heroic teacher," said Zhao Mingyan, ICU director at the hospital, where Zhang is now receiving treatment.
"Her courage moved all of our staff, and we will try our best to help the brave teacher in her future life. " said Wang Jianwei, the director of center.
The Ministry of Education has also named her "National Outstanding Teacher" and called on the country's educators to learn from her. | high654.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "provide video news for their network"
},
"options": [
"become a user of their product",
"put advertisements on their web",
"provide video news for their network",
"get an email address from the Internet"
],
"que... | In 1992, I had just launched a new business called Video News International.
It was the world's first video journalist network. The idea was to cover news and sell the service to news organizations.
One day, a young intern who was working for us named Anthony Lappe pulled me aside.
"There is something you have to see," he told me. "Comcast is doing this really cool thing."
"What?"
"The Internet," he said. "It's going to be really big."
Anthony later introduced me to the head of the Internet project.
"We are looking for content to put on our network here," the guy said to me.
Well, I said I had lots of content to offer.
The guy's eyes lit up. "Cool," he said. "We would like to put it on our network."
Well, I was always looking for new clients.
"What are you going to pay?" I asked.
He said that they could not pay anything for the content, but they would set up a URL for me.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's kind of like your address on the web."
"What would I do with this URL thing?"
"Well, it could be your business."
"I don't see how it is a business, and there's not even any advertising," I cleverly replied.
"Not yet," he said. "But one day there might be."
I thought about it for two seconds.
"Naah..." I said. " _ . I've got to be going now. Maybe we can cooperate next time."
And I walked out.
Idiot!
Well, that Internet thing turned out to be so much bigger than I had thought. I wish I had never made such a mistake. Sorry Anthony. You were right. | high9944.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Negative"
},
"options": [
". Positive",
"Negative",
"Neutral",
"Not mentioned"
],
"question": "What is the author's attitude towards banning electric bicycles?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": ... | In 2002, the Beijing Municipal government led the nation in issuing an order banning electric bicycles from January 1, 2006. Since then a number of local governments have followed this.
In May, the Legislature of Zhuhai in South China's prefix = st1 /GuangdongProvincebecame the first law-making body in the country to pass a regulation to keep electric bicycles off the roads.
They claim environmental disadvantage and concerns over public safety justify their ban.
Local government officials and law makers have argued their leading concern is the threat of pollution from spent lead-acid batteries. The ly high speed of electric bicycles --- faster than most common bikes at about 20 kilometers per hour --- is just too dangerous in the eyes of some policy-makers.
They also mention interference with automobiles, common bikes and passers-by that results in accidents or slowed traffic.
But none of these arguments justify the ban.
In the first place, it should be made clear that while operating, the battery driving an electric bike sends out almost no polluting gas. They are much cleaner than cars. If the batteries, which can be used for one or two years, are thrown away without proper treatment or recycling, environmental damage is highly likely.
It is required that electric bike producers and store sellers sign recycling contracts to ensure consumers can sell used batteries back to producers. In practice, some small producers neglect their recycling responsibility, causing concern for environmental pollution.
It is clear the authorities can solve the problem through strengthening management. Although it will require some extra efforts from the government, it does not go beyond government officials' call of duty.
Regarding the speed, there are technical standards governing the production of electric bikes. According to the standards, the designed speed should be limited to a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour. This is slower than the top speed of some mountain bikes.
To _ the consumer desire for higher speed, some manufacturers have made it easy to remove speed-limiting devices after purchase, which is potentially very dangerous.
To make the bicycles safer, local governments should draft regulations specifying severe punishments for rule-breakers. The black sheep should be picked up and punished, but violations by a small number of manufacturers or riders should not be an excuse to spoil the fun for everyone. | high23750.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The complaints about stress in work and life."
},
"options": [
"How to make the most delicious coffee.",
"How to choose the coffee cup.",
"The complaints about stress in work and life.",
"How to free themselves from str... | A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best foryourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position insociety are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God. | high9788.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "How birds sing to communicate."
},
"options": [
"How birds build up their territories.",
"How birds sing to communicate.",
"How male birds chase after females.",
"How scientists recognize birds' songs."
],
"ques... | "Keep out or I'll chase you out! This is my property!"
You hear this every spring. It is a long musical sound --- a bird song! Birds use their songs to communicate different messages to one another. People who study bird sounds are learning their meanings.
Usually it is the male that sings. Early in spring he sings to say that he has picked out a piece of property. He sings to attract a female of his same kind. Together they will raise a family in his territory . He sings to tell all other birds of his kind to keep out.
Each kind of bird has its own type of song. Cardinals sing something that sounds a little like "What cheer, cheer, cheer." Towhees sing, "Drink your tea."
Most of the time, birds pay attention only to the songs of birds of their own kind. Cardinals answer cardinals, and song sparrows answer song sparrows. A cardinal knows that a song sparrow will not try to steal its mate. So you can see one reason why a cardinal may chase away another cardinal but will not bother a song sparrow.
Most different kinds of birds eat different things. To find enough to eat, a bird needs a big piece of land to search in. Many kinds of birds have some ways of dividing up the land into territories. Song sparrows, cardinals ovenbirds, and white-throated sparrows are some of the birds that have territorial systems.
Especially in early spring, birds work out the boundaries between their territories by singing "keep out" threats and by chasing and fighting each other. The birds continue singing to tell females that they have set up territories. Neighboring birds seem to agree that there are make believe fences between their pieces of property. Then they do not have to waste energy chasing each other instead of taking care of their young.
Scientists guessed that some birds could recognize their neighbors by small differences in their songs. Two scientists who studied white-throated sparrows found that these birds can even tell the difference between songs of individual birds of their own kind. White-throated sparrows have songs that seem to say "I'm your neighbor" or "I'm a stranger" or "I'm your neighbor to the west." Other kinds of birds could tell neighbors from strangers by their songs, too. | high13693.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "HBL"
},
"options": [
"HBL",
"The William Jones Cup",
"The Basketball Association",
"NBA"
],
"question": "What is the hottest event in the eyes of most basketball fans in Taiwan?",
"question_type": "factiod_q... | To many basketball fans in Taiwan, the William Jones Cup or the Basketball Association may be their sweetest memory. But if you ask them, "What's the hottest basketball event now?" There is the only answer: HBL, the High School Basketball League.
Founded in 1988, the HBLwas at first just a high school basketball tournament. After the Taipei School Sport Federation took charge in 1996 and renamed it HBL, everything changed. The Federation decided to co-operated with Nike, the well-known sportswear manufacturer, and use its experience in marketing to promote the game.
The HBL started with 129 teams; today there are more than 250. no longer just of interest to the players, it's now Taiwan's biggest basketball event. Fellow students, alumni (,), and sports fans all over Taiwan cheer for their favorite teams. At last year's finals, Taipei and Kaohsiung mayors came to cheer for their teams.
The HBL starts in September with qualifying and preliminary(,) rounds and continues through April of the following year, when the finals are held. Broadcasting the games on television has helped make the HBL a wildly popular event. It's become the place to spot young basketball talent. Today's HBL players are tomorrow's professionals.
Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive, with no one school taking the advantage. This wide-open quality of the tournament makes it more exciting. Everyone wants to see how this year's games will come out. HBL fever just keeps getting hotter. | high640.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "February 5"
},
"options": [
"February 1",
"February 5",
"February 7",
"February 11"
],
"question": "The Sapporo Snow Festival 2013 will start from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri) is a festival being held every year in Sapporo, Japan for over seven days in February. Presently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main places of the festival. The 2013 Yuki-matsuri dates are February 5 to 11.
The festival is one of Japan's largest and most typical winter events. In 2007 (58th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of floating statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites, in central Sapporo, and at the Satoland site. The festival is thought to be a chance for promoting international relations. International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odori Park site since 1974, and 14 teams from various areas of the world participated in 2008.
The subject of the statues differs and often shows an event, famous building or person from the previous year. For example, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who at that time played for the New York Yankees. A number of stages made out of snow are also constructed and some events including musical performances are held. At the Satoland site, visitors can enjoy long snow and ice slides as well as a huge maze made of snow. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of local foods from all over Hokkaido at the Odori Park and Satoland sites, such as fresh seafood, potatoes and corn, and fresh dairy products.
Every year the number of Statues displayed is around 400 in total. In 2007, ther were 307 statues created in the Odori Park site, 32 in the Satoland site and 100 in the Susukino site. The best place to view the creations is from the TV Tower at the Odori Park site. Most of the statues are lighted in the evening. The Sapporo Snow Festival Museum is placed in the Hitsujigaoka observation hill in Toyohira-ku, and displays historical materials and media of the festival. | high23988.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Personal life"
},
"options": [
"Childhood",
"Personal life",
"Music career",
"Charity"
],
"question": "Which of the following topics is Not described about Michael Jackson in the passage?",
"question_type": ... | Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958. He was born in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh child out of nine children in his family. Michael was often physically abused by his father, beaten up and also verbally abused. But Michael also owed his success to his father's being strict.
Michael was always an entertainer . Even when he just joined school, he would perform in front of friends and classmates. Michael started his professional music career at the age of 11, as a member of the Jackson Five.
He's well-known for increasing the popularity of MTV through his music videos. Before this, music videos were made just to promote the albums . But Michael's videos managed to change that in videos being made as an art, and for big business. Some of the music videos that are good examples of this fact are Beat It, Billie Jean, and Thriller. Through these works of his, the world got caught onto the idea of music videos and dedicated music video channels.
Michael _ his fans and audiences with his style of singing, dressing, and his complex dance moves, especially the "Moonwalk". The moonwalk is something that people from every part of the globe loved and try to copy People have also done mass moonwalks all around to show their love towards him.
Michael Jackson supported 39 charities . Through his work and various foundations, he raised and gave millions toward charity, much more than any other showman. He had great love for children, especially the poor ones, and he felt children were the next best thing after God.
Michael planed to start a 50-concert tour in July 2009. Sadly, on 25thJune, 2009, Michael passed away at home. Michael Jackson was a great performer, showman, and entertainer, besides the good human and charitable person that he was. It's very unlikely that there will ever be another entertainer like Michael Jackson ever again. | high9950.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "recommend a few original versions of classics"
},
"options": [
"recommend a few simplified versions of classics",
"recommend a few original versions of classics",
"tell us how to read an English book from beginning to end",
... | Will you want me to read a whole book in English?
Yes. Believe it or not, that may be easier than you think. Not all classics are so difficult or complicated. So you're not limited to the simplified versions. And the easier books are not all for children.
In the original versions ,books may send you to the dictionary. And you might not understand everything you read. But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment.
The key is to find the right books. Let's take a look at these.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
Stepping into an old wardrobe, four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia. On this delightful land, they find friends among the many talking creatures.
The children soon discover, however, that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch. Edmund, one of the children, falls under her power. Who can free Narnia? Only Aslan, the great and noble lion. He alone knows the Deeper Magic. But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who serve her.
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, hasn't caught any fish in more than 80 days. Sailing far out from land, the old man hooks an enormous fish. That begins an agonizing three-day battle. First he struggles against the great fish. Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish. Exhausted and bleeding, the old man arrives back at shore. But his fish, his beautiful fish . . .
Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for this superb story of strength and courage, of victory and regret.
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine Lingle)
Meg's father, a U.S. government scientist, has been missing for many months. He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared.
Now Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him. But first they must _ the forces of evil they encounter on their journey through time and space. Can they find Meg's father before it's too late?
