questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "plastic bags"
},
"options": [
"computers",
"mobile phones",
"plastic bags",
"MP4 players"
],
"question": "The following can become e-waste EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Have you ever heard of e-waste(electric waste,), which can be produced every day? How do you deal with your computers, MP4 players and mobile phones when they're broken or you want a new one?
Most people just throw them away. With the development of electric industry, e-waste pollution has become a serious problem. According to the United Nations, in 2014, people around the world produced 41.8 million tons of e-waste and only recycled 6.5 million tons. The US was the biggest waster, producing 7.1 million tons. China came second, with 6 million tons.
It's important to pay attention to e-waste. It can either be valuable or harmful , depending on how we deal with it. E-waste is a valuable urban mine . The value of the metals, like gold and silver in the waste around the world, is amazing. And the metals can be reused. But if people throw them away, the toxic chemicals can get into the earth or air, effecting the environment and people's health.
Apple, for example, now recycle people's used products in China when they are buying new ones. The company will test and repair the used ones and sell them at lower prices. To help reduce e-waste, we can also take computers and phones to see if companies offer recycling programs. | middle6684.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In a park."
},
"options": [
"At a school.",
"on a farm.",
"In the street.",
"In a park."
],
"question": "where did the story happen ?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,... | One day, an old man went(go)for a walk in a park in Washington, and when he was(is) tired, he sat(sit) down on a bench . A young person was standing on the other side of the pond .
"My goodness" the old man said(say)to the person sitting next to him on the bench."Do you see the person with loose pants "and long hair? Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl," said the person sitting next to the old man. "She's my daughter."
"Oh!" the old man said quickly, "please excuse me. I didn't know that you are her mother."
"I'm not her mother," said the person."I'm her father!" | middle6690.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He didn't like children."
},
"options": [
"He often stayed in his house.",
"He didn't often speak to people.",
"He didn't like children.",
"He had a place to play basketball."
],
"question": "Which of the follow... | A few years ago I didn't knew my neighbour Mr Reed well. Now we're friends.
It all started from a basketball game near his home. Peter passed the ball to me. But I didn't catch it and it went right into Mr Reed's garden.Everyone said that he didn't like children. Nobody dared to get the ball. And no one knew Mr Reed well because he _ came out of his house. And he _ talked with others.
I walked into Mr Reed's garden slowly and quietly. My hands were sweaty . Suddenly I saw a tall man walking towards me. It was Mr Reed.
"Is this your ball?" he asked.
I said yes and said never to do it again.
To my surprise, Mr Reed said, "Why don't you kids play here? No one has used this hoop for years. It's better than yours."
My friends and I couldn't believe it. Mr Reed was inviting us to play in his garden! We all learned an important lesson: what many people say isn't always true. | middle6848.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "bedroom"
},
"options": [
"family",
"bedroom",
"bookcase",
"computer"
],
"question": "This is a photo of my _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"... | This is a photo of my bedroom. In my room, a bed, a dresser, a computer, a desk and a chair are here. Under my bed are a video tape and a baseball. The computer is on the desk. My notebooks and a pencil case are in the drawer of the desk. A computer game is behind the computer. A clock is near the computer. A bookcase is behind the door. My books are in the bookcase. | middle4087.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "gets one event to cause other similar events to happen"
},
"options": [
"turns a good day to a bad day",
"makes one person affect another",
"turns bad things into good things",
"gets one event to cause other similar eve... | Bad days happen to us all. Often a day that starts out bad just continues to get worse. Sometimes there's a "domino effect " with bad events. For example, you sleep through the alarm, so you're stressed. And you will sit in the bad traffic, which will also make you late for work, etc.
How can we turn a bad day to a good day? Here are some ideas that have worked for me:
Smile a lot
Smiling a lot will help you feel relaxed. Research has shown that smiling produces three useful chemicals which make us feel good.
Talk to a good friend
Keeping bad or unhappy things in your mind is not a good idea. Talking to someone who cares and listen really does help us feel better, too.
Concentrate on your good things
It's hard to concentrate on how bad things are when you're concentrating on how good things are! Think of 10 or more things you're thankful for, and you'll achieve a whole new outlook on your day.
Get some exercise
If you can, go for a walk. Exercising will help you feel better. Excising can get your day back to be normal again.
Make the day a challenge
If you make yourself think of the day as a challenge, you'll start to do all the things you can to make your day better.
,. | middle3930.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "22"
},
"options": [
"5",
"12",
"17",
"22"
],
"question": "The writer discovered Google at the age of _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_te... | I began to send e-mails when I was 17. I discovered Google 5 years later. Now, I use the internet all the time. The Internet has become so popular that 90 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds in the United States use the internet, and about half of these kids use it every day. They visit chat rooms and send e-mails. They go to websites to get information for their homework.
"Kids are now living in a virtual world," says Greenfield, an expert at University of California, "As the Internet is becoming more and more important for our life, we should worry about one question: Is the Internet good or bad for kids? "
"It's ***to answer the question because the Internet involves so many things," says Justine, who is from Northwestern University. "They include online computer games, news, messages and even e-mails to your grandmother." So more and more people believe that the online world can be helpful in some ways but dangerous in others.
"Although it's not easy to tell whether it's good or bad,"says Justine, "the Internet, at least, is very useful and can be used widely by everyone in the world. | middle4939.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "At ten."
},
"options": [
"At five.",
"At six.",
"At seven.",
"At ten."
],
"question": "When did Peter's mother come back?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index":... | It was a Sunday morning. Peter, a seven-year-old boy, watched TV in the room while his brother Bill did his homework. Their father watered the flowers in the garden and their mother went out to do some shopping. At ten the woman came back with a heavy basket. Peter ran up to her. He wanted to know what his mother bought. He found a bag of oranges in it. He liked them very much and wanted to eat. His mother stopped him. She gave five to each son and went to cook food. Peter ate his oranges soon but his brother was busy doing his homework and didn't eat his. Suddenly the telephone rang and Bill ran to answer it. Bill's friend asked him to play football with them. And when Bill talked with his friend, Peter took two of his oranges away and ate them. Bill found it and called him out and beat him behind the house. Peter didn't tell his parents about it.
The next morning Peter's teacher, Mrs Ball, taught the students subtraction . Peter didn't listen to her carefully and couldn't understand it. So he couldn't answer her questions. The teacher began to give him an example, "If your brother has five oranges and you take two from him, what will the result be?"
"He'll beat me, madam," answered the boy. All his classmates began to laugh. | middle2390.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "you're growing"
},
"options": [
"you're careful",
"you're kind",
"you're growing",
"you know nothing."
],
"question": "If you are making a mistake, that means _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | People are always afraid of making mistakes. But sometimes it's not bad to make mistakes, and here is why.
At first , mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It's always good to new things, because when you are trying new things your are growing. If you never try new things , how can you improve ? How can you create? The simple answer is, " You can't ." Look around you, everything you see is the result of someone trying new things.
Another good thing about mistakes is this : when your are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. When he was asked how he felt to fail that many times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn't work.
Finally , when you make a mistake, you are that much closer to success. Why? Because you have said what you should say, and you have done what you should do. Every time you make a mistake, you are closer to success. But it doesn't mean that you can make mistakes without thinking. Instead, when you try new things you have to think them over, so that you can keep away from some unnecessary mistakes.
We shouldn't spend all our time and money on the only one way , but use them correctly. Because our time and money are limited.
There is an old saying, " If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough." So go bravely and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed.
,,. (5,2,10) | middle1841.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She had lived in the street for many years"
},
"options": [
"She had lived with her parents whose names were not known",
"She had lived in the street for many years",
"The workers knew her well",
"She had learned to wri... | The Girl From the Street
The workers who brought the girl to the orphanage knew little about her. The streets where they found her had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They left her long ago. At the orphanage, the girl, like all the children there, was taught to read and write. While she was studying at the orphanage, she learned something else--to be independent . At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began working as a secretary. And then, in 1975, while she was still working as an ordinary secretary, something special happened. She entered the Miss Hong Kong competition and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now her name, Mary Cheung, was known to everybody.
Mary entered the competition because she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then into business as a manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. "My English just wasn't good enough." She says. Luckily, she had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) to help her.
Mary studied management at Hong Kong and graduated in 1980, She started her own business in 1985. But she did not stop developing herself. She then studied at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1987, she had spent a lot of time on photography. She has held several exhibitions of her work in many places---China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV, write for newspapers and bring up her family.
The girl from the street has come a long way, but her journey is not finished yet. | middle1699.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "China took a step closer to building its own space station."
},
"options": [
"China has caught up with the United States in the space exploration field.",
"China took a step closer to building its own space station.",
"China ... | Two Chinese spacecrafts successfully completed China's first space docking early November 3, 2011, which has taken the country a step closer to building its own space station.
Nearly two days after its launch, the unmanned spacecraftShenzhou VIIIdocked with the space lab module Tiangong I more than 343 km above the earth surface.Shenzhou VIIIandTiangong Itook apart after flying together for 12 days. On the 14th of November, the two spacecrafts finished the second docking. ThenShenzhou VIIIparted fromTiangong Iagain and returned to the earth safely on the 17th.Tiangong Iis still traveling around the earth in the space, waiting for the arrival ofShenzhou IXandXand so on in the near future.
_ marked another great leap for China's space program and made China the third country in the world, after the United States and Russia, to master the space docking technique .
The world's first space docking was achieved in 1966, when the manned U.S, spacecraft Gemini 8 (8) docked with an unmanned Agena Target Vehicle . Space docking is necessary to explore space beyond Earth's orbit. "The capability increases China's ability to act independently in space, as well as its ability to work together with others," said Gregory Kulacki, a U.S. space scientist and senior analyst.
"With the success of its first space docking, China is now equipped with the basic technology and ability required for the construction of a space station," said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program." The country is on its way to building a permanent manned space station around 2020." | middle443.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because she wanted to cool the fish."
},
"options": [
"Because she didn't cook the fish.",
"Because she wanted to give the fish to the cat.",
"Because she wanted to cool the fish.",
"Because she wanted to show how delic... | Mrs. Jackson was a rich woman. She had many friends. She liked cooking very much and she often invited her friends to her big house.
One day, she invited some of her friends to lunch. She wanted very much to try a new way of cooking a fish, and she was very pleased with herself when the dish was ready. The fish was very hot, so she put it near the open window to make it cool. But five minutes later, when she came back for it, she was surprised to see her neighbor's cat, Mike, eating the fish. She was in time to stop the cat before it was too late. That afternoon everything was good and all her friends liked the fish very much. They talked until four o'clock. Then they said goodbye and left.
At the end of that afternoon, when she was alone again, Mrs. Jackson was very tired but happy. She was sitting in the chair just near the window. Then through the window, she was surprised to see her neighbor's cat dead in the garden! Why, the fish must be bad! What would happen to her friends? She telephoned her family doctor at once. The doctor told her to call each of her friends to see him at the hospital. At last, the danger was over.
Once again, Mrs. Jackson was alone in her chair in the sitting-room, still tired but no longer happy. Just then the telephone rang. It was her neighbor. "Oh, Mrs. Jackson, Mike is dead. He was killed by a car and put in your garden...".
,. | middle3918.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Lisa"
},
"options": [
"Jenny",
"Tom",
"Lisa",
"Ann"
],
"question": "Who sent this e-mail?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "4: 00 ... | Subject: party Hi! Jenny,
My sister Ann and I are going to have a party this Friday at my home. Some friends will be there. Most of them are from the office. My best friend, Tom, will come, too. I want you to meet him.
Do you want to come? We'll play games and talk. Then we'll have dinner. Everyone will bring food or drinks. It begins at 4:00 pm. and ends at 8 or 9 pm.
We'll have a great time! Can you come?I hope so! Let me know soon. Call me or send me an e-mail. | middle457.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Watching TV."
},
"options": [
"Reading.",
"Watching TV.",
"Doing sports.",
"Playing with their pets."
],
"question": "What is the favorite free time activity of people in the UK?",
"question_type": "factiod_... | People in the UK spend their free time in different ways. They usually use it to relax. They spend a lot of their free time at home. The most popular activity is watching TV. People in the UK watch TV for about 25 hours a week. They often record programs so they can watch them later. Reading is also a popular way of spending free time. People in the UK spend a lot of time reading newspapers and magazines. Many people in the UK have pets. They like playing with their pets in their free time.
In summer, gardening is popular. And families often have a "day out" on the weekend. They often go to a festival or see a show. Young people like to go to clubs, and people of all ages like to go to the cinema.
In winter, "do-it-yourself" is popular. People often spend their free time repairing houses.
Some free time activities are with friends. Asking friends for a drink or a meal at home is the most usual one. Sometimes people and their friends have dinner in a restaurant.
On the weekend, people in the UK like to spend their free time doing sports. The popular kinds of sports are soccer, horse racing, swimming, tennis, skating, climbing and hill walking.
. | middle6874.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "."
},
"options": [
".",
".",
".",
"."
],
"question": "What's the Chinese meaning ofskilled?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He m... | There was once a young man called Paul in a village in the USA. Paul was very lazy because his father was a rich farmer and he didn't have to work. Mr Smith, a neighbour of his, was a blacksmith . He used to work in his shop all day. Paul spent hours and hours watching how the blacksmith worked every day. "Young man, why don't you try your hand to make a shoe tack , even it is only to pass the time?" said the blacksmith one day, " Maybe it will be useful to you some day." Finally, the lazy boy began to have a try. After practicing some times, he becameskilledand could make very nice tacks.
Years later, Paul's father died and he lost all the things because of a war . He had to move to another country and live by himself. It happened that there were many shoemakers paying high prices to buy tacks for the shoes, because in that part of the country there was a great need of tacks for soldiers' shoes. Paul went to talk with them. He told them that he would make the tacks if they could help him find a workshop in the village. The shoemakers agreed. Then Paul made a lot of money by making tacks. "How funny it is!" he said to himself, "Even by making shoe tacks, one can become rich." | middle331.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Seven"
},
"options": [
"Five",
"Six",
"Seven",
"Eight"
],
"question": "How many things does this passage mention for you to do if you want to keep healthy?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Do you want to be in good health? Try to do the following things! You can become strong.
Drink eight cups of water every day. Water helps your body in many ways. If you feel......,have a cup of water.
Don't forget to eat your breakfast. Breakfast gives you everything your body needs for the morning. So do not forget your breakfast.
Calcium . Your bones need it. Milk has more calcium. You may also drink orange juice with calcium in it.
Go for a walk every day after meals. Walking is a good exercise, and people need exercise for good health, It's better to walk after meals.
Stretch for five minutes after sitting for one or two hours. Stretching your arms and legs is good for your body.
Use your brain every day. For example, you can do crossword puzzles or read a new book.
Have a rest about twenty minutes when you are tired. You may do something different to have a break. For example,get up and walk. Or sit down to listen to music. | middle456.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Web sites"
},
"options": [
"QQ",
"Web pages",
"Web sites",
"Blogs"
],
"question": "_ can offer free ways to create personal Web pages and fill them with writings and pictures.",
"question_type": "cloze_que... | Most people are writing blogs . Others are reading them. The word " blog" is a short way of saying Web log almost like QQ Zone .
Many popular Web sites now offer free, easy ways to create personal Web pages and fill them with writings and pictures. Blogs offer people a place to show their writings and feelings over the Internet. They can also be helpful to connect people with others.
A blog has both good and bad points, of course. People choose to write what they think in blogs, for they know that their friends will read what they write. If you are feeling sad one day and write your feelings in your blog, your friends may quickly write back to _ you or offer their help. Blogs help people keep good friendship and let them know what their friends are doing. But the problem is that anyone can read what you write in your blog. If you are not satisfied with a friend during school, and you write something bad about him in your blog, your friend read the blog and get angry. So we have to be careful of what we write.
In many ways, a blog and a diary are almost the same. So what makes a blog different from a diary? The biggest difference is that a blog is more public than a diary. | middle4904.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Robert didn't study hard at all"
},
"options": [
"Robert had a lot of housework to do",
"Robert didn't study hard at all",
"Robert hoped to be a writer",
"Robert wasn't clever enough"
],
"question": "_ , so he... | Robert lives in a small town. Five years ago, when he was nineteen, he finished middle school. He didn't like any subjects except playing when he was at school. Of course he learned nothing and the bosses wouldn't use a man like him. He has to stay at home, but doesn't do any housework, only watches TV or lies on bed. It makes his parents angry. They want him to study something, he always think it difficult and doesn't listen to them.
One day Robert was walking near a bookshop while some young men were talking about the writers. He heard the publishing house pays the writers a lot. He became interested in it. As soon as he got home, he began to write. But he couldn't write anything. At last he bought a book and copied a story. Then he posted it to the publishing house. He waited for nearly half a year, but didn't get any answers. He had to ask an editor on the telephone, "Have you read my story yet, sir?"
"Yes," said the editor, "I had read it before you were born! " | middle324.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "America"
},
"options": [
"England",
"Canada",
"America",
"German"
],
"question": "Michael Jordan was born in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Michael Jordan is one of the most famous basketball players in the world. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He didn't like to talk to other people about himself. He was very short and he didn't play basketball very well when he joined the basketball team in his high school at first. But the next year, things changed greatly as he grew much taller.
Michal Jordan became famous when he joined the university basketball team in North Carolina. Michael used his quickness and strength to reach the basketball. He played so well that people called him "Air Jordan".
After college, Michael became a basketball team member in the Chicago Bulls. The NBA was very surprised at this high--flying player. He was named "Rookie "of the year in 1985 and "the Most Valuable Player" in 1987. He once set a record by getting 63 points in one game.
,,. | middle1868.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "with his son"
},
"options": [
"to a small city",
"to get some money",
"with his son",
"to get a ticket"
],
"question": "One day the father takes a bus _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | A father and his young son get into a bus in a small city and sit down. The bus conductor comes to them for their money. The man says "I want one ticket to Oxford." and gives her a shilling( ).
The conductor looks at the small boy for a few seconds and then says to him, "How old are you young man?"
The man begins speaking,but the conductor stops him,and the boy says, "I'm four years old at home, and two and a half in buses and trains."
The man has to take six pence out of his bag and gives the money to the conductor. The conductor gives him one and a half tickets. | middle4910.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A record for paddling a bathtub."
},
"options": [
"A record for paddling a bathtub.",
"A record for climbing a mountain.",
"A record for pushing a hospital bed.",
"A record for swimming across a river."
],
"ques... | Everyone would like to be remembered. A few people even try to do something that no one else in history has ever tried to do. These people sometimes have their names recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
Often it takes a group of people to do something unusual. One such team paddled a bathtub 145 kilometers for 24 hours. This group had 13 members. They paddled their bathtub on a river near Ashford, Great Britain on May 28 and 29, 1983. A month later, a racing team of hospital bed pushers in Avon ,Great Britain, pushed a hospital bed 16 kilometers in just 50 minutes! However, the distance record for hospital bed pushing is still held by the men of Brunt field Bedding Center. This team from Edinburgh pushed a hospital bed 5,203 kilometers in 1979. It took the team 35 days to cover the distance.
Another group of record makers held the highest dinner party in the world. Nine people from Sydney, Australia, climbed Mountain Huascaran on June 28 1989.The climbers carried a dinner table, chairs, and a meal up the mountain .When they reached the top, they all put on warm suits for dinner.
People all over the world are trying hard to do something unusual to make a record. It should be understood; however, that now not all the records will be kept in the Guinness Book of Records. | middle442.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his own heart was perfect"
},
"options": [
"his heart was painful",
"the old man's hear was perfect",
"his own heart was perfect",
"he himself was the most beautiful"
],
"question": "The young man thought _ ... | One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town announcing that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole town. A large crowd gathered, and they all thought it was perfect. There was not a flaw in it.
Suddenly, an old man said, "Your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was full of scars . The young man laughed. "Comparing your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars."
"Yes," said the old man, "You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart that fits into the empty place in my heart. Though it has some scars, I cherish . Because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gouges . Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man ripped a piece out of his perfect heart and offered it to the old man. The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the _ in the young man's heart.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.
,. | middle3931.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "190"
},
"options": [
"20",
"30",
"50",
"190"
],
"question": "The earliest frogs lived about _ million years ago.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Frogs are animals that can live both in water and on land.There are more than 5.000 kinds of frogs on the earth.The earliest known frogs lived about 190 million years ago and the frogs today still look the same.Here are some fun things that you might not know about frogs.Enjoy!
The Biggest and the Smallest Frogs
Some frogs can be very big.The biggest kind of frog is the Goliath Frog in West Africa.Its body can be nearly 30cm long,about the size of a large cat.The Gold Frog and the Poison Frog are the smallest frogs in the world.They are less than lem long.Though the Poison Frog is very small,it is not weak at all.It is dangerous.Any animal that eats it will die very soon.
The Best Jumpers
Frogs are very good at jumping.They developed jumping legs so that they would not be eaten by other large animals.Using their big strong legs,most frogs can jump over 20 times their own length.It is like a person jumping over about 30.48m.The Australian Rocket Frog can even jump over 2m,which is 50 times its body length(5.5cm).That might be the reason why frogs are called the best jumpers on the earth.
The Cryogenic Animal
Some frogs like the Common Wood Frog have a special ability to live in very cold places.When the temperature goes down,they become ice frogs.2/3 of their body water freezes.Their hearts stop,and their breathing stops too.You may think they are dead,but in fact they are not.Maybe we humanscan learn thc way that the frogs do for medical purpose. | middle5398.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "in 1927"
},
"options": [
"in 1927",
"in 1955",
"in 1901",
"in 1966"
],
"question": "When did Walt Disney creative his Mickey Mouse ?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Walt Disney was born in 1901. He created the Mickey Mouse in 1927 . It made him very famous . He died in 1966, but his work and his dreams did not die. Now people all over the world enjoy his Mickey Mouse and other cartoons.
Walt Disney was a man who did not _ easily. One summer, he wanted a job in a post
office, but they told him that he was too young. He went home, drew some lines on his face. And put on his father's suit and hat. Then he went back to the same office and told them he was 18. He got the job finally.
Later in his life, Mr. Disney had a dream . He wanted to build a new kind of amusement park. It would be clean and beautiful. The children could play happily there and the adults could live in nice hotels . It would be fun for people of all ages . It was called Disneyland. Engineers told him it was an impossible dream. His family and friends thought he was mad. But Mr. Disney did not give up his idea. In1955, Disneyland opened to the public and became the most successful amusement park in the USA. Walt Disney's dream came true. | middle4086.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "some shops, restaurants and schools"
},
"options": [
"200,000 people",
"no hospitals",
"schools but no hospitals",
"some shops, restaurants and schools"
],
"question": "The Chinatown in New York has _ .",
... | What is a Chinatown? Is it a town in China? Of course not! It is in a foreign country. It is a place where many overseas Chinese live together.
There are lots of Chinatowns in America. The biggest one is in New York. There are about 150,000 people in it. It is the home of Chinese New Yorkers. And it is also a good place to go.
Shopping in Chinatown
Shopping in Chinatown is fun. You can find lots of things there. Most of them are made in China. Mott Street is the best place to shop because the things there are very cheap.
Eating in Chinatown
Chinatown has more than 200 restaurants. You can enjoy traditional Chinese food there. New Silver Palace Restaurant is one of the best restaurants. Why don't you have breakfast with a cup of green tea in it? You can eat some Shanghai food in Evergreen Restaurant.
Living in Chinatown
Living in Chinatown is comfortable. You can find hospitals, schools, banks, libraries and supermarkets in it. In some schools, students must study Chinese. Many overseas Chinese send their children to these schools. They want their children to learn more about China and its culture . | middle6849.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he often helps them"
},
"options": [
"he often helps them",
"he looks down upon them",
"he thinks himself the cleverest",
"he knows more than any other child"
],
"question": "The children like John because _ ... | John is a good boy. He studies hard and is never late for school. He has a lot of friends. And he often helps them and they like him. But he always thinks himself the cleverest in his class and looks down upon others.
This term a new student, Fred, comes to his class. He's thin and short and never talks with the boys. So no children know him well. And John laugh at him.But he doesn't mind it at all.
One day John goes to Mike's birthday party. He sings, dance and show all his talents to the children. After that he says to Fred, "What are you going to show us, my friend?"
"I'm not clever," says Fred."Can you guess some of my riddles ?"
"Certainly, I can,"says John.
Fred tells some riddles, but John can't guess any.At last the boy says,"Now I'll tell the easiest riddle. Listen to me carefully. You'll guess it this time. An animal has two heads, six legs, a long nose and a short nose. Can you tell me what it is?"
John thinks hard and hard, but can't guess it. His face turn red and says,"What's it?"
"It's a man riding an elephant!"
John doesn't say anything any longer at the party. | middle6691.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a good place"
},
"options": [
"a good place",
"some trees",
"to sit on eggs",
"to make a bird net"
],
"question": "We need _ near a bird nest if we want to watch and know about birds.",
"question_type": ... | If we find a bird nest , we will have a good place of watching and knowing about birds. Birds sit on eggs and take care of their babies from April to June. Because the baby birds are too young to leave the nest, parents often go to look for food and come back in several minutes. So it is good to watch birds. When we watch birds, we'd better hide ourselves in a close place to the nest, and it's better to use binoculars .
But how do we make a bird nest? A good bird nest must be very fine, strong, thick and comfortable. If you want to make one, please follow these:
a) Each nest must have six boards for its cover and floor, for its left and right sides, and for its front and back sides. Don't make the boards too slippery .
b) Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a "door". The "door" is big enough so birds can fly in or out easily.
c) Make sure the rainwater can't go into the nest.
d) One piece of the board should be easy to open.
e) Don't forget to colour the nest. | middle1698.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "tell him their ideas and feelings"
},
"options": [
"give him lunch money",
"know him very well",
"tell him their ideas and feelings",
"give him some clothes"
],
"question": "Jerry would like to make friends with... | Cindy, Jerry and Mary are giving their opinions about a good friend.
Cindy: I think a good friend should be honest . That's more important than any other thing and is where a good friendship starts. _
Jerry: I think a good friend has to be generous. Here "generous" doesn't mean he has to give his friends his lunch money or his clothes. It means he should share his ideas and feelings with his friends. In fact, his friends can know him better in this way.
Mary: In my opinion a good friend should understand his friends. When there's something wrong between him and his friends, he must put himself in his friends' place and think more for his friends. | middle1840.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Ten"
},
"options": [
"Six",
"Seven",
"Nine",
"Ten"
],
"question": "How many classes are there in Grade 7at Amy's school?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": ... | Hi, my name is Amy. I am a Grade 7 student, and I would like to tell you something about my class and myself.
There are ten classes in Grade 7.In each class, there are about forty students. I think that my class, Class 4 is the best .That is because all the students in my class work very hard and the teachers are all very nice to the students. But I am not one of the best students in the class.
I love reading, and I am very good at Chinese and English. I don't find Maths very interesting, so I am not good at it. I want to work hard at it. My teacher, classmates and my parents would like to help me with my Maths. | middle2391.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all of the above"
},
"options": [
"unhappy",
"unhealthy",
"tired",
"all of the above"
],
"question": "Too much homework makes the students feel _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answe... | Nowadays, lots of students in Shenzhen complain that they have too much homework. Because of this, they feel unhappy about learning at school. According to a survey, a pupil has to spend two hours finishing the homework every day. It usually takes three hours for a middle school student and four hours for a high school student to finish the homework every day. Students in Grade Nine often do their homework until midnight. And all of them have to get up at as early as six o'clock the next morning.
Mr. Li, a doctor in a hospital, told me yesterday, "Half of the students in Shenzhen are sub-healthy . The lack of sleep makes them tired and their health is becoming poorer and poorer." Many parents worry about _ . | middle4938.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "ten years"
},
"options": [
"ten months",
"one year",
"five years",
"ten years"
],
"question": "I have been away from my hometown for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | I have returned to my hometown after I was away ten years ago. So many things have changed around here. It has become better and better. When I left here, there was a small pool on the right of my house. Now the pool has gone and people have built a large shopping mall there.
The biggest changes have taken place in the center of the city. There are sidewalks on both sides of the street. You can see a street center with so many tall buildings around. You can't drive there any more because no vehicle is allowed to pass there. A European-style fountain has been built in the street center garden.
There used to be an old school near my house. I spent my five years studying there. There was a small payground in front of the school. But now what I can see are five tall buildings standing there. There are two big classroom buildings and a library. A new post office has also been built just across from the new school. | middle2385.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In a shop."
},
"options": [
"At school.",
"In the classroom.",
"In a shop.",
"At a party."
],
"question": "Where does Rick work? _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Rick is a good man.He makes birthday cakes in a shop.His cakes are great and have very good prices,so many people buy his cakes.He makes friends with lots of his customers .They all like him very much.One evening.he wants to go home,but many of his old customers come in.Rick smiles to them,"I am sorry.It is late today.If you need cakes,please come tomorrow."One of them takes out a nice cake and says to him,"You make so many great cakes for us.This birthday cake is for you.Happy birthday, Rick." | middle318.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "yes, thank you"
},
"options": [
"yes, thank you",
"No, thanks",
"No, I'm sorry",
"Yes, why not"
],
"question": "If Americans want something, they would say\" _ \".",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | Americans are very direct people. When they want something, they say"Yes", and when they don't, they say "No".If they want something different from what is given, they ask for it. Here's an example : I arrive at someone's house and he or she gives me wine, but I don't want wine. Maybe I don't like it or maybe I just don't want it. I will say "No thanks". If everyone around me is drinking something, I would ask for something else,"No thanks. But I'll take a bit of tea if you have some." It's a polite way to ask something you really want. If I really want wine, I just say "Yes, thank you". Unless they happen know the Chinese customs(;), _ will not ask you again and again after you to eat or drink something.
,,. (10) | middle1854.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "how to keep your valuables safe while traveling"
},
"options": [
"what to do while traveling",
"how to carry your valuables on your person",
"how to keep your valuables safe while traveling",
"how to save money while tr... | While traveling, you'll be taking money, license or passport. Or you will buy something expensive to take back home with you and you don't want it to get stolen. Here are some ideas on how to keep your valuables safe while traveling
Plan ahead of time
Think of what you really need and don't need to take on your trip. Only take the valuables that you must have, not just ones that you would like to have.
Carry your valuables on your person
Something that is small, like cash and credit cards and your passport, can be carried in a money wallet around your neck or in a money belt. This way, your valuables are hidden and right next to you, where you know where they are at all times. Wear clothing that can hide the money belt.
Carry larger valuables in your carry-on bag.
If you can't fit it in your money wallet like some large valuables, you'd better put them somewhere that you will keep touch with them. Your can put them on the plane, so you don't have to worry about the airline losing your bag or someone stealing it from the belt after the flight before you get to it.
Choose a hotel that has the front desk for valuables.
This way, you don't have to worry about housekeeping getting hold of your valuables, or someone stealing your valuables if your room is broken into. If you give the valuables to the front desk to keep for you, choose a time when others are not looking. | middle6685.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the kids may not be accepted by universities in their own countries"
},
"options": [
"they hope their children may easily find a job there",
"the kids may not be accepted by universities in their own countries",
"all foreign ... | In Canada and the United States, there is a new group of children called "satellite kids", who live in one place but whose parents live in another place.
Asians are immigrating to Canada and the United States in larger numbers than ever believe that they can give their children a better education in the west. In Asia, especially in China, Japan, and Korea, it is difficult to go to university. Students must first pass the strict national examination. However, in Canada and the United States, it is easy to go to university, and anyone who wants to go can go. As a result, Asian parents decide to leave their countries so that their children can go to university.
The problem is that when Asians arrive, they discover that finding a job and making money are more difficult in the West than in the East. Also, they find that they are very lonely, and that they miss their homes. Because of these two reasons, most Asian parents decide to go back to work while their children study in the West. Therefore, these two reasons, most Asian parents decide to go back to work while their children study in the west. Therefore, these children become satellite kids", and most of their parents do not know how sad it is to be a "satellite kid".
Only until now are Canadians and Americans discovering the "satellite kids" problem. Because these children do mot speak English and because their parents are not there to take care of them, they are often absent from school. To be a "satellite kid" means growing up in a country where you know you are different and where you cannot make friends because you do not speak English well. Also, it means growing up lonely, because your parents are elsewhere. What these "satellite kids "will probably say to their parents is that it's better to have parents around than to have a university education.
,. | middle3925.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "One Computer Every Child gave them computers."
},
"options": [
"They go to school every day.",
"They have good teachers.",
"One Computer Every Child gave them computers.",
"They can learn from books."
],
"questi... | The children in the village wear dirty, cheap clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in small houses. They have no school. But they can write 26 English letters, and some know a few English words.
How did it happen? It was because a U.S. group called One Computer Every Child offered them 20 computers.
Can children teach themselves to read when they have no schools or teachers but have the help of today's new technology ? The goal of the group is to find out the answer. And the results are exciting.
"The children are learning more than they would in one year of school," said Matt Keller, who organized the programme.
The fastest learner was an eight-year-old boy called Kelbesa Negusse. He said that he himself was like a lion.
Keller said, "Seven months ago he didn't know any English. But now he has known many words. I think if you give them food and water they will never leave the computer room. They will spend day and night there."
Kelbesa said, "I like the computer because I can learn things with it." He added, "I know many English words, like dog, monkey, horse, sheep, cow, pig and cat."
Keller said that One Computer Every Child was planning a programme for children who couldn't go to school. | middle3716.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "mostly lies within the Arctic Circle"
},
"options": [
"is the largest country in Europe",
"lies just on top of Europe",
"is connected with Denmark and Norway",
"mostly lies within the Arctic Circle"
],
"question... | Greenland is the largest island in the world.It covers over 2,000,000 square kilometers.Most of the island lies inside the Arctic Circle ,and a huge sheet of icecovers 85% of its area.
Along the sea mountains rising from the sea,there are a few low trees in the southwest,but no forests.In winter snow covers everything,but in summer very low plants cover the ground between the sea and the ice sheet.Norwegians were the first Europeans to see the island in AD 875,but no one visited it until 982.Three years later a few Norwegians went to live there.In 1261 the people in Greenland decided to join Norway.Norway and Denmark united in 1380.This union ended in 1814,and Greenland stayed with Denmark.Greenland is fifty times larger than Denmark,but it is still part of this small country. | middle5367.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Basketball"
},
"options": [
"Football",
"Basketball",
"Ping-pong",
"Swimming"
],
"question": "What sport does Daniel like?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | What sport do you like best?
Daniel: I like basketball best. I often watch NBA. I play basketball every day. I am short, but I am strong. I am a good basketball player in our school.
Lucy: Ping-ping is my favourite sport. I am a Chinese and Chinese ping-pong players are the best in the world. I want to be a good ping-pong player too. I often play it every afternoon.
Tom: I am tall and strong. I like football best. My father is a football player. I often watch my father play football. My father often teaches me to play football. I play with my father and others in the park every day. | middle2408.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "recognize the comers"
},
"options": [
"warn the strangers",
"recognize the comers",
"stop the visitors",
"welcome the children"
],
"question": "The new camera made by Netatmo can _ .",
"question_type": "... | A new camera made by a company named Netatmo has facial recognition software that can tell parents at work that their children have returned from school, or that a package has been taken to their home. It can also tell them if a stranger has entered their home.
Janina Mattausch is a product marketing manager for Netatmo.
"The common security cameras at present are not that smart. So, they can tell you if something is moving but they don't necessarily know if it's a human being or, ah, if it's your kids --they don't know the difference, so they will warn you all the time. "
When family members enter a home, the new camera "recognizes" ( ) them and sends information to the owner's smartphone. The owner can choose to see the video then or latcr. But if an unknown person enters a home, the camera will send the owner a warning that will cause an alarm to sound on the owner's smartphone.
That is what happened recently to a smart home camera owncr named Darrmen. He lives in Paris.
"On a Friday I was at work,atending a big monthly meeting when my phone warned. At first I told myself 'Oh, it must be a mistake, maybe I have to set the systcm again. ' -but the notice on my phone was telling me that there was a movement in my flat and also a face that the software did not recognize. "
He watched the video and was very surprised by what he saw.
"I saw a person I did not know with his shoes on. I was watching it live on vidco. So I felt totaly unbelievable, frozen. I asked a workmate to take me back home as fast as possible and I callcd the police on the way. "
With the help of the video, the police found the intruder later that day. | middle7570.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Climbed the mountains."
},
"options": [
"Rode camels.",
"Sold vegetables.",
"Climbed the mountains.",
"Fished on the east coast."
],
"question": "According to the passage,what didn't the fathers and their childr... | Since last year, Where Are We Going, Dad? has become the most popular TV shows.On the show, the five fathers and their children traveled around China riding camels through the western deserts , fishing on the east coast, and selling vegetables for their bus fare in southwestern Yunnan province.
One dad doesn't know how to do his daughter's hair, so some people try to help him.Another one must survive with his son for three days in the desert because the father can't cook,they only eat instant noodles .
Why is Where Are We Going, Dad? so popular? Because it is about how Chinese parents look after their kids. The show makes modern parents think about what they should do with their kids.In traditional Chinese culture,the father is strict and the mother is kind.But on the show, we see fathers who are much gentle on their kids and more involved in their upbringing ."said Li Minyi, a professor of early childhood education .
In the past, children were taught by their parents' wishes and look after _ in their old age.But today Chinese parents realize that respecting their children's choices may be a better way to prepare them for modem society.As they raise their children,parents are growing up at the same time. | middle7216.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve years"
},
"options": [
"thirteen years",
"nine years",
"twelve years",
"eleven years"
],
"question": "The elementary and secondary education together take the children _ to complete in the USA.",
... | Most Americans start to school at the age of five when they enter kindergarten . Children do not really study at this time. They only attend for half the day and learn what school is like. Children attend elementary school for the next six years. They learn to read and write and work with numbers. They also study the world and its people. After they leave elementary school, children go to junior high school for three years and senior high school for another three years. This is called secondary education. In some places, the children go to elementary school for eight years and high school for four. In all, elementary and secondary education together take twelve years to complete excluding kindergarten.
,. (2,10) | middle6108.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A businessman gives advice to a fisherman."
},
"options": [
"A businessman and a fisherman have become friends.",
"A businessman learns how to fish from a fisherman.",
"A businessman wants to become a businessman.",
"A ... | Martin Lynch, an American businessman, had been going on vacation to a small Mexican fishing village for a number of ears. One morning while going for a walk along the beach, he saw his friend Pablo Perez, a local fisherman. Martin watched Pablo _ his boat and pack the fish in a box.
Martin noticed Pablo was smiling and looked very happy. He could also see several large fish in the boat. Martin greeted Pablo and asked how long it took to catch the fish. "Just a few hours," replied Pablo. Martin asked, "Why didn't you stay longer and catch more fish?" "I have enough for my family," Pablo said. "And what do you do with the rest of your day?" asked Martin. "I take a nap, play with my children, spend time with my wife, and go into the village to see my friends and play cards, I have a full and busy life." Martin explained that if Pablo worked longer hours and caught more fish, he could make more money. With the extra money, Pablo could buy more boats and catch money more fish. By selling the fish, Pablo could open his own factory and sell direct to supermarkets.
"Then what?" asked Pablo. "Well you would probably have to move to Mexico City to run the business. Finally, you would be able to sell your business and make millions of dollars," replied Martin. "How long will that take?" asked Pablo.
Martin thought for a while and said it would probably take at least 15 years.
"And then what" asked Pablo.
"Well, that's the best part," Martin said. "You will be able to retire, buy a house near the ocean, sleep longer, play with your children, spend more time with your wife, see your friends, and play cards." | middle1667.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "is near a park"
},
"options": [
"is near a park",
"is beside the sea",
"has no furniture",
"can't be used now."
],
"question": "From the above we can learn that the Happy Village flat _ .",
"question_type"... | Share Flat Happy Village big flat, 1 room ready for use immediately, with all necessary furniture and appliances. 3 minutes' walk to underground station, 2 blocks from shopping center, park view, $2100 including bills, female nonsmoker, no pet.
Sara 25720836 or 10077809Moving Sale 2 armchairs, red/brown at $400 each; coffee table, black, wood, $800; oil painting, big, $900; Tianjin carpet, green, 3*7, $600; double bed, $500; mirror, big, square, $500; fridge, big double-door, $1000; old pictures, $140 each.
Mr. Brown, Tel Weekend, 25216011, Weekday, 25245867
Part-time Lab Assistant Wanted Required by busy electronics company to help with development of computer, should have an electronic degree and some experience of working in an electronic lab. Hours 9:00am--1:00pm, Monday - Friday
Salary 6,598 - 10,230 dependent on experience
Letter of application to Mrs. G Chan NOVA ELECTRONICS, 45 Shanxi RD, Shanghai | middle5401.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The phrase \" with tears1 \" means that the apple tree was sad because the boy asked for too much."
},
"options": [
"The phrase \" with tears1 \" means that the apple tree was sad because the boy asked for too much.",
"The phrase \... | Once there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by ...The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad , " Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy. "I'm no longer a kid. I wouldn't play around the tree any more. " The boy replied. "I want toys. I need money to buy them. " " Sorry, I don't have money. But you can pick all my apples and sell them. So you will have money. " The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me, " the tree said. "I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help?" " Sorry , I don't have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house. " So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was pleased. " Come and play with me ! " the tