questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "fruit and vegetables"
},
"options": [
"fruit and fish",
"vegetables and mutton",
"tofu",
"fruit and vegetables"
],
"question": "You should eat _ three or four times a week.",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | It's important for us to be healthy. But how can we keep healthy? First,you should eat fruit and vegetables three or four times a week. Then eat some tofu every day because it's good for people, both the young and the old. Milk is also necessary ,especially for women. So you should have milk twice a day. It can help you to be strong. Next, doing more exercise is better. You can do morning exercises or evening exercises. After supper you should take a walk. | middle3602.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all of them above."
},
"options": [
"playing games.",
"listening to music.",
"shopping.",
"all of them above."
],
"question": "What can people do with computers?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | We live in the computer age. People use computers to do much of their work, such as playing games, listening to music, shopping and so on. But few people know how to take care of them. Please remember the following when you use your computer:
1.Keep your computer in a dry cool room. Too much heat is bad for computers.
2. Do not smoke near your computer. Smoking is also bad for them.
3. Do not drink or eat near computers. A little water and pieces of food in the keyboard are also bad for a computer.
4. Keep your screen clean and do not have it too bright. They are bad for your eyes. Make sure the screen is not too far or too near your eyes when you use a computer. | middle3164.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He took no action against the boy."
},
"options": [
"He asked the boy's parents to come to school.",
"He was angry with the boy.",
"He sent away the boy from the school",
"He took no action against the boy."
],
... | The great Zen teacher, Benzei had many pupils. One day, one of them was caught because of stealing things by other students. And they reported him to Benzei, but he took no action against the boy.
A few days later, the same boy stole another student's things and was again caught. And again Benzei did nothing. _ made the other students angry, and they wrote a petition to ask the teacher to send away the thief from school. They all threatened to leave if the boy was allowed to stay.
The teacher called a meeting of the students. When they had arrived, he said to them, "You are good boys who know what is right and what is wrong. If you leave, you will have no trouble in joining any other school. But what about your brother who does not even know the difference between right and wrong? Who will teach him if I don't? No, I cannot ask him to go even if it means losing all of you. "
Tears coursed down the cheeks of the boy who had stolen. From then on, he never stole again and became an honest man. | middle5515.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A different learning experience."
},
"options": [
"Better grades in tests.",
"Free vacations in mountains.",
"A different learning experience.",
"Better chance to study in Carvel College."
],
"question": "What c... | Students who get tired of looking at the four walls of a classroom might like to take the nature course being offered by Carvel College again this summer. Groups of about a dozen students each, led by an experienced guide, will go on ten-day camping trips to the mountains to study the plants and animals that grow and live there.
Students carry their own things, which includes sleeping bags, warm clothing, food and water, and other useful tools. And what do the students do all day? Well, as soon as the sun comes up, they eat breakfast and start climbing up the mountain trail to the next campground, which is five to ten miles away. As the students take notes, the guide points out different plants and animals alongside the trail. The climb is usually over by early afternoon, so the group spends the rest of the day resting or swimming in a mountain lake. Before dinner each night, they all come together and discuss the day's activities.
At the end of the course, the students write reports using the information they have collected. But they don't mind at all. What they do mind is leaving the beauty of the wilderness and the good friends they've made to return to their normal lives in the city. | middle7302.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "wasn't good-looking"
},
"options": [
"was very clever",
"was very tall",
"looked quite lovely",
"wasn't good-looking"
],
"question": "The child in the woman's arms _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | One day ,a woman got on a bus with a child in her arms. The woman sat down next to _ The old woman took a look at the child and said in a low voice to her husband," Look at the child. He's so ugly ."
The woman heard what the old woman said and began to cry. She cried and cried and no one could stop her.
When the bus came to a stop, a young man got on the bus with some bananas and sat at the back of the bus. He saw the woman crying, so he went over and said to her," Oh, come, please don't cry any more. You look very ugly when you are crying."
The woman didn't stop crying. Instead, she cried even harder. The young man didn't know what he could do. Suddenly he noticed the bananas in his hand and had a good idea. So he said again to the woman, "Well, if you stop crying, I will give your monkey some bananas to eat." | middle4623.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "offices"
},
"options": [
"offices",
"schools",
"homes",
"shops"
],
"question": "People like to eat fast food near their _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | What do you eat every day? Some people think about it. And some people will not make plans for their meals.
Many people like to have fast food near their offices. This kind of food can make them fat and it is bad for their health. Even it will make them ill when they are old.
What should a healthy person eat every day? Well, I will tell you the 'healthy eating habit'. It comes from doctors.
When people do a lot of work, the energy is burning . So you need noodles, rice, milk, bread and eggs. If you don't eat them, you will feel tired. You should eat fruits and vegetables, too. There are a lot of vitamins in them. They can make you strong. And they can give you water. | middle2252.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "some porridge, eggs and meat"
},
"options": [
"cakes, fruit or ice cream",
"hamburgers or sandwiches",
"soup and rice",
"some porridge, eggs and meat"
],
"question": "English people often have _ for breakfast... | 1English people have three meals a day. They are breakfast, lunch and dinner.
2They have breakfast at about 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning. They often eat or drink some fruit or juice first, and then they have some porridge ,eggs and meat. Some English people like to take sugar in their porridge, and some like to put salt in it.
3For many people, lunch is a _ meal. Many of the office workers don't go home for lunch. They often buy a hamburger or sandwich in fast food shops. School children can have a hot meal at school, but many students only take a sandwich, a drink and some fruit from home for lunch.
4Dinner is the main meal for English people. They have dinner at about 6:00 to 8:00.Many people have dinner with their family at home. People cook it carefully, because they think dinner is very important. They have a lot of food for dinner: soup, fish, vegetables, tomatoes and bread or rice. After dinner they have some cakes, fruit or ice cream for dessert . | middle6034.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "an English boy"
},
"options": [
"an English girl",
"an American girl",
"an English boy",
"an American boy"
],
"question": "Jim is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Jim, Kate and Li Ming are doing the homework together. Jim's spelling of "Moday" is wrong . Kate tells him about it. Li Ming wants to borrow a rubber from Jim or Kate. Jim says he has one and gives it to Li Ming. Li Ming thanks Jim for his help. Jim says, "You're welcome". Now Jim says "Thanks very much" to Kate for her help. Kate says "That's all right". The three children are students in a school in Beijing. Jim is from London . Kate is from New York. Li Ming is a Chinese girl. They are good friends. They often do homework and play games together. They often help each other. | middle1983.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Helpful."
},
"options": [
"Clever.",
"Wasteful.",
"Helpful.",
"Forgetful."
],
"question": "What did the writer think of the son?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. It had not rained in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. If it did not rain soon, we would lose everything. On this day, I witnessed a wonder.
I was making lunch when I saw my 6-year-old son, Billy, walking very slowly toward the woods. Minutes later he came running out again, toward the house. Soon after, I saw him walking toward the woods again. This went on for an hour. Finally I walked out of the house quietly and followed him.
Billy cupped both hands in front of him as he walked, careful not to drop the water he carried. Leaves slapped his face but he kept walking into the woods. Then I saw an amazing sight. Several large deer stood in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I saw a tiny baby deer lying on the ground. It was dying of thirst, and it lifted its head with great effort to drink the water in my boy's hands.
When the water was gone, Billy ran back to the house. I followed him to the tap. Billy opened it and a small trickle came out. He knelt down, letting the drops slowly fill up his "cup".
Now I understood what was going on. The week before, he tried giving water to our horses but I told him not to waste water. Now when he stood up and turned, I was there in front of him. His eyes filled with tears, "I'm not wasting," he said. I joined him with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him walk to the baby deer alone while I stood at the edge of the woods. As tears rolled down my face, they were suddenly joined by other drops... and more drops... as if the sky itself was crying. | middle6752.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he wanted to get familiar with the country more closely"
},
"options": [
"his friend invited him there",
"he wanted to spend less money",
"it was very hard for him to find a travel agency",
"he wanted to get familiar wi... | In the summer of 2011 my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would not be seen among the tourists and lose lots of chances to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and tried to come up with a free tour to Italy.
The trip was not very long but it was so exciting that we never forgot. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially worried about my visa, but everything went quite well in the end.
The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate , one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far earlier. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about 30 km away from the centre of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.
Every day we took a train that carried us to the centre of Rome. Our big house was among the forest. The beautiful views, nice hosts, comfortable living conditions made us happy to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our hostess was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.
Don't be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It's not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoy travelling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book wherever we wanted to go and we even met some of our countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their local language. | middle2534.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "England"
},
"options": [
"England",
"China",
"the USA",
"Canada"
],
"question": "Chen Zhaoli is in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_t... | Hi, friends. I'm Chen Zhaoli. My English name is Sandy. I'm 13 years old. Now I'm at Blackwood Middle School in England. My English teacher is Mandy. She is not English. She is from Canada.
In my class, my good friend is Connie Green. Do you want to know her? Connie is 11 years old. Her father's name is Bill. And her mother's name is Lisa. Her parents are teachers at school. She has a brother and a sister. They are Josh and Molie. | middle4145.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "more than two hours"
},
"options": [
"more than two hours",
"less than two hours",
"more than three hours",
"four hours"
],
"question": "You shouldn't watch TV for _ a day.",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | Do you know how to be a healthy kid? Here are some rules you should follow.
First, eat different food, especially fruits and vegetables. You may have a favorite food, but you'd better eat something different. If you eat diff You can't watch TV for more than two hours a day errant food, you will probably get more nutrients your body needs.
Second, drink water and milk as often as possible. When you are really thirsty, cold water is the No. 1 choice. Milk is a great drink that can give you more calcium your body needs to grow strong bones.
Third, listen to your body. How do you feel when you are ill? When you're eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Eating too much will not make you feel comfortable and make you feel fat.
Fourth, limit screen time. Screen time is the time you watch TV, DVDs and videos, or using computers. It is good to take more exercise such as basketball, bike riding and swimming. You can't watch TV for more than two hours a day.
Fifth, be active. One thing you'd like to do, as a kid, is to find out which activity you like best. Find ways to be active every day. | middle2520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a newspaper"
},
"options": [
"a newspaper",
"a story book",
"a science book",
"a guide book"
],
"question": "The above job ads are probably from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | We can see ads everywhere. Here are four ads. Please read them carefully.
(1)WANTED
Are you hard-working? Do you like to meet people? If your answer is "Yes", then we have
a job for you as a waiter. Call AL Hotel at 8556779!
(2)SUMMER JOB
Do you like to talk with people? Do you like to write stories? If you want to
work for our magazine as a _ , please call Karen at 85558366.
(3)HELP WANTED
Do you like babies? Can you look after one baby for two days? If you are sure to take good
care of it, call us at 8766588. $80 or more.
Today! Hurry!
(4)CLEANER WANTED
Can you make a large house clean and tidy? If you hope to get the job paid at $ 20 once,
call us this evening 18:00~20:00. Tel: 8633800 | middle4151.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The rich man didn't give him enough food."
},
"options": [
"The rich man didn't give him enough food.",
"His parents didn't give him enough food.",
"He ate only one meal a day.",
"He was poor and lazy."
],
"ques... | A poor man worked for a rich man. The rich man made the poor man works all day, but didn't give him enough food. So the poor man often felt hungry.