This novel is more than just a science-fiction adventure. It's an exploration of the nature of our universe.
The Pearl (John Steinbeck)
One day Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, finds a magnificent pearl. With it he dreams of buying a better life, new clothes and schooling for his son. Instead, it brings only evil. His wife pleads with him to get rid of it. "No," says Kino. "I will have my chance. I am a man." But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl, Kino and his wife must run for their lives.
This tale of dreams, justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully. | high8496.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his sister explained the packages she got by mail"
},
"options": [
"he stopped web-surfing",
"he visited a store in his backyard",
"his sister explained the packages she got by mail",
"his friends told him about the onl... | I have been using the Internet since I was five years old, when my dad first sat me down in front of a computer and connected me the World Wide Web.
I've always felt like a master of the Internet world. AOL Instant Messaging, MSN, Gmail, Facebook, Myspace -- I've got it all under control. I thought there was nothing more to it besides checking my e-mail and wasting my time, until I was introduced to electronic commerce(e-commerce): business on the Internet.
Some online businesses are run from one-room home offices. Others have hundreds of employees across the world. Have you ever heard of Amazon.com, Yahoo.com?
My friends often said they got cheap textbooks off Amazon.com, or had a good deal on Steve Madden shoes that were on sale at SteveMaden.com. Unfortunately for me, I continued my "e-commerceless" Web-surfing, not knowing about all the deals I was missing out on.
That is, of course, until my sister finally sold the idea to me.
"Why are all these packages arriving in the mail for you, Katy?" I asked her one day. Strange envelopes had been put on our doorstep for weeks now, each one always addressed to my sister; and we all know little sisters should never be getting more mail than their elders!
"Oh, it's the things I ordered online!" she answered. I watched speechlessly as she opened them. There was no way our parents were letting her spend that much money- online or off!
"How much did all of this coat?"
"Oh, only about $15 in all!" She said excitedly. "Everything on eBay is on sale! It's a way better than going to the mall."
I felt as if there had been a store right in my backyard that I had never walked into! That week, I ordered a used Spanish textbook for my summer course online for 10 percent of the publishing price. A few days later, I bought an iPod protector and a book or two via the wonderful eBay.com. | high898.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Apollo was bound by his promise to Phaethon."
},
"options": [
"Apollo wanted to protect Phaethon from teasing.",
"Phaethon dared to approach Apollo's throne.",
"Apollo was bound by his promise to Phaethon.",
"Apollo ask... | Phaethon stood impatiently at the heavy golden doors. He ordered the guards, Month and Year, to let him approach his father's throne. As the doors opened slowly, the sun's rays almost blinded him. Phaethon protected his eyes and felt his way toward Apollo's throne. "Come here, my son. Follow my voice," Apollo's voice echoed. "What is so urgent that you have my guards hurrying to do your bidding?"
"Father, I have a problem. All of my friends have been teasing me. They don't believe that you're my father or that you make the sun rise and set," complained Phaethon.
Apollo replied, "Oh? That problem again? Well, just to prove it to your friends once and for all, I will satisfy any wish you desire."
"Really? Then I have only one wish," answered Phaethon. "I'd like to drive your chariot and make the sun rise tomorrow morning!"
Apollo was horrified. "No, not that! No one but me can drive the chariot. The horses are too powerful!"
"You said I could have anything," murmured Phaethon.
Bound by his promise, Apollo had to agree. His heart was sick with worry as he ordered Dawn to prepare the horses, Hour and Day, to the Golden Chariot. Phaethon could hardly wait to jump in the driver's seat and take the reins . He hoped all his friends were watching the sky and waiting for him through the stars.
"Wait, my son! There are things you need to know!" cried Apollo.
"Oh, Father! You worry too much. I've often seen you drive. I know what to do," Phaethon answered.
Apollo hurried to give directions. "You have never driven my chariot before. You must make the horses stay on the path. If you are too low, you will _ the earth and large land on it could be thrown into a world of fire."
"I know, Father. Now watch me take off!" shouted Phaethon.
Dawn stepped back and released the horses go. The horses were filled with excitement. The sky begged for Dawn's light, so she ran toward the horizon to make the darkness fade. As Phaethon was about to get on, Apollo took him by the arm and said, "Please listen to me! If you go too high, you will warm the cold depths of the heavens, and the Bear or Snake or the Scorpion will come alive!"
Phaethon just laughed. "My friends are waiting. I've got to go!" he shouted.
With that, the chariot was off. It was a wild ride. Hour and Day were difficult to control. Phaethon did not have his father's strong arms or years of experience. The horses wove from side to side and jumped up and down through the heavens, hitting everything in their way. The sun bounced along behind the chariot like a basketball. It scratched the stars and slipped along mountaintops, leaving burnt remains behind. Phaethon's friends ran for cover as they watched. Just as his father had warned him, the figures in the sky began to move. Suddenly the Scorpion appeared suddenly before him, but Phaethon dashed by in time. The Snake struck out and bit a wheel off the chariot.
Apollo, seeing the destruction, rushed up toward the heavens, but he was too late! The Bear had waken up from his icy hibernation and seized Phaethon before his father could reach him. Apollo took hold of the reins and finally regained control of Hour and Day, but it was years before the earth's mountaintops were white with snow again. The scorched areas became deserts where very little would grow. Phaethon became a part of the stars alongside the Bear, where his father could regretfully keep an eye on him. | high21147.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because he wanted to let Nick deal with her alone."
},
"options": [
"Because he wanted to let Nick deal with her alone.",
"Because he had to go and catch Jackson at once.",
"Because he was tired of the elderly woman.",
... | "This one's for you," Sergeant Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building.
"Good morning, Madam," I said.
"Good morning," she said pleasantly. "You're new, aren't you?"
"Yes, Madam."
"It's about that man who's been annoying me," she said. "I've been here about him before."
"Could I have your name and address, please?"
"Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?"
"What's he done, Miss Fraser?"
"Done? He's thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped."
"Where does he live?"
"Next door, Number 41," she said.
"I'll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser."
"I would be most grateful." With that she left.
Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. NO. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp . Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser's threatening police action. I decided to visit her.
I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately. "Ah!" she said gladly. "You're just in time for coffee." I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave.
Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned. "Nick, did you kick Jackson out of that house?"
"Jackson!" I cried. "Who is he?"
"There is no Jackson," he said. "Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That's what we are here for, isn't it -- to satisfy the public?" | high2805.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "find your missing items"
},
"options": [
"find your missing items",
"use your phone more wisely",
"save your phone's battery power",
"connect something to your phone"
],
"question": "The Tile app can help you _... | If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range . If the item goes out of your phone's 150-foot range, it can still be detected on other smartphones with the same app.
When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item -- a dog, for example, or a stolen bike -- goes out of your own phone's 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a "lost item". If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it.
Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced. The app, which will come into the market this winter, works with iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, iPad 3rd and 4th generation, and iPod 5th generation. | high11084.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Dogs Saves Teen Girl From House Fire"
},
"options": [
"Janice Hamilton Helps Save Neighbors",
"Firefighters Put Out House Fire",
"Dogs Saves Teen Girl From House Fire",
"Family Needs Help Due To House Fire"
],
"... | When Chato's barking didn't stir Jerrica Seals, the recently adopted dog tried nibbling on the teenager's leg, to get the girl out of her burning house.
No one was hurt. prefix = st1 /Fort Myersfirefighters responded at about 7 a.m.
Five people lived in the Garcia home. That was neighbor Janice Hamilton's main concern when she looked out of her window Friday and saw the flames. "I just threw my pants on to run outside and make sure _ knew how many people lived there,"Hamiltonsaid. "It was scary."
"Seals called me screaming," said Leticia Vega, 36, the sister of Seal's boyfriend, Javier Garcia, 23, who owns the home. "She said the dog woke her up barking, jumped on the bed and bit her on the leg."
It is said that Garcia's brother brought Chato home several weeks ago after the animal wandered onto a Lehigh Acres construction site. Since then, Vega said, Chato had been mostly quiet -- until it mattered. "He doesn't usually bark." Vega said. "He's real friendly."
According to deputy fire chief Steve Clyatt, possibly the fire started because of an inadequate extension cord used on a window air conditioner. More than half of the home was burned down. There was extensive smoke and water damage in the remainder of the structure. Estimates for repair costs were unavailable. " _ " Clyatt said. | high16933.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "USMilitary Plans"
},
"options": [
"USMilitary Plans",
"The Global Arms Race",
"A Comparison between Two Presidents",
"President George W. Bush and the World Peace"
],
"question": "Which of the following might b... | United States President George W. Bush is expected to issue a directive in the next few weeks. It will give the US Air Force a green light for the development of space weapons, US media reported last week.
This would potentially start a new global arms race, some experts have warned.
To keep that from happening, last Wednesday the White House explained that it was not considering putting weapons in space. It said it was making a shift inprefix = st1 /USspace policy to allow for protection of satellites.
But some defense analysts and arms control advocates argue that the policy will pave the way for the US to put both defensive and offensive ( ) weapons in space.
"No one should be fooled," said Theresa Hitchens, an American weapons expert.
The USis now restricted by a 1996 directive signed by President Bill Clinton. Plans for space weapons were vetoed by the Clinton cabinet. The directive emphasized the peaceful use of space , in agreement with almost unanimous ( ) global opinion.
The USmilitary has placed importance on space and has sent up numberous satellites for troop communications and to provide intelligence and data to guide bombs to their targets.
The US Air Force wants to develop space- based weapons that could strike targets anywhere in the world within 90 minutes of receiving the order to open fire.
These new weapons under development cover a wide range. They include hunter- killer satellites and orbiting weapons. And they use lasers, radio waves, or even dense metal tubes, known as " Rods from God", dropped from space to do the damage.
There are many barriers to the setting up of this kind of program, experts say.
First is the coast. It is estimated that the budget may be US $220 billion to US $ 1 trillion .
The technical difficulties of developing reliable space weapons are also a problem.
And, the program will draw strong criticism from around the world. Experts worry about starting a space arms race. | high17393.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "says nothing certain about which pattern is better"
},
"options": [
"believes that longer working hours is better",
"prefers shorter working hours to longer ones",
"says nothing certain about which pattern is better",
"... | Among rich countries , people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to "spend"a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be more satisfying work,or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP . So the United States has produced more per worker than, say,France.The United States also has more of its people at work,while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home.The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France,even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better.As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, _ often get lost in interest.It is too early to explain the different trends in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance ? | high21621.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The Apple iPhone was popular."
},
"options": [
"The Apple iPhone was beautiful.",
"The Apple iPhone was popular.",
"The Apple iPhone was expensive.",
"The Apple iPhone was attractive."
],
"question": "What did t... | The Apple iPhone's impact was widely evident at the Consumer Electronics Show, as new touch-screen devices could be found everywhere.
The consumer electronics industry came unbuttoned in Las Vegas this week. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, companies from around the world
many devices boasting (...) touch - sensitive technology, rather than traditional push-button controls.
Motorola, Sony, and LG Electronics all showed off touch-screen phones this week. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates praised and offered a touch-screen computer, the Surface, related to a flat panel TV for a tabletop. Even camera makers, such as Kodak,included touch-screen LCDs in their devices. Touch-screen tech has been in use for years,but the push to develop and weave it into consumer electronics gathered steam with the June introduction of Apple's iPhone. "The touch-screen industry is really getting hot," says Jennifer Colegrove, a senior analyst at iSuppli. "Since the iPhone came out, there are a lot of companies that did not have a relationship with touch screens before that decided, 'OK, I want to make a touch screen, too.'"
