questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it's easy and useful"
},
"options": [
"it's easy and useful",
"it's changing and growing",
"websites are designed quite well",
"people can design a computer"
],
"question": "More and more people are using the In... | Mails, games, music, news, chat rooms and shopping! The Interent is part of our life today. It's easy to get onto the Internet. The only thing we need to do is to use a modem which is used for connecting a computer to a telephone line. The Internet is changing and growing all the time. More and more people have computers and use the Internet. Using the Internet means surfing the World Wide Web(That's the "WWW" you always hear about). The Internet has a large number of websites . They are the places where you go to get information and do things.
Where do these websites come from? They are made by web designers. What happens when you click on a word or a picture? You are sent to another page. It's all because of the web designers. Web designers do a lot of work by using a computer programming language.
Is web design all about computer programming? No, it's about making something new. Web designers must imagine a lot when they are making a website. It must look good and be fun to use. A big part of web design is art. They choose the best pictures and colors to make the website look good. They also write the things that you see on the website. An important part of their job is to share ideas with the website manager about how to design the website well. | middle2918.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Independent grown-ups."
},
"options": [
"Independent grown-ups.",
"Married people.",
"People who can drive.",
"People in the army."
],
"question": "Which of the following are truly adults according to the passag... | Some children cannot wait to grow up. Because once you become an adult, you are free to make your own decisions. More importantly, you can do all those things that you cannot do now because you are too young. So, the question is, 'At what age do you really become an adult?' Well, people become adults at different ages in different places.
In Australia, the 18th birthday is a very important event for young Australians because it means they can do almost anything they want. They can vote, learn to drive a car, get married, join the army and even buy their own houses. However, even if they can do all these things, most Australians have to wait until their 21st birthday to really celebrate becoming an adult. This is the traditional adult age not only in Australia, but also in the USA and the UK. It is their first year of true independence .Traditionally, people were given a key to their houses by their parents when they turned 21, meaning they could come and go as they like.
Even though 21 is the traditional adult age in many English-speaking countries, the law nowadays is different in each country. In the UK, you can join the army at 16 and even get married at 16 if your parents allow. Young people in the UK can learn to drive a car at 17 as in Australia, although they have to wait until they are 18 to vote.
In China, there is a different age for each of the stages of becoming an adult. You can vote and learn to drive a car when you are 18, but if you want to get married, women have to wait until they are 20 and men until they are 22. Chinese people celebrate important birthdays every 10 years--so when young people turn 20, they can expect a big party!
No matter what age you are, becoming an adult is really about learning how to be independent and responsible . Once you are finally able to take care of yourself and make your own decisions, then you can say that you are truly all grown-ups. | middle3435.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Yes, he is."
},
"options": [
"Yes, he does.",
"No, he doesn't.",
"Yes, he is.",
"No, he isn't."
],
"question": "Is Mr. Brown Ann's father?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Here are two pictures. You can see a man and a boy in one picture. Who are they? The man is Mr. Brown, and the boy's name is Jack. They are father and son. They are in Jack's room.
Now let's look at the other picture. You can see a woman and a little girl in it. The woman is Jack's mother and the girl is her daughter, Ann. They're in Ann's room. You can see a photo of the family on the white wall. A clock is on the table. It's eleven. What's that on the floor? Oh, it's Ann's hat, but it looks *like a white cat. | middle1222.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Tom's weekend"
},
"options": [
"Tom's weekend",
"Tom's family",
"Tom's hobbies",
"Tom's school"
],
"question": "The text is about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | I want to tell you some things about Tom's weekend. He is my good friend. At the weekend, Tom usually gets up late. He has breakfast. Then he reads an English book and listens to the radio for about one hour. After that he starts to do his homework. At about 11:30, he often cooks lunch for his family. In the afternoon, he usually plays volleyball with his friends. Sometimes he goes to the library in the afternoon. He loves his weekend very much. | middle7653.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Going swimming."
},
"options": [
"Going skating.",
"Playing soccer.",
"Going swimming.",
"Going skateboarding."
],
"question": "Which sport is suitable in December and January in New Zealand?",
"question_typ... | New Zealand is beautiful no matter what time of the year or season you visit. The best time to visit New Zealand is the time that suits you best. The weather in New Zealand is fine all year round. However, if you have more than one date in mind, the following information may help with your travel plans.
The warmest months of the year are from September to April. December, January and February are the three hottest months of the year. It is summer. The long summer days are wonderful for water sports.
Spring is from September to November. It can be hot, warm or cool. The weather is quite different. That depends on the places you visit. You can travel to Alexandra in Central Otago and Hastings in Hawk's Bay.
Autumn is from March to May. It is a pleasant season in New Zealand. The temperature is a few degrees lower than that of summer.
The winter season runs from June to August. The mountainous areas are covered with snow during winter and there is a little rainfall in some places. This is a good time for skiing. | middle7135.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "59."
},
"options": [
"59.",
"58",
"51",
"39"
],
"question": "How old was Ang Lee when he won the Best Director Academy Award for the second time?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | Born in 1954 in Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975. Later on, he went to the USA. for further study on art. And he got a Master Degree in Film Production at New York University.
During Ang's film career, he has made a lot of successful films and honored himself with many international awards. Early in 1993, Ang's film The Wedding Banquet won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, which drew the whole world's attention to this Chinese director. In the following years, Ang's talent got more brilliant. At the beginning of 2000, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(Wo Hu Cang Long), a kongfu film directed by Ang Lee, won Best Foreign Language Film at the 73rd Academy Awards . This surprised the world. However. what really takes Ang to the _ of the film world is the film Brokeback Mountain (2005). For this film, Ang Lee won the Best Director Academy Award. And he is the first Chinese director who's ever won the golden statuette .
In 2012, Ang made a huge success again. His first 3D film Life of Pi came out. It was a story about the adventure of a brave Indian boy. This film helped him beat out Michael Haneke of "Amour", Benh Zeitlin of "Beasts of the Southern Wild", Steven Spielberg of "Lincoln" and David O. Russell of "Silver Linings Playbook". For the second time, Ang was honored as the Best Director at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013.
Along Ang Lee's film road, we can say that he is really born for films and he is worth all the praise from the world, especially all the Chinese. | middle1544.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Sunday"
},
"options": [
"Thursday",
"Friday",
"Saturday",
"Sunday"
],
"question": "National Day is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_t... | Here is a list of TV programs in today's newspaper
Friday,September 29 Channel 2
9:30 Spolen English Competition for High School Students
11:30 Visit to an American Fanily
16:30 American Movie
20:40 English Talk Show
Channel 8
9:00 English News
10:20 Tvserial:World of Amimals
15:10 NBA Games(live)
18:30 Talk Show: Foreign Students Talk About China
CCTV English Service
15:00 English Course:Look Ahead
23:00 English Sports News | middle5722.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The nurse told him."
},
"options": [
"The nurse told him.",
"The old woman told him.",
"The woman's son told him.",
"The doctor got it from her chart noting."
],
"question": "How did the doctor know that the old... | One day, I went to see my last patient, an old woman. In the doorway, I saw she was struggling to put socks on her swollen feet in the bed. I stepped in, spoke quickly to the nurse, read her chart noting . I was almost in the clear that she was not in serious condition.
I asked, "Could I help put on your socks? How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high but they're better today. The nurse mentioned you're anxious to see your son. He's visiting you today. It's nice to have a family visit. I think you really look forward to seeing him."
"Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not yours." She said with a serious voice.
I was surprised as I helped her with the socks. She told me that her only son lived across from her house, but she had not seen him for five years. She believed that was the main cause of her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed and others are simple. Some have a beginning, middle and end but others don't have clear ends. Some are true but others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard -- without interruption or judgment .
It was that woman who taught me the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in an unexpected accident, I became a patient. 20 years later, I sit all the time -- in a wheelchair.
For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair. I believe in the power of listening. | middle3353.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "More than four months."
},
"options": [
"One month.",
"Two months.",
"Three months.",
"More than four months."
],
"question": "How long will the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay last?",
"question_type": "fac... | Olympic torch relay planned route
Beijing, April 27--The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people. The plans were announced on Thursday night. The planned route would last 130 days and travel 137 000 km.
First Nobel Prize winner to donate to Hope School
Chinanews, Beijing, May 10--Professor Dannel Chee Tsui, in the USA, signed the agreement to donate 350 000yuan to his home town to build a Hope Primary School in China.
Bill Gates receives Tsinghua honorary doctorate
Beijing,April 20--Bill Gates, chairman of global IT giant Microsoft, received an honorary doctorate when he
visited China's famous Tsinghua University on Thursday.
Big Shaolin kung fu center to be built in Russia
Chinanews, Beijing, April 27--China and Russia have signed a letter of intent ( )on the building of a Shaolin kung fu center in Russia. It will be the first of its kind in Russia,and also the biggest overseas kung fu center when it is completed. | middle2059.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Miller"
},
"options": [
"Brown",
"Miller",
"Alice",
"Black"
],
"question": "Alice's family name is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_... | A: Good afternoon. Are you Zhang Li?
B: Yes, I am.
A: Is Li your family name?
B: No, Li is my given name. My family name is Zhang. What's your name?
A: My name is Alice. I'm from the USA.
B: Nice to meet you, Alice.
A: Nice to meet you, too! I'm a student in Sunny Middle School.
B: Oh, great! We are in the _ school. I'm in Class Three, Grade Seven. What class are you in?
A: I'm in Class Four, Grade Seven.
B: My English teacher is Mr. Miller. He is from the USA, too. Is he your English teacher?
A: No, he isn't. He's my father.
B: Oh? That's good. My QQ number is 2521786. Do you use QQ?
A: No, I don't . But you can call me at 789-0765.
B: OK, my phone number is 675-4721.
A:OK! See you!
B: Bye! | middle5736.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Class 2, Grade 1"
},
"options": [
"Class 1, Grade 1",
"Class 1, Grade 2",
"Class 2, Grade 1",
"Class 2, Grade 2"
],
"question": "Tom is in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | I'm a boy. My name is Tom White. I am ten years old. I am in Class 2, Grade 1. I'm in No. 1 Middle School. My teacher is Mr. Wu. I have a good friend at school He is Jim Green. Jim is his first name and Green is his last name. He is ten, too. But he is in Class 1, Grade 1. His teacher is Miss Wang.
, . | middle4428.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Jumping."
},
"options": [
"Climbing.",
"Jumping.",
"Catching birds.",
"Walking."
],
"question": "What was this new kangaroo good at?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | The city zoo bought a new kangaroo from Australia. It was famous for jumping very high. The zoo keeper was worried that the kangaroo would run away. He built special walls around it.
But the next morning, people found that the animal was playing around outside. So the zoo keeper made the height of the walls 5 metres. But the kangaroo got out again the following day. The zoo keeper felt very angry, so he made the walls as high as lo metres, but the kangaroo still got out.
"How high do you think he'll keep on building the walls?" a giraffe asked the kangaroo.
"I don't know," said the kangaroo. "Maybe they'll reach 300 metres. It all depends on whether he remembers to lock the gate." | middle3347.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "loud sound that people don't want"
},
"options": [
"terrible sound",
"any kind of sound",
"all sounds that you can hear",
"loud sound that people don't want"
],
"question": "According to the passage, noise is ."... | Do you like listening to music? Does all of the music bring happiness to you? Do you know some music is noise? What is noise? Noise is a loud or unwanted sound. It is also called noise pollution.
Where is noise from? Noise can be caused by many kinds of machines, such as motorcycles, planes, farm tractors and TVs. And, to some people, rock bands are also noise.
What happens to people who live near noisy machines or use them over a period of time? Doctors find that noise pollution can influence both our health and behavior. It can cause high stress levels, hearing loss, sleep problems, and other harmful effects.
Scientists use a unit of measure called a decibel to measure the loudness of a sound. The sound of a quiet room, for example, measures 35 decibels. Talk measures between 40 to 65 decibels. Sounds from traffic and from some rock bands can measure over 120 decibels. Noise at this high level causes the greatest hearing loss.
How do we reduce noise damage? Turn down your music player or wear ear muffs when you are working in a noisy environment. Ear muffs for human can protect against noise pollution. | middle7121.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In America."