One day, when the poor man was having breakfast, the rich man came in and said to the poor man, "It's very _ to come back for the other meals. So I want you to have your breakfast, lunch and dinner together now before you go to the fields." "How can I eat three meals at breakfast time?" the poor man answered but he said, "All right." He finished his meals and went out. Two hours later, the rich man went out for a walk, he saw the poor man sleeping under a tree. He was very angry and said, "Why don't you work in the fields?" the poor man sat up and said with a smile, "I have already had my dinner and you know very well that after dinner it is time to go to sleep." | middle7458.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "she won a kid's dog show"
},
"options": [
"she joined a circus",
"one of her dogs died",
"she had her first dog",
"she won a kid's dog show"
],
"question": "Mirabella decided to work with dogs after _ .",
... | Gail Mirabella works as a dog trainer for a circus . She used to train her dogs to do _ when she was a kid. Finally, her hobby turned into her job. Several days ago, she talked to Time Magazine reporter, Cameron Young, about her love for dogs.
Reporter: Did you always want to be a dog trainer in a circus?
Mirabella: When I was a little kid, I did my first dog show, a kid's dog show. And I took first place . From then on, I knew I wanted to work with dogs, but who would know I'd be in a circus?
Reporter: Did you have any dogs growing up?
Mirabella: Of course. I had a white dog when I was a little baby. Three years later, it died. And then we got two family dogs. On my fourteenth birthday, my uncle bought me a dog. It was a big dog.
Reporter: How long does it take you to train a dog, one month, half a year or one year?
Mirabella: That depends on the dog. I have thirteen dogs and I let them all play together, but I do a lot of special work with each dog. They know I am their owner because I do all the feeding.
Reporter: If you aren't a dog trainer, what will you be?
Mirabella: A dog. Just joking. I will probably still work with animals. | middle6746.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "During holidays."
},
"options": [
"On weekends.",
"During holidays.",
"When he missed them.",
"When his parents invited him."
],
"question": "When did the writer visit his parents?",
"question_type": "factio... | I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy. My parents used to live in South America and I used to fly there from Europe during holidays. An airhostess would look after me and I never had an unpleasant experience. I like traveling by air and only once I have ever felt frightened. After taking off , we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining height when the plane suddenly turned round and flew back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, the airhostess told us to keep calm and to get off the plane quickly as soon as it had touched down. Everybody on board was worried and we wanted to find out what had happened. Later we learned that there was a very important person on board, and the police were told that a bomb was on the plane. After we had landed,the plane was searched thoroughly . Fortunately, nothing was found and five hours later we were able to take off again. | middle6020.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "live a positive life"
},
"options": [
"find a good job",
"live a positive life",
"protect the environment",
"keep us healthy"
],
"question": "The material above tells us the ways to _ .",
"question_type":... | A. Choose to Be Happy B. Do Something New.
C. Look for the Opportunity D. Learn from Losing | middle1997.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He complained that the driver didn't drive well."
},
"options": [
"He never said a word.",
"He talked loudly to others.",
"He complained about the way to the city.",
"He complained that the driver didn't drive well."
... | In the city of Chicago I met a man I will never forget. He drove a bus that ran from downtown to the edge of the city. Each night I watched him. As the passengers got on the bus, he smiled at each one. It was fun to see how many passengers forgot their troubles and smiled back.
There was one passenger, I noticed, that had never smiled back. He usually coughed roughly through his mustache as he got on the bus. And he never covered his mouth. But that wasn't enough to stop the bus driver's smile. He gave the man with the mustache and the rough cough his biggest smile.
The man with the mustache never seemed to see that smile. He would sit on the edge of his seat and complained about the way that the bus driver was driving. He only complained for a short time, but he spoke loudly enough so everybody could hear. It was enough to make me sick. But the driver never said a word. He just went on smiling at passengers as they got on the bus.
I wanted to get to know this bus driver better. One night I stayed on the bus to the end of the line. I asked the driver, "Why don't you throw that man with the mustache out of the bus?" The bus driver looked at me and gave me one of his famous smiles. "I don't care about that," he said. "Let me tell you about my friend's dog. The man next door to me has a dog. Every time the moon shines, the dog barks and barks all night." "Well, what about the dog and the moon?" I asked. "Oh, the moon keeps on shining," he said. | middle3158.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "four"
},
"options": [
"three",
"four",
"five",
"six"
],
"question": "There are _ people in Mr White's family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Mr and Mrs White live in the country( ). Christmas Day ( )is coming. They want to buy some clothes for their family in the city . In the morning, Mr and Mrs White have breakfast. Then they go shopping in their car at 8:30. They get to a store at 9:40. In the store they see a lot of clothes. Mrs White likes the clothes very much. So she buys a T-shirt for their son, a skirt for their daughter, and a sweater for Mr White. She buys a hat for herself , too. After that, Mr White is very tired and hungry . He looks at his watch. Then he says, "Oh, it's 4:00 in the afternoon, that's too late. I think we must go home now." So they begin to go home. But they lose their way. Mr White can't find the way home. He sees an old man and asks him, "Excuse me, sir. Where am I?" The old man looks at him and the car, "You're in your car, sir." he says. | middle4637.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "by bike"
},
"options": [
"on foot",
"by car",
"by bus",
"by bike"
],
"question": "Mike visited the small town _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Mike went to a small town for his holiday. On March 4th, he arrived there. He rented a bike to travel around the town in the day. He visited some places of interest and had lunch in a restaurant. He had a good time. In the evening he stayed at an old hotel near the train station.
Before going to bed, he went to the boss of the hotel and said to the old man, "Excuse me, sir. Will you please wake me up at a quarter to five? I must take the five o'clock train tomorrow morning."
"Oh, sorry," the boss said, "I'm sorry I can't. I never get up so early."
"Do you have a clock? That can help me," asked Mike.
"Yes, here it is."
Mike took the clock to his room. But when he looked at the clock, he found it didn't work. So he went to the boss again.
"Does it ring on time?" he asked the old man.
"Of course! Just shake it when it's time to get up, and it will ring." | middle5529.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he was wise and liked to help the poor"
},
"options": [
"he was clever and disliked helping the poor",
"he was rich and liked helping the poor",
"he was wise and liked to help the poor",
"he was too poor to help the ric... | In Xinjiang, most people knew the stories of Avanti. Avanti was a very clever man. People liked him because he not only spoke for the poor but also was always ready to help them.
One day Avanti walked on the street and saw two men arguing with each other. A lot of people stood around them. One of the two men was the owner of the eating house in the town and the other was a young man. The young man just passed by the eating house. The owner of the eating house told the young man to pay him money. The young man explained that he hadn't taken anything from the eating house. But the owner said that the young man had taken the smell of the nice food from the eating house, and he must pay for it. So Avanti went up to the owner and said, " I'll pay you the money." Avanti took out some coins from his pocket and put them into his bags. He shook his bag, and people heard the sound of the coins. Then Avanti said to the owner, " Take away the sound of the coins. That's what I pay for the smell of your food." | middle2246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "China."
},
"options": [
"America.",
"Britain.",
"China.",
"Japan."
],
"question": "Which country has the largest population in the world?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | China is a great country with the largest population in the world.In order to solve the population problem,our governmentcarried outone-child policy before.When it is carried out for some time,many people not only see its advantages but also disadvantages.
From 2016,two-child policy is put into effect.In my opinion,two-child policy is good.First of all,two-child policy is the gift for some only child.For some families,maybe the parents are only child and they also can have only child.Besides the loneliness of their child,when their child grows up and they grow older,their child marry an only child girl,the burden on their child and his wife is too heavy.Their child and his wife have to take care of two couples.Usually,a young couple looking after an old couple is a little difficult.But if their parents have two children,they can share the burden of taking care of their parents.It would be much better.Secondly,two-child policy can guarantee the number of Chinese population.
All in all,one-child policy has been out of date.And two-child policy is needed and necessary.It can solve the problems of nowadays and the future. | middle7403.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "photo"
},
"options": [
"photo",
"book",
"name",
"CD"
],
"question": "This is a _ of Jack's family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text... | Hello, boys and girls. I have a photo. Let's have a look at it. This is me. My name is Jack. I'm in No.1 Middle School. This is my mother. She is a Chinese teacher. And this is my father. He is tall and strong. He is an English teacher. My mother and my father are not in my school. Look at the girl. She is my sister, Mary. She is clever. Mary has a dog. It's Spotty. Spotty is my good friend too. All of us are very happy. | middle3665.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "one year"
},
"options": [
"one year",
"one month",
"two years",
"two months"
],
"question": "The writer's family began to do the game _ ago.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Chores were not popular at my house.My children didn't like to do chores.They always saw me do
chores, but they hardly ever helped me do them.
A year ago, I made a game called "The Endless Chore Game".It's really great.Here's how the game works.
I made a card with forty squares ( ) and I write a different chore on each square.These chores can be easy and interesting like making dessert.Then my family roll the dice to decide what chores we have to do.The card also has a few squares with fun things, like watching TV and singing.If you are lucky, you can watch TV when the others are doing the chores.
My son likes the game very much.He goes to the kitchen happily every morning to do the game.It is really a good way to make my children do chores.You can have a try if you have the same problem with me. | middle5572.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In the computer room."
},
"options": [
"At home.",
"In the supermarket.",
"In the library.",
"In the computer room."
],
"question": "Where is Jenny now?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"a... | Dear Dad and Mom,
How are you? I'm happy here, but I miss you very much. It's Sunday today, I don't have any classes. I am writing an e-mail to you in the computer room now.
There are lots of students in the computer room. Some students are talking with their friends on QQ. Some students are playing computer games. Some students are watching movies on computers. My new friends, Peter and Bill, are here with me. Peter is buying a T-shirt on the Internet. And what is Bill doing? Oh, he is reading a book on the computer. They're friendly and they often help me with my study and life. When you come to Shanghai, I want you to meet them.
I'm OK in Shanghai. Please don't worry about me. I hope you are happy and well.
Love,
Jenny | middle7365.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all night"
},
"options": [
"7 hours",
"8 hours",
"about 9 hours",
"all night"
],
"question": "How long does Mike work?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,... | Mike works very long hours every day. He usually gets up at 17:00. He has a shower and makes his breakfast. What a funny time to make breakfast! After breakfast he practices his guitar, then he puts on his jacket and goes to work. To get to work, he takes the number17 bus to the Star Hotel. The bus usually leaves at 19:15. He works all night. People love to listen to him! He gets home at 7:00, and he watches the early morning news on TV. He goes to bed at 8:30, a tired but happy man. Can you think what his job is? | middle1714.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "see a film"
},
"options": [
"see a film",
"watch TV",
"meet his friends",
"have a rest"
],
"question": "The small man goes to the cinema to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | A small man goes to the cinema. He buys a ticket and goes in. But after two or three minutes he comes out. He buys a second ticket and goes in again. After a few minutes he comes out again and buys a third ticket. Two or three minutes after that he comes out a third time and asks for another ticket. But the girl says to him, "Why are you buying all these? Are you meeting friends in the cinema all the time?" "No, I'm not doing that." the small man says, "But a big woman always stops me at the door and tears( ) my tickets up." | middle280.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it wasn't allowed to do"
},
"options": [
"they didn't like it",
"it wasn't allowed to do",
"it didn't want to be abroad",
"it had to look after the house"
],
"question": "Mr. and Mrs. Brown wouldn't take Blackie... | Mr. and Mrs. Brown were going abroad for their holiday. They had a lovely dog called Blackie, but they could not take it abroad with them, so they had to look for a good place to leave it while they were away, and at last they found a place which looked after dogs very well while their owners were away. They left Blackie there just before they started for their holiday.
At the end of their holiday, they came back to Sydney very late at night, and as they thought that the place where Blackie was staying might be closed at that late hour, they decided to wait until the next morning.
So the next morning Mr. Brown got into his car and drove off happily to meet Blackie. When he got home with the dog, he said to his wife, "Do you know, dear, I don't think Blackie enjoyed his stay at that place very much. He barked(,) all the way home in the car as if he wanted to tell me something."
Mrs. Brown looked at the dog carefully and then answered, "You are quite right, dear. He was certainly trying to tell you something. But he wasn't trying to tell you that he hadn't enjoyed his stay at that place. He was only trying to tell you that you were bringing the wrong dog home." | middle7371.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Some scientists try to imagine aliens' life."
},
"options": [
"Scientists know about the aliens' life well.",
"Some scientists try to imagine aliens' life.",
"Scientists have the same idea about the UFO.",
"Many scienti... | What does a UFO look like? Do you believe there are aliens outside the earth? Maybe nobody can tell us exactly, but some of us believe that we humans are not alone in this world. We have friends living outside the earth. And a lot of people in the world think they really have seen a UFO flying in the sky. Now many scientists are trying to understand the origin of the UFO sightings. Scientists even try to draw pictures about aliens and aliens' life according to their imagination.
Because we don't really know about it, we call it UFO or Unidentified Flying Object. Many of us are curious about it and interested in it very much.
While scientists have no same ideas about whether there is an alien or not, it seems that China has been home to some UFO sightings recently.
On August 20th,2011, a UFO was seen at 21:00 by the pilot on the plane which took off from Pudong International Airport to Changchun. At almost the same time, many astrophiles took pictures of it. Later, reports from some cities said that the UFO was seen. The pilot said the UFO was small at first, then expanded ,moved north, and disappeared several minutes later. However, he couldn't exactly make sure about what he had seen. | middle294.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the food he sells"
},
"options": [
"the food he sells",
"their recipes",
"the special ingredients",
"the shape of the food"
],
"question": "The owner gives the name of his street food stand according to _ ."... | The street food stands are very popular in Korea . They take their name from the two kinds of hot foods they sell : Dukbokgi and Odeng .
Dukbokgi is a spicy hot food made of rice cakes and some vegetables . These rice cakes are finger-shaped . They are white , and they are about ten centimeters in length . They are mixed with sliced vegetables in a pan with a spicy red dressing . Fifteen minutes later , they are ready to eat . Odeng is made of ground fish . It comes in many shapes : some are square , others are round , and still others are stick style . You can buy big or small ones . At these food stands , you can also eat Odeng , which has been boiled in a pot . It is served on a long stick so can eat it easily .
The food sold at these stands is not expensive , compared to what other foods in Korea cost . Each Dukbokgi and Odeng costs about twenty to fifty cents , depending on the owner .
Each food stand has its own recipes for its food ; for example , some like to add sugar or other special ingredients in the food . Usually , there is just one owner , but if the food stand is big , there may be two or three owners .
When I was an elementary school student , I used to stop at street food stands every day after school to eat street food because I like it so much . | middle5566.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In the first year at a middle school."
},
"options": [
"At the age of 16.",
"After making friends with the boy. [:Zxxk.Com]",
"In the first year at a middle school.",
"After becoming closer to everyone in the class."
... | Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to speak to anyone.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems.
Then one day, when my classmates were talking happily with their friends, I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed by me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile.
Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
One day I asked him why he had smiled, but he couldn't remember doing so!
It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back. | middle2209.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the phone cover will break down easily in the soil you bury it"
},
"options": [
"the phone will do harm to the environment",
"the phone cover will break down easily in the soil you bury it",
"it will be recycled by the produc... | A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden and wait for it to flower . A biodegradable mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage users to recycle. Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that includes a sunflower seed .When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates . These feed the seed and help the flower grow. Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. "We've only put sunflower seeds into the cover so far. But we are working with scientists to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time." said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means producers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can change this, according to the scientists.
,A, B, C, D,. (10) | middle3117.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "4"
},
"options": [
"3",
"4",
"5",
"2"
],
"question": "How many people are there in Jim's family?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": ... | There are four people in Jim 's family. They are Kate, Jim, their father and mother. Jim is Kate's brother. He is fourteen. Kate is Jim's sister. She is twelve. They are in the same middle school. Jim is in Class One, Grade Three. Kate is in Class Two, Grade One.
They are good students.
Their father Mr. Green is a teacher. He is thirty-nine. He teaches English in a school near his home. Their mother is a teacher, too. But she teaches Chinese in a different school.
Now they are all at home. | middle4678.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "There are four members in my family."
},
"options": [
"There are three members in my family.",
"There are four members in my family.",
"There are five members in my family.",
"There are six members in my family."
],... | Hello, I'm Ann. This is a photo of my family. There are four members in my family. The woman in the photo is my mother Mary. She is a teacher. She likes reading. The man is my father Jack. He's a teacher, too. He can play football, but he can't play basketball. Look, the lovely baby is my brother Mike. I like my family very much. | middle5200.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Clothing and home-use things"
},
"options": [
"Toys and DVD players.",
"Clothes and books",
"Clothing and home-use things",
"Foods."
],
"question": "What are the most popular on line?",
"question_type": null... | "Who needs a shopping mall if you have Taobao?" says Wang Lin, 28, a writer in Beijing.
Taobao, China's largest online shopping site, is becoming an important part of Wang Lin's life. She spends a lot of money on Taobao.
Many Chinese internet users like Wang Lin find the happiness of online shopping. Most online shoppers are students or young workers. More women shop on line than men. Clothing and home-use things are the most popular on line.
It was reported that Chinese people spent more than 250 billion yuan on line shopping last year, 80% in Taobao.
Taobao means "looking for good" in Chinese. People can find almost everything they need on Taobao, from clothes to books, from toys to DVD players.
You may worry about the security of online shopping, Wang Lin said, "It's very safe. If you don't get the things from the sellers or are not satisfied with them, the shop owner will not get the money. You can also get your money back if you don't want them. | middle7417.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He wanted to become good at English."
},
"options": [
"He liked English very much.",
"He thought English was important.",
"He had no other school subjects.",
"He wanted to become good at English."
],
"question":... | Years ago, I went to a special English class because it was the only school subject that I wasn't good at. I got excellent marks because of my fine memory . I could read and translate any text that I heard once but I couldn't make my own sentences. My face usually turned red when my teacher wanted me to answer questions in English. A few months later, I had to pass an exam. I couldn't _ the novel with my own words, so I decided to learn the book by heart. I told my teacher 10 pages of the book. When the teacher understood what was happening, she stopped me and said, "Gagik, you have a fine memory, but it's much easier to speak English."
That day on my way home, I met a foreigner. He couldn't find the way to his hotel. To my surprise, I spoke to him in English and helped him find his hotel. I found speaking English was not so difficult if I didn't think too much about making mistakes. I thought that was the secret of learning to speak English. How happy I was! | middle4136.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "bigger than a monkey's hand but smaller than its fist"
},
"options": [
"big enough for the monkey to put its hand in",
"smaller than a monkey's hand",
"bigger than a monkey's fist",
"bigger than a monkey's hand but smal... | Monkeys are clever and lively, but they are naughty and greedy as well. Whenver they find delicious food, they will eat enough. What's more, they will take it when they leave. They have suffered a lot because of this. But they never change this way.
In India, people use monkey's greed to catch them. Do you know how they can catch monkeys? Here are some instructions.
* Make a hole in a big pumpkin . The hole must be just right ----neither too big nor too small.
* Put some jujubes in the hole.
* Leave the pumpkin under a tree. Make sure there are some monkeys in the tree.
* Hide yourself and watch the monkeys.
As soon you leave, the monkeys can't wait to come down to the pumpkin. When they find a hole in the pumpkin, they don't know what's in it and one of them can't help putting its hand into the hole to find what on earth there is. When it touches the jujubes, it will clench some of them in its hand. As a result, it isn't able to take its fist out of the hole. You can't come close until this time. Will the monkey drop off the pumpkin? Don't worry. It prefers the pumpkin than its life. It will run with the pumpkin, clenching its fist more tightly. In the end, it is caught helplessly. | middle3659.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Yes, of course."
},
"options": [
"You can find them.",
"Yes, many books are in the show.",
"Yes, of course.",
"There are many books in the show."
],
"question": "Can you find the book you need in the book show?"... | Some people enjoy reading and they like to go to the book show. There are many books in the show. If you can't find some books in libraries or bookshops, come to the book show. You must find them here. Readers like these books very much.
In a book show, you can buy a lot of books with less money. The show also invites some writers. People can buy a lot of their favorite books and meet their favorite writers. The book show may be _ , but they still love to visit it. It is fun to go there.
Today more and more people like reading including children and adults. They often go to many book shows to read and buy books. When they read, they can learn much more from books. It is important for children to learn to read. They can also know a lot about the writers after reading the books. | middle2547.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "people drive big cars"
},
"options": [
"people drive big cars",
"people drive little cars",
"small cars will go 450 kilometers before they need to stop for more gasoline",
"the usual size of cars today is too small"
... | A kind of little cars may take the place of today's big ones many years later. If everyone drives such cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking in cities, and the streets will be less crowded.
The little cars of the future will cost less. Driving will be safer, too, since these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour. The cars of the future will be fine for going around a city, but they will not be useful for a long way. Little cars will go 450 kilometers before they need to stop for more gasoline . If big cars are still used with the small ones, two kinds of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be needed for the big, faster cars and other roads will be needed for the small, slower ones.
,. | middle3881.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "What he had learned in the first year at the university."
},
"options": [
"Whether he liked Oxford or not.",
"How he got along with his classmates.",
"What he had learned in the first year at the university.",
"The numb... | Once there was a rich man who lived with his wife and child. He loved the child so much that he sent him to Oxford for two or three years. At the end of the first year at the university, this young student came home. He wanted a change. And he also wanted to tell his parents about Oxford.
It happened one night when the father, the mother and the young student were sit- ting at supper. They had in front of them only two chickens. Just as they were about to begin eating, the father said, "My boy, I have spent a lot of money on you to send you to Oxford. Now I want to know what you have learned." The son smiled and said, "Father, I have studied a science which can _ that these two chickens on the plate are really three chickens." "Well," said the father, "This is something I would like very much to know." "There are two chickens on the plate," said the student. He took one of the chickens in his hand and said, "Here is one more; and one and two makes three. So here are three chickens." Then the father took one of the chickens to him-self, gave the other to his wife, and said,"I shall have one of the chickens myself, your mother will have another, and you can have the third for your supper and nothing else." The father kept his word and so the student went without his supper. | middle5228.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The social worker."
},
"options": [
"The teacher.",
"Sandy's classmate.",
"The social worker.",
"Sand's father."
],
"question": "Who is Justin in the play?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Characters: Sandy, Rose, Jane, Justin, Mrs. Lin
Setting: A middle school
Rose: Sandy, follow me after class.
(They go to the office together.)
Rose: You are often absent and your grades are not as good as before. What's happened to you?
Sandy: No, it's nothing. Thanks for your care.
Rose: Are you sure? Anyway, if you have any problem, tell me.
(After school, Sandy and Jane are on the way home .)
Jane: Sandy, I called you yesterday. Your mother told me that you had a part-time job. What's the matter with you?We have to study hard during this year before we take the entrance examination. This year is very important to us.
Sandy: (Crying) My father has lost his job, and we have no money to pay all the spending.
Jane: Oh, Sandy, Don't worry. I will help you.
(After the day, Jane decides to tell Rose about Sandy's problem.)
Jane: Rose, I have to tell you something about Sandy.
Rose: Jane, you are Sandy's good friend. Do you know what's wrong with Sandy?
Jane: Eh...I hear that Sandy's father has lost his job, and Sandy has a part-time job...
Rose: OK, I understand.
(Rose is in the social worker's office)
Rose: ...I've told you everything about Sandy.
Justin: I see. I'll manage it as soon as I can.
(In Sandy's home, Mrs. Lin is ill in bed)
Justin: Mrs. Lin, I understand your feeling, but it's her time to study hard to enter a good senior high school, she can't do a part-time job after class.
Mrs. Lin: I know what you want to tell me. But, in fact, her father hasn't found a job and I ...(Crying) I've been ill in bed several years!
Justin: Don't worry. I can introduce some work I know to her father.
Mrs. Lin: Thank you very much. | middle6721.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Ekon."
},
"options": [
"Ekon.",
"A man.",
"Ekon's wife and children.",
"We don't know."
],
"question": "Who had the idea to build a bridge to the sky?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"ans... | At the beginning of the world,a man named Ekon lived in Luzon.He liked to build things.He thought it would be a very good idea to build a bridge to the sky.
As he wanted the bridge to be strong and last a long time,he built it of stone.He worked for years and years to build the bridge.His wife and children,nephews and nieces,uncles and aunts,all helped him.Though they worked very hard,the sky always seemed to be a long distance away.
When Ekon became an old man,his wife and children told him that he would never finish it.
"If I can't finish it." he said."my children's children will do so."
But just before he died,his wife and children told him that they could not find any more stones.
So Ekon became very angry and disappointed.Though he was very old and weak,he pulled down the bridge.It came tumbling with a great roar .
The stones made great heaps all over the country.These great heaps of stones are what we now call mountains.Ekon was _ under one of them himself. | middle7359.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because they don't share water with each other."
},
"options": [
"Because the tree is too tall.",
"Because the vegetables are too big.",
"Because they don't share water with each other.",
"Because they like to play a tr... | There are some vegetables in the garden and a big tree near the vegetables. They don't like each other, because vegetables drink much water, and the tree can't have enough water to live. He is very angry about that. So he wants to teach vegetables a lesson .
On a very hot day, the big tree doesn't share its shadow with vegetables. It makes vegetables very hot. But there is not enough water to drink. So they soon become very dry. At that time, the gardener comes to see these vegetables. He is very sad, because all the vegetables are dry. Then he starts to build a new one.
The vegetables and the big tree can't drink water any more. The big tree feels very sad, because he uses a wrong way to teach the lesson. | middle6047.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "they're both poor"
},
"options": [
"they hope to save money",
"they're both poor",
"their farms are at the foot of the mountain",
"they're not far from their farms"
],
"question": "Uncle Li and Uncle Wang live i... | Uncle Li and Uncle Wang are good friends. They live next to each other and their farms are both at the foot of the mountain. So they can help each other. But neither of them likes to use his head. They work hard but they are both poor. Most villagers have built new houses, but they still live in the low and broken houses. They never find out why.
Once Uncle Li went to town to buy some medicine for his wife. In the town he heard the apples in a city were expensive. He told Uncle Wang about it as soon as he went back. They decided to carry some apples to the city. They borrowed some money from their friends and bought nearly 1,000 kilograms of apples in the villages and carried them to the city on a tractor . Bad luck! A lot of apples were in the city when they arrived. A few days later they had to sell them at a low price. They felt unhappy and returned to their village.
"I can't understand why we sustained losses in business while others always profit " Uncle Li asked one day.
"The tractor was too small" Uncle Wang said without thinking. "We'll carry more apples on a truck next time!"
"I agree!" said Uncle Li. "How foolish we were!" | middle2221.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Robots"
},
"options": [
"Assistants",
"Policemen",
"Robots",
"Teachers"
],
"question": "Who works in the library?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | William wants to borrow a book from the library. He comes to the library with his classmates. They can't see any assistant in it, but only some robots standing there. He says to the robot, "Hey, give me a book on music." But the robot doesn't move.
Then another student tells William, " You must say 'Excuse me' and 'please' first when you want some help." William does so and the robot brings the book. But William can't get the book from the robot's hands. He thinks for a moment, then he says a word to the robot.
The robot gives him the book. John gets the book and goes home happily. | middle4888.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Start a Club"
},
"options": [
"Start a Club",
"Learn a Club",
"An Important Club",
"A Photography Club"
],
"question": "What is the best title for _ ?",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | What do you usually do after school? Playing football? Watching TV? Come on, we need something new! Let's see how kids in foreign countries spend their free time!
Mess Around with Dress-up
Do your parents have any old clothes? See if you get an old box and start collecting hats, shoes and clothes now! Then, when your friends come over after school, you can play dress-up. See if you can make yourself into a doctor,or a cowboy, or even a spaceman! Use glitter paint and old material to decorate the clothes the way you like them.
If you are really clever, you could even put on a show for your family! Let your imagination run wild!
Want to learn new things after school? Want to make new friends who aren't in your class? You can get both of them in clubs. In other countries, schools, there are usually all kinds of clubs for kids to join. There is French club,student government, theater, choir and photography club.
Take photography club as an example. One may learn all the necessary skills about taking photos. For example, you will learn how to choose a camera,how to use the light and how to develop pictures. Sounds cool, right?
But that's not all. One can also make a lot of friends in clubs. It's always good to enjoy your spare time with friends,isn't it? | middle2235.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "help poor children to learn to read and write"
},
"options": [
"ask parents to read together with their children",
"help poor children to learn to read and write",
"tell more people the importance of reading",
"help 10 ... | Nearly eight hundred million people in this world cannot read or write,most of them in developing countries.Two-thirds are women and girls.
John Wood who started the Room to Read campaign ,has opened1650 schools and 15000 libraries in some of the world's poorest communities .He said that from the beginning,Room to Read's goal was to reach 10 million children around the world in the poorest countries.
In 1998,on a three-week vacation journey in Nepal,Wood met a local headmaster who invited him to visit his school in a far mountain village.The experience changed Wood's life.
"This headmaster had 450 students at the school,but he didn't have any books," Wood said."He had a library that was empty."
Wood promised to fill the library shelves and returned to the village one year later with some of his friends with 3000 books.And that was just the start.Later,Wood used some of his personal money to start Room to Read. He believes that world change begins with educated children.Today,the programme can be found in10 countries across Asia and Africa.
Wood believes the key to the program's success is local support.While Room to Read gives away money and provides books,communities offer land and parents help build the school.Agnes,a Room to Read teacher in Zambia who also runs the library,is proud to say the literacy' at her school has improved. Room to Read's biggest challenge is the huge need. Hundreds of communities have asked for literacy prograrnmes.One way of Room to Read's success is that it will achieve Wood's goal of reaching 10 million kids by 2015,five years earlier than it is planned. | middle4644.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Jack's friend."
},
"options": [
"Kate's brother.",
"Jack's cousin.",
"Kate's classmate.",
"Jack's friend."
],
"question": "Who is Sam?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2... | Kate, Jack and Sam are good friends. They are in the same school.Kate and Jack are classmates. But Sam is in a different grade-Grade Three. They often do sports or play games after school.
This evening Jack is going to Sam's birthday party and he is going to give him a new book for his birthday because he likes reading very much. Kate wants to go to the party, too. But she has to stay at home because her mother isn't feeling well. She asks Jack to take a present to Sam for his birthday. She wants to give Sam a different present, so she gives him a very mice new pen. | middle6053.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Evan's new classmate."
},
"options": [
"The principal.",
"The teacher.",
"Evan's new classmate.",
"Evan's old friend."
],
"question": "Who is Rita in the play?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Characters: Evan, Mrs. Bordoni, Mr. Cortez, Rita. Marco. Tom
Setting: An elementary school
Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands at the school gate) Good morning! You need to go straight to your classrooms, children. (A shy boy walks up, with a red face.) What is your name?
Evan: (Looking at the ground) My name is Evan.
Mrs. Bordoni: Welcome to Northside. I'm the principal , Mrs. Bordoni.
Evan: (Looks surprised) Oh! Good morning.
Mrs. Bordoni: I know you are new to our school, but you will like it here. I will take you to your classroom.
Evan: I didn't want to move... and leave my friends.
Mrs. Bordoni: You will have friends here. You'll see.
Mrs. Bordoni: Here's your room, 106.
Mr. Cortez: Welcome to our class! I'm Mr. Cortez.
Evan: (The class looks at him. He speaks softly.) Hello.
Mr. Cortez: We are talking about a story we just read. Who can tell Evan what it was about?
Rita: This family moves to a new state. Their story is both funny and sad.
Evan: (Cheering up) Did they like the new place?
Marco: Not at first. But they made lots of new friends.
Mr. Cortez: What happened to make them change their minds?
Tom: The girl from next door said she needed help. When they got to her house, a sign said, "Welcome".
Marco: It was a surprise party for them. The whole family was laughing.
Mr. Cortez: The neighbors made the family feel welcome.
Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands in the doorway) Evan, it's time for lunch. (They enter the lunchroom. A sign says, "Welcome Evan".) It is hard to change schools and leave old friends. Now, we are your friends.
Evan: (Smiles) I can't believe you did this for me. | middle6735.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Li Lei, Jack and Jack's mother"
},
"options": [
"Li Lei and his mother",
"Li Lei and his friends",
"Li Lei and his father",
"Li Lei, Jack and Jack's mother"
],
"question": "Who's in No.3 Middle School?",
"qu... | The Chinese boy is Li Lei. He's thirteen. He's in No.3 Middle School. He's in Class Two, Grade One. His good friend is Jack. He's English. He's in Li Lei's school. He's in Class One, Grade Two. Mrs. Read is an English teacher in their school. She is an English woman and she teaches Grade 3. Jack and Li Lei have a secret . Jack is their English teacher's son. | middle4122.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all of the food"
},
"options": [
"only a little of the food",
"almost all of the food",
"some of the food",
"all of the food"
],
"question": "A child will probably eat _ if it is not badly cooked.",
"que... | Some parents are worrying that their children wouldn't like meals. In fact, most children are usually ready to eat almost anything that is offered to them. A child often likes food unless it is badly cooked. Never ask a child whether he likes or dislikes a food, never discuss likes and dislikes in front of him or allow anybody else to do so . If the father says that he hates fat meat or the mother refuses some vegetables in the child's hearing, he may copy this action. Parents should agree to the fact that he likes everything and he probably will . At meal times, it is a good idea to give a child a small part at one time rather than give him as much as he may eat all together. Do not talk too much to the child during meal times, but let him get on with his food. And do not allow him to leave the table at once after a meal , or he will soon learn to eat his food hurriedly so he can hurry back to the toys in his room . Never coax or make a child eat, or he will think he eats for you. Don't you think it is the same with study ? | middle2553.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They stayed calm."
},
"options": [
"They felt angry.",
"They were scared.",
"They stayed calm.",
"They were frustrated."
],
"question": "How did Japanese people react when the big earthquake hit Japan on March 1... | When the earthquake hit Japan on March 11,workers in a supermarket in Japan didn't run away when they felt the shaking. Instead, they held on to the shelves and tried to stop the goods from falling down.
Reporters from NHK, the country's largest TV station, stayed calm in front of cameras during the earthquake, even though some were facing real danger.
The earthquake was the most powerful one to hit Japan in the country's history. But Japan's reaction to the accident has shown that it is the most earthquake-prepared country in the world. The calm the Japanese showed during and after the quake has impressed the world.
This is because Japan has "an earthquake culture".Japanese people are taught how to prepare for and react to earthquakes from a young age.
Schools in Japan organize earthquake practices every month. They make students become familiar with being in an earthquake.
Japan also has a good earthquake warning system .Warnings were broadcast on television, radio and mobile phones nine seconds after experts first knew about the quake on March 11.
The warning system is unable to predict earthquakes. But it can usually _ people about 15 seconds before they feel the effects. Even 15 or 20 seconds can be enough time to save people's lives. | middle3895.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "good and bad pets"
},
"options": [
"wild animals",
"good and bad pets",
"the life of lizard",
"the importance of lizards"
],
"question": "This reading is about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | Lizards are unusual,but they can make good pets because most of them are small and easy to care for. They do not make loud noises,and they do not need to go for walks or take baths.
Of course, some lizards make better pets than others. One of the most popular lizards in pet store is the bearded dragon. Bearded dragons are active during the day and do not mind people holding them. Geckos are another popular pet lizard. They are a little more difficult to care for. Geckos are active at night and need a warm place to live.Like bearded dragons,they can be held by their owners.Both of these lizards can live ten years or more when they are well cared for.
Two lizards that are bad choices for pets are iguanas and chameleons. Iguanas can grow to be almost two meters(nearly six feet),so they need a big space to live in.They can also bite or scratch their owners.Chameleons do not hurt their owners,but they are quite difficu1t to care for. While iguanas can live up to twenty years,chameleons do not live very long. Most do not live more than five years. | middle6906.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the world"
},
"options": [
"China",
"Europe",
"the world",
"Asia"
],
"question": "The Great Wall is the biggest of all walls in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | We can see walls everywhere in the world. But the Great Wall of China is the biggest of all. The Chinese call it. "The Ten-thousand-Li. Great Wall." It's in fact more than 6,000 kilometers long. It's 4-5 meters wide. In most places, five houses or ten men can walk side by side. When you visit the Great Wall, you can't help wondering how the Chinese people were able to build such a great wall thousands of years ago. Without any modern machine , it was really very difficult to build it. They had to do all the work by hand. It took millions of men hundreds of years to build it.
The Great Wall has a history of over two thousand years. The kings began to build the first parts of it around two thousand seven hundred years ago. Then, Qin Shihuang had all the walls joined up . He thought that could keep the enemy out of the country.
Today the Great Wall has become a place of interest. Not only Chinese people but also people from all over the world come to visit it. | middle243.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "3463"
},
"options": [
"3634",
"3463",
"3464",
"3644"
],
"question": "Mrs Green was very surprised ,so she told her husband .He laughed and said ,\"The man's wife wanted to go to the cinema, but he was feeling ti... | Mrs Green's telephone number was three-four-six-three, and the number of the cinema near her house was three-four-six-four, so people often made a mistake and telephoned her when they wanted the cinema.
One evening the telephone rang and Mrs Green answered it. A tired man said, "At what time does your last film begin?"
"I'm sorry", she said Mrs Green, "but you have the wrong number. T his is not the cinema."
"Oh, it began twenty minutes ago," said the man." That's too bad. Goodbye." | middle8095.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A, B and C"
},
"options": [
"Calcium",
"protein",
"vitamins",
"A, B and C"
],
"question": "Milk helps people grow strong because it is rich in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer... | "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Well, milk may work in the same way!
Milk is the natural food for mammalian babies. It helps them grow strong because it is rich in protein , calcium and vitamins. Milk can also help you sleep better because it calms you down.
But remember to drink milk with care. Find out how old the milk is. Make sure it is fresh and hasn't gone bad. Don't drink milk when your stomach is empty. Eat some bread or corn at the same time. That'll help you take in more protein and vitamins.
Doctors say teens need at least 500ml of milk a day. That's two or three cups. Milk-drinking started long ago, as early as 6,000-8,000BC. At that time people started to keep cows, sheep and goats to get their milk. Of course what you drink today isn't that fresh from the cow. People cool the fresh milk down to 40C to stop the bacteria growing. In factories, milk is pasteurized to stop it growing bad. After disinfections and packaging, it goes to the supermarkets.
Yoghourt also comes from milk. People make some special bacteria to change the taste of milk and make the nutrients in it easier for people to take in. Maybe that's why it's getting more popular with people! | middle4877.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "on May 24"
},
"options": [
"on May 24",
"on May 9",
"in June",
"on April 1"
],
"question": "The festival will start _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | FESTIVAL 24TH MAY--9TH JUNE 2014 Art
Shows of paintings, drawings and photographs are from all over the world, with over 400 works for you to see.
Early century advertisements will be on show at this year's festival. You can buy copies of these advertisements at the Box Office.
Music
There will be different types of music in this year's festival from dance music to modern jazz. Many famous musicians will visit the festival as well as at least two famous bands .
Lunchtime concerts --every day of the festival
All lunchtime concerts begin at 1:00 p.m. and last about 55 minutes, except on Monday, 26 of May, which is to be held in the Guildhall. All tickets are priced at PS2.00.
How to get the tickets
Telephone reservations : 63362/6641 from 1st April. We will then send you the tickets by post.
You can buy tickets in person from 1st May. The festival Box Office will be open as follows:
Monday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. --5:30 p.m.
Sunday(during the festival only)9:30 a.m. --1:00 p.m. | middle4863.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "sweets or a cake"
},
"options": [
"old newspaper",
"sweets or a cake",
"some money",
"stories"
],
"question": "When he took the newspaper to Grandpa White, Bob would often receive _ .",
"question_type": "... | Bob always took the newspaper to Grandpa White's home before going home. Grandpa White's was at the end of the road. Bob liked Grandpa White. He was often waiting for him near the front gate with sweets or a nice cake. Besides, He often asked Bob about things he was doing, what he was going to do for the summer and what he liked to do.
The thing that Bob didn't like about Grandpa was his never-ending stories about his boyhood in California. Bob was never asked to hear about Grandpa's boyhood, but he couldn't get away.
After Grandpa's wife died in October, Bob could see that Grandpa was lonelier than ever. He would often join Bob halfway along the road and walk along with him as he gave out the newspapers. Grandpa seemed to have all day, and Bob was often late giving newspapers to his customers . Bob didn't want to complain, but the customers were unhappy. | middle257.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "what is right and what is wrong"
},
"options": [
"how they can study well",
"what is right and what is wrong",
"what they should do at school",
"how they can protect themselves"
],
"question": "The new school ru... | New rules and behaviour standards for middle school students have come out. The middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only have high marks. They will also be kids who don't smoke, drink or dye their hair. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else's work on an exam? Don't do it again! That's not something that an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don't tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it is more fun for everyone.
Have you fought with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you'll discover Earth II someday. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren't good for kids, do try to look at _ pages that aren't good for you. You can use the Web for fun or homework. Can't you find any good Web sites for children? Here are some: http://kinds.eastday.com / http://www.chinakids.net.com / http://www.cyenct.com | middle531.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "energetic"
},
"options": [
"patient",
"modest",
"energetic",
"kind"
],
"question": "People who were born between March 21 and April 20 are _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | It is said that people born on different dates have different characteristics. For example, people who were born between March 21 and April 20 are likely to be active and strong. They like power and enjoy adventures.
People who were born between April 21 and May 21 are likely to learn more slowly, but they can remember what they learn well. They love children and usually have many friends.
People who were born between May 22 and June 21 are bright and humorous. They like to talk and enjoy wearing fine clothes.
People who were born between June 22 and July 22 think deeply. They would rather hide their feelings than express them.
People who were born between July 23 and August 22 are interested in many subjects and it is interesting to hear them talk.
People who were born between August 23 and September 22 are said to be calm and thoughtful. They like to read and often become successful scientists.
If you have free time, you can read about star signs to see if your characteristics match your birth date. | middle519.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a clock"
},
"options": [
"a bus",
"a clock",
"the name of Ben",
"a house"
],
"question": "Big Ben is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answe... | Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a big clock in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four faces. So, no matter where you stand, you can read the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is the size of a bus. The _ are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing on top each other. If you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament. In that place you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. You will probably hear it and see it. The big clock makes such a loud noise. "Ding dong, ding dong." It goes, every quarter of an hour. The name of Big Ben comes from a big builder. | middle2584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to talk at any time"
},
"options": [
"to play with his father",
"to have meals with his father",
"to talk at any time",
"to eat flies"
],
"question": "Tom likes _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | Tom likes to talk much but his father doesn't want him to speak when they have their meals.One day,when they have supper,Tom wants to say something,but he doesn't say.His father sees it and asks him,"Well,my boy.What's it?""Are flies good to eat,Father?"asks Tom."No,"says his father,"Why do you ask that?""You have one on your food and you have swallowed it." | middle6090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Brown"
},
"options": [
"Green",
"Brown",
"Miller",
"Hand"
],
"question": "What's the girl's family name?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer... | Hello! My name's Mary Brown. I'm a girl. I like red. I have a red schoolbag. What's this? It's my red pencil box. Is that my ruler? Yes, it is. It is a red ruler. What's that? It is a watch. Is it my watch? No, it isn't. It's Bob's watch. It's blue. | middle1927.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To have fun."
},
"options": [
"To have fun.",
"To throw paper.",
"To empty litter cans.",
"To ride on the merry-go-round."
],
"question": "Why did Wendy and Peter go to the park at first?",
"question_type": ... | It started as a game.Wendy and Peter were in River Park.They watched the boats in the river and visited the zoo.They played on the slides and swings.They watched the merry-go-round,but they did not have money for a ride.They ate their sandwiches at a picnic table.Suddenly Wendy jumped up.
"I know what to do,"she said."Look at all that junk under the tables.Let's pick it up."
So they picked up paper and empty boxes and cans.They put them in the green cans marked"Litter".Peter's dog Stoopy picked up some paper and ran away with it.Peter called him back and took it from him.Then they taught Stoopy to carry trash for them.They put it in the cans.They worked until there was no trash left on the picnic grounds.
The next day their friends Mario and Andy came to the park with them.They helped to tidy the picnic grounds again.Then they ran all over the park looking for litter.They tried to see who could find the most.After that,it was a game they played every time they came to the park.
One day,a man came with a camera.He watched what they were doing.He asked to take a picture for them.Then he took them all for a free ride on the merry-go-round,even Stoopy.The next day their picture was in the newspaper.It said."Five Litter Lifters at River Park".After that all their friends wanted to be litter lifters.It was the beginning of a club that was a model for others to follow. | middle4687.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In a newspaper."
},
"options": [
"In a science book.",
"In a science fiction novel.",
"In a dictionary.",
"In a newspaper."
],
"question": "Where can we find this passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | Steven Jobs was born in 1955. He was an American businessman and inventor. He was the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. In the late 1970s, Steve, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series and later, the Macintosh.
Steve was among the greatest of American inventors - brave enough to think differently, and believed he could change the world and in fact, he had the power to change the whole world. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups.
Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. He changed the way each of us sees the world. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is much better because of Steve. On October 5, 2011, Steve died of cancer. The world has lost _ . We all feel sad about it. | middle2590.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "American farmers are getting richer and richer."
},
"options": [
"there are more and more people in the world.",
"American farmers are getting richer and richer.",
"many farm lands are used to make other things rather than fo... | You might have noticed that the cost of food has gone up.In fact the price of wheat and rice has nearly doubled in the past few years.It's thought that right now,850 million people--that's more than 10 times the population of the UK--are short of food because it's too expensive or there's not enough of it.
The price of basic food such as wheat and corn has stayed the same for quite a long time,about 30 years.But as the world's population is getting bigger,there's more pressure to feed more people,plus there's less land and water to go round.
Another reason is climate change.Droughts and floods make it hard to grow crops like rice and grain.The price of oil has gone up and that makes it more expensive for farmers to run their tractors and to transport the food they make.And lots of fields are being used to grow crops to make other things that can't be eaten--which is bad news for hungry people.
The main losers are poor people who live in cities in poor countries,who are facing higher prices for food.Some people are doing well out of the food crisis though.Farmers in rich countries like the US,Canada and Australia are getting record prices for their harvests.
World leaders are meeting in the Italian capital Rome to talk about the problem of rising food prices.Some countries are helping out with the cost of foods and international aid agencies have called for more money for food production in poor countries. | middle1516.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Taking care of small children."
},
"options": [
"Taking care of small children.",
"A baby sitting at home.",
"A baby making money.",
"A sitting baby."
],
"question": "What does the word \"babysitting\" mean?",
... | Taking care of small children is one of the ways to make money.It is also called babysitting.Most parents do not have relatives living with them.They need someone to watch the children if they want to go out.A babysitter may play games, draw pictures, or read stories to the children, and then put them to bed at the proper time.
Mowing lawns for the neighbors is another common job.When people do not have time to mow their lawns in the garden, they are glad to pay somebody to do this.
Boys and girls can also help deliver newspapers in the neighborhood.They can walk or ride bicycles to deliver newspapers from house to house.They must do this every day if they want to make money in this way.
Some old people who live by themselves need help.Let them know if you like to help with the clean-up work, or go out to mail letters or buy things for them.They will perhaps pay you something each time or every week.
There are many ways to make money.American children often look around to see what work they can do to earn their pocket money. | middle7167.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Storybooks, newspapers, personal letters, etc."
},
"options": [
"Directions for making something.",
"Maths problems.",
"Science and history books.",
"Storybooks, newspapers, personal letters, etc."
],
"question"... | If you want to become a better reader, what should you know about speed of reading?
Some people read very rapidly , while others read very slowly. But which one is
better?
The rapid reader may be a good reader when he reads a storybook for fun. But he may not be
able to slow down enough to read directions carefully. He may read so rapidly that he does
not take time to understand fully the ideas and information which are important to remember.
The slow reader may be a good reader when he reads directions for making something. But he
may spend too much time in reading a simple story which is meant to be enjoyed but is not
important enough to be remembered.
So, you see, either a rapid reader or a slow reader is not really a good one. If you wish to
become a better reader, here are four important things to remember about speed of reading.
1. Knowing why you are reading will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or
slowly.
2. Some things should be read slowly throughout. Examples are directions for making or doing
something, science and history books, and Maths problems. You must read such things slowly or
remember each important step and understand each important idea.
3. Some things should be read rapidly throughout. Examples are simple stories for enjoyment,
letters from friends and bits of news from hometown papers.
4. In some of your reading, you must change your speed from fast to slow and slow to fast, as
you go along. You will need to read certain pages rapidly and then slow down and do more
careful reading when you come to important ideas. | middle3301.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "gloves"
},
"options": [
"dining-room",
"car",
"gloves",
"bag"
],
"question": "Mrs.King is looking for her _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"a... | Mrs. King: Oh,Bill, where are my gloves ? They aren't here.
Mr. King: Maybe they're in the dining-room.
Mrs. King: No, they aren't in our dining-room. Are they there?
Mr. King: No, they aren't here.
Mrs. King: Are they on the table?
Mr. King: No. Oh, here is a glove under the chair. It's black.
Mrs. King: No, that isn't my glove. My gloves are white . Oh ,Bill ,are they in the car?
Mr. King: No, they aren't there. But are they in your bag?
Mrs. King: No,they aren't.
Mr. King: Are you sure?
Mrs. King:Yes... oh,Bill, they are here. Yes , they're my gloves. They're in my bag,Bill, I'm very sorry. | middle5770.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it can bring good luck"
},
"options": [
"it is safe to go",
"it can bring good luck",
"it is bright and exciting",
"it has different meanings"
],
"question": "Most Chinese people like red because they think _ ... | Which color do you like best? Everyone has his own favorite color, but how do people feel about colors? It depends on their cultures. The same color sometimes has different meanings in different countries.
In England, the right color for a bride to wear is white. But in China and other eastern countries, brides often wear red. Why? It is because the red color is a sign of good luck.
Red is used as a sign of danger in England. Road signs are often in red. In eastern countries, red does not mean you have to be careful.
In England and other western countries, black is the color of death. But in many eastern countries, most people think white is the color of death.
In England, green is used in traffic lights to tell people that it is safe to go. Green is often seen as a lucky color, but wearing green at a wedding is unlucky.
Many people like the color orange because it is bright and exciting. But some _ will not use orange in their ads because they believe it suggests that their products are cheap and perhaps not of high quality.
As is known to all, red is the most popular color in China while in England it is blue. | middle5016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Happy."
},
"options": [
"Worried.",
"Happy.",
"Calm.",
"Afraid."
],
"question": "How did the grandson feel when his grandfather took him out of the school gate of the first school?",
"question_type": "factio... | A boy was going to study at the best school in town. In the morning, his grandfather took him to the school. When they went into the playground, the children came up.
"What a funny old man," the boy said, making a face.
"Hey, fatty ,"another one shouted.
The children _ the pair(,) and jumped up and down.
Without saying a word, the old man took his grandson out of the school gate.
"Wonderful! I don't have to go to school!" the boy said.
"You do, but not this one," his grandfather said. "I'll find you another school to go to." Grandfather took his grandson back to his house, asked Grandmother to look after him, and then went out to look for a school alone.
Every time he got to a school, the old man went into the playground, and waited for the children to come out at break time. In some schools the children completely ignored the old man, and in others, they made fun of him. When this happened, he would turn sadly and leave. Finally, he went into the very small playground of a very small school, and stood tiredly against the wall. The bell rang, and the children came out into the playground.
"Sir, are you all right? Shall I bring you something to drink?" said a voice.
"We've got a bench in the playground. Come and sit down," came another voice.
Soon a young teacher came out into the playground. The old man greeted him and said, "Finally, I've found my grandson the best school in town." | middle2779.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Green"
},
"options": [
"James",
"Allen",
"Green",
"Allen Green"
],
"question": "My name is James Alien Green.Which is my family name? _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | Many English people have three ninny, a first name, a middle name and a last name (or a family name).For example , my name is James Allen Green.James is my first name.Allen is my middle name.Green is my last name.People don't use Mr. , Mrs., Ms.or Miss before their first names.People should use them before their family names.
But in China, people use Mr. Mrs. Ms.or Miss before their first names.Because( ) the first name is the family name.For example, my name is Lin Tao."Lin" is my family name, and "Tao" is my given name.
,. | middle3467.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It's closer to the sun than Earth is."
},
"options": [
"Its atmosphere is not good for humans.",
"It has very little oxygen.",
"It's colder than Earth.",
"It's closer to the sun than Earth is."
],
"question": "W... | FOR people who are interested in space, nothing is more exciting than the idea of living on other planets. That might be why the movie The Martian (<<>> ) is so popular. It shows an astronaut struggling to live on Mars. But would it actually be possible to live on the Red Planet?
While the idea of living on Mars is great, the reality does not look as good. Mars does not have a friendly atmosphere for humans. There is very little oxygen there. And because of its distance from the sun, it is also very cold. The temperature on Mars can be -62 degrees on average. This is much too cold for humans.
However, scientists say it might be possible to live there even without a good atmosphere. Daytime on Mars is almost the same as Earth's. It means there's enough sunlight to grow plants inside safe buildings. However, they would have to grow in soil from Earth. Mars does not have a strong enough atmosphere to stop the radiation coming from space, which makes it dangerous to grow things in the soil.
The radiation is also bad for our health. If we want to live there healthily, we need to build our homes under the ground or within the rocks on the planet. This would protect humans from the radiation and also some heat.
When could we actually live on Mars? NASA is hoping to make some progress within the next 20 years. | middle7615.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a feeling and a kind of music"
},
"options": [
"a feeling and a kind of music",
"a color",
"a kind of music and a person",
"people and their feelings"
],
"question": "In the passage, the word \"blue\" and the wo... | History, as we know, is filled with facts, with places, names, dates, and events.
History is also filled with feelings, with pain, joy, excitement, and fear.
Facts are set down in books, but what happens to feelings? How can you take the pain, for example, and write it into a history book? You can't. But you can put it to music. Take the blues for example.
The blues started when black musicians in the South began to sing about their hard times, those times which made them feel blue. The early blues was the beginning of other musical styles, from jazz to rock and roll.
Music, you might say, is a record of feelings.
Of course, facts are important: the civil rights movement, the race for space, the Vietnam War. But the feelings behind these events - the pride of being black, the excitement of a rocket blast , the pain of a war - are also an important part of history. | middle1264.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "showing what we ourselves are"
},
"options": [
"treating them in a polite way",
"showing what we ourselves are",
"guiding ourselves to know them",
"telling them what they should do"
],
"question": "In the writer... | When you meet someone for the first time, you will get a general idea in your mind of that person in the first moment. Your feelings about other people, however, are really just show the way that you look at yourself. Your reactions to others say more about you than they do about others. You cannot really love or hate about yourself. We are usually drawn to those who are most like us and may dislike those who have the same characters as ourselves that we dislike.
Therefore, you can allow others to be the mirror to see more clearly your own feelings of self-worth. And, you can view the people you judge negatively as mirrors to show you what you are not accepting about yourself.
To live peacefully with others, you will need to learn patience. A big challenge is to let your judgment of others be a lifelong research of yourself. Your task is to consider all the decisions and judgments you make onto others carefully and to begin to see whether you can use them to help yourself and become whole.
Several days ago I had a business lunch with a man who showed _ table manners. My first feeling was to judge him as rude. When I noticed that I was judging him, I stopped and asked myself what I was feeling. I discovered that I was nervous to be seen with someone who was eating with his mouth open and loudly blowing his nose. I was very surprised to find how much I cared about how the other people in the restaurant judged me.
Remember that your judgment of someone will not serve as some kind of protective thing against you becoming like him. Just because I judge my lunch partner as rude, it does not prevent me from ever looking or acting like him. In the same way, my patience to him would not cause me to suddenly begin eating my food with my mouth open.
When you get close to life in this manner, those with whom you hate very much as well as those whom you admire and love can be seen as mirrors, guiding you to discover parts of yourself that you dislike and to embrace your greatest characters you are proud of. | middle5002.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "day, away"
},
"options": [
"longer, stronger",
"say, day",
"day, away",
"A, B and C"
],
"question": "In the poem, which words rhyme with \"say\"?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | What does little birdie say,
In her nest at peep of day?
Let me fly, says little birdie,
Mother, let me fly away,
Birdie, rest a little longer,
Till the little wings are stronger.
So she rests a little longer,
Then she flies away.
What does little baby say,
In her bed at peep of day?
Baby says, like little birdie,
Let me rise and fly away.
Baby, sleep a little longer,
Till the little limbs are stronger.
If she sleeps a little longer,
Baby too shall fly away. | middle3473.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "orange skin"
},
"options": [
"orange eyes and hair",
"orange skin",
"only orange",
"yellow skin"
],
"question": "The woman in this story had _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | Different people have different skin colours. Some have black skin, some have yellow skin, and some have white skin. There was a woman in Alaska. Her skin was orange in colour. It was almost the colour of orange juice.
How did this woman become orange? She ate lots of tomatoes, carrots and pumpkins.
She ate too many orange things. That's why she turned orange.
The woman didn't want to be orange. She went to the doctor. The doctor said,"Stop eating orange things. Eat some green things." The woman did so, and she wasn't orange any more. | middle3315.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To develop winter tourism in Menton."
},
"options": [
"To encourage people to plant more lemons.",
"To help people enjoy the winter months.",
"To develop winter tourism in Menton.",
"To cerebrate the success of orange p... | Every year, the French town of Menton hosts an event called the Lemon Festival in the world. The Lemon Festival usually takes place between mid-February until March. During the festival, around 145 tons of oranges and lemons are sent into the town. Over 300 workers work together to make giant sculptures out of fruits.
Menton became the first producer of lemons in 1929. The lemons are loved by the world's best cooks. In the late 19th century, a town parade was held to encourage Menton's winter tourism. Kings, princes and artists filled the great and comfortable hotels or their own fantastic houses. Because of its great success, the streets were beautifully planted with oranges and lemons in the following years. In order to develop tourism, in 1934 the Lemon Festival was officially born.
Sleepy Menton becomes a world of color during the festival time. People find it very exciting and full of fun. The festival is enjoyed for three whole weeks. Along with a daily Lemon and Orange Exhibition, parades on Sundays, fireworks on Thursday nights.
Every year there will be a special theme for the Lemon festival. This year the theme of the Lemon Festival is: "The regions of France". Some of the events are free, but you need to buy tickets to see the parades. | middle1502.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he usually likes generous friends"
},
"options": [
"he doesn't have any friends",
"he has a poor memory",
"he usually likes generous friends",
"he doesn't want others to share his food"
],
"question": "The write... | What's a good friend like? One may have different answers to this question at different ages.
When he is very young, he may think a good friend must be together with him all day. And they can share everything together. If his friend doesn't give him food to eat once, he doesn't think they are good friends any more. But they will play together happily again very soon.
When he grows older and studies in a middle school, his idea about a good friend changes. He thinks a good friend should be helpful and honest. A good friend should always help him with his lessons. A good friend should come to him when he is sad. And he is always ready to tell everything to his friend. If his friend tells others about his secrets, he may hate the friend.
When he grows up, he may not think it's necessary for a good friend to be always honest. Everyone has his secrets. If the truth may hurt the friend, it's better to keep it secret from him than tell him about it. And he may think a good friend can give him some good advice when he has problems. He comes to understand that he shouldn't just ask friends for help and that he should also learn to do something for his friends. | middle7173.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "train the new soldiers"
},
"options": [
"stop the soldiers going to towns",
"stop the soldiers meeting their friends",
"train the new soldiers",
"make the young men live quietly"
],
"question": "The military cam... | It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work, so a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.
"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."
And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but..."
Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"
"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but their horses were
!" | middle8240.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "3"
},
"options": [
"2",
"3",
"5",
"6"
],
"question": "_ special bookstores inside China are mentioned in the passage.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Bookstores are second homes for readers. Although many people can now buy books online. many readers still like the feeling in bookstores. They can touch the books and smell the print.
In China. there are many special bookstores. Sanlian Taofen Bookstore became the first 24-hour bookstore in Beijing at the beginning of April. Popular Holdings in Shanghai is a film-themed bookstore. It has film books and posters. Eslite Bookstore in Taiwan often has activities like talks with famous writers.
At the same time. bookstores outside China can be very colorful. too. Scarthin Books is a small bookstore in the UK. It sells new and second-hand books. There are more than 100.000 books lying on the shelves of the store's 12 rooms. Bart's Books in the US is a good place to enjoy the sunshine while reading books. It's an outdoor bookstore. Bookshelves are on the street. When the store is closed. people can still buy books. They just put money into the door's coin box. Where can you find a cafe. bar and bookstore in just one place? The answer is probably El Pendulo in Mexico. Books line the walls of the store. On the second floor. visitors can order everyday meals in the cafe and drinks from the bar. In order to keep cool. there are green plants and trees inside. Does it look like a park? | middle4452.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "by plane"
},
"options": [
"by bus",
"by plane",
"by ship",
"by train"
],
"question": "The writer went to Kunming from Shanghai _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answ... | Last summer my parents and l went to Yunnan. It left us wonderful memories. If you like a spring climate ,clean air and nice views, then Yunnan is the best place for you!
Day l Shanghai-Kunming
Activities: Arrive in Kunming. Hotel check-in.
Meals: No meals
(We flew to Kunming. After our arrival in Kunming, the guide took us to our hotel by bus. Then he showed us around the shopping center for the rest of the day.)
Day 2 Kunming
Activities: Visit Stone Forest, Bird & Flower Market.
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch
(In the Bird&Flower Market, we saw many kinds of flowers and birds as well as some traditional Chinese arts.)
Day 3 Dali-Lijiang
Activities: Arrive in Lijiang. Visit Lijiang Dayan Ancient City, and its famous Square Street.
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch
(The Ancient City of Lijiang is known as Dayan Town. It has a long history of over 800 years.) | middle5994.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in Russia one winter evening"
},
"options": [
"in England one winter evening",
"in Russia one winter evening",
"in America one winter morning",
"in Russia one winter morning"
],
"question": "Jack told his friend... | Once an Englishman named Jack Brown went to Russia for a holiday. He stayed there for several months and then came home again. Some of his friends visited him a few days after he got back. "I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia," Jack said to them. "I wanted to see a friend of mine in the country and the bad weather made me very late. So I was still traveling through a forest in a sleigh when the sun went down. It was a long way from my friend's house when about twenty wolves began to follow my sleigh. It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. It was cold, and there were no houses for miles and miles. First I heard the wolves. The noise was terrible! The horses heard them, too. They were frightened and began running faster. Then I saw long, gray forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near us. They were running very fast, and they didn't seem to get tired like the horses."
"What did you do?" one of Jack's friends asked.
"When the wolves got very near," Jack answered, "I put up my gun and shot the first wolf. The sleigh was moving about, but I hit the animal and killed it. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so our sleigh got away from them for a few minutes."
"Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon was shining brightly on the snow now, and after a few minutes I saw them running among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it."
"The same thing happened again and again, and my horses became more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after about two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following us."
"Wasn't it too fat to run?" one of his friends asked. | middle6245.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "At Steve's house."
},
"options": [
"At a cafe.",
"At Steve's house.",
"At a bus station.",
"On a street."
],
"question": "Where did Steve meet Johnson for the first time?",
"question_type": "factiod_question... | It was a bright Saturday morning. I stopped at a cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee and read the morning newspaper. Suddenly, I felt a hand on the back of my jacket and heard someone say, "Hey Steve! How are you doing?"
Looking back, I saw a man. He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where we had met.
The young man also held a cup of coffee, so I asked him to join me. Very soon, his story began to _ my memory.
Five years earlier, Johnson was traveling home late on a February night. A heavy snow had arrived that afternoon, and by midnight, the snowdrifts were getting deep. His car was stuck in a snowdrift just down the road from my house.
He walked to my house for help. I helped him pull his car out of the snowdrift and up to the street where the snow had been cleaned away.
This was a normal happening here during the winter. I couldn't count the times someone has helped me to pull my car from a snowdrift. However, it was an unforgettable experience for him. He was only eighteen at that time, and he said he was very afraid. No one wants to be stuck in a snowdrift at night.
Sometimes, one simple kindness at the right moment can change the direction of a life. So, be kind and helpful. | middle2745.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "January"
},
"options": [
"January",
"February",
"November",
"December"
],
"question": "The story happened in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Chicago is next to a beautiful lake, Lake Michigan. In the summer Lake Michigan is warm and blue .People lie on the beaches and swim in the water. In the winter Lake Michigan is cold and gray .Snow covers the beaches, and ice covers the water.
On a cold January day, a little boy and his father were playing in the snow on Chicago beach. The boy was Jimrsy Tontlewicx. He was four years old .Several Minutes went by .The father still couldn't find Jimmy. Firemen arrived .Twenty minutes later they found Jimmy and pulled him out of the water. Jimmy was not breathing, and his heart was not beating . He was dead. At the beach paramedics worked on Jimmy for an hour . He began to breathe , and his heart began to beat . The paramedics rushed Jimmy to the hospital.Doctors at the hospital put Jimmy in bed .They put him on a cold mattress because they wanted his body to warm up slowly. They gave him some medicine because they wanted him to sleep .After six weeks in the hospital he got better ,Then he went to another hospital. He stayed there for seven weeks .He began to walk ,talk ,and play again.
Jimmy was in the water for more than 20 minutes . He couldn't breathe in the water . He couldn't get any oxygen .But today he is alive and healthy. How is it possible? Jimmy is alive because the water was ice cold. Usually the brain needs a lot of oxygen .But when it's very cold , the brain slows down. It does not need much oxygen .So the ice cold water saved Jimmy . Jimmy's father has another reason .He says ,"Jimmy is alive today because he is a fighter . " | middle4334.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "vision problems"
},
"options": [
"staring for long periods",
"too much beta-carotene",
"not enough vitamin A",
"vision problems"
],
"question": "Night blindness is most likely caused by _ .",
"question_t... | Is it true ?
1.Wearing the wrong type of glasses will do harm to your eyes .
This is not true for adults , although incorrect glasses may not be good for children under 10 . Ready-made glasses , and not wearing when you should , won' t do harm to your eyes , but you may see better with glasses that are specially made for you .
2.Watching too much television is bad for you eyes .
This is not true. People with easily affected eyes may find they get red and aching from staring at a fixed distance for long periods , but there won' t be any lasting effects .
3. Carrots will help you see in the dark. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which the body can change into vitamin A, too little of which can cause night blindness. However , people in most countries don' t need to worry about vitamin A deficiency , night blindness is more likely to be connected with another vision problem . | middle2751.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Students enjoy taking part in different kinds of activities during holidays ."
},
"options": [
"Both parents and students think school holidays are perfect.",
"Parents can take care of their young kinds of activities",
"Stude... | Naturally ,American schoolchildren love holidays .And they get a lot of them each year .Besides having national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Presidents; Day off from school ,students get longer breaks in the US only go to school for about 180 days a year.To students ,holidays are perfect .However ,parents think there are advantages and disadvantages .
On the one hand ,school holidays allow families to spend time together .Many American parents take time off from work during June,July or august to travel with their children on vacations either in the US or in a foreign country .On the other hand ,schoolchildren get much more time off school than parents get vacation for an time.This means that parents with young children may have to pay more in the babysitting or day care coats.As well ,the long summer holidays mean that students sometimes get bored.
Besides going on trips with their parents ,American students enjoy taking part in different kind s of activities during the holidays .For example ,some kids enjoy summer camps and outdoor adventure holidays .Such trips are great adventurous students . _ also have a lot to offer students who aren't usually interested in traditional PE activities .ou can do courses in survival skills ,for example .Students learn how to make a camp in the forest ,which wild food they can eat and how to find their way to make a camp in the forest,which wild food they can eat and how to find their way back to the center.
Students who are not excited about summer camps and outdoor adventure may take part in courses in computer game design ,film making and photography during the holidays .Finally ,the traditional school trip to foreign countries is always popular .Students can practice their foreign language skills and experience every day life in a different culture. | middle2989.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "May 13th"
},
"options": [
"May 14th",
"May 13th",
"May 15th",
"May 16th"
],
"question": "Frank's birthday is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | My name is Frank White. I'm fourteen years old. I was born on May 13th, 1992. Mike is my good friend. His birthday is May 15th.He is only 12 years old now. Every year on May 14th,we have a birthday party together at our school. We often have a pop concert. I play the guitar. He plays the drums. Many friends come to our party. We are very happy . | middle914.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "pilot"
},
"options": [
"teacher",
"doctor",
"actor",
"pilot"
],
"question": "Nigel's job is a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text"... | Nigel is our new next-door neighbour. He's a pilot . He was in the R.F.A. He will fly to New York next month. The month after next he'll fly to Tokyo. At the moment, he's in Madrid. He flew to Spain a week ago. He'll return to London the week after next . He's only forty-one years old, and he has already been to nearly every country in the world. Nigel is a very lucky man. But his wife isn't very lucky. She usually stays at home! | middle1258.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Bright colours."
},
"options": [
"All of the colours.",
"Dark colours.",
"Dark red.",
"Bright colours."
],
"question": "What kind of colours can easily draw our attention?",
"question_type": "factiod_questio... | When someone walks into a room wearing bright colours, everyone seems to take notice. Beautiful bright colours can easily draw our attention. Fresh roses can cheer us up when we're feeling blue. Dressing up in colourful clothing can bring us into a more positive mood.
What shall I wear today? What colour should I choose?
Dressing yourself for the day is quite important whether you know it or not. Our moods often show what our bodies end up wearing. When you look in the mirror after you dress, train yourself to notice how you feel when you see yourself. Notice your mood. If you are not feeling yourself, could the colour of what you are wearing irritate your nervous system? Did you never notice that before? We all know that dark colours can tell lies. They can make you look and feel older than you really are. That is why baby clothes never come in dark colours. To the mind, dark colours seem easier to hold power, but to the heart and feeling level, they don't help your heart to open. Bring happy colours and happiness to go hand in hand. Bright happy colours open your heart, calming your nervous system.
Some advice:
If you work around people who wear black, try to find a happy colour to look at to replace the picture of dark colours in your mind.
At night, wear soft clothes in light colours to help your nervous system calm down and smooth it out, preparing yourself for sleep.
Don't dress children in dark colours because their nervous systems are just beginning to feel. | middle6537.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "We all want to be healthy."
},
"options": [
"Everyone is healthy.",
"We all want to be healthy.",
"Nobody is healthy.",
"Food is not important to us."
],
"question": "Which one is right?",
"question_type": n... | Everyone wants to be healthy. We know food is very important to us. There is an old saying-----"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There is lots of healthy food in our life.
Fruit and vegetables are healthy food, but hamburgers and candy are not healthy food. So you can have more bananas, apples, oranges, tomatoes and onions. They are good for us. But you'd better not have hamburgers or candy. They are bad for us.
For drinks, juice and milk are healthy but Coke isn't healthy. Ice cream isn't good either. Healthy food can drinks make us strong and happy. | middle6251.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "three"
},
"options": [
"three",
"two",
"one",
"four"
],
"question": "How many kinds of desserts does Dessert House have?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | Dessert house
We have three kinds of desserts : small, medium and large. A small dessert with strawberries, bananas and ice cream is 10Y=. A medium dessert with apples, tomatoes and cheese is 12Y=. A large dessert with pears, potatoes and ice cream is 15Y=. Welcome to our house.
Noodle House
We have some great specials. Special 1 is chicken and cabbage noodles, and the large bowl is just 4Y= and the small 2Y=. Special 2 is mutton and carrot noodles, and the large bowl is only 5Y= and the small 2.5Y=. Special 3 is beef and potato noodles. The large bowl is 4Y= and the small 2Y=. Special 4 is tomato and egg noodles. The large bowl is only 3Y= and the small 1.5Y=. Large drink is only 5Y=. And all the fruits are free.
Come and get your noodles today! | middle4446.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "When he was studying in Junior 3."
},
"options": [
"After he was 17 years old.",
"After he was in one of the best classes.",
"When he was a pupil.",
"When he was studying in Junior 3."
],
"question": "When did t... | Everybody makes decisions in daily life. They can be as important as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast. Any decision could be the turning point of your life.
I made an important decision when I was in Junior 3.
Before I made that decision I was one of the boys who tried too hard to act as an adult. I didn't know that only kids want to show themselves as adults.
I didn't listen to my parents and teachers, and my grades became poor. Then came the high school entrance exam.
At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I wanted to turn it down but when I looked at her eyes, I felt I couldn't refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard.
Mom smiled and asked again: "I asked: what do you WANT to do?"
I never seriously thought about the question. So, I kept silent.
"Whether you want to go on studying or enter the society," she went on, "it is your own decision. Your life ought to be decided by you, not by anyone else, including me. " After saying that, she had tears in her eyes.
For the first time in my life I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about myself, my life and what kind of person I wanted to become.
It took me what seemed to be ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life--I wanted to be a man who makes a difference in the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard.
The path to my future became clear to me. I didn't act rebelliously any more. With passion in my heart, I studied hard.
Now, I'm 17 and I'm in one of the best schools in my city, in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.
Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today. | middle5980.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Yes, they do."
},
"options": [
"Yes, they do.",
"No, they don't",
"Yes, I do.",
"No, I don't."
],
"question": "Do the Chinese like playing soccer?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Do you know there are two kinds of football games? One is American football , and the other is soccer .In China many young men like playing soccer. It is very popular. But the Chinese don't call it soccer. They call it football. There are eleven players in each team. And the ball is round. Only the goalkeeper can touch the ball with his hands. The other players can't touch the ball with their hands.
In America, soccer is not very popular. They like playing American football. It is very different. The ball is not round. It is like a big egg. There are also eleven players in each team. All the players can touch the ball with both feet and hands. | middle2037.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "with friends"
},
"options": [
"with friends",
"at weekends",
"with their family",
"on the Internet"
],
"question": "Tom and Sandy both like shopping _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | My name is Tom. I like shopping, but I think shopping with young children is not an easy thing. I have to look after them while I am shopping. I don't think shopping with women is fun, either. I often go shopping with my friends. It is fun. If I think a kind of shirt is fit for me, I think it is also fit for my friends. So I'd like them to think about buying the same things.
My name is Sandy. I like shopping too. But I never go shopping on Saturdays or Sundays. There are a lot of people in the shops. I like shopping with my friends. I usually spend a lot of time choosing things because I never buy the first thing I see. I always look around other shops to find the best price. I can find the best very well. I dislike buying food in small shops and street markets. I think food in the supermarket is very fresh and very cheap, so I like shopping there. | middle5758.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the amount a person breathes in"
},
"options": [
"the amount a person breathes in",
"whether a person is healthy",
"how many signs a person finds",
"ages of people"
],
"question": "The damage of carbon monoxide ... | Carbon monoxide poisoning causes death and injuries around the world. This gas is a problem in all parts of the world that experience cold weather. A few years ago, America's Centers for Disease Control (C. D. C.) studied deaths linked with carbon monoxide poisoning. It found that the number of carbon monoxide deaths in the United States was greatest in January. The C.D.C. also found that carbon monoxide kills more than four hundred Americans each year. And, it said more than twenty thousand people are taken to hospital for treatment of health problems linked with the gas.
Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because people do not know it is in the air. The gas has no color, no taste and no smell. It does not cause burning eyes. And it does not cause people to cough. Yet, carbon monoxide gas is very deadly . It steals the body's ability to use oxygen.
Carbon monoxide makes it difficult for the blood to carry oxygen to body tissues . It does this by linking with the blood. When the gas links with the blood, the blood is no longer able to carry oxygen to the tissues that need it. Damage to the body can begin very quickly from large amounts of carbon monoxide.
How quickly this can happen depend on how long a person is breathing the gas and how much gas he or she breathes in.
Carbon monoxide poisoning has warning signs . But people have to be awake to realize them. Small amounts of the gas will cause a person's head to hurt. He or she may begin to feel tired. Their stomachs may feel sick. The room may appear to be turning around. The person may have trouble thinking clearly.
People develop serious headache as the amount of the gas continues to enter their blood. They will begin to feel very tired and sleepy. They may have terrible stomachache.
Doctors say carbon monoxide influences people differently. For example a small child will experience health problems or die much sooner than an adult. The general health of the person or his or her age can also be important. | middle727.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "For education."
},
"options": [
"For education.",
"For adventure.",
"To enjoy themselves.",
"To look for a different lifestyle."
],
"question": "Why do people leave home to travel according to the passage?",
... | People enjoy taking trips. But what are the reasons they leave home? One reason is for education. People travel because they want to learn more about other people and other places. They are curious about other cultures. When people are tourists, they get a quick look at different ways of living. Even a short look at another kind of lifestyle is an important lesson. On a trip, a person can learn directly by visiting museums and historic spots. What does a tourist learn who sees the art museums, visits the historical palaces and other scenic spots in Paris and shops along the River Seine? He gets a vivid picture, a real life of one of the French people. He learns about their attitudes , how they feel about business, beauty and history.
What about the tourist who goes to Hong Kong? Does he get the same information that he could get from a book? He might read that Hong Kong is crowded, that there is less than 200 square meters of space for each person. But seeing and feeling the lack of space will impress him much more. He might read that there are nearly 200 vehicles for every kilometer of roadway. But the sight of so many vehicles parked along the roadside would be a much more vivid lesson. The tourist to Hong Kong will never forget the contrasts(,): the straight vertical lines of tall modern buildings and the moving lines of boats that people live in. | middle2962.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Seven"
},
"options": [
"Five",
"Six",
"Seven",
"Eight"
],
"question": "_ kinds of animals are mentioned in the passage.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,... | National parks are large of areas of public land . They give a safe home for local plants and animal . They help keep the air and water clean . They also give us the best trips . Today ,there are nearly 7,000 national parks around the world . Forbes has listed 12 of the most beautiful ones in the world that will surprise you with their amazing landscape ,geographic wonders and colorful plants and animals .
The Grand Canyon National Park of the US is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World . It is best known for its size and depth . It is 446 kilometers long ,up to 29 kilometers wide ,and 1. 6 kilometers deep . The _ of the canyon makes people think big . Every year ,about 5million people visit here . Taking a tour in the South Rim offers vistors the park's full views,while the North Rim shows beautiful wild flowers .
If you love animals ,you'll like the Serrengeti Natinoal Park in Tanzania . The "Big Five "live here . They are the lion . African elephant ,African leopard ,black rhinoce and African buffalo . The name "Big Five "came from the five animals that were the hardest to catch . Now they are what people most want to see in the wild . If you visit the park ,you should never miss the migration of over 1. 5million wildebeests and 250,000 zebras every year. This is the most famous site of the park . | middle2976.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "thirty-five"
},
"options": [
"thirty",
"thirty-five",
"forty",
"forty-five"
],
"question": "There are _ cars over there.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | There are many cars over there. Five of them are brown. Twelve of them are red. Three of them are yellow. Four green cars, eight blue cars, two orange cars and one white car are there, too. They are new. They are nice. Look, these aren't cars, they are buses. They are in different colors: ten red, eleven green, seventy yellow and nine blue. They are all old. They are big. All the cars and buses belong to Mr. Smith. | middle733.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "We can't make or answer a call while driving."
},
"options": [
"We can send messages or play games at a dinner or a party.",
"We can't make or answer a call while driving.",
"We can use it during an appointment.",
"We c... | Some etiquette in modern life
Do you often use a mobile phone? Do you take the subway to school every day? These items make our modern life easier. But do you know how we should behave properly while using them? The following suggestions might be helpful.
For mobile phone users
*Keep your voice down when you make a phone call in public. Shouting on the phone may make others feel uncomfortable. And you'd better not use it during an appointment .
*Stop sending messages or playing games with your mobile phone at a dinner or a party. It's a good time to communicate with your family and friends.
*Don't make or answer a call while driving. It is not only very dangerous for both you and your passengers but also against the law.
For subway passengers
*You are supposed to wait in line while buying tickets and getting on the subway.
*You're not allowed to eat, drink or smoke on the subway train. The smell and noise may trouble others. It's our duty to keep the train clean and tidy. Besides, smoking is bad for health.
*You can't take pets on the train. As we all know, animals may
and get the train dirty. | middle8283.txt |
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