The touch-screen tech ecosystem now includes more than 100 companies specializing in everything from smudge-proof screens to sensors able to detect fingers before they even contact the screen. Sales of leading touch-screen technologies,such as those used in mobile phones and navigation devices,are expected to rise to $ 4.4 billion in 2012, up from $ 2.4 billion in 2006,according to iSuppli estimates. | high15584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "your hands are freed to do other things."
},
"options": [
"your hands are freed to do other things.",
"they can hold as many things as you want to carry.",
"they can be very large.",
"you do not have to carry things wit... | Backpacks are convenient. They can hold your books, your lunch, and a change of clothes, leaving your hands free to do other things. Someday, if you don't mind carrying a heavy load, your backpacks might also power your MP3 player, keep your cell phone running, and maybe even light your way home.
Lawrence C. Rome and his colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia2 and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole3, Mass. 4, have invented a backpack that makes electricity from energy produced while its wearer walks. In military actions, search-and- rescue operations, and scientific field studies, people rely increasingly on cell phones, global positioning system (GPS)5 receivers, night-vision goggles, and other battery-powered devices to get around and do their work. The backpack's electricity-generating feature could dramatically reduce the amount of a wearer's load now devoted to spare batteries, report Rome and his colleagues in the Sept. 9 Science6.
The backpack's electricity-creating powers depend on springs used to hang a cloth pack from its metal frame. The frame sits against the wearer's back, and the whole pack moves up and down as the person walks. A gear mechanism converts vertical movements of the pack to rotary motions of an electrical generator, producing up to 7.4 watts.
Unexpectedly, tests showed that wearers of the new backpack alter their gaits in response to the pack's oscillations, so that they carry loads more comfortably and with less effort than they do ordinary backpacks. Because of that surprising advantage, Rome plans to commercialize both electric and non-electric versions of the backpack.
The backpack could be especially useful for soldiers, scientists, mountaineers, and emergency workers who typically carry heavy backpacks. For the rest of us, power-
generating backpacks could make it possible to walk, play video games, watch TV,and listen to music, all at the same time. Electricity-generating packs aren't on the market yet, but if you do get one eventually, just make sure to look both ways before crossing the street! | high22328.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "provide passengers with further pleasant experience beside their flight"
},
"options": [
"help people exercise with better shoes",
"attract more people to choose easyJet",
"make sure their passengers have the best possible fl... | Most airlines go all out to ensure their passengers have the best possible flight experience. Now, Europe's low-budget airline, easyJet, wants to extend the positive experience beyond the plane ride with "Sneakairs"--smart shoes that allow visitors to explore new cities and towns without ever looking at a map.
To transform Sneakairs from an ordinary shoe to a tour guide, all the wearer has to do is enter his or her desired destination into the easyJet smartphone app. A built-in GPS will determine the wearer's starting location while the Google Maps navigation tool will help chart the best route. Whenever a change of direction is necessary, the app will communicate with the appropriate shoe via the Bluetooth and cause it to vibrate . For example, if the wearer needs to turn right, he/she will feel the sensation in the right shoe. Should the user miss the turn, the smart shoes will both vibrate at the same time, reminding him/her to change course.
Visitors that wander off the suggested path or decide to take a break for a cup of coffee or a meal have nothing to worry about. The smart app will automatically determine the new location and chart out a new route, once the desired destination is reached. Sneakairs will vibrate three times to inform the user of the arrival and then go back to being ordinary shoes--until their navigation services are needed again!
Sneakairs is certainly not the first navigation shoe in the market. However, easyJet is the first airline to offer them to passengers just as they are about to land in an unknown city. However, before Sneakairs can go mainstream, the easyJet team still needs to make some adjustments. Among the challenges that need to be addressed is the smart shoe's three-hour battery life, which is hardly enough for a tourist to catch all the delights a new or town has to offer! | high14842.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Two dogs star the movie."
},
"options": [
"Two dogs star the movie.",
"The boy' s mother is very disgusting.",
"The movie will be liked by all the children.",
"The movie is fast-paced."
],
"question": "What can ... | Have you heard of the movie Benji off the Leashf This Benji story7 begins when his mother, a pretty black furry dog, escapes from the puppy mill with Colby, a boy who loves her.He tries to hide her in an abandoned house.The boy' s father discovers her there and takes mother and pups back home to the puppy mill, but leaves Benji behind because he doesn't look purebred enough to be sold for money.Colby comes back later to rescue the tiny puppy and keeps Benji in his wooden clubhouse, bringing Mom to come to visit him in secret.
As Benji grows bigger, it becomes harder to keep him in the clubhouse, and eventually the boy' s father discovers him and Benji is forced to flee to the streets.But despite his fear of Colby' s father, Benji cannot forget about his mother, who is growing steadily weaker and sicker.He continues to sneak back to the puppy mill yard to spy on the goings-on there and plan a way to rescue her.
Benji's doggie pal, Scrappy enters the story when he is pushed out of a car into a country lane.Once his paws hit the ground, Scrappy wags his tail once helplessly after the car as it drives away, and then is immediately up to his neck in hapless mischief . Scrappy is a lovably stupid little dog who barely manages to escape the animal control officers who are determined to catch him.
One of the wonderful things about this movie is that the two stars are not highly trained purebred dogs.Both Benji and Scrappy were rescued mixed breed dogs found at local animal shelters.Adorable Benji and his stupid pal, Scrappy, demonstrate that mixed-breed rescue dogs are just as intelligent and trainable as any purebred dog.
Benji Off the Leash clearly demonstrates the connection between people who abuse animals and people who abuse people.Colby' s father takes out his anger on those who are weaker than him, namely by frightening his wife and the dogs.He attempts to frighten Colby, but the boy bravely refuses to let him.
Children who are used to fast-paced action films with catchy theme songs may not have the patience for the slower pace of this film.But for rescue volunteers, older children, and anyone who loves dogs, this is a heartwarming movie that shows how even in today' s world of deserted dogs and backyard puppy mills, there can still be happy endings for homeless dogs. | high126.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "an airline"
},
"options": [
"a traveling agent",
"a medical center",
"an airline",
"a five-star hotel"
],
"question": "The services above are probably offered by _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Beverage Service We serve a variety of soft drinks, coffee, tea and free of charge. However, as flying has a dehydrating effect, water and non-alcoholic beverages are recommended.
Electronic Equipment Cellphones, FM/AM radios, portable television sets and electronic toys with remote controls must not be used in the cabin, as their signals may interfere with the aircrafts navigational instruments. Laptop computers and CD (MD, MP3) players may be used during cruising portions of the flight but not during the takeoff and landing.
Inflight Entertainment A wide selection of international publications are available for your reading pleasure. You may keep this free copy of Morning Calm magazine, but kindly return all other reading materials after you have finished with them for the benefit of fellow passengers. A selection of music is available on eight channels, from channel 3 to 10. The channel changer is on your armrest. We also offer a selection of popular films; you may listen in English on channel 2. Paduk (go) and chess are available on request, and we have free postcards and stationery.
Medical Needs We keep a selection of nonprescription medicine for any passenger suffering from mild sicknesses. An emergency medical kit is also available for more serious illnesses.
Travelling with Infants and Children Baby bassinets are provided on a first come first serve basis and should be requested at the time of booking. Special meals for children and infants can be served if the request is made 24 hours before departure. Selected giveaways for children aged 2 to 12 are available on all international flights. | high23036.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all of above"
},
"options": [
"children at home",
"children at school",
"preschool students",
"all of above"
],
"question": "Music for Little Mozarts is intended for_.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Music for Little Mozarts is a programme designed to help your little ones develop a love of music. Learning music at an early age helps develop minds and expand cognitive ability. While listening to music can certainly help your youngster pick up songs, actually learning to play the piano can help your child's development.
This programme focuses on little creatures that both entertain and teach. By grasping the attention of a young child's mind and engaging them with stories along with hands on experience, you can provide them with a positive experience that may produce a little Mozart in later years.
Within this multi-book and multi-year lesson plan there are ten little characters that help draw the child into the lesson plan. These little creatures actually can be used to help the child grasp basic concepts in music. The series starts out in the preschool years and provides day by day lessons that can aid the child or a classroom of children right through early adolescence .
The series is designed for both classroom and preschool use and for those at home with homeschoolers. It contains a series of books along with audio CD's, flash cards, and other visual aids that can help very young children develop an ear and an eye for music.
It can be hard to hold the attention spans of children for very long. However, with the right creativity and the proper attention along with simple, easy to master daily lessons, most children will not only grasp music rather quickly, they will also develop a love of real music, not just banging on a piano keyboard and making sounds.
The short, daily lessons are planned out so that children learn to play music by ear. They learn to play real songs and master real passages quickly and easily. This element keeps them involved. They also master playing by ear and then later by reading rather quickly. | high18088.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Dad's eyes are protective to his daughter"
},
"options": [
"Dad gets angry easily",
"Dad's eyes are like evil's",
"Dad's eyes are ugly-looking",
"Dad's eyes are protective to his daughter"
],
"question": "The Ev... | My dad was never the kind to offer many words of love or encouragement. But we knew he loved us... he just had his own way of showing it.
When I was a teen, we were seasonal campers at a family campground almost an hour outside the city where we lived. Each family had their own campsite with water and electric, and you basically parked your camper there from May through October. Most "Seasonals" visited them every weekend during those months, with the occasional weeklong stay. There were plenty of other kids who camped seasonally each weekend, and they came to be some of my closest friends. Of course, many of them were boys.
We kids paired up with our little boyfriends or girlfriends, and we'd hold hands as we'd walk around the campground. We'd play ping-pong, have some snacks, and play songs. Most weekends were pretty similar, but the couples would change. You'd see so-and-so with a different so-and-so than they were with the weekend before. You know how it is when you're a teen -- a three-week relationship is a really long time.
So, needless to say, my teen years were spent with quite a few different boys. But every single one of them had something in common... they'd all received The Evil Eye.
The Evil Eye was a magical sort of thing. One simple look from my dad, and the boy immediately knew not to _ me. It was as if he could send his warnings through invisible laser beams that shot directly from his eyes to the boys' brains.
"You will not put your hands on my daughter... You will not kiss my daughter... You will not even whisper sweet nothings into my daughter's ear."
I remember one night in particular, walking with a boy around the campground after dark. We came from one direction, and my dad from the other. The boy and my dad locked eyes for a brief second, then the boy dropped my hand like a hot potato and turned away, giving me a quick, "See ya later."
Yes, the Evil Eye. Best way ever to keep wandering teen boy hands away from your daughters. | high11912.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Max's father."
},
"options": [
"Max's mother.",
"Max's father.",
"Lucy Brown.",
"Michael Beattie."
],
"question": "Who phoned the police first?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
}
] | Two dogs, Tank and Muck, joined the extraordinary animals in the history of the RSPCA, along with a donkey who saved an old man in a fire.
On a quiet afternoon, Tank, Muck and three-year-old Max were thought to be playing in the yard. But later, Max's mum, Annie, found they had disappeared.
"I searched everywhere for him, " she said. "And when I couldn't find him I jumped into the car. I finally found the dogs. They were running madly around the dam. I called Paul. "
Michael Beattie from the RSPCA said Annie's neighbor, Lucy Brown, who lived near the dam, 300 meters away from the Smiths' house, was the first to hear the dogs' barking. She came out and found Max and the two dogs. All of them were wet. So she took him inside and gave him a hot shower.
Paul Smith said, "When I received my wife's call, I _ . I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what I should do! Then I called the police. "
Meanwhile Annie was worried to death. "I was running around trying to find Max," she said. "The lady who found him heard me calling and she brought him out to me."
When the police arrived they saw quite clear drag marks --Max was rescued by the two dogs.
"We felt so lucky, especially when so many kids in Australia drowned every year. " Said Paul.
The RSPCA awarded each dog a medallion, a certificate and a very large bone.
Tank and Muck, both were homeless before they were taken home by the Smiths. It was a great leap , from rescued dogs to heroes. Maybe it was just their way of saying thanks to the Smiths. | high20517.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "CCD sensor"
},
"options": [
"card reader",
"film",
"CCD sensor",
"USB drive"
],
"question": "In a digital camera, an image is taken by the camera's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Whether it's for a hobby or profession, photography has always been highly valued. Photography has been around for over a hundred years, but what has recently revolutionized it is digital photography.
A digital camera looks like a film camera, but it works differently. A digital camera takes pictures or a video by using a CCD sensor instead of film. The data about the images are electronically saved on a flash card. Later on, the flash card can be removed from the camera and put into a card reader. The card reader can be plugged into a computer's USB port. The images and videos can then be saved on a computer for viewing, editing, emailing, or printing.
Digital photography received a great deal of criticism in its beginning stages, but with its continued development, it is now capable of producing images of a quality that is similar to. or even better, than that of film photographs. However, what really makes digital photography attractive is its convenience and low cost. Instead of having to go to a lab and waiting to get pictures developed to see what they look like, you can always view the images or-video on the LCD screen that is on the back of the camera. Not only does this feature save time, but it also prevents common mistakes like using a wrong exposure( ) that could ruin an image or video.
With the usage of computer programs like Photoshop, more serious photographers can edit their images without the expense of a darkroom. Digital photography is also friendlier to the environment, as harmful chemicals that are needed in the development of film are not used in digital photography. Printing only the best pictures and not having to buy film make digital photography much cheaper. | high19396.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "of the same meaning"
},
"options": [
"of the same meaning",
"of difference in meaning",
"two different sports",
"two dangerous sports"
],
"question": "The White Olympics and the Winter Olympics are _ .",
"... | The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics. At that time, many color1ful stamps are published to mark the great Games. The first stamp marking the opening of the White Olympics was issued on January 25th, 1932 in the United states to celebrate the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, issuing stamps during the White Olympics became a tradition.
To observe the 4th Winter Olympic Games, a group of stamps were published in Germany in November, 1935. The five rings of the Olympics were printed on the front of the sportswear.
It was the first time that the symbol appeared on stamps of the Winter Olympics. In the 1950s, the stamps of this kind became more color1ful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games.
China also published four stamps in February, 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to march into the area of the Winter Olympics.
Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise funds for the sports meet.
Different kinds of sports were represented on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of the athletes. | high21609.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "she was a respectable lady"
},
"options": [
"she was a respectable lady",
"she was a relative of the hospital's leader",
"she lived in the hospital for years",
"she voted for Mr. Obama in the election"
],
"quest... | The world's oldest person, Ms. Baines, died. She celebrated her 115th birthday with congratulations from Barack Obama, President of the United States. Over her life she lived through the terms of 21 US presidents.
Gertrude Baines passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Western Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had lived for her last ten years. Emma Camanag , the hospital's leader ,said she was a respectable lady. "It is really an honor for the hospital to take care of her over the last 10 years and we will greatly miss her. It is just like we have lost a relative ," said Emma.
Ms. Baines, who was born in Shellman, Georgia, in 1894, had no living relatives. She grew up in the southern US during difficult times. During that time, African American people were required to use separate, often poor, public services. She married young and later divorced . Her only child, a daughter, was born in 1909 and died of a terrible disease at the age of 18. Ms. Baines worked as a maid in Ohio before moving to Los Angeles where she lived on her own until she was well over 100.
She once told an interviewer , "As for the secrets of long life, I do not have any disappointments in my own life."
She gained some fame when she voted for Mr. Obama in the US presidential election , saying she supported him "because he's for the colored people". It was only the second time in her life she had voted, the first time being for John F. Kennedy.
Ms. Baines became the world's oldest person in January. Japanese woman, Kama Chien, 114, has now taken over the title. | high6493.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it is hard and inconvenient for her to go home in Xi'an by train."
},
"options": [
"it is hard and inconvenient for her to go home in Xi'an by train.",
"she doesn't like to go to work by subway.",
"she wants to use the car fo... | China has a growing love affair with the cars.This is clear at the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange, where more and more people come to look and increasingly to buy.
Alice Wu is an editor at a Chinese Internet publication.She takes the subway to work, but she is certain she can cut her commute time if she drives herself.Wu says it takes her three hours to get to work now.If she had a car, she says, the same trip would only take her two hours.
The Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange is the biggest car dealership in Beijing.General manager Guo Yong says the business sells more than two thousand cars each week.Guo says it is much easier for Chinese consumers to buy a car now.In the past, it would take them several years to earn enough money to buy a new car.Now, he says, many people only need to save for one year.Also, the emergence of less expensive domestic brands like Chery and BYD means more Chinese can afford cars.
For decades, most Chinese city residents got about by bicycle or public buses and trains.Now, in many areas, the number of new cars is growing faster than the road system, leaving city streets jammed with traffic.Guo Liang has wanted to buy a car for a decade, and he will be the first in his family to own one.He is not _ by Beijing's traffic jams.Guo says if the traffic is too bad, he will use the car for leisure or holidays with his family.Another customer, Zhang Menxin, works in Beijing, but is from Xi'an, more than 900 kilometers away.Zhang says it is very difficult to get a train ticket to return home for Chinese New Year.She adds that train is not convenient.If she had her own car, she says, she could go anytime she wanted to.
World Bank transportation specialist Shomik Mendhiratta says, "Getting a car makes people feel like they have arrived to the middle class, and it's got a huge status associated with it.It's a fantastic thing to have." | high668.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "more than 20 years"
},
"options": [
"almost one year",
"about five years",
"no more than 15 years",
"more than 20 years"
],
"question": "The Abecedarian Project has lasted _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_que... | A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in North Carolina.
Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality childcare center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children
The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the childcare center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.
Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child care program did much better in tests.
The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the childcare center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.
A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills. The researchers found that the young adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to be attending college or to have completed college. In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.
The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed. | high24017.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "didn't get along well with Marie"
},
"options": [
"used to sit on the hill when in trouble",
"lived alone and seldom met others",
"didn't get along well with Marie",
"never made a decision by himself"
],
"questi... | James knew the decision was not going to be an easy one to make as he sat on the hill near the small town that he lived in. There was no one he could turn to for advice. His only sister lived away and he hardly ever saw her and when his sister came over, they always ended up in an argument.
It had been a hot day and James's clothes seemed to stick to his body. He had felt terrible for weeks and he was just tired of feeling sick. He had started vomiting after he would eat anything and he knew that something would have to be done.
After going to the doctor, he was told to come back in a few days. The next three days had gone by slowly and it was time for his visit to the doctor. He had been shown into the doctor's office and James knew it was bad news. The end result was he had stomach cancer.
James sat on the hill looking down at the town and wonder what he would do. Taking out his phone, he dialed his sister's number and told her the bad news. She started to cry and said, "If anything happens to you, I will be alone in this world."
Marie, his sister said, "You are moving up here and you will live with me until you get back on your feet, so go home, pack up and I will be there to get you in two days."
He smiled and said, " _ sounds wonderful, but I still haven't decided if I am going to have the surgery or not?" Hearing this, she softly whispered, "Of course you are having the surgery. I will pick you up in two days. I love you."
James knew the final word was still up to him and he would think about it because this was a decision that wouldn't come easy to him. | high7955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "introduce readers to the instructive lessons of Alexander"
},
"options": [
"tell us the story of Alexander",
"introduce readers to the instructive lessons of Alexander",
"stress the powers of Alexander the Great",
"pers... | There is a very instructive incident involving the life of Alexander, the great Greek king. Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. So, he lay helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail."
"My first desire is that," said Alexander, "My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued, "Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected." The king continued, "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept hanging out of my coffin." Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. "Oh King, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"
At this Alexander took a deep breath and said, "I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure any body. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the _ of death. So let people not take life for granted.
The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a bit of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is just a waste of time to chase wealth.
And about my third wish of having my hands hanging out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty-handed into this world and empty-handed I go out of this world." With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last. | high9978.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Alice Walker's reflection (,) on Langston Hughes."
},
"options": [
"Langston Hughes' books about Alice Walker.",
"The childhood of Alice Walker and Langston Hughes.",
"Langston Hughes, American poet.",
"Alice Walker's r... | Alice Walker makes her living by writing. And her poems, short stories, and novels have won many prizes for her. She was born in Eatonton, Georgia. She went to public schools there, and then to Spelman College in Atlanta before coming to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, from which she graduated in 1966. For a time she lived in Jackson, Mississippi, with her lawyer husband and small daughter. About Langston Hughes, American Poet, her first book for children, she says, "After my first meeting with Langston Hughes, I promised I would write a book for children someday. Why? Because I, at twenty-two, knew next to nothing of his work, and he didn't scold me; he just gave me a pile of his books. And he was kind to me; I will always be thankful that in his warmth he fulfilled my deepest dream (and need) of what a poet should be."
"To me he is not dead at all. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him or speak of him. Once, just before he died, when he was sick with the flu, I took him a basket full or oranges. The joy I felt in giving that simple gift is undiminished by time. He said he liked oranges, too. " | high22466.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "talks to his friends on the Internet"
},
"options": [
"talks to his friends on the Internet",
"plays basketball after school",
"plays computer games at home",
"chats online before doing his homework"
],
"questio... | Letter One
Dear Editor,
After I finish my homework, I often go online and chat with my friends. Sometimes I play Internet games. But my parents hate to see me playing games on the computer. Maybe they have heard too much news about how QQ and Internet games harm children. Once I went to a net bar to play games after school. But after that I told my parents that I was playing basketball at school. I said so because I didn't want to make them unhappy. I feel bad about it. However, I need to rest for a while by playing computer games after studying for a long time. I really want my parents to understand that. Do foreign parents do the same to their children? Please help me.
Li Ping, Nantong
Letter Two
Dear Li Ping,
I think it's not strange for parents to keep their children away from anything bad. Foreign parents will do the same as your parents! They may not let their children watch TV for too long a time, or like your parents, they don't want their children to play computer games.
Talk to your parents and be honest to them, I think. Tell them what you are doing and why you are doing so to make them understand you. _ They aren't fools as you think sometimes! Our parents seem to know what is the best for us. Remember: to be honest is the best way.
Good luck,
Rebecca | high13863.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "varieties of demands are hard to meet because of the increasing population in Africa and Asia."
},
"options": [
"varieties of demands are hard to meet because of the increasing population in Africa and Asia.",
"one way to put an en... | The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.
Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.
The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.
The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.
Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.
"We need enough integration(,) with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."
The report says development in a sustainable way is important to end poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people still severely lack nutrition.
UN officials say some things are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food. "There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. ."
Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda. | high4284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Sad"
},
"options": [
"Curious.",
"Sad",
"Annoyed.",
"Inspired."
],
"question": "How did Gordon Hempton feel when he knew his ears were going deaf?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Our world is a noisy place, but quiet places remain. Eight years ago, audio engineer Gordon Hempton identified the quietest place in the continental United States. He calls the place "One Square Inch of Silence." He has used his symbolic spot in a northwestern rain forest to campaign against noise pollution. But the self-described "Sound Tracker" is now going deaf.
For Gordon Hempton, it started with an experience known to many people. "I was lying in the bed in the springtime about a year ago. The sun was shining. The birds could be singing. They should be singing. But I was hearing none. I knew my life was going to be different."
Hempton's eyes get watery as he describes his cruel situation. More than 20 years ago he trademarked his nickname as "The Sound Tracker." Sharp hearing defined his career as an Emmy award winning sound recordist. It also led to his activism against noise pollution. He has circled the globe three times in search of the perfect sounds of nature.
Hempton says his hearing loss is quickly getting worse but he has to finish his project.
"I am running a race to finish the Quiet Planet collection." That's the title of a planned 19-volume set of nature recordings. The sound tracks could be licensed for use in movies, video games, exhibits, plays and the like. Volunteer assistants now help Hempton review and edit sound files and identify imperfections.
The exact cause of his hearing loss is not clear. Doctors say it may be the result of an infection, or a tumor or a combination of things. Hempton is self-employed. His health care plan does not pay for hearing loss treatment. So, for now, he's directing his attention to completing his "greatest hits" album. "After I get it finished, I have an economic cash flow to get my hearing back. That's the first thing on my to-do list." He's hopeful his hearing loss can be recovered. | high18922.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "his concern for the role parents play in families"
},
"options": [
"his concern for the role parents play in families",
"his support for children's independence",
"his wonder at the potential of children",
"his surprise... | Every parent wants their child to grow up to enjoy life and be successful. Each and every one of us has something that we don't want our children to experience as they get older. We protect them hoping they will never experience hurt, yet as they get older they come across their own struggles.
We often do everything we can to keep them from making the mistakes that we have made. Your children are not you. They are incredible little beings that choose you to experience life with. They are not little "mini me's" that will make the same mistakes we have made or learn the way we learn from our own experiences. They go to school, have experiences that they only tell us about, and understand the experiences through their own thoughts and feelings mixed in with family behavioral patterns. This is where you can make a difference. Be an example.
Teach your child how to live life by being the person you would want them to be--helping others, loving yourself and making no judgments about other people. As you learn this in your own self and apply it, your child won't need you to speak a word. If little Joannie doesn't want to share with another child, show them how to share. Show by example.
If you don't want other to _ , treat others as you want to be treated because there is a child learning behaviors from you. Be the example of what you want your child to be through your own positive thoughts and feelings. It is the best thing you can do for your child and yourself to ensure your child feel accepted and loved as they get older. | high20265.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "tells us something about traditional Japanese food"
},
"options": [
"advises us to eat healthy food is so healthy",
"explains why Japanese food is so healthy",
"introduces some famous traditional Japanese food",
"tells ... | Traditional Japanese food is surely one of the healthiest and most delicious in the world, and _ , foods like tofu, sushi and even green tea are now familiar and can be found easily out of Japan. As a national cuisine , thanks to many social as well as political changes, Japanese food has greatly developed over the past few centuries. In ancient times, when much of the traditional cuisine was influenced by Korean and Chinese cultures, Japanese cuisine slowly changed with the start of the medieval period, which brought along with it new tastes.
With the coming of the modern age, a great many changes took place and the Japanese cuisine was influenced greatly by Western culture. However, the traditional Japanese food of today is still very like what existed toward the end of the 19th century. This would mean that a large part of the Japanese cuisine includes those foods whose cooking methods and ingredients have been introduced from other cultures, but which have since then been experimented with and developed by the Japanese themselves.
The thing about Japanese food is that you either will love it or will completely look down upon it. With traditional Japanese food, there is no such thing as an in-between. However, chances are that if you hate Japanese food, then you probably haven't even tasted real Japanese food or you simply haven't given yourself the chance to like it. Unlike other cuisines, Japanese food is not something that you will appreciate after having only a bite. Like wines and cigars, Japanese food needs time to be liked. | high6487.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is necessary to be charged regularly"
},
"options": [
"can be used as a microscope",
"is necessary to be charged regularly",
"can light a cigarette in a car",
"is able to communicate with a baby"
],
"question": ... | With about 10 million new iPhone 6s ordered in the initial days on the market, a lot of old iPhones are bound to be thrown into the dustbins. Sure, you could sell, donate or recycle your old iPhone, but you probably will not. And there are better things to do with it.
One creative example: At the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a biology class is making old iPhones into microscopes. Using less than $10 worth of supplies, the old phones are mounted onto a lens and can magnify an object to 175 times its size.
Here are 5 smart-and-cheap uses for old iPhones.
Music for your car
Take your music library on the road. Some cars are equipped with docking ports for iPhones and have dashboard screens so you can choose your favourite music hands-free. Or you can just use the cigarette lighter for power.
Remote Control
Televisions, speakers and other devices now have apps that allow users to make their iPhones into fashionable remotes. Carm Lyman, 42, of Napa, California, transformed his iPhone 4 into a remote for his household sound system after his iPhone 5 arrived. Lyman can control the audio levels and activate speakers in various parts of his home as well as access different music services.
Cookbook
No need to go through recipe books or hunt around for other devices when you have a kitchen iPhone. Download a cookbook app, such as My Recipe Book (99 cents) or Big Oven (free), and just leave the device on the kitchen counter. It takes up almost no space and will hold far more recipes than any book.
Baby Monitor
Sure, you can spend $100 or more on a baby monitor, or you can just set your old iPhone up to watch video of your baby in real time as well as hear and even talk to him or her. Cloud Baby Monitor ($3.99) also allows parents to receive the signal on a wireless network or on WiFi so they do not have to be within a certain number of feet of the monitor.
Vehicle Tracker
Whether you need to find your car if it is stolen, record where you have traveled, or spy on your teenage driver, the built-in GPS in your phone can be used as a tracking device. An app like InstaMapper ($2.99) lets you watch the vehicle in real-time and have a record of it. Keep in mind that the phone can still dial 911, even if it does not have cellphone service, Smith said.
You can also use your old phone as a back-up in case your new model suffers irreparable harm. That said, the battery of a phone that sits in a drawer unused could be exhausted to the point where it is no longer workable. | high7941.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "application"
},
"options": [
"identification",
"application",
"protection",
"conservation"
],
"question": "About cultural and natural heritage around the world, UNESCO encourages all the following EXCEPT _ .",... | Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Great Wall of China make up our world's heritage.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is _ in an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
How does a place become a World Heritage Site? It takes a lot of people to decide.
1)If a country wants one of its places to be on the World Heritage List, it has to ask UNESCO. The place must be important and special. UNESCO put the Great Wall on the list in 1987 because, it said, it was a great part of Chinese culture and beautifully made to go with the land. When a country asks, it must also make a plan for taking care of the place.
2)The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO talks about different places and decides whether to put them on the list. The committee meets every June. Many experts help the committee to decide.
3)After a new place goes on the list, UNESCO gives money to help keep it looking good. If a place is in serious danger, it may be put on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. UNESCO gives special care and help to those places.
4)Countries have to give UNESCO regular reports about places on the list. If UNESCO thinks a country isn't taking good enough care of a place, the site will be taken off the list. | high13877.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "makes no difference"
},
"options": [
"depends on whether the snow is white enough",
"makes no difference",
"makes much difference",
"depends on whether the snow is thick"
],
"question": "To prevent snowblindness... | Many people believe the glare from snow causes snowblindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snowblindness ,when exposed to several hours of" snow light".
The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow -covered country. Rather ,a man's eyes frequently find nothing to focus on in a broad space of snow- covered without- grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see dearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snowblindness.
Experiments led the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow - covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark - colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow -blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time. the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snowblind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome. | high7799.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Five."
},
"options": [
"Four.",
"Five.",
"Six.",
"Seven."
],
"question": "How many European countries have already launched the free bike schemes?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Bicycles for rent could become as common as newspaper stands and mail boxes on prefix = st1 /Germany's street corners if a scheme launched by Deutsche Bahn is successful.
The German rail operator has launched a bicycle-hire scheme designed for simple one-way trips.
"It's a new concept,"said Andreas Knie, head of the project.
Users must first register with Call-A-Bike at a cost of 15 euros(US$14.7). With a simple phone call, they can hire one of the many bikes parked outside stations, at a cost of 3 to 5 cents per minute. At the end of their journey, they ring a computer and tell it where the bike is parked.
The bikes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
No one will be breaking speed records with Call-A-Bike bicycles. They weigh in at 25 kilograms, at least double the weight of a normal bicycle, though they do have eight gears .
"They are pretty heavy, but we don't want people taking them on the train or into the subway," Knie said.
They are also designed with parts that do not fit a normal bicycle. Even the screws are irregular and the bike looks so odd that thieves would stand out.
Vandalism and theft have led to the downfall of previous schemes which date back toAmsterdam's 1966"White Bike"scheme.
In that short-lived experiment, anti-establishment groups painted bikes white and left them around the Dutch capital.
However, many were taken permanently and repainted, while the police took away others on the basis that ownerless bikes were street rubbish.
Copenhagen, Vienna and Helsinki also have free bike schemes, in which users deposit a coin in Copenhagen's case 20 crowns(US$2.50)--to free a bike from a rack.
"The advantage these schemes have is ease of use. But because they're so cheap, people tend to hold on to the bikes and then there are none on the streets,"the person in charge said.
Oslo is also planning a bike-hire system where users will pay a symbolic fee of 50 Norwegian crowns(US$6.50)for unlimited use in the city for a year.
Users will buy an electronic identity card as a key that will register when the bike is parked or taken from a rack. | high22314.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "3."
},
"options": [
"2.",
"3.",
"4.",
"5."
],
"question": "Besides \"Diski dance\", how many types of goal celebrations are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Forget famous goal celebration such as "The Robot" by Peter Crouch and "The Dive" by Juergen Klinsmann, here comes the South African "Diski dance". The Diski dance, which is performed through heading and kicking an imaginary ball, may be a goal celebration to watch in the following matches.
South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala and his teammates performed this different dance when they celebrated his goal against Mexico in the opening World Cup game on Friday. The dance is already popular on YouTube and many soccer fans may want to learn the moves.
Even South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has learnt the Diski dance which could be better than Cameroon Roger Milla's corner flag dance celebration in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. US actor John Travolta performed the dance shortly after landing his Boeing 707 at Lanseria airport, north of Johannesburg, on Wednesday morning.
Goal celebrations are now part of the biggest sporting event and players plan them in advance just in case they find the back of the net. In football, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration may be performed by the goal-scorer, his or her teammates, the manager or coaches and the supporters of the team.
The Robot goal celebration was so popular that England fans were surprised when Crouch, an English international footballer, said that he wouldn't be doing it any more unless England won the World Cup.
The word Diski is the word used by the local people for soccer and may also describe the local style of football which focuses on dribbling and other tricks. | high11906.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Fix them to the wall."
},
"options": [
"Keep them where they work.",
"Leave them where they sleep.",
"Place them on the beds.",
"Fix them to the wall."
],
"question": "What do the shuttle people do with their sl... | We don't have beds in the space shuttle, but we do have sleeping bags. During the day, when we are working, we leave the bags tied to the wall, out of the way. At bedtime we untie them and take them wherever we've chosen to sleep.
On most space shuttle flights everyone sleeps at the same time. No one has to stay awake to watch over the space plane: the shuttle's computers and the enginers at the Control Office do that. If anything goes wrong. The computers ring a warning bell and the engineers call us on the radio.
On the space shuttle, sleep-time doesn't mean nighttime. During each ninety-minute flight around the earth, the sun "rises" and shines through our windows for about fifty minutes: then it "sets" as our flight takes us around the dark side of the Earth. To keep the sun out of our eyes, we wear black sleep masks.
It is surprisingly easy to get comfortable and fall asleep in space, and we sleep differently. Some sleep upside down, some sideways, some right side up. When it's time to sleep, I take my bag, my sleep mask, and my tape player with earphones and float up to the flight platform. Then I get into the bag, and float into a sitting position just above a seat, right next to a window. Before I pull the mask down over my eyes, I relax for a while, listening to music and watching the Earth go by under me.
When I'm in space I don't need as much sleep as I do on Earth Maybe that's because when I am weightless, I don't feel as tired. Or maybe it's because I'm excited to be in space and don't want to waste time sleeping. | high20503.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "should try to get him out of water as quickly as possible."
},
"options": [
"have to pull off his clothes first .",
"should try to get him out of water as quickly as possible.",
"should first make out who he is.",
"ough... | If you see someone drowning, speed is very important. Once you get him out of the water, if he isn't breathing, you have four minutes before his brain is completely destroyed. Support his neck, move his head back and press his chin upwards. This stops the tongue blocking the airway in the throat and is sometimes enough to get him breathing again. If that doesn't work, start mouth-to-mouth breathing. Press his nostrils (the two holes at the end of your nose, through which you breathe and smell things) together with your fingers. Open your mouth and take a deep breath. Blow into his lungs until his chest rises, then remove your mouth and watch his chest fall. Repeat twelve times a minute. Keep doing until professional help arrives.
To bring a child back to life, keep your lips around his mouth and gently blow into his mouth. Give the first four breaths as quickly as possible to fill the blood with oxygen. If, in spite of your efforts, he starts turning a blue-grey colour, and you can feel no pulse , then pressing is the last chance of saving his life.
With arms straight, rock forwards, pressing down on the lower half of the breastbone. Don't be too hard or you may break a rib. Check how effective you are by seeing if his colour improves or his pulse becomes independent to your chest pressing. If this happens, stop the pressing. Otherwise continue until rescue arrives. | high2187.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the capital of Argentina"
},
"options": [
"belly dancers",
"American soldiers",
"a Spanish city",
"the capital of Argentina"
],
"question": "The origin of the tango is associated with _ .",
"question_type"... | Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place.Around 1870,it was experiencing an economic boom,and the capital,Buenos Aires,attracted many people.Farmers,as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy,came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs.These jobs didn't pay well,and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city.As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city,the dance known as the tango came into being.
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes.It was danced in the bars and streets.At that time there were many fewer women than men,so if a man didn't want to be left out,his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women.Gradually,the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time,strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning.This interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris.Every kind of dance from ballet to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters.After tango dancers from Argentina arrived in Europe,they began to draw the interest of the public as they performed their exciting dance in cafes.Though not everyone approved of the new dance,saying it was a little too shocking,the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world.Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America.It reached Japan in 1926,and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act as a kind of dance ambassador,and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea. | high5830.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because he still influences America as a role model."
},
"options": [
"Because he still influences America as a role model.",
"Because he set a good example to the present politicians.",
"Because of his great personalities.",... | Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty 200 years ago. At any other time and place, this lowly origin would have dictated his future, but in Lincoln's case, his self-determination and force of will made it possible for him to secure his seat in his country's history. He has become a role model in the self-made America.
If you want to learn about somebody who didn't quit, look no further. Abraham Lincoln had two business ventures failed, and the second one made him bankrupt, so he had to spend the next 17 years of his life paying for the debt. He also lost 8 different elections. It seemed that he had never done things right at the first time: the first time he ran for state legislature for Congress, for land officer, for Senate, all of these failed, and the first time he sought the vice-presidential nomination, he got less than 100 votes nationally. But he never found it too shameful to carry on his mission. Then later in 1860, on such a rough road, he made it to the White House. He lived up to his famous saying, "Always bear in mind that your own determination to success is more important than any other."
He could have quit many times----but he didn't and because he didn't quit,he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of America. One important way Lincoln influences present society is that we look back on his lifeas a role model for future generations. Lincoln's high character influences us because we compare present-day politicians to the example Lincoln set. A major influence Lincoln has on the united States today is simply through the good example he set when it came to honesty, persistence and leadership. | high3299.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "their sense of greater public pressure"
},
"options": [
"their sense of greater public pressure",
"their sense of greater humiliation",
"their upbringing very early on",
"their inability to appeal to the audience"
]... | On a lot of occasions, you have to make some public speaking. However, public speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; self-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearance of all kinds.
Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of failing in the most public of ways.
While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal , it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. When I met the British Comedian Julian, he was shy and cautious, yet his TV performances are perfect.
In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.
Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written scripts to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.
Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural. You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food, and you get a nameless sense that you've been cheated.
Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana's funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally. A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers.
But, being yourself doesn't work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.
I remember going to see British psychiatrist R.D. Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.
The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of "flow", as psychologists call it, is very satisfying. | high19382.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "their native languages are commonly used in their neighborhoods"
},
"options": [
"their native languages are commonly used in their neighborhoods",
"ethnic groups are not allowed to speak English",
"ethnic groups can do very ... | America, has always had people of many different nationalities and languages. The 1990 census indicates that almost 14% of Americans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English "not well" or "not at all ". That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered _ . Besides that, many high school and college students---and even some elementary school students---are required to take a foreign language. Actually, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of using different languages.
Ethnic enclaves have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English. Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers---numbering over 17 million---form the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other ethnic group add to the linguistic flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!
Although some Americans welcome this linguistic and cultural diversity, others have begun to fear that the English language is being threatened. Since the 1980s, the "English Only " movement has sought to promote legislation which would establish English as the "official language" and restrict the use of non-English language. However, some groups, including TESOL, the organization for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other language, object to such "language restrictionism". But so far, 19 states have passed "English Only" legislation, and the topic is the focus of an ongoing debate.
Whether or not English is the official language of the United States, it remains the "language of wider communication". Nearly everyone recognizes the need to develop the ability in using English in order to do well in America. American also recognize that English is the international language, and people with good English skills can get by in many international settings. On the other hand, in a world growing increasingly smaller, second language skills can be a great favor. They can build cross-cultural bridges and give people an edge in a variety of career field. Indeed, lack of foreign language skill can limit one's chances for advancement and keep one in a cultural dead-end street. | high11735.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Grateful."
},
"options": [
"Objective.",
"Doubtful.",
"Negative.",
"Grateful."
],
"question": "What is the author's attitude towards Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | When I was a kid, my only interest was watching television. But now, my interest is reading, thanks to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone, the first book I ever read that inspired me to read.
This wonderful book pulled me in with its adventure. It's about a boy, Harry Potter, who discovers he's a wizard . After this, his life becomes full of uncertainty. He starts his new school and makes two best friends. Then Voldemort, the man who killed Harry's parents, comes to steal the stone that will extend his life. The three bravely defeat the bad guy. This was a life-changing book for me. After finishing it, I really started to enjoy reading. Ever since then, I don't ever put a book down before I'm finished with it.
When I read a book, it inspires me and shows me a different world. It makes me excited. When I read, I never get bored. Books can also change my state of mind. Regardless of whether I'm angry, depressed, or stressed, a book will make me happy.
Books took me out of my comfort zone. Since I started reading, I have learned that even if I'm not comfortable with something, I should try it out. It might turn out to be something I love doing. It might even become another one of my interests.
Interest is a factor that can turn a job into a career. Hopefully, one day, I will get my dream job at a publishing house. Then, my interest would become my life, and I would have lived my life to its fullest. | high19369.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "nerve repairing is a breakthrough in tissue engineering"
},
"options": [
"facial transplants are now easier to perform",
"new medical technology is always possible to discover",
"nerve repairing is a breakthrough in tissue en... | Brenda Jensen said the operation was a great success which had saved her life. Thirteen days after the surgery she said her first words, "Good morning, I want to go home." It is the first time a voice box and windpipe have been transplanted at the same time and only the second time a voice box has ever been transplanted.
Ms. Jensen, 52, had been unable to speak on her own since her voice box was damaged during surgery in 1999. Since then, she has been unable to taste or smell food, could breathe only through a hole in her windpipe and could talk only with the help of an electronic voice box.
In October, surgeons at the University of California Davis Medical Centre removed the voice box and 6cm of the windpipe from a donor body. In an 18-hour operation, this was transplanted into Ms. Jensen's throat and the team connected it to her blood supply and nerves .
Professor Martin Birchall from University College London, who was part of the surgery team, said: "We've learned that we can repair nerves to make even very complex organs function again. It'll open the door to better facial transplants and will be extremely important as tissue engineering develops. "
A voice box transplant might be life changing, but it is not life saving. Everyone who receives a transplant must take drugs to control the immune system for the rest of their lives. These drugs can reduce life expectancy, so they are normally set aside for life saving procedures.
One of the reasons Ms. Jensen was a suitable person for this transplant was that she was already taking immune controlling drugs after a kidney-pancreas transplant four years ago. Professor Peter Belafsky, part of the surgical team, said, "Brenda was an exceptional candidate for the transplant because she was highly motivated. Anyone who's met Brenda knows that she is a strong and determined person with a great outlook on life in spite of the many physical challenges she's faced over her lifetime. | high17344.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The popularity of alcohol."
},
"options": [
"The strange campus.",
"The popularity of alcohol.",
"The drunken coursemates.",
"The limited activities."
],
"question": "What shocked the author when he entered univ... | I grew up in a family that ate dinner together every evening. Although my parents enjoyed wine, they rarely drank during the week and always in moderation .As for myself,1 wasn't interested in alcoholic drinks and neither were my high school friends.
So when I arrived on campus for my first year of university life, I was a bit shocked. Many different events had been organized for the freshmen, but they all had one thing in common-alcohol, and plenty of .it wanting to be left out, I joined a few of the events. But I always returned home early, feeling disappointed. Your personality, interests and experiences didn't matter at all, only how many alcoholic drinks you could absorb before passing out . It seemed shallow to me. I wanted to get to know my new coursemates, not how fast they. could down a pint of beer.
Gradually, however, I realized that real friends don't judge you by how much you can drink and there were other ways of making friends. I joined a photography society, took a first aid course, and every weekend l went cycling with a coursemate. I found that by engaging in these activities and sharing the fun of learning new skills together in a group ,I formed much stronger bonds with my new friends than even the strongest alcoholic drinks could encourage.
Another valuable lesson I learned is that it's perfectly okay to say "No" if you don't want to drink. However, in many Western societies, especially the UK, binge drinking has become the norm. Many people who drink don't necessarily want to, but they give in to the peer pressure -they're afraid to say "No". | high13122.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the general situations of Paris"
},
"options": [
"the buildings in Paris",
"the general situations of Paris",
"the center of the world",
"the famous buildings along the Seine River"
],
"question": "This article ... | Paris is the capital of the European nation of France. It is also one of the most beautiful and most famous cities in the world.
Paris is called the City of Light. It is also an international fashion center. What women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world. Paris is also a famous world center of education. For example, it is where the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The Seine River divides the city into two parts. Thirty-two bridges cross this beautiful river. The oldest and perhaps most well-known is the Pont Neuf, which was built in the sixteenth century. The Sorbonne, a famous university, stands on the left bank of the river. There are many other famous places in Paris, such as the famous museum, the Louvre, as well as the Notre Dame. However, the most famous building in this city is Eiffel Tower.
Paris is named after a group of people called the Parisii. They built a small village on an island in the middle of the Seine River about two thousand years ago. This island, called the lie de la Cite, is where Notre Dame lies. Today around eight million people live in the Paris area. | high1465.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "environmental problems"
},
"options": [
"the social movement",
"environmental problems",
"recycling techniques",
"the importance of Earth Day"
],
"question": "According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had li... | Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot "greener" toward the environment. "We didn't know at that time that there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it," says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement. Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. "The understanding has increased many, many times," says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports, emissions from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons. The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place. A kind of "Green thinking " has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs, today in 1995 there are about 6,600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.
Twenty-five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it's hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program. "Until we do that, nothing else will change!" says Bruce Anderson. | high9039.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A Brief Introduction to Harriet Tubman"
},
"options": [
"A History of American Black Slaves",
"Cruel American Civil War",
"Information on the Underground Railroad",
"A Brief Introduction to Harriet Tubman"
],
"q... | Historians say Harriet Tubman was born in the year 1820.Nobody really knows. But we do know that Harriet Tubman was one of the bravest women ever born in the United States.
From a very early age,Harriet knew how slaves suffered. At six years old,she was sent to the fields. Working outside not only made her body strong but also made her learn about the Underground Railroad,on which she helped hundreds of people escape from slavery later. She also learned many things from the other slaves,which one day would help her lead her people to freedom. She became more of a rebel .
In 1844,at about age 24,she married a free black man named John Tubman. By now,Harriet was sure she wanted to try to escape. Suddenly,the time came. Her owner died. Though opposed by her husband,she decided to escape. With the help of the Underground Railroad,and through a variety of suffering she finally crossed the border into Pennsylvania,where slavery was banned.
Now that Harriet was free,she did not forget the hundreds of other slaves back in Maryland. Harriet traveled back and forth eighteen times,helping about 300 slaves escape into free territory. She became an expert at hiding from slave hunters. The people she helped called her Moses. At one time,anyone finding Harriet was promised $40,000 for catching her-dead or alive.
During the Civil War,Harriet Tubman went into enemy territory to spy for the North. She also served as a nurse. After four years of bloody fighting,the North won the war.
After the fighting ended,Harriet Tubman returned to Auburn,New York. She kept working. She traveled and gave speeches to raise money for better education for black children. She also worked for women's rights and housing. Harriet Tubman died in 1913.She was about 93 years old. By that time,she was recognized as an American hero. The United States government gave a funeral with military honors for the woman known as Moses. | high15553.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "an American teacher"
},
"options": [
"a Chinese student",
"an American student",
"a Chinese teacher",
"an American teacher"
],
"question": "From the passage we can learn that the author is _ .",
"question_... | There are a lot of things that happen to me in China but would certainly never happen in the US. One of those things is being called "strong".
The first time was last December. I was walking across the high school campus in Guangzhou where I taught when a student in a gray scarf waved hello. I smiled and waved back, but then she stopped and called my name. "You're so strong!" She smiled and pointed at what appeared to be my arm.
I looked down at my arms. Let's get one thing clear: I'm a very skinny guy. Once, while rehearsing for a high school talent show, I was told by the teacher in charge that I couldn't participate in the men's shirtless dance routine because my visible rig cage would frighten the audience.
"I'm so what?" "You're so strong!" _ repeated. "Um, thanks!" I didn't know what else to say, so we both waved goodbye.
The next morning I stepped into my oral English classroom only to be greeted instantly by a unanimous "Waaa!" of shock and admiration. "What?" I asked. "You're so strong!" shouted a boy from the back of the class.
"Okay, will someone tell me what that means?" I was curious as to the real reason for such praise. So I turned to the monitor, gesturing for him to speak.
"We just mean, you look very strong today," he offered earnestly.
"What?! You mean like this?" I curled my arm like a bodybuilder.
"No! But it's so cold, and you're only wearing a shortsleeve shirt."
Oh, I got it. My "strength" had less to do with my muscle and more to do with my apparent ignorance of the cold weather. | high8327.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "By giving examples"
},
"options": [
"By listing figures",
"By making comparisons",
"By analyzing causes",
"By giving examples"
],
"question": "How is the passage developed?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | When Luke went to university he thought he would be on a new journey in life and getting his own place. In the UK, it's common to fly the nest at a fairly young age. Many choose a flat-share; others make plans to get on the property ladder.
But the current economic situation forced Luke back to his mum's house at the age of 27. And he's not alone: a quarter of young adults in the UK now live with their parents. The Office for National Statistics said more than 3.3 million adults between the ages of 20 and 34 were living with their parents in 2013.
Lack of jobs and the high cost of renting accommodation made Luke change his plans. He's upset. "There's something very difficult about being an adult living in an environment where you're still a child," he says. "It limits me socially; sometimes I feel it limits me professionally."
Indeed, many young people have no choice but to stay at "the hotel of Mum and Dad".
Krissy had to return home after a year away and now lives in rather terrible conditions, sharing the family's three-bedroom house with her sisters. She says _ when it's time to use the bathroom in the morning.
Of course, living with your parents is not unusual in some countries. Economic conditions, culture, or family traditions mean many young people stay at home until they get married. Even then, it can be too expensive to rent or buy a house and the married couples continue to live at one of their parents' homes.
But some parents seem to enjoy having their kids back at home. Janice's daughters are part of what's being called "the boomerang generation". She says, "I get to share their lives with them, and I've got to know them all as adults. We have the sort of conversations that good friends do."
So for some it's a win-win situation -- spending time with your families, and saving money. | high14895.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "have no idea who lives next door to them"
},
"options": [
"know their neighbours quite well",
"have no idea who lives next door to them",
"talk to their neighbours when they want to borrow something",
"spend time chatti... | Because of the stress and strains of modern life folks today would rather watch television than get together with neighbors. Their behavior doesn't mirror TV soaps like Coronation Street and East Enders.
The Street's Ashley Peacock and Toyah Battersby know all their neighbors. But the Royal Mail survey shows that real-life under35s wouldn't dream of popping next door for a chat or to borrow a cup of sugar.
Three out of ten say they wouldn't know their neighbors if they saw them in the street. The same proportion would only offer to help neighbors if absolutely necessary, while thirty-onepercent don't want to get to know them better. Twenty-six percent rarely or never speak to the person next door. Thirty-five percent only talk to neighbors occasionally, and six percent actively dislike them. The older generation are still sociable, with seventy percent of over55s taking time to chat to people next door. The report says: "In the past, the British tradition of village green gossip between neighbors was celebrated worldwide. But there's been a clear shift away from local links by the young generation." Londoners are least likely to be neighbors, with a third rarely or never chatting over the garden fence. People in the Midlands--where 65 percent often speak to their neighbors are most friendly.
Sociologist Jane Blakeman said: "People are working longer hours than ever before, and are traveling further to work. It leaves them far less time at home." | high7772.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "felt sympathy for him"
},
"options": [
"was very happy",
"felt sympathy for him",
"didn't know what to do",
"was angry with his crying"
],
"question": "When the author first saw the cat, she _ .",
"questio... | When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I'd expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.
But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.
The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who's moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed _ But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father's best friend.
From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.
It's now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater. | high15235.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "compare the camera he had chosen with the others"
},
"options": [
"trust him and stop asking questions",
"try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it",
"get more information about different companies",
"co... | My old digital camera broke down, so I wanted to buy a new one. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the Net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an assistant, "Can I have one of those? " He looked perturbed . "Do you want to try it first?" he said. It didn't quite sound like a question. "Do I need to?" I replied, "There's nothing wrong with it." This made him look a bit offended and I started to feel bad. "No, no. But you should try it," he said encouragingly, "compare it with the others.
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers... and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well. Why do we think that new options still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine. | high8441.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To advertise for some good employees."
},
"options": [
"To describe the positions of the ChinaDailynewspaper group.",
"To describe the working conditions of the ChinaDailynewspaper group.",
"To advertise for some good employe... | The ChinaDailynewspaper group is looking for English-language senior business editors, senior copy editors, copy editors and graphic designers to strengthen its international team. We offer a competitive salary package, free accommodation with utilities paid for, 90 percent medical reimbursement , a seven-day paid leave, eleven-day public holidays and a return ticket to the country of residence.
Senior Business Editor
You must:
assist the business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them;
be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively and be able to rewrite totally if needed and mentor junior staff;
ideally have been working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership entails;
have had at least five years' editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software.
Senior Copy Editor
You must:
work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
edit or rewrite copy and give snappy headlines and captions ;
have had at least two years' editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software.
Copy Editor
You must:
be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing snappy headlines and captions;
be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
have two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software.
Graphic Designer
You must:
have excellent skills in information graphics;
be good at illustrations and freehand drawings;
be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts;
have a good sense of typography ;
have good news judgment;
be well-versed with Macintosh software, including InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop;
be fluent in English.
For enquiries or to apply, write to job@chinadaily.com.cn. | high22499.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "3"
},
"options": [
"2",
"3",
"4",
"5"
],
"question": "How many continents' mountains are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text... | In August 2015, President Obama announced that North America's highest mountain, Mount McKinley, would be renamed. Its new moniker , Denali, was actually its original Aleut name, meaning "the high one". The previous name, on the other hand, only dates back to 1896--the year when it was named in honour of William McKinley(1843--1901), who was shortly to become President of the United States. Denali is of course not the only mountain with an interesting linguistic history, so let's travel to Asia, and across Europe, to explore the naming of those continents' most famous peaks and mountain ranges.
The Nepalese name Himalaya comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "Abode of Snow", from hima for "snow" and alaya for "abode". In Buddhist sources, Himalaya is known by various names such as Himava and Himavanta.
In 1856, Mount Everest was named after Sir George Everest (1790--1866), who was the superintendent of the Trigonometrical Survey of India. Everest himself was initially displeased by the naming, since he feared that local inhabitants might not be able to pronounce it.
K2 stands for Karakoram 2, because it was the second peak to be surveyed in the Trigonometrical Survey in the Karakoram system. It was also formerly known as Mount Godwin Austen after Col. H. H. Godwin Austen, who first surveyed it. Another alternative name for the mountain is Chhogori.
Annapurna is a household Goddess for Hindus, who guarantees to her worshippers that food will not fail. The name derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "one who gives nourishment".
The Matterhorn's name derives from the name of the nearby town of Zermatt, the second element of which is apparently Matte "meadow", and Horn, "horn". Horn is not an unusual element in German names of mountains with jutting peaks. The mountain is called Mont Cervin in French and Monte Cervino in Italian, from the Italian adjective cervino "deer-like", which conjures up a deer's antlers.
Ben Nevis is the Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Beinn Nibheis, which means"Mountain by the(River)Nevis". The name of the river apparently derives from a Celtic root for "water". | high13644.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They quarrel a lot with other family members"
},
"options": [
"They worry about school",
"They dislike living with their parents",
"They are locked in to avoid trouble",
"They quarrel a lot with other family members"
... | The evidence for harmony may not be clear in some families. But it seems that four in five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly- held image of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive today's young people seem to be about their families, "said one member of the research team. "They're expected to be rebellious and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There's more negotiation and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don't want to rock the boat. "
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat the children as friends. "My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me, "says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. "I always tell them when I'm going out clubbing. As long as they know what I'm doing, they're fine with it. "Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I'd done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that. "
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers' rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, "Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over. " | high1303.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "His leaking."
},
"options": [
"His past.",
"His aging.",
"His manner.",
"His leaking."
],
"question": "What was the old bucket ashamed of ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care.To water his flowers,he used two buckets.One was a shiny and new bucket.The other was a very old and _ one,which had seen many years of service,but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets.Then he would carry them along the path,one on each side,to the flowerbeds.The new bucket was very proud of itself.It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled .The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes:before it reached the flowerbeds,much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say,"See how capable I am ! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day ! I don't know why he still bothers with you.What a waste of space you are !"
And all that the old bucket could say was,"I know I'm not very useful,but I can only do my best.I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me,at least. "
One day,the gardener heard that kind of conversation.After watering the flowers as usual,he said,"You both have done your work very well.Now I am going to carry you back.I want you to look carefully along the path."
Then the two buckets did so.All along the path,they noticed,on the side where the new bucket was carried,there was just bare earth;on the other side where the old bucket was carried,there was a joyous row of wild flowers,leading all the way to the garden. | high697.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "have a greater immediate influence upon the viewer"
},
"options": [
"have much deeper meanings",
"enable the viewer to use his imagination fully",
"fail to produce a beneficial effect upon youngsters",
"have a greater i... | While the history of technology can be traced along many lines, one of the most amazing development is that of photo technology, the technology of light.From the prehistoric invention of fire to laser beams and fiber optics , light has "continually occupied the minds of inventors".Their inventions fall into two groups: the use of light to help us see better and more interestingly, the use of light for purposes of communication.
The use of light for communicating is one of the major directions that technology has taken ever since the middle of the nineteenth century.From still photography to motion pictures to television (with a development from black - and - white to color1 imagery in each), photo technology has had a great effect upon mass communication and mass education.Unlike the printed words, visual images have more impact because they are more immediate.They copy reality in a way that the printed words cannot.Unlike letter shapes, they are not abstract; unlike words, they require no symbolic interpretation by the mind.Combined with the widespread and uniform spreading of such images, photo technology affects the thinking of vast audiences and shapes their view of reality.
Millions of Americans are affected by the commercially - inspired electronic manipulation of artificial images.We call it "entertainment" and can't wait to get more.
As the number of commercially available television channels grows, the viewer's freedom of choice increases, but so does the burden of that choice.Increasingly he is faced with a sea of in formation and is asked to make quick choices.
More significantly, the ease and rapidity of mass communication has created a supply of information greater than it can readily be absorbed.Flooded in the sea of information, the individual struggles to swim through it. | high21190.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "guests usually care about fort most"
},
"options": [
"men are wiser in choosing hotels",
"guests usually care about fort most",
"women differ from men in judging a hotel",
"hotels have difficulty satisfying each guest"
... | When you walk into a room on the 17th floor of Copenhagen's Bella Sky Hotel, you'll be greeted by soft roses and other fresh flowers, fruits, fashion magazines, and a bathroom with beauty products. This is Europe's first hotel floor dedicated entirely to women--and according to the hotel's CEO Arne Bang Mikkelsen, it is designed by women, for women.
"Women's hotel preferences are very different from men's with key priorities being to feel safe and comfortable. When men come into a hotel room, the first thing they do is check the view, turn on the TV, plug in their computer, and check out the fridge. Women, on the other hand, go straight to the bathroom. Does it smell nice? Is it clean? Does it have a nice bathtub and shower?"
Unlike other hotels, it seemed like someone actually thought about what women wanted. To get it right, the hotel asked a number of women what they wanted, and added to their list of things like cleanliness, a nice bathroom, high-powered hairdryers, steam irons, cosmetic mirrors, healthy choices on the room service menus, and full-body mirrors.
It seems that they are helped by the boom in female business travelers. Global numbers are hard to get, but a research report shows women account for about half of all business travelers in the US in 2010, up from approximately 25% in 1991.
Places like the Naumi Hotel in Singapore, the Premier Hotel in New York, the London Dukes Hotel and the Georgian Court Hotel in Vancouver seem to be realizing the possibility in catering for women.
At the London Dukes Hotel, the manager says bookings for their "Duchess Rooms",which are standard rooms with fresh flowers, fruit, and styling things, have increased 25% over the past year. | high11053.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "advertise a certain product"
},
"options": [
"tell us the results of a certain survey",
"advertise a certain product",
"advise men to do more cleaning housework",
"tell us which is the hardest job at home"
],
"q... | How clean are the nation's homes?
According to a survey by CIF, there's room for improvement all over Britain.
Love or hate it -- cleaning your home is one job you simply can't ignore . But that's not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF-- experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier---- shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven ,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task.
BATHROOM
25% of men have never cleaned the toilet -- but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You're not alone -- a quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job.
KITCHEN
36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes -- especially the kitchen -- in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour.
BEDROOM
18% believe cleaning starts here: that's the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle --as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men.
LIVING ROOM
32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise.
SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF
It's no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half-- and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF's top tips:
*Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head--give it a quick squirt with CIF bathroom spray once a week.
*Stainless steel tools seem to need endless cleaning. The CIF Wild Qrchid Qxy-Gel-it lifts dirt easily and leaves the kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
*Cooking outside? CIF cream will get your barbecue spotlessly clean, ready for those long, lazy summer evenings. Perfect! | high10359.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the buildings began shaking"
},
"options": [
"the eruption",
"the sky became dark",
"the buildings began shaking",
"the sea went back"
],
"question": "Pliny left the town after _ .",
"question_type": "clo... | Perfect Disaster
All around us buildings shook. We decided to leave the town. We stopped once we had left the buildings behind us. The carts were moving in opposite directions, though the ground was perfectly flat, and they wouldn't stay in place even with their wheels blocked by stones.
In addition, it seemed as though the sea was being sucked backwards, as if it were being pushed back by the shaking of the land. Certainly the shoreline moved outwards, and many sea animals were left on dry sand.
Behind us were frightening dark clouds that opened up to show fire--like lightning, but bigger. Not long after that the clouds reached down to the ground and covered the sea. Now came the dust, though still thin. I looked back. A dense cloud appeared behind us, following us like a flood pouring across the land. Then a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like being in a closed and unlighted room. You could hear women and children crying, men shouting. Some were calling for parents, others for children; they could only recognize them by their voices.
Darkness and ashes came again, a great weight of them. We stood up and shook the ash off again and again; otherwise we would have been covered with it and crushed by the weight.
At last the cloud became thinner and thinner until it was no more than smoke or fog. Soon there was real daylight. The sight that met our still terrified eyes was a changed world, buried in ash like snow.
--from Pliny's letter to a friend | high17436.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Butterfly gardens should be in a sunny place."
},
"options": [
"Butterfly gardens can be grown only in some parts of the US.",
"Butterfly gardens must be large in size.",
"Butterfly gardens should be in a sunny place.",
... | Butterfly gardens can be grown throughout the United States.There is a wide variety of both butterflyattracting (nectar) plants and host plants covering climate zones throughout the country.Butterfly gardens can range in size from a few containers placed in a sunny spot to several acres.
Nectarproducing plants will attract butterflies to your garden.In order to support a full butterfly life cycle,host plants (for laying eggs and used as a caterpillar food source) must also be present.
Throughout the country,the general requirements for butterfly gardening are the same:full sun,nectar source plants,larval host plants,a pesticidefree environment,and knowledge of the local butterfly species.Many butterflyattracting plants are natives and require little attention,as they are naturally adapted to the region in which they live.
Butterfly gardens are best planted in spring with younger plants or in fall with mature plants that will become dormant quickly and reemerge in spring.It is best not to plant in the heat of summer or the cold of winter.
One of the most common mistakes in butterfly gardening is planting only one nectar source.Adult butterflies have a very short lifespan.Planting a variety of nectar sources will encourage more butterflies to visit the garden.Planting an adequate supply of host plants gives butterflies a place to lay their eggs,which will successfully hatch and result in butterflies that will continue to visit the garden.
Butterflies typically lay their eggs in late spring and hatch 3-6 days after they are laid.It takes 3-4 weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9-14 days to emerge as an adult.
Good resources for learning more about butterfly gardening include zoos,botanical gardens,butterfly houses,garden centers and nurseries,libraries and the Internet.There are many good websites dedicated to butterflies and butterfly gardening. | high18705.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Applying language to situations."
},
"options": [
"Remembering grammar rules.",
"Taking grammar tests.",
"Analyzing grammatical structure.",
"Applying language to situations."
],
"question": "Which of the follow... | Most students try to learn English grammar using grammar textbooks. They study grammar rules and take grammar tests. They use an analytical approach, attempting to memorize, and then apply, a great number of rules.
However, research has proved this method inefficient and ineffective. The truth is, the human brain simply cannot consciously remember process and use hundreds of or thousands of grammar rules. Real speech is too fast.
Native speakers do not learn grammar in this way, but rather intuitively and unconsciously. They learn in a complete way, not by attempting to memorize individual grammar rules. As a result, native speakers use correct grammar fluently and easily.
Fortunately, it is possible for English learners to learn grammar this way. Language teacher Blaine Ray has developed a unique "intuitive" approach to teach English grammar. Her system uses "point of view" stories to teach the patterns of English grammar, allowing students unconsciously to acquire correct grammar without ever studying grammar rules.
In this system, the teacher first tells a simple story from one point of view. It may be told about the past, then repeated, but beginning with "since he was a child"; then repeated again, but this time about the future.
Listening to these stories allows students intuitively and effortlessly to learn English grammar and makes them be able to use it correctly when they speak.
Point of View Stories is a creative new way to study English grammar, and offers hope to millions of frustrated English learners. | high5171.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because Chinese are getting higher incomes."
},
"options": [
"Because Chinese are getting higher incomes.",
"Because foreign auto makers are investing more.",
"Because Chinese like to have their own cars.",
"Because Ger... | China's auto production is expected to grow by 20 percent in 2005 to 6 million vehicles , possibly passing Germany as the world's No. 3 producer. China is the world's-fastest-growing auto market as rising incomes make it possible for millions to buy their cars. Foreign automakers are investing billions of dollars in expanding production in China. Germany produced 5.5 million vehicles in 2004, the No. 3 producer behind the United States and Japan.
London is quickly becoming a major cycling city after the terrorist ( ) bombings on London's subway and bus system July 7, which killed 52 people.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to increase cycling 80% by 2010.
"Cycling is the fastest, cheapest, most healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around London, and more and more people are taking it up," Livingstone said. "The number of cyclists has doubled over the last five years, while those killed or seriously injured has fallen by 40%."
Under the London Cycling Action Plan, Livingstone hopes to make London a world-class cycling city to reduce congestion and pollution. London now has 273 miles of bike roads, half built since 2000. The goal is 560 miles by 2010. | high21184.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "She told Harris about her mother's illness."
},
"options": [
"She failed to take care of Flora.",
"She was not supposed to call Harris at midnight.",
"She couldn't go to hospital on time.",
"She told Harris about her mo... | It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother's neighbour. Flora Harris had made the neighbour swear she wouldn't tell her daughter she'd a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbour wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn't. She lives in Washington, D.C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who's 91 and has Alzheimer's disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She's often worried, not to mention extremely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
" But it's still tough," she said. " I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it's not a pretty picture. My father's going to need diapers . There will come a time when he won' t recognize me and he's easily excited. I worry he's going to be violent and hurt my mother."
So what do you do when you live a continent away for your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can't _ it completely. | high9993.txt |
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