},
"options": [
"In America.",
"In England.",
"In China.",
"In Beijing."
],
"question": "Where was Jim born ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | Jim is an American. He is now living in China. He gets up at about half past six and has breakfast at seven o'clock. After breakfast,he says goodbye to his parents and leaves home at half past seven. He usually goes to school on foot. He gets there at five minutes to eight. He has his first class at eight.
Morning classes are over at ten past twelve and he has lunch five minutes later,at about a quarter past twelve. After lunch he plays with his friends.
Afternoon classes begin at half past one. Usually there are two lessons in the afternoon. They finish at half past three. Usually he plays games or other things at school,and he gets home at about a quarter past five. He has supper at six and then does his homework and then watches TV. He goes to bed at about half past ten. | middle6559.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To help others."
},
"options": [
"To chat.",
"To make friends.",
"To help others.",
"To show himself."
],
"question": "Why does he set up the QQ group?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"an... | If someone asks you, "What do you usually do with your QQ?'' You may say, "I just chat ."
Niu Lianzhong teaches PE in a middle school and he sets up a QQ group. However, his purpose is not to chat or show himself. He doesn't want to do anything for fun, either. He just wants more people to know the QQ group. He hopes to help others and now he saves more than 400 people's lives.
We all know there are four blood types-A, B, AB, and O. But in fact, a few people's blood types are very special . Niu is just one of them. Since he sets up his QQ group, more than 100 special-blooded people in China join in it. Now, when a patient or a hospital needs some special blood, they just call Niu for help. And Niu contacts his members of the QQ group quickly.
Till now, he has donated his blood for about 20 times. Niu hopes that more people will join his group to help others. | middle7647.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "be close friends"
},
"options": [
"meet for the first time",
"be close friends",
"be in a social situation",
"be in a formal situation"
],
"question": "Mike kisses a French boy Jim on the cheek, they may _ ."... | Different countries have different greeting customs. Read this article to know more about the greeting customs in different cultures, and make sure you greet people in the right way next time you visit one of these countries.
France
French people greet each other with a handshake, but close friends kiss each other on both cheeks when they meet. They do this _ when meeting and before leaving.
South Korea
In South Korea, it is a sign of respect for people to bow when greeting each other. In Korea, a bow is followed by a handshake. When shaking someone's hand, it is polite to support the right forearm with the left hand. However, South Korean women do not shake hands with Western men; instead, they bow slightly.
Brazil
Kissing women on the cheek is a common way of greeting. In a formal situation, a handshake is often done to show respect. Men should shake hands before and after meeting, and once they have become familiar with each other, a light hug is often given to each other.
Ghana
In a social situation, it's polite to greet everyone in the room. A handshake is used in greeting, and one palm must directly touch the other palm. It's considered disrespectful to touch the back of the hand.
The Philippines
There are several ways of greeting people in the Philippines. An elderly person places his or her right hand on the forehead of a child to "bless" the latter. This is called "mano". Relatives and family members greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Friends greet each other with a polite nod or a handshake. | middle6571.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Banks and shops."
},
"options": [
"Banks and factories.",
"Banks and shops.",
"Schools and computers.",
"Schools and shops."
],
"question": "Where has the programme for remembering eyes been tested?",
"quest... | Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The programme works because everyone's eyes are different. So in the future you won't have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You'll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are. The eye-recognition programme is tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain and Italy.
Scientists are working on other systems, such as knowing you from the shape of your face or hand or even your smell! And machines can already tell who you are from your voice or your fingerprint . But eye-recognition will replace other ways of finding out who you are. It is better, because your eyes don't change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the programme can be up to 94% correct, depending on how good the technology is. In Britain, it was found that 91% of people said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition.
,. | middle952.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "students"
},
"options": [
"parents",
"teachers",
"students",
"friends"
],
"question": "Who does the writer write the passage for?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Going to a new school can be difficult, but this passage will help you in the beginning. Here is something to help you to fit in .
First, take a day to enjoy your school. You won't fit in at school if you don't know the school. Ask for a school map. Try to get to know every corner of your new school. A good school handhook can be of great help. But to make it easy, ask the people near you where something is--tell people that you are new when you need help.
Be nice to everyone. Be nice to everyone, the young or the old, because they might just be your next teacher or friend.
Get to know your teachers and pay attention in class. Teachers always pay attention to new students, Talk to them and find out more about them. Never test their limits --don't go too far, or you may end up getting into trouble
You need to make friends. Talk to different people. Be yourself and don't lie. This is YOUR school now, take a chance on being who you weren't at your old school. Join a few clubs or sports teams and make more friends in this way.
Be yourself and be polite. Don't worry too much about what people think of you. Be true, be yourself, and be nice to everyone, no matter how mean (unfriendly) they may seem at first. It's often the "girl/boy that I didn't like at my new school" that ends up being my friend after a little while. But then again, don't be afraid to stand up for yourself if it's very clear that you should.
Work hard to fit in while still being yourself. The first few weeks are always hard, but you'll soon get used to it. | middle4366.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Fat, oil , salt and sugar."
},
"options": [
"Milk and vitamins.",
"Fruits and sugar",
"Vegetables and salt.",
"Fat, oil , salt and sugar."
],
"question": "According to the doctors' advice, what does junk food in... | Teenagers shouldn't eat too much junk food.
Teenagers shouldn't eat food with too much salt. Salt can cause high blood pressure in the future.
Teenagers should eat food with less fat, oil and sugar.
Teenagers need to eat some fruits and vegetables every day. Fruits and vegetates are rich in vitamins and have little fat.
Teenagers need to drink more milk. Milk will help their bones grow.
Teenagers need to eat breakfast every day. This is good for their bodies and minds. | middle5078.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she looks young and small"
},
"options": [
"she looks very common",
"she is too young",
"she doesn't sing very well",
"she looks young and small"
],
"question": "Many record companies refused to co-operate wit... | Angela Chang didn't know it would be so hard to turn singing into a career . She went to many different record companies. But she was always _ for looking too young and small.
"I'd never had such difficulties before," Chang said. But Chang's talent was finally accepted in 2002. When she got a piece of work, she cried.
She soon became a star. Her first albumOver the Rainbowsold very well. She won many awards.
"You wouldn't believe such a beautiful voice could come from such a small body," said one musician after hearing Chang sing. "She has a special voice. You can't forget it."
But the 25-year-old girl has other talents too. Chang is also an actress. She has played a role in the popular TV plays, My MVP ValentineandAt Dolphin Bay. Many people remember her common-girl parts in the plays. But acting is difficult. Chang once acted so badly that she was nearly fired . Another time it took her 27 tries to get a scene right.
"I cried when I got back home," Chang said. "But I knew that I wouldn't always fail. You only fail when you give up."
Now with four albums behind her -Over the Rainbow, Aurora, Pandoraand Flower in the Wonderland, it's clear that Chang and music were made for each other. As she sings in one song, "I have a pair of invisible wings . They fly me to the skies and give me hope." | middle2717.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She had to earn money to pay for her sister's study."
},
"options": [
"She did not want to",
"He always thought of her maths and science first.",
"She had to earn money to pay for her sister's study.",
"She thought it m... | She was a poor girl who worked to get money to pay for her lessons. She became the famous woman scientist of her time. That's the story of Marie Curie's life. She didn't mind working and she didn't care about the honors that were given to her in later years.
Marie was born in 1867. Her name was Marie Sklosovska then. She lived in Poland. Her father was a teacher. Everyone soon saw that Marie had a quick mind.
Marie's mother died when her youngest daughter was only ten. From then on, Marie knew that she would have to work hard at her lessons if she wanted to be successful in her life. She studied very hard and was one of the best students at her school.
Marie and her older sister, Bronya, wanted to study in France at the Sorbonne. But their father didn't have enough money to send them there. It was Marie who had an idea: she would teach at home and send her money to Bronya. After her sister finished studying in Paris, she would get work and send Marie the money to study there herself. So Marie worked very hard for six years to pay for her sister's studies. At last it was Marie's turn but when she got to France, her sister was married and could not give her much help.
Again Marie worked. She studied in a small room without heat or light. She lived on bread and tea most of the time. But all she thought of was her maths and science. This was her world.
After four years' hard work, Marie and her husband found something which was called radium . They were given the Nobel Prize for their great discovery . But they were too ill to go Stockholm themselves to receive it.
Marie always said that it was because of her children that she want her work. And she discovered a hidden power and gave it to the world. It was the same power, however, that killed Marie in 1934. | middle2071.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They have difficulty in communicating and understanding each other."
},
"options": [
"They have no house to live in.",
"The boy can't go to school because of money.",
"They have difficulty in communicating and understanding e... | I try to be a good son, but no matter how hard I try, my parents never seem to be satisfied. They think I should eat healthier food, should wear cleaner clothes, and I should get better grades. And according to them, my hair should be shorter, my room should be neater, and my friends should be more polite when they come to visit. You know it isn't easy to be a teenager.
We try to be good parents, but no matter how hard we try, our children never seem to be satisfied. They think we should wear more fashionable clothes, we should buy a faster car, and we should listen to more beautiful music. And according to them, we should be more patient when they talk about their problems, we should be more friendly when their friends come to visit, and we should be more understanding when they come home late on Saturday night. You know it isn't easy to be parents, either. Do you and your parents also have such problems?
Well, why don't you take a walk and have a talk on Saturday? May 15th is the International Day of Families. On that day, people around the world give thanks for good things about their families and work on family problems.
A study last year showed that many Nanjing families had the same problem like this. The children, 12 to 15 years old, didn't like talking with their parents much. They weren't happy at home. Of course, lots of kids have the same feeling like that. But you and your parents will be much happier if you can be friends. Parents are the closest people to you in the world. They love you just because you're their child. And they would do anything for you. | middle4400.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because the sun there shines a lot."
},
"options": [
"Because they want to breathe fresh air outside.",
"Because there's a fire in the living room.",
"Because they wear heavy clothes all day long.",
"Because the sun the... | You may have heard of the famous saying,"East or West,home is the best."What does the word"home"mean to you? How do you say the word in French? In Chinese? In your language? Although people usually know what the word means,it sometimes has no exact translation.It's not surprising,because the idea of home is different from country to country,and from person to person.A home is more than a roof and four walls.It's the cooking,eating,talking,playing and sleeping that go on inside.And at home you usually feel safe and relaxed.
Homes look different in different countries.They also have different things inside.For example,in cold northern Europe,there's a fire in the living room or kitchen and all the chairs face it.In the south,where the sun shines a lot and it's more important to keep the heat out,there are small windows and cool stone floors.
We asked some people about their homes.
How often do people move house in your country?
"In my country many people don't stay in one place for a very long time.They often move every ten years or so."
--Chery,Boston,USA.
What are features of homes in your country?
"In Britain,even in town,there's always a garden.We have separate bedrooms and living rooms.But we don't often have balconies .The weather isn't warm enough!"
--Pat.Exeter,England | middle7109.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he felt shy of walking with his father"
},
"options": [
"he thought it pleasant to help his father",
"he told his father a lot about his school",
"he felt proud of his father",
"he felt shy of walking with his father"
... | My father was lame and very short. I was very shy to be seen with my father when I was growing up. When we walked together, he used to put his hand on my arm for balance, and people would stop to watch us. So I didn't like to go out with him. Sometimes my mother left our town to see her sister, and I had to helphim instead of my mother. I didn't say much as we went along. As we started out, he always said, "You can walk fast. And I can keep up with you."
We usually walk to the subway, by which he went to work. He went to work though he was sick or it was bad weather. He almost never missed a day, and could get to the office on time even if others could not. When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk even with other person's help. At such times my sister or I would pull him across the streets on a child's sleigh to the subway entrance.
When I think of it now, I am surprised how much courage he had to make his way to the office. I never heard my father _ it. Now he has been gone many years, but I think of him often. I really want to tell him how sorry I feel for it and how deeply I love him. | middle6217.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "for the boy to watch"
},
"options": [
"for the ants to live in",
"to get sunlight in",
"to keep the sand clean",
"for the boy to watch"
],
"question": "The family created an ant farm in a glass box because it wa... | I learned about life from an ant farm. When I was seven years old, my family created one. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box and put the ants into it. Soon they got to work making tunnels. I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. With my mom's help, I kept a record of what happened each day and named the ants.
One day when I had put my face close to the structure (building), accidentally I knocked it over, and all the tunnels fell in. Although the ants survived their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was frightened as I watched them give up their tunnel-building to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mother reported that the ants were dying of "frustration ". They simply could not stand the reality that their tunnels had been destroyed.
Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Over the years, I came to realize the ants have the spirit of teamwork. Working together, they were able to create an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work. Day in and day out, each worked at their task. The ant farm showed that teamwork and perseverance are indeed the keys to success. But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently --Adversity is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, humans cannot give up when they face disappointment.
So I try to live my life like those hardworking ants. But, unlike them, I try not to let frustration defeat me. I will have to keep building my tunnels. | middle1578.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "A shopkeeper."
},
"options": [
"A bookseller.",
"A shopkeeper.",
"A conductor.",
"A gateman."
],
"question": "What was Joe Brown?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | Joe Brown had a shop where he sold meat.One day a woman came into the shop at five to one."I'm sorry I'm late."she said, "I need some more meat for my dinner tonight."Joe had only one piece of meat in his shop.He took it out of the fridge and said:"This is $ 6.50."
"That piece is too small."the woman said, "haven't you got anything bigger?"Joe went into the room behind his shop,took the meat into the fridge,took it out again and closed the door with a lot of noise.Then he brought the piece of meat to the woman and said:"This piece of meat is bigger and more expensive.It's $ 8.75."
"Good." the woman said with a smile, "give me both of them, please?" | middle2065.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve"
},
"options": [
"ten",
"eleven",
"twelve",
"thirteen"
],
"question": "Mary is _ years old.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_tex... | My sister Mary is 12 years old. Her birthday is on November 10th. Every year, on the morning of that day, my parents take us to Zig Zag's Clothes Store. There my mother buys some clothes for Mary. Then we go to Huaxing Bookstore. There I buy some CDs for Mary, and my father buys a book for her.
In the afternoon my parents have a birthday party for Mary at home. Mary's friends Bill, Jim and Cindy come to the party. Bill brings some pens for Mary. Jim gives Mary some balls because she likes playing with them. Cindy gives Mary a cake. Mary is very happy.
Oh, I'm Mary's brother. My name is Nick. | middle4414.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A,B and C"
},
"options": [
"Milk",
"Soybean milk and eggs",
"Some other things",
"A,B and C"
],
"question": "What do people often eat for breakfast?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answe... | We have three meals a day.
In the morning,we have breakfast. It is at about 6 or 7 o'clock. Breakfast should be good. We can have milk,egg,and other things. Some students often have no breakfast. It is very bad for their heath.
In china,lunch is the main meal of the day. It is at about 12 o'clock. It is a big meal. There are often three or four dishes. We should be full after lunch.
We usually have supper at about 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening. We should have a small supper.
But in England,people call the main meal dinner. It often means supper. | middle4372.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Meat."
},
"options": [
"Nuts.",
"Fruit.",
"Meat.",
"Grass and leaves."
],
"question": "What kind of food must be given to the animals like tigers, lions and bears?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},... | My friend, Victor, is a zoo keeper in the National Zoo. His work is very interesting but it is hard. Sometimes it is dangerous, too. Every morning the zoo keepers have to get up at five to prepare the food for the animals. Each kind of animal is given special food. For example, the lions must be given meat; the deer must be given grass and leaves; and the parrots must be given fruit and nuts. Sometimes some animals won't let the others eat their food. If this happens, each of them must be fed separately .
Every morning each cage must be washed by the zoo keepers. This can be dangerous, especially with lions and tigers. To make the work easier, the animals are locked in the sleeping compartments while the cages are being washed. When the animals are sick, the zoo keepers must look after them. Each sick animal is kept in a separate cage and given medicine. Sometimes they must be given injections. It is not easy to inject a sick lion!
All the keepers live near the zoo. Each of them has a small house. There he lives with his family. They do not have holidays on Sundays and public holidays. Instead, each of them has a day off during the week. Each keeper has a holiday on a different day from that of the other keepers.
The most important job of the keepers is to look after the safety of the visitors. People must be prevented from doing dangerous things. Many people have been injured because they did careless things, like putting their hands into the lion's cage.
,. | middle1785.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a health magazine"
},
"options": [
"a storybook",
"a health magazine",
"a comic book",
"a travel magazine"
],
"question": "The passage is probably taken from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | Do you want to live a happier, less stressful life? Try laughing for no reason at all. That's how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995, by Dr Madan Kataria. "Children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day," says Dr Kataria. "Everyone's naturally good at laughing -- it's the universal language." There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 worldwide.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects of laughter on our health. According to a 5-year study at the UCLS School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to the nearest club in the south of London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class. I had no interest in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid . Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say "ho ho ho, ha ha ha" while looking at each other. Although we couldn't tell the differences between _ laughter and real laughter, they still produced the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it worked! After ten minutes, everybody there was laughing for real and some people just couldn't stop! At the end of the class I was shocked by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you're under stress, then start laughing. | middle3192.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The weather will get better if we can stop global warming."
},
"options": [
"It is too late to stop global warming.",
"Humans have nothing to do with global warming.",
"The weather will get better if we can stop global warmin... | One weekend in May 2015, over 48 centimeters of rain fell in Houston, Texas, USA. Soon the city was covered with water. The rising water rushed into the cars on the roads. There were 16 deaths that weekend.
Changing Weather
The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rains have caused floods in Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand. Droughts have struck Russia and Australia. Heat waves have killed thousands in Europe. There are more different kinds of terrible wild weather all over the world. In 2011 alone, the bad weather caused the world to lose 150 billion dollars.
Warmer and Wetter
As more wild weather events happen, a worried world is beginning to ask questions like: What is going on with the weather? And why? Many also want to know: Is this natural, or are we to blame ?
The answer seems to be: a little of both. Wild weather is natural. _ This global warming makes heat waves more likely to happen. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes much more rain. Some scientists also believe global warming makes some storms stronger.
This means we're likely to see more wild weather. "But we don't have to just stand there and take it," says Scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other scientists say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared, to do things that will help save lives. | middle5285.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "after eating"
},
"options": [
"before eating",
"after coughing",
"after eating",
"blowing your nose"
],
"question": "Maybe you needn't wash your hands _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | You-yes, you!-can help keep people from getting sick this flu season. How? It's not too hard. Just take these steps:
*Wash your hands often, especially before eating and after coughing or blowing your nose.
*Keep your coughs to yourself(use a _ instead of your hand).
*Keep your hands out of your eyes, mouth, and nose.
You may have heard all this before, but flu season is a great time to really start doing them. By following these pieces of advice, you might be able to keep yourself from getting sick and stop germs from spreading around and making other people sick.
So your hands are very important. A lot of germs get in our bodies from there. Germs get on our hands and we put our hands in our eyes, noses, and, especially, our mouths.
How to stop germs? Yeah, hand washing. You might pick up germs here and there. So when you wash your hands, you wash away germs.
But how to wash your hands? That's easy: wash your hands with soap and warm water(not cold or hot). Don't forget to wash around your fingernails . This is one place germs like to be. Wash for about 15 to 20 seconds---about how long it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice. | middle6954.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It is about the need to remember old friends."
},
"options": [
"It is about an old Scottish poet.",
"It is about the New Year's Eve.",
"It is about the history of Scotland.",
"It is about the need to remember old friend... | This is a song, and millions of Americans will hear it on New Year's Eve. It is called "Auld Lang Syne" (<<>> ). It is the traditional music played during New Year's celebration. "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.
The words "auld lang syne" mean "old long since". No one knows who wrote the poem first.
However, a version by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1796. The words and music we know today first appeared in a song book three years later.
The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. One of the 4 musicians in the group is VOA's Rich Kainfaite. As we end our programme with "Auld Lang Syne",I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas. | middle7492.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Glasses with small round-frames."
},
"options": [
"Glasses with heavy black frames.",
"Glasses with bright red frames.",
"Glasses with small round-frames.",
"Glasses with small red frames."
],
"question": "What ... | My father is tall and has short gray hair. He wears glasses with heavy black frames . Here is a picture of him from 1968. What a surprise! In the picture, he's 15 years old. He's short and he is wearing glasses with small round frames. He has short blond hair and it's really straight. He is wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with the word "love" on it. I'm 15 years old now. I'm of medium height and I have short hair. My hair isn't blond. It's blue. My father thinks it's strange , but my friends think it's great. I wear glasses, but my glasses have bright red frames. They're so cool! I have an earring in one ear, too. I never wear blue jeans. I' like big baggy pants and long T-shirts. Most of my T-shirts have pictures of my favorite rock bands on them. | middle563.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He is a student."
},
"options": [
"He is a doctor.",
"He is a student.",
"He is a bank clerk.",
"He is a guide."
],
"question": "What does Li Ming do?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Dear Lily,
Welcome to our school for a visit. I am very glad to tell you how to get to our school. Here is the _ . When you walk out of the station, please turn left, walk on and pass a crossing. You should walk on till the first traffic light and turn right. Then you will find a park on your left side. Walk along the street and pass the park. Then you will see a bank. Across from the bank is a narrow lane .Just go into the lane and walk about 100 meters, and you are sure to get to our school gate, at which the board reads No.1 Middle School in both Chinese and English.
Yours,
Li Ming | middle6940.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "nobody can tell exactly which the safer way to use a mobile phone is"
},
"options": [
"wearing headsets is a safer way when we communicate with mobile phones",
"nobody can tell exactly which the safer way to use a mobile phone is",... | Do you or someone you know use a mobile phone? In today's world, many people use a mobile phone especially businessmen and businesswomen. These people are an important part of the business world and help our economies develop. In fact in some countries even children and the elderly use mobile phones to keep in touch with family and friends. We know how useful it is to have a mobile phone, but do we know how safe these phones are? Some scientists say that mobile phones could be a risk to our health. So, money is being given to scientific research to find out if mobile phones may be harmful in any way.
What does the future look like? Is a hands - free phone the answer? The idea behind hands - free sets is simple and maybe they are a safer way for people to communicate. The hands - free set has a piece in your ear and a microphone near your mouth which is connected to a wire that goes into your phone. Some scientists think this is a much safer way to use a phone. Some scientists have proved that a mobile phone 10 centimeters from your head is far safer than if the headset is right against your ear. Some reports say that hands - free sets have 95% less radiation exposure, while other reports say that hands - free sets expose you to more radiation. Governments and the mobile phone industry are researching the effects, including:
* the effects of radio waves on blood pressure and the brain, such as the abilities to concentrate, remember and learn the connections between mobile phone use and brain cancer long - term effects of mobile phone use, looking at health histories of people who have used mobiles since the 1980s. They will be looking at both current mobile phones and the new generation of 4G phones. The results from these studies will help us understand more about the world beyond mobile communications. Wouldn't it be strange if scientists discovered that mobile phones were too dangerous and we had to stop using them and go back to writing letter and using the normal telephone? | middle7486.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Sam really didn't like doing chores."
},
"options": [
"Sam liked doing chores.",
"Sam did chores only on weekends.",
"Sam liked doing chores only on weekends.",
"Sam really didn't like doing chores."
],
"questio... | Sam hated doing chores. And he had many chores. For example,on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he took out the rubbish. And on weekends he always washed his father's car. He also cleaned his own room once a week. What a chore that was! Sometimes he even had to look after his little sister and brother.
Sam had a foreign friend at school. His name was Kumar. Doing chores in Kumar's family was very different. In the house only the girls did chores. His sisters made all the beds and cleaned all the rooms too, even his bedroom.His mother always cooked the meals, and his sisters helped her to go shopping, and prepare the food. They worked hard at home,doing all the chores with their mother. So when Kumar talked to his friend Sam about chores, he felt very lucky. One day, Sam had an idea. He asked Kumar,"Could I borrow your sisters? " He wanted them to help him clean his room,but they said " no " Instead, they asked Sam to teach their brother how to do chores, so he could make his own bed.
Sam and Kumar are very good at science. They are going to be scientists after university. They want to make a robot to do the chores. Then everyone-mothers and fathers, sons and daughters-will be happy! | middle5291.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A magazine"
},
"options": [
"A magazine",
"A grammar book",
"A dictionary",
"A storybook"
],
"question": "Where does the passage most probably come from?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I looked to the east--the sky was becoming grey. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a dark path. There was nothing to see, but I knew it was there.
After about a mile, a stranger appeared beside the path. "Am I going the right way?" I asked. He knew where I was going. "Yes," he replied. "you'll get there in five minutes." Finally, I came to some rocks and stopped. I looked over them, but it was silent and there was no sign of it.
Suddenly, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The sun rose behind me and shone on the rocks. Far below me, the ground fell away and down to a river. I was looking across one of the wonders of the natural world -the Grand Canyon.
I looked down to the Colorado River, a silver stream nearly one mile below me. If you put the two tallest buildings in the world on top of each other at the bottom of the canyon, they still would not reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. It was about fifteen miles away, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides the canyon went far away for more than 200 miles. The Grand Canyon was not just big. It was huge!
I remained by the canyon for about half an hour, and I asked myself, "Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder of the natural world?" I certainly know the answer. What do you think? | middle3838.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "23184"
},
"options": [
"23184",
"54613",
"93184",
"99999"
],
"question": "If your friend's number is 76815, your number must be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Anybody can learn to count fast if he knows the secret of following trick.
Ask your friend to write any five-figure number on the blackboard. Then you write your five-figure number under it. You choose your figures so that each one with the figure above it will make nine.
Tell your friend to put a third five-figure number under your number. Then you write a fourth number in the same way. After he has written the fifth number, you draw a line under it and quickly write the sum. . You may even write it from left to right..
How do you do it ? You take away two from the fifth number and put two in front of your answer. Is it interesting? | middle4831.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "tennis"
},
"options": [
"ping-pong",
"tennis",
"basketball",
"baseball"
],
"question": ". Lina is a _ star.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"an... | Lina is a Chinese tennis star. She plays tennis well. She plays tennis every day. She has some tennis rackets and tennis balls. She has lots of healthy food. For breakfast, she has eggs and milk. She usually plays tennis for three hours in the moming. Then she has a big lunch-carrots, rice, fish and meat. After that she plays tennis for two hours in the afternoon.For dinner, she has chicken, apples and soup. After dinner, she watches tennis on TV for half hour. She has a busy life. | middle2298.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He felt very lonely."
},
"options": [
"He was happy to be with his parents.",
"He enjoyed reading good books there.",
"He was pleased with the woods.",
"He felt very lonely."
],
"question": "How did the writer f... | When I was a child, my parents often took me to an old house in a thick forest. No other children ever stayed there. I didn't even have the choice of playing with a brother or sister.
I could never understand what the attraction of the house was, even for my parents, who enjoyed nothing better than to sit in silence with a good book. The woman in the house, my father's distant cousin, was a terrible cook and her food was _ .
One day, when I was wandering around the garden behind the house, I noticed a wooden house which had clearly been abandoned . As I walked towards it, I heard a noise, like an animal moving hurriedly away. Then I saw a man with a long beard standing at the door. I was greatly surprised.
"Please don't tell them you saw me," he said. "They never use this place, and I have nowhere else to live." "Don't worry," I said. "I won't tell anyone. But are you all right out here? I mean--do you have enough to eat?" The old man shook his head.
The same evening, I took a small plastic bag into the dining room and, while no one was looking, emptied some of the food into it. Later, I got out of the back door secretly and gave the food to the old man, whose name I had discovered was Taff.
I had never seen anything else as lovely as the smile of satisfaction on Taff's face when he ate the food. From then on, my visits to the old house had a purpose, and I enjoyed every minute of the rest of my stay. | middle3186.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Last Tuesday."
},
"options": [
"Last Monday",
"Last Tuesday.",
"Las Wednesday",
"Last Thursday"
],
"question": "When did Eric do the survey?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | My name is Eric. I know many students like going to the movies and I'm sure that different people like different kinds of movies . Well ,what kind of movies do you like? Last Monday I went to a school and asked some students about their favorite movies. Here are some of their answers.
Jack, an 11-year-old boy, likes watching scary movies. He thinks scary movies are scary but exciting .His classmates.Alice,13,can't stand documentaries . She thinks they are boring and they are for parents. But she really likes comedies because they are funny. James, a big boy ,doesn't mind documentaries. But he doesn't like comedies because he thinks they are not exciting!
The survey showed that the most popular movies were action movies. Most of the students enjoyed them very much. | middle1949.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "David's friend."
},
"options": [
"David's cousin.",
"David's friend.",
"David's sister.",
"David's classmate."
],
"question": "Who is Karen? _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Dear Karen,
As you probably know, it's my sister Suzie's 16th birthday in a week. We're planning a surprise party for her. Julie's going to pick her up from school as usual on Friday but she's not taking her home. She's bringing her to the Palace Hotel, the big modern one near the station. We're having a meal there and we've also hired the ballroom for a party in the evening. I hope you can come!
All her friends from school are coming and quite a few of the people from our village, too. Of course, Mum and Dad are coming up from England and I've managed to persuade our other sister, Marie, to come over from Australia. She's bringing her kids with her, too.
After the party we're going to have another one on Saturday! Well, not really a party. We're inviting the family and close friends (that includes you) for a meal at the house. If the weather is nice, we'd like to have a barbecue in the garden. Julie's going to make a special cake for Suzie.
Anyway, we hope to make it a really special weekend for Suzie. On Sunday we're all going for a walk in the country. You know how she loves walking and we're all going to need a bit of exercise after all that lovely food. We're hoping to go up to the lake. Marie said she wanted her kids to feed the ducks just like Suzie and she did when they were very young. I'm sure Suzie will love that too.
It would be great if you could come over for the weekend. We would all love to see you.
Let me know as soon as you can.
Best,
David | middle1791.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "David Crystal thinks Netspeak helps develop the habit of writing."
},
"options": [
"Cynthia McVry points out teenagers can deal with Netspeak properly.",
"Geoffrey Nunberg believes Netspeakers can write Standard English.",
"D... | My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, WE USED 2go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ KIDS FTF. ILNY, its gr8.
Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad: neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cellphones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the "translation" of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York; it's great.
School teachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted .
Everyone should just relax, say linguists . They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nunberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says. "Kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents."
Linguist James Milroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can _ that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become "corrupted"; they simply change to meet the new needs.
However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future."
Perhaps, we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, age 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Text is just for fun." | middle4819.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "finding toys"
},
"options": [
"catching toys",
"counting toys",
"finding toys",
"putting toys in order"
],
"question": "From the passage we know that Rico is good at _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | Rico is a dog who lives in Germany . His owners trained him from a young age to find his toys. When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!
Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!
Then the researchers tried something else. They put seven of Rico's toys in the room together with one new toy that Rico had never seen before. Then they told Rico to go into the room and get the new toy. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times!
Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language. However, these tests seem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child.
From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about. | middle1961.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "early"
},
"options": [
"late",
"early",
"in time",
"in no time"
],
"question": "John drove to the doctor's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | John sent for a doctor because his wife was ill. He called the doctor and made sure they would meet at five. He arrived at the doctor's at twenty to five. He thought, "It's a little bit earlier. I'll wait for a moment. It's good to keep the time."
Then he stopped his car in front of the doctor's. He looked around and saw a noisy square not far from here. He went there and sat down on a chair to enjoy the last light of afternoon sun and make himself quiet. He saw some children playing and some women talking to each other happily.
Suddenly he heard a girl crying. He came up to her and asked some questions. Then he knew she got lost. John tried to find out her address and took her home. The girl's parents were very thankful.
Then John hurried to the doctor's. The doctor said angrily when he saw him, "You're late. Why did you keep me waiting for twenty minutes? " John said nothing but one word--"Sorry! " | middle6968.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It shows the life of old Beijing people."
},
"options": [
"It shows something new in Beijing.",
"Only foreigners go there.",
"It shows some changes in Beijing.",
"It shows the life of old Beijing people."
],
"qu... | If you come to Beijing, there are many interesting places to go. Lao She Teahouse is one of them. People built Lao She Teahouse in 1988. It is a special place in Beijing to show the life of old Beijing people in old times. It got its name from the famous writer ----Lao She.
'Remembering the past' is the idea of the teahouse and 'showing traditional folk arts' is its style, so here is a nice place in Beijing for foreigners to come as a guest and know about Chinese culture today.
Many people like Chinese old cultures and arts. Every day visitors from different places around the world come here to enjoy programs such as traditional opera, cross talk and story-telling in Beijing. By watching these, they can know much about Chinese folk arts. | middle3810.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "At 6:30."
},
"options": [
"At 6:00.",
"At 6:30.",
"At 7:00.",
"At 7:30."
],
"question": "What time does Mr Li often get up on Sundays?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Mr Li is an office worker. He likes to tell us about his weekends. He often gets up at half past six on Sundays. He has breakfast first. Then he goes to the park near his home. He runs for about half an hour in the park. Then he goes to the bookshop to have a look at new books. He likes reading books. In the afternoon, he cleans his car. But sometimes he visits his friends, and he often plays basketball with them. He cooks dinner at home. In the evening, he looks for things on the Internet for about an hour. He enjoys his weekends. | middle3804.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "shouldn't write your password on the card."
},
"options": [
"shouldn't write your password on the card.",
"can let your best friend see your password",
"shouldn't tell the bank that you lose your card.",
"shouldn't use ... | Lots of people get money from ATMs. If you don't know how to use an ATM, read the instructions carefully.
Put your card into the machine.
Look at the screen. Input your _ into the machine.
Input how much money you want on the screen of the machine. Then press "OK".
Get the money from the machine. If you want, you can also get a receipt .
Take back your card.
Remember these rules:
Don't write your password on your card.
Don't let other people see your password.
If you lose your card, tell the bank at once. | middle1975.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "An American writer."
},
"options": [
"A French writer.",
"A famous artist.",
"An American writer.",
"A traveler."
],
"question": "Who' s Mark Twain? _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | Mark Twain, the famous American writer, was traveling in France. Once he was going by train to Dijon. That afternoon he was very tired and wanted to sleep, so he asked the conductor to wake him up when they came to Dijon. But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. "I'll probably protest loudly when you try to wake me up," he said to the conductor, "but do not take any notice, just put me off the train anyway."
Then Mark Twain went to sleep. Later, when he woke up, it was night-time and the train was in Paris already. He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon. He was very angry. He ran up to the conductor and began to shout at him."I have never been so angry in all my life," Mark Twain said.
The conductor looked at him calmly. "You are not half so angry as the American whom I put off at Dijon," he said. | middle239.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To ask the residents to follow the rules."
},
"options": [
"To list the services offered by the Association.",
"To make an advertisement for the flats.",
"To ask the residents to follow the rules.",
"To warn people agai... | All residents: Rules for living in Parkrise Flats
We all want to live comfortably and safely here, so here are a few simple rules which we think all residents should follow.
Rubbish
Rubbish collection is on Tuesdays. Please do not leave rubbish bags out before Tuesday as birds and animals can break into them and they smell.
Washing
There is a washing line for every flat in the garden next to the car park. Please only dry your washing on these lines so it does not disturb people in the ground floor flats.
Cleaning
The main stairs are cleaned twice a week by the Association, so please try to keep them tidy and clean and do not leave furniture or bags on the stairs or in the hallways.
Lights
The main lights are on a timer and they stay on for five minutes whey you press them. Please tell the Association if any lights are not working.
Noise
Residents are asked to keep noise to a minimum. Loud music, etc. can disturb other people and the Association will get in touch with you if you make too much noise.
Safety
Make sure the main outside door is always locked and do not let anyone in to the main building unless you know who they are. Sometimes people try to get in to the main stairs and then break into flats, so do not let people in unless they are coming to see you.
Parking
Each flat has one car parking space. These are numbered and are at the back of the building. Do not use another resident's space. If you have more than one car you will have to park it on the road. Do not park where you are blocking entrances.
Problems
If you have any problems or questions, please call the Association at 0800 096 9000.
Parkrise Housing Association | middle3151.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She wanted to play tennis."
},
"options": [
"She wanted to study stars.",
"She wanted to study science.",
"She wanted to play tennis.",
"She wanted to do researches."
],
"question": "What did Sally Ride want to ... | Sally Ride was born in California in 1951. She was the first American woman to travel into space. She loved to play tennis and wanted to be a tennis player when she was young. But after three months' professional training, she changed her mind. She went to Stanford University and started to study science. She studied stars and planets. She did researches at the university and got her PhD in astrophysics after several years' hard work.
In 1977, she took a test to become an astronaut. And then she was picked up from over 8,000 people. In order to realise her dream of going into space, she had to get different kinds of special and difficult training. She learned how to fly a plane, how to jump out of a plane as well as how to operate special machines
Sally and four other astronauts flew a spaceship called Challenger on Jun. 18, 1983. She became the first American woman to travel into space. Later, she taught at the University of California. Then she wrote seven books on space for children, encouraging children to study science. Unfortunately, she died in 2012. | middle5520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "studies on brains between two sexes"
},
"options": [
"ways of being more intelligent",
"differences between men and women",
"studies on brains between two sexes",
"studies on white matter and grey matter"
],
"qu... | Do you know that women's brains are smaller than men's? Normally the women's brain weighs 10% less than men's. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it's what's inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of "grey matter" and "white matter". While men have more of the white matter, the amount of "thinking" brain is almost the same in both men and women.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it's women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes . As white matter is the key to spatial tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. "A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go," says one researcher. That may explain one of life's great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions ... and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research. | middle1746.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The mobile phone can also cause hearing problems if we don't use it correctly."
},
"options": [
"Scientists tell young people to turn off their MP3 players.",
"Teenagers will lose their hearing if they listen to hundreds of songs i... | "Millions of young people will lose their hearing in five years if they listen to MP3 or MP4 players at a too high voice every day," scientists say recently.
Do you often listen to MP3 players at a too high voice? Are you frightened to hear this?
The sizes of MP3 players are very small, but small MP3 players make it easy to take hundreds of songs with you. So many young people carry them and listen to music every day. MP3 players are very popular among students.
The scientists say teenagers should be far from high volume , including mobile phones' noise. A study says, "High volume and long listening time can cause hearing problems." They think if young people listen at more than 89 decibels every day, they will lose their hearing in five years. A scientist said, "So many young people often use personal music players and mobile phones at a high voice. I am afraid that _ may be losing their hearing.
So let's turn our MP3 players down! | middle8004.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A worker."
},
"options": [
"Sports lover.",
"A farmer.",
"A worker.",
"In good health."
],
"question": "What does Mr Ling do?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | Mr Ling lives in China. He worked in a factory and last year he retired. His wife died five years ago and his son works in Japan. He always has sports and he is in good health.
One day his son called him and asked him to have a journey to Tokyo. He was very happy. He was afraid to travel by plane and took the ship.
On the first morning on the ship Mr Ling met an Englishman at table. The man said to him, "Good morning!"
He thought the Englishman told his name to him. So he stood up and said, "Ling Bing!"
And it was repeated a few mornings and Mr Ling told a teacher about it. Hearing him, the teacher began to laugh and said, "He says hello to you in the morning."
The next morning, when Mr Ling met the Englishman, he said, "Good morning!"
And the Englishman stood up and said, "Ling Bing,sir." | middle7337.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the school only had a girls' dancing group"
},
"options": [
"the school only had a girls' dancing group",
"the school didn't allow boys to dance",
"the group had enough dancers already",
"he was not a good dancer"
]... | Last summer, 15-year-old Bob had a problem. Like a lot of children, Bob was interested in doing many things. He liked dancing most and wanted to join a dancing group. But Bob's high school didn't have a boys' dancing group but a girls' group. He tried to join the girls' group. And he made it.
Bob thought his problem was over after he had been one of the dancers in the dancing group. But a bigger problem was just beginning. The school didn't allow Bob to stay in the girls' group. "If we let Bob stay in the group," the school said, "other boys will want to join, too. Soon, there won't be any girls in the group." They took Bob off the group.
Bob was very angry about it, so he went to a judge . The judge said it was not a right decision and told the school to let Bob go back to the dancing group. | middle6997.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "telling stories to him"
},
"options": [
"carrying him everywhere",
"making faces and singing to him",
"feeding him",
"telling stories to him"
],
"question": "When looking after his younger brother, the writer di... | Five years ago, my mother gave birth to a brother for me when I was 8. I have learned a lot from getting along with him.
After he was born, I almost became a babysitter. I had to _ him after school. I would make faces and sing to him when he was crying. Sometimes I even carried him everywhere in our yard to refresh him while my parents were busy. What I liked to do best was to feed him when looking after him. How cute he was as he tasted his favorite food!My parents often praised me happily. As an elder brother, you've made contributions to looking after your younger brother. "
I have got happiness from sharing. When I was young, I was the only child in my family. I could get what I wanted from my parents and get my parents' whole love. I was a" Little Emperor".
But now, as long as I get something good, I will share it with him. I remembered the year when he was three, he was fond of Rubik cubes I bought one for him with my lucky money as a birthday present. When he got the toy, he was so happy that he laughed, hugged me and said,
" Brother, I love you ! "
Thanks for spending these years together with my family. It has taught me what responsibility means, what unselfishness means and what friendship means. Not only should I look after myself, but also I should pay attention to my family and my friends. | middle7451.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because Tommy's grades were dropping recently."
},
"options": [
"Because Tommy was late for school that day.",
"Because Tommy did well on his schoolwork.",
"Because Tommy's grades were dropping recently.",
"Because Tomm... | I called a meeting with the parents of my student, Tommy. I wanted to talk with them about his schoolwork and behaviour .Tommy was always an excellent student. How could I make his father and mother believe that their recent separation made his grades bad.?
Tommy's mother came in and sat down. Then his father arrived. But they didn't say even one word to each other. I told them about Tommy's schoolwork and behaviour. I hoped to help them see what they were doing to their son. But it looked that my words didn't work. I thought that maybe Tommy could tell them something himself.
I found Tommy's paper in the back of his desk. Tommy has written some words on it many times. I gave the paper to Tommy's mother. She read it and gave it to his father. He read it and his face became soft . He reached for his wife's hand. She smiled up at him. My eyes were with tears. He helped her with her coat and they left together.
I picked the paper up and looked at it again. It read: "Dear Mommy... Dear Daddy... I love you." | middle1020.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It's a movie."
},
"options": [
"It's a kind of 3D projector.",
"It's a kind of 3D TV set.",
"It's a movie.",
"It's an animal."
],
"question": "What is Avatar?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Have you seen Avatar? It's a popular 3D movie, and you may have to wear a special pair of glasses - 3D glasses, to see it. The 3D glasses make the images from the movie look as if they are coming straight at you.
3D movies are really exciting to watch. More and more 3D movies are coming to theaters. Some say that 3D TV sets will come into our homes in the near future. 3D technology can make TV and movies more exciting. However, people with eye problems may get headaches if they spend too much time watching 3D movies. Why?
When we look at an object, each eye sees it at a different angle . Our eyes send the two images to our brain, and the brain puts them together. 3D technology uses two film projectors . One projects left-eye-image and the other projects a right-eye-image. 3D glasses allow us to see a different image in each eye. So, when we are watching a 3D movie, our brain can't put together the images sent to our eyes. The brain needs to work harder at "reading" the images. That makes it easier for people with eye problems to get dizzy or have headaches.
Dr John Hagan, an eye doctor in Kansas City, said if your eyes can't focus on the same object at once, you will have trouble watching 3D movies. | middle2529.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because she thinks her roommates always look down her."
},
"options": [
"Because she always thinks differently from others.",
"Because she thinks her roommates always look down her.",
"Because the condition of her dorm is ver... | Mei Qiyue, 13, of Chongqing, leaves her dorm early every morning and doesn't return until late at night. She feels stressed in the dorm. "My roommates look down on me. When I say something, they never agree with me. Sometimes, they even laugh at me together," said Mei. "The dorm is like hell. I want to leave the moment I walk in."
Mei is not alone. Many middle school students lave such problems. Plans, opinions and other small differences can create conflict . "Most teenagers are the only child in the family where they are the 'King' or 'Queen'. They can't stand other kids' different ideas, so conflicts between them come out in the dorm," said Sun Yunxiao, a professor in Beijing.
According to Sun, roommate relations are important in schools, and students should be serious about them. He suggests that students should be patient, sincere and cooperative in dealing with their roommates.
Zou Ming, 14, of Shanxi, and his roommates didn't clean their dorm for a long time during their first semester. "Later, we began to hate each other because nobody would clean," said Zou. "One day, we had a dorm meeting. At the meeting we discussed the problem seriously and decided each other of us would clean for a week." After the meeting, they cleaned the dorm for the first time together, and the boys have become good friends.
"I think we should take care of the dorm like our family and our roommates like our brothers," said Zou. "Only in this way can we have a happy dorm like and make lifelong friends." | middle5246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "American girls"
},
"options": [
"an English girl",
"an American girl",
"American girls",
"American girl"
],
"question": "The twins are _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | I'm a Chinese girl. At school I have two good friends. Their names are Lucy and Lily. They are Americans. They are twins. They're eleven. They are good girls. Miss Gao is our English teacher. She is a good teacher. We like her very much. She likes us very much, too.
We go to school at seven in the morning. At four o'clock we play games. At four thirty in the afternoon we go home. We are very happy. | middle3637.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "see his teacher"
},
"options": [
"take an exam",
"see his teacher",
"get his school bag",
"ask some questions"
],
"question": "The writer went to the teacher's office to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_que... | One day after school, I went to the teacher's office to see my teacher, but nobody was there. As I was about to leave, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and saw the words "FINAL-TERM EXAMINATION" at the top. I put the paper into my school bag secretly and ran out of the room.
After I came back home, I took out the paper quickly. It was the exam paper of my worst subject, History. I felt excited. My heart beat fast. I took out my History book and started working on the answer. I had never answered any questions so seriously.
On the day of the History exam, I went into the exam hall confidently. When the paper was sent to me, I dreamt of getting the highest mark in the whole grade and could not help smiling. "My History teacher always encouraged me to work hard and get better grades, but I let him down time and time again. This time I will give him a big surprise," I thought.
When the teacher said we could start, I turned the paper over. To my surprise, all the questions were different. Later I felt nervous. In the end, I almost left the paper undone. After the exam. I ran to the toilet, took out the paper and carefully read it from the top. Oh! It was last year's exam paper. I read all the questions but I hadn't read the date.
This is a lesson in which I know I have to put my feet on the ground. I regretted doing such a silly thing. After that, I told my teacher the truth and I promised to be honest. From then on, I worked harder than ever before. | middle5252.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "on August 18"
},
"options": [
"on August 18",
"on August 19",
"on August 17",
"on August 20"
],
"question": "If anyone has the newspaper of today, he will get a gift _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | August 14, 2002
#The biggest shopping center KRF will open on August 18. Everyone with Today's newspaper will get a small gift. You are welcome.
Address: No. 6 Bridge Street
#English Newspaper, is looking for good English speakers as editors. He should study news in college. He will get $8,000 a year. Please send you application form in 10 days.
Tel: 3898766 Address: No 5 Longway Street Email: englishnewspaper@yahoo.com
#Traditional Chinese doctor treatment. RMB 200/hourI'll go to your home.
Mobile: 137629390
#New York VS Chinese Dragon Team
Time: 7 PM Sunday, August 17 Place: Star Stadium
Price: RMB 300, RMB 280, RMB 180, RMB 80, | middle3623.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "some people choose a team to support as their parents do"
},
"options": [
"friends always choose different teams to support.",
"only 32 cities in America have their own football teams",
"some people choose a team to support a... | The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league with 32 teams in. How does one choose which team to support? Some people choose the team of their hometown, or where they now live, or the team that their parents or their friends follow.[:ZXXK]
A boy student from Oklahoma wrote a letter to each of the owners or presidents of the 32 NFL teams. He would see what answers he got, and then choose his team.
Bill was home from school sick. It was the week before Christmas. He was "kind of bored" and needed something to do. So he asked his parents if he could write to every professional football team. Bill wrote the 32 letters by hand.
"We weren't quite sure what we could get back. He didn't really have one team that he wanted to hear from," his mother said: "He just wanted to see what kind of reply he' d get."
A letter to the Carolina Panthers' owner Jerry Richardson was one of those posted. Bill wrote in his letter, "My family and I love football. They are fans of different teams.But I don't have a team to cheer for yet. I am ready to pick an NFL team to cheer on for lifetime!"
A few weeks later, Bill's mother was pulling into her driveway when a delivery man arrived with a box from the Panthers. When Bill came home, he excitedly opened the box. Inside he found a signed Carolina Panthers helmet as well as a handwritten note from Jerry.
The team owner had written to Bill, "We should be honored if our Carolina Panthers became your team. We would make you proud of your joining us."
Bill was overjoyed with what he got. He decided that from then on he would support the Panthers. He keeps the letter from Jerry in his bedroom. His mother says, "It's not the helmet they sent us. It's what they told us." That is what mattered to Bill and why he chose to become a Panthers' fan. | middle7445.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "read books"
},
"options": [
"repair a basket",
"do farm work",
"wake up his grandson",
"read books"
],
"question": "The grandfather got up early to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | An old farmer lived with his little grandson. Every day the farmer got up early to read books.
One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I want to read books just like you, but I don't understand them. What are the advantages of reading?" The grandfather said, "Take this litter basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water." he boy did, but all the water _ before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, " You'll have to walk faster next time."
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. The boy said, " See Grandpa, it's useless!"
So you think it is useless?" the old man said. "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It was clean, inside and out.
"That's what happens when you read books. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read them, you will be changed, inside and out." | middle1034.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to make the unwanted gifts useful"
},
"options": [
"to make the unwanted gifts useful",
"to help people learn to think carefully",
"to save money from it",
"to make money for themselves."
],
"question": "The com... | To protect the environment, we are on the way. Here are a few things we can do.
Unwanted gifts? Give them away!
Have you ever received a gift that you didn't like? Did you throw it away? If so, you can have another choice now. Two British companies hopes people will give away their unwanted gifts to them. And they will resell the gifts to raise money for the poor. In this way, the gifts can be refused and have a future life. And people can make a difference to the world.
Wear the trousers that reduce pollution!
A chemistry scientist and a fashion designer have created a new kind of trousers. The trousers are made of a new material which can help reduce air pollution around us. Scientists have tested the material. The result shows that it isn't harmful to human. This new kind of trousers may appear at the market in two years. Professor Ryan said, "If thousands of people wear the trousers, the air quality will be improved."
Plant trees with Felix
Felix Finkbeiner, a 14-year-old German boy, is not famous as a child actor but an environment hero. At the age of 9, Felix got the idea that children could do something to protect the environment. So he started a club. Felix soon got support from children all over the world. Some of them have become his good friends. The club has an aim of planting 212 million trees. They have planted over 3.5 million trees all around the world. Felix said, "The answer to controlling global warming is trees--lots of trees!" | middle1752.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "went to buy something"
},
"options": [
"had nothing to do",
"went out for a walk",
"went to buy something",
"went to see the man"
],
"question": "Last Sunday, an old woman _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_qu... | An old lady went to the shop last Sunday. She passed a bank and saw a car near the door. A man got out of it and went into the bank. She looked into the car. The keys were in the lock .
The old lady took the keys and followed the man into the bank. The man took a gun out of the pocket and said to the clerk, "Give me all the money." But the old lady didn't see this. She went to the man and put the keys in his hand and said, "Young man, you are foolish. Never leave your keys in your car. Someone is going to steal it. " The man looked at the old lady for a few seconds. Then he looked at the clerk. He took the keys, ran out of the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly without any money. | middle8010.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "read the stories about exhibits and benefactors"
},
"options": [
"organize activities like special shows and talks",
"learn about the interests of all age groups",
"read the stories about exhibits and benefactors",
"wal... | Do you enjoy visiting a museum? Did you ever make a plan before a visit? Every museum must have something that attracts you. And there are many possible ways to enjoy yourself in a museum. If you follow these steps below, you'll know what is worth seeing and doing, so that you can make the most of your time at the museum.
Decide what museum you will visit. There are so many different kinds of museums and you first need to find one that you like. It's easy for you to choose one and start an enjoyable visit!
Do some research online. Every museum now has a website which allows you to look through the information about it. On the website, you may look for such things as:
The exhibits -See what is on show at the museum at all times, and what special exhibitions are held for a short time.
The history of the museum -There will often be very interesting stories about the exhibits and the benefactors . That can make your visit more interesting.
Activities -See whether there are talks, tours our special activities on the day when you visit. Many museums hold some activities that meet the interests of all age groups.
Cost, food or shortage - It's important how much the visit will cost. You have to decide whether or not you can eat there. You might also need to find out transportation needs, as well as storage for coats, bags etc.
Learn at least one thing on your visit. It is always good to take away something new from your visit.
Plan breaks into your visit. When you walk around, standing here and studying exhibits there, you may become very tired. So it is important to take breaks. A break is a good opportunity for you to think of what you have seen and what else you might wan t to do in museum.
Take a friend or two. Visiting museums is always a lot more fun when you are with someone else. You can talk over what you're seeing. A friend also brings another way of thinking when you talk about the exhibit. | middle7323.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "23 percent"
},
"options": [
"9 percent",
"23 percent",
"4.7 percent",
"10 percent"
],
"question": "According to the survey, how many American teenagers smoked in 2000?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | A recent survey showed that only 9 percent of teens in the United States smoke cigarettes.That's down from 23 percent in 2000.While this is good news for the US's overall health, tobacco use is still a problem.
Cigarettes can cause many diseases, such as cancer ,lung cliscases and heart problems.Although they know about the health problems, teenagers still smoke.So the _ of the US Anti-smoking Organization is working to end teenage smoking.Their latest activity uses social media to remind teenagers of the dangers of smoking.And the activity also encourages teens to learn the facts and become the generation that ends smoking.
However, anti-smoking campaigns may have a new problem to worry about.According to a 2013 report, the use of electronic cigarettes is on the rise.American high school students who reported having used an electronic cigarette rose from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012.The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling.It may become lifelong addictied .Besides, we still don't yet understand the long-term effects of e-cigarettes.
,. (2,10) | middle5534.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Seven."
},
"options": [
"Three.",
"Four.",
"Five.",
"Seven."
],
"question": "How many kinds of animals are mentioned in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,... | Come and see the Indian elephants and the new tigers form Northeast of China. The beautiful birds from England are ready to sing songs for you, and the monkeys from Mount Emei will be happy to talk to you. The lovely dogs from Australia want to laugh at you. Sichuan pandas will play balls for you. The giraffes from Africaare waiting to look down on you. Keep the zoo clean. Do not touch, feed or go near to the animals. | middle6015.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "this Thursday"
},
"options": [
"this Sunday",
"this Saturday",
"this Friday",
"this Thursday"
],
"question": "Bill's birthday is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Sam: Hey, Maria and John. This Thursday is Bill's birthday. Let's think about the presents.
Maria: Sure, Sam. I want to give him a computer game.
Sam: No, Bill never plays computer games.
John: I want to buy a CD of his favourite songs.
Sam: Good idea. Bill likes listening to music.
Maria: How about buying a birthday cake for him?
Sam: Oh, you don't have to do it. His mother usually buys a birthday cake for him.
Maria: How about buying him a cinema ticket? I remember Bill likes watching films.
Sam: That sounds a good idea.
Maria &John: What about you? What would you like to buy for Bill, Sam?
Sam: It's a secret. | middle2273.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "England"
},
"options": [
"America",
"France",
"Germany",
"England"
],
"question": "The story happened in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"a... | Mr. and Mrs. Turner live outside a small town. They have a big farm and they are always busy working on it. Their son, Peter, studied at a middle school. The young man studied hard and did well in his lessons. It made them happy.
Last month Peter finished middle school and passed the entrance examination . Mrs. Turner was very happy and told the farmers about it.
Yesterday morning the woman went to the town to buy something for her son. On the bus she told one of her friends how clever and able her son was. She spoke very loudly. All the people in the bus began to listen to her.
"Which university will your son study in?" a woman next to her asked.
"In the most famous university in our country!" Mrs. Turner said happily.
"The most famous university?"
"Oxford University ."
Most of the passengers looked at her carefully. Some of them said to her, "Congratulations!"
A woman said, "I'm sure he'll know Fred Smith."
"Who's Fred Smith?"
"He's my son."
"Does he study in the university, too?"
"No, "said the woman. "He is one of the professors ." | middle2515.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "an English lesson"
},
"options": [
"an English lesson",
"a long meeting",
"a big meal",
"a good time"
],
"question": "One day, the students are having _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | One day, in an English class, the students are doing their lessons. Their teacher, a young woman, is very happy. She sings some nice songs with them and then she goes to the blackboard and writes "SMILES" on it.
"This is the longest word in English, " she says to the class.
A girl stands up and says, "It has only six letters. How can it be the longest word in English?"
The teacher smiles and says, "Oh, look! There is a mile between the first letter and the last one. " | middle6773.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "playing basketball"
},
"options": [
"singing",
"playing basketball",
"dancing",
"drinking"
],
"question": "The boys are _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | It' s Sunday morning. There are many people in the park, some boys are playing basketball. There are some girls under a big tree. They' re singing and dancing. What are those women doing? They are drinking tea. Look at the woman in a blue coat. Who' s she? She' s my mother. She is talking to Edward. Edward is her student. He is a good student. He studies hard . He' s good at all the subjects. And he' s friendly to all his teachers and his friends. | middle588.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "have breakfast"
},
"options": [
"have a drink",
"have breakfast",
"drive cars",
"wait for buses"
],
"question": "In the morning, some people in London are really busy, they don't _ .",
"question_type": "c... | In London, everyone is busy in the early morning. Some are running to the stations, buses and cars. Some are stopping only to drink a cup of coffee. They usually have no time for breakfast. At about eight thirty, one after another, the shops open for business .Taxis and buses are running in the streets. People work busily all day.
At six o'clock in the evening, people go home quickly from work. Most of the shops closed , but some are still open. Many people work at night in a big city. In newspaper offices, reporters work hard. Doctors and nurses work in the hospital. Taxis and buses take people around the city all night. Some people are going to the movies. Some people are going to watch the plays. You can hear people talking, laughing and singing. You can listen to music, too. Every night, there are many people on the sidewalks . Some stop to look at shop windows, but they never buy clothes. Others are waiting for buses and taxis.
Day and night you can find people working and playing in London. A big city never sleeps. | middle7479.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "People have different traditional foods to celebrate different festivals."
},
"options": [
"People have different traditional foods to celebrate different festivals.",
"New Year begins from January 10\nthin Japan",
"In France... | Around the world, people have different traditional foods to celebrate different festivals. Traditional foods also show a new year of good luck and good health:
An English Christmas dinner has a meal of turkey, and it also includes pies and plum puddings . In Germany, Christmas is celebrated with bread, cookies and cakes, which are made like Christmas trees. In France, Christmas dessert is a cake filled with butter cream.
In southern parts of India, there is a three-day festival in mid-January called Pongal. It includes rice and a dish of rice cooked with sugar that is shared with families and friends.
Japan celebrates New Year with a seven-day festival. It begins from January 1st. Food is prepared before the festival so people don't need to cook during the festival. On New Year's Day, _ dishes called Osechi ryori are served--each dish is a wish for the New Year.
In most Asian countries, the New Year begins with the first full moon of the first Chinese Lunar month. Each place has its special food to welcome the coming year: People in China prepare their food ahead of time to avoid the _ that using a knife during New Year's time might "cut luck". Foods with lucky names are popular, such as fish, which sounds like "surplus ". | middle6767.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "changes a lot"
},
"options": [
"is always the same",
"changes a lot",
"is \"wonderful or smart\"",
"is \"new and surprising\""
],
"question": "The meaning of the word \"cool\" _ .",
"question_type": "cloz... | "Cool" is a word with many meanings. It means a little cold at first. As time changes, the word gets many different meanings. We can use "cool" when we talk about something wonderful or somebody looking smart. For example. When you see a beautiful and expensive car in the street, you can say, "It is cool." You may think the popular singer Jay Chow is cool. You can also use the word to mean something new and surprising. Here is an example. One day a teacher took the students to a farm and then asked them to write something about the visit. One of her students just wrote, "The farm is so cool." Because he thought "cool" was the best word to show what he saw and felt. It also shows some people don't have enough words. Without "cool", they seem to have no other words to use. Can you think of any other words like "cool: with so many meanings? If you can they are also very "cool". | middle1008.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "egg"
},
"options": [
"cocoa power",
"salt",
"water",
"egg"
],
"question": "What is NOT necessary when we are making chocolate?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_in... | Do you like eating chocolate? Companies spend millions of dollars on tools and machines to make chocolate. With a little ingredients, however, you can turn your kitchen into a chocolate factory. Today we will teach the Cocoa Powder Method , it is easier for beginners. Try it and make your own homemade chocolate.
Here are the ingredients you need:
cocoa powder -- 2 cups (220g) ; butter -- 3/4 cup (170g); sugar -- 3/4 cup (100g); milk -- 2/3 cup (150ml); salt -- a little bit ; water -- 1 cup (235ml).
Now, please follow these steps. First, mix the cocoa powder and butter in a bowl until you have a smooth paste . Then , add the cocoa powder mixture to the hot water and stir . Allow the temperature to rise back up. Put the hot mixture into a bowl, stir the sugar mixture into the hot cocoa mix. Add milk, stir until smooth. At last, put the mixture into different containers . The chocolate will take the shape of the container. You can put it in the fridge to harden it.
We hope you can enjoy your homemade chocolate. | middle2501.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Rose's"
},
"options": [
"Rose's",
"David's",
"Rose's mother's",
"David's mother's"
],
"question": "Whose birthday is it?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answe... | David is eight. One day his friend Rose says to him, "This Sunday is my birthday. Can you come to my birthday party?" David says, "Yes".
On Sunday, David asks his mother if he can go to the party. His mother says, "Yes, you can go, but you must be polite. Don't ask for any food. They will give you some." "All right, Mum." David answers and he goes to Rose's house on his bike.
There are lots of kids at the party. They play together for some time, and then Rose's mother gives them some food, but she forgets David. He waits and waits and then he takes his plate up and asks, "Do you want a nice clean plate?" | middle4170.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "test who his true friends are"
},
"options": [
"sit on in the school",
"be his birthday present",
"test who his true friends are",
"play games with his friends at school"
],
"question": "Mario's grandpa gave him... | A boy called Mario had many friends, and he was proud of it. Whoever he met, he would like to show off how popular he was at school.
One day, his grandpa said to him, "Mario, I know that you don't have as many friends as you think. Many of them are not true to you."
Mario thought maybe his grandpa was right. However, he wasn't sure how he could test whether his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, "I have just exactly what you need. It's in my room. Wait a minute." The old man left, soon returning as if carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there.
"Take it. It's a very special chair. Because it's _ , it will be hard for you to sit on it. However, if you manage to sit on it, you can use the chair's magic power to tell who your real friends are."
Mario took the strange invisible chair to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair.
"Nobody move. You're about to see something amazing," said Mario. Then he tried sitting on the chair. Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell to the ground. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. "Wait, wait," said Mario, making another try. But again he missed the seat.
Mario didn't give up. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair. Finally, he did it. This time he felt himself in mid-air.
Then he experienced the magic that his grandpa had been talking about. Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas and Diana holding him up, so he wouldn't fall. But some schoolmates whom he had regarded as friends had done nothing but made fun of him. Mario was quite thankful to his grandpa, who helped him test who his true friends were. | middle3179.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in a cold winter"
},
"options": [
"on a rainy day",
"in a cold winter",
"when the husband lost his work",
"when the wife saw her husband's diary."
],
"question": "The couple moved out of their house _ .",
... | In a cold winter, a couple had to move out of their big house because fo bankruptcy . The husband worked day and night but with no care of his wife. SO she thought, " He doesn't love me any more , he just thinks about his work."
One day, she wanted to take a shower , but her husband stopped her at the door. "Let me take it first, Ok?" "Why not let me take it first?" she asked. "I'm tired, dear. You take it later, OK?" She was very sad.
On a rainy day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer. After a few minutes, her eyes were full of tears....It was his diary:
Today I was quite sad. She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said I was tired. She was unhappy. I wasn't as rich as before! We moved to the small house and it was very cold. I found that if one person took the shower first, the bathroom could get a little warmer. So I always rushed to the bathroom first. When she took the shower, the bathroom could get warmer, at least 1degC. i can't give her more, but at least I can give her 1degC love. | middle4616.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He was quite successful as a farmer."
},
"options": [
"He was the richest in his village.",
"He was unable to feed his family.",
"He loved daughters more than sons.",
"He was quite successful as a farmer."
],
"q... | Many years ago, there lived an old man with his three sons, Dharma, Harrison and Keith, in a village. The man worked hard when he was young, son he had the largest farmyard and the most beautiful house in the village. However, his sons were all born to be lazy, which mad him disappointed. He was worried that his sons would use up his money and starve to death.
One day, the old man came up with a plan. He called his sons and said to them, "Look, my dear sons: in the land we have at the farmyard, there is lots of hidden gold. If you should work together, you may find it"
In a wish to find out the gold, his sons worked hard from the morning to the evening digging and digging all through the land. The days had passed, but they didn't find what were they were looking for. They got frustrated and angry. They decided to give up and returned to ask their father.
"There is no gold in the land. We are cheated."
"Since the land has been dup soft. Why don't you pant some crops there?" was the reply of the father to the sons.
Off went the sons. Soon the whole once-useless land was rich crops.
"This if the real gold, my sons." Said the now proud father. | middle5508.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a science report"
},
"options": [
"a science report",
"a car advertisement",
"a rubbing introduction",
"a chemistry programme"
],
"question": "This text is most probably _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_quest... | Have you ever rubbed your hands together when they get cold? Why do we do that? We do that for _ . Friction happens when two things that aren't very smooth rub together to make heat energy. The faster you rub two things together, the more friction ( and heat) you can make. Let's discover friction!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
*Soap *Water*Your hands!
WHAT TO DO
Make sure your hands are dirty.
Rub your hands together until you feel the heat of your hands.
Now, use soap and water to get your hands very slippery .
Try to make friction happen while your hands are slippery.
Please write down what has happened.
LET'S TALK!
Friction is an energy that happens when two things rub together. When friction happens, it makes heat! When your hands are slippery, they won't make very much friction and your hands won't get so hot.
DID YOU KNOW?
Friction happens when you stop your fast running bike.
Ancient people made fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together. Friction happened though they didn't know it.
_
Friction is everywhere. Have you ever noticed situations where friction is happening? If not, ask your parents to take you out in a car. If it is not hot, touch the tires of the car before and after a short drive to see how much warmer they get from friction. | middle2267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "12"
},
"options": [
"7",
"9",
"10",
"12"
],
"question": "David Copperfield was the youngest member of the Society of American Magicians when he was _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Choose the best answer (,):
David Copperfield is one of the world's most famous magicians . He became the youngest member of the Society of American Magicians when he was 12. Now he is famous all over the world. In 1983, he made the Statue of Liberty in New York disappear for a few minutes. In 1986, Copperfield first came to China. He walked through the Great Wall in Beijing! During his second visit in 2002, lots of Chinese people were lucky enough to enjoy his shows.
Copperfield's shows are not just magic. He also dances and does lots of interesting things to make his fans happy. He even asks his fans to help him do tricks ! One of Copperfield's greatest tricks is flying. In his shows in China, he even made some fans fly around the theatre! In another trick, an electric saw cut Copperfield's body into two halves. Copperfield's magic is different each time. What do you think he will do next time? It will be fun to wait and see! | middle6001.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Basketball."
},
"options": [
"Soccer.",
"Ping-pong.",
"Volleyball.",
"Basketball."
],
"question": "What sport does David play every day?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | My name is David. I'm 23and I'm a middle school teacher. I go to the school at 7:30 in the morning. I like sports. I play basketball every day.
My name is Jake Smith. I'm in China with my kids . I have a daughter and a son. My daughter Lisa is in Huangzhou Middle School. She likes yellow and white. My son Eric is only 6, but he can play ping--pong.
I'm Mary. I'm 10. My brother Nick is 11. He likes to play tennis after school. I have a nice room. It is tidy. But my brother's room is not the same. His books are always everywhere. | middle7306.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "7:00"
},
"options": [
"6:00",
"6:30",
"7:00",
"7:30"
],
"question": "Sandra goes to school at _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_tex... | Sandra usually gets up at six in the morning. She usually has breakfast at six thirty. She goes to school at around seven o'clock. School starts at seven thirty.
Sandra learns many subjects at school: math, English, science, history, art, music and PE. Her favorite subject is music. It's relaxing, and the music teacher is fun.
Sandra has four classes in the morning. At eleven forty she comes home for lunch. She has lunch with her grandmother. In the afternoon, she isn't very busy. She has only two classes. After school she does her homework and plays with other kids.
In the evening, Sandra's parents come home from work at five o'clock. The family have dinner at six. After that they usually listen to music or watch TV. Sandra goes to bed at nine thirty. Her grandmother goes to bed at nine, and her parents go to bed at around ten o'clock. | middle8035.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "India"
},
"options": [
"India",
"America",
"Britain",
"China"
],
"question": "The first Laughter Club was started in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index":... | Do you want to live a happier, less stressful life? Try laughing for no reason at all. That's how millions of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria."Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day," says Dr. Kataria. "Everyone is naturally good at laughing -- it's the common language. We want people to feel happy with their lives." There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 in the world.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects of laughter on our health. According to a 5-year study at the UCLA School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest, I wasn't interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking silly. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say "ho ho ho, ha ha ha" while looking at each other. However, our bodies can't tell the difference between real laughter and unreal laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real and some people just couldn't stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you're under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results. | middle1777.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Deng Xiaoping."
},
"options": [
"Deng Xiaoping.",
"Hu Jintao.",
"Mao Zedong.",
"Jiang Zemin."
],
"question": "Do you know who mentioned \"on country, two systems\" according to the passage?",
"question_type"... | 1. The family planning policy ("") was introduced in 1979 to solve the population problems. Most couples could have only one child except some special families and those in some special areas.
2. Usually, all around good student, which was called "thricegood", was given to the students who were virtuous , talented and good at PE. It was firstly used in to 1950s by Mao to encourage young people to keep fit, study well and work hard.
3. During the early 1990s, state owned company reforms were getting tough. The workers were more than the jobs in most of the cities. Many workers were losing their jobs. "Jobless" was a hot topic at that time, so the leaders hoped the laid off workers could find new jobs or start up their own business.
4. One of Deng's clever ideas, "one country, two systems", was first performed in 1997. It described Hong Kong and Macao's situation after they returned to China. This policy would also be suitable for Taiwan. There would be one China, but Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan could have their own economies and political systems.
5. Lei Feng was a soldier who was happy to help others. He died in an accident in 1962. On March 5th,1963, Mao wrote a piece, "Learn from comrade Lei Feng", to say the Chinese should help others when necessary. After that, March 5th became a Volunteer Day.
6. The phrase "harmonious society" appeared in 2004, referring to a peaceful society where all people would work together to make the life better. This idea has become the main goal of the Chinese Communist Party now. | middle6018.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Scientists."
},
"options": [
"Scientists.",
"Astronauts.",
"Engineers.",
"Directors."
],
"question": "What do Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris do?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"an... | We usually believe what our brain tells us, but there are some amazing facts which show that the brain tricks us. As a result, we think we can see something that is not actually there or we ignore things that actually are there.
Scientists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris have researched this phenomenon , which they call "change blindness". Their experiments show how we sometimes just do not see what is in front of our eyes because _ .
Here is one of their most famous experiments. In this experiment, the participants were shown a video of two groups of people (one group in white T-shirts and one group in black T-shirts) who passed basketballs around in a hallway. Each group had three members. Simons and Chabris asked the participants to count how many times the white team passed the ball. While the two teams were passing their balls around, a person dressed up as a big bear walked through the group and stopped to look at the camera. Simons and Chabris found that about half of the research participants did not notice the big bear. | middle5511.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "share their feelings with their teens."
},
"options": [
"invite their teens' friends home.",
"leave their teens' problems alone.",
"share their feelings with their teens.",
"pay little attention to their teens' daily li... | Teens want structure in their lives, which means they want their lives well-planned. To begin building structure, teens need love and trust. They need to know their parents arc there to give them needed love and support .Teens want to be sure that nothing can prevent parents from shouldering their responsibility for them -- not their growing maturity ,misbehavior, nor anger at something they have done. Teens want parents to keep control while allowing them to make some decisions.
There are some ways you can help your teens create reasonable structure and remain close. One way is to spend time together. Parents often mistake their teens' increased interest in friends for a disinterest in the family.
Teens would like to spend more time doing things with their parents, but watching TV is not counted as spending time together. As your teens mature, it is important for you and your teens spend time alone together, one to one. Your teens need time to talk to you alone without any other family member present.
Talk with your teens about their interests and concerns. Make sure you really show interest in what is happening. When talking with your teens, give full attention and do not stop them.
The way to help your teens become adults is to let your teens into your world. Sharing your emotions and concerns with your teens is important. Avoid causing needless worry.
Trust your teens. Don't expect the worst. Hope for the best. Telling your teens you don't like their friends will cause the teens not to bring their friends home. If something should go wrong, believe that your teens didn't do it on purpose.
It is very important that you treat your teens with respect. Teens need the same respect adults show for total strangers. Don't talk down to your teens.
You need to be supportive o f your teens. What may be a small problem to you may be troubling to your teens. Teens don't have the experiences that adults have had. Let the teens know that you understand how much it hurts when something happens that is upsetting or hurtful to them. As they mature, they can look back at some problems they had and laugh at having been upset by something that now seems unimportant.
The most important things to remember are: talk with your teens, listen to their worries and offer suggestions when needed. This will help your teens to live a well-organized life. | middle3160.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It's a good place to do some shopping."
},
"options": [
"It's a good place to do some shopping.",
"People can learn about the history of a place there.",
"People can learn about science there.",
"It's a good place to le... | What is a museum? A museum is a good place to keep old and beautiful things. A museum may be a place to learn about science and a place to find out about art or people or animals.
What is inside a museum? Some museums have old cars and airplanes. Many museums have pictures and statues . Others have rocks and old bones. One museum even has a real old street inside. It has shops and people's statues doing business. It looks so real that one might feel that he was back to the old time.
Many cities have museums. Some very small towns have museums, too. Indianapolis has a children's museum. Children do not have to pay to get in. Children often go to the museum. They like to look at the dinosaur bones. They see a white bear ten feet tall.
On Saturdays, Indianapolis children can hear talks about animals and trees. They see movies. They take hikes. They even learn to make things there. | middle4169.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "On almost every part of the body"
},
"options": [
"On head",
"On almost every part of the body",
"On lips",
"On palms"
],
"question": "Where can hair be seen?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | When you think of your hair, you probably think of the hair on your head. But there's hair on almost every part of your body. (some places that don't have hair include the lips, the palms of the hands ,and the soles of the feet.)
Some of the hair on your body is easy to see, like your eyebrows and the hair on your head, arms, and legs. But other hair ,like that on your cheek, is almost invisible.
Depending on where it is, hair has different jobs. The hair on your head keeps your head warm and provided a little cushioning for your skull. _ protect your eyes by decreasing the amount of light and dust that go into them, and eyebrows protect your eyes from sweat dripping down from your forehead. | middle3606.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Mystery of Monarch butterflies"
},
"options": [
"Family of Monarch butterflies",
"Mystery of Monarch butterflies",
"Monarch butterflies' birthplace",
"Monarch butterflies' winter home"
],
"question": "The best t... | Monarch butterflies from eastern Canada make the most amazing journey in the insect world. Each year, this butterfly travels about 3000miles to its winter home in central Mexico . How can it fly so far? And why does it make this long and dangerous trip? Scientists still don't have an answer.
For many years, people in Mexico wondered where the orange-and-black butterflies came from every winter. Then, in 1937, a scientist started to follow and study the butterflies. For the next 20 years, he discovered that one butterfly started its journey in Canada. Four months later, it arrived in Mexico.
The length of the butterflies find their way back to the same place? Another amazing thing is that the butterflies always return to the same area in central Mexico.
How do the butterflies find their way back to the same place? This is an interesting question because only every fourth generation makes the trip south. In other words, the butterfly that travels to Mexico this year is the great-great-grandchild of the butterfly that traveled there last year.
Each year, four generations of a Monarch butterfly family are born. Each generation of the family has a very different life. The first generation is born in the south in late April. It slowly moves north, reproduces , and then dies. On the trip north,two more generations are born, reproduce, and die. Each of these generations of butterflies is born. This generation has a much longer life. It lives for about eight months. This generation of butterflies makes the amazing journey back to the winter home of its great-great-grandparents. The butterflies spend the winter there, and in the spring they reproduce and then die. Their offspring will be the first generation of the next circle of life.
Today, people are still studying the Monarch butterfly. But they are not clear about everything. | middle5277.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "an American"
},
"options": [
"a Chinese",
"an Englishmans",
"a worker",
"an American"
],
"question": "Mr Smith is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Mr Smith is a teacher of English.He comes from America.He teaches English in China.He speaks Chinese quite well.
He reads a lot of books and his wife often writes books for the students at home.Mr Smith gets up at five in the morning.He leaves home at ten to six.He begins the first lesson at 8:00.He teaches English every day except Saturday and Sunday.At ten to twelve he finishes his lessons.Ten minutes later he has lunch.In the afternoon,he often plays games with his students.Sometimes he teaches his students in his office.Supper time is at about six.After that,he reads newspapers and watches TV.At about ten to eleven he goes to bed. | middle585.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "helps deaf people"
},
"options": [
"is developed by a deaf person",
"helps deaf people",
"now has 150,000 users",
"creates hand signs"
],
"question": "The app FIVE _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | What can technology do to make the world better? Three young people are starting new businesses to answer the question.
Eighteen-year-old Mach was the youngest person in Poland to receive money from others to develop his company. He started FIVE, a mobile messaging app , for deaf people. The app lets deaf people create their own hand signs to communicate with friends. The app now has more than 10,000 deaf users. And Mach thinks there will be about 150,000 more deaf users next year. Mach says, "I love to create. I will stick to it to the end of my life."
William Zhou was born in Beijing and grew up in Canada. He strongly wanted to make a change in education. So he created CHALK. It is a group of programs that supports individual teaching and learning. CHALK is now used in 20,000 schools by more than 100,000 users worldwide. Zhou says you have to find something you truly care about. Or you may just end up giving it up.
George was born in Tanzania . He learned about renewable energy in Europe and began thinking about using solar energy in Africa. Tanzania is a place with bright sunshine, but more than 90 percent of people have no electricity to use. After graduation, George returned to Tanzania and started his own company, SunSweet Solar. It has found early success in rural areas. George hopes to create jobs and help build his country. He understands the process will take time. "But I think we are on the right way." | middle7460.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "using it"
},
"options": [
"writing",
"using it",
"listening",
"learning grammar"
],
"question": "The writer thinks that the best way for you to learn a language is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | The best way of learning a language is using it .The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you'll get your words mixed up ( )and people will not understand you .Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can't understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor ,you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make . Don't be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes . It is better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you. because they don't understand what you are saying .The most important thing for learning English is : "Don't be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes. " | middle591.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "While listening to an uninteresting talk."
},
"options": [
"During a very interesting movie.",
"While playing at a fun park.",
"While listening to an uninteresting talk.",
"When making a movie."
],
"question": "... | It is said that all dreams serve a purpose . While there is no agreement among scientists about why we dream, there are many ideas about the different kinds of dreams we have.
One common kind of dream is the repeating dream, in which the same story is repeated again and again, often for many months or even years. Some believe these are a sign people have a problem in their life and once that problem is gone then the dream will stop. Others think _ are a way to help people remember something very important.
Another well-known kind of dream is the nightmare. The pictures and stories in such dreams make people very afraid and dreamers usually remember them far more clearly than normal dreams. The cause of such dreams may be seeing something _ such as a car accident or some deadly snakes. Others think such dreams may be trying to make a person pay attention to something that is dangerous in their life.
Daydreams happen during wake-time when we forget where we are or what we are doing and find ourselves in a made-up story or unreal world. We often daydream when we are doing something that is not interesting or exciting. They help us think about our future.
Lucid dreams are the most fun. These happen when dreamers suddenly understand that they are dreaming. Instead of waking up, they stay in the dream and are able to control what happens in the dream as if they are making a movie. | middle1005.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "In the newspaper."
},
"options": [
"In the newspaper.",
"Somebody told her.",
"On TV.",
"On radio."
],
"question": "Where did Fanny get the ad.? _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Dear Sir,
I read your ad in the newspaper yesterday. I'm writing to tell you I'd like to work as a volunteer for the 2008 Olympics. My name is Fanny. I am 16. I study in No.46 Middle School from September, 2002. I love sports , and table tennis is my favorite . I can speak English very well and I am quite healthy. If I am lucky enough to become a volunteer for the 2008 Olympics, please call me as soon as possible. My telephone number is 028-84661314. I will try my best to do the job well. Best wishes!
yours
Fanny | middle7474.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Human beings"
},
"options": [
"Human beings",
"Animals",
"Plants",
"People in other planets"
],
"question": "_ have made the earth change a lot.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | The earth is about 4,600 million years old. Modern man has lived on the earth for only 35,000 years, but during that time, we have changed our planet in many ways. Many of the things that we have done are good, but more are not good for the earth.
Water pollution
A lot of people, birds and fish die each day because of water pollution. Factories have polluted the land and the water. As a result, many rivers and lakes are now dead.
Air pollution
In big cities, factories, as well as cars, trucks and buses are the main cause of air pollution. Many people in cities now have serious health problems. For example, Mexico city used to be a beautiful sunny capital, but today it is always covered by thick brown clouds.
Soil pollution
In order to have a good harvest, most of the farmers use chemicals too much in their fields. That's bad for the soil. But this kind of pollution is difficult to stop.
Hope for the future
These problems are very serious for our future, so all of us should do something to improve our environment. If we can stop pollution, our planet will become more and more beautiful and our health will be better. Let's be greener people!
,. | middle3612.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "\"pinyin\""
},
"options": [
"\"pinyin\"",
"letters",
"words",
"spelling"
],
"question": "We use _ to show how to read the Chinese characters.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | China is a country with a long history. It has great traditional culture, especially Chinese characters. Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are very interesting. Here are six ones. We use "pinyin" here because "pinyin" is the Chinese spelling way for the characters. For example, "fu" is the "pinyin" for good luck in Chinese. "pinyin" "fu" is only the phonic part of the character and if you want to know the meaning of good luck "fu", you must read Chinese character because "fu" also represents other Chinese characters that sound the same.
"fu" means blessing, good fortune, good luck. Chinese _ "fu" is one of the most popular ones used during Chinese New Year. Chinese people often put up "fu" upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment. The upside down "fu" means good luck comes since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for "come".
"lu" is used to mean official's a pay in old China. "shou" means long life, age or birthday. "xi" is happiness, The doubled character "xi" means double happiness. It is usually put up everywhere at Chinese weddings. "cai" is weath or money. Chinese often say " money can make a ghost turn a millstone". It is to say money really can do a lot of things. But, money can't buy everything. "he" is an important part of Chinese culture. It means good relations with other people, when you have "he", things will be a lot easier for you.
The top six lucky Chinese charaters. "fu" "lu" "shou" "xi" "cai" "he",are particularly loved by Chinese people. | middle5505.txt |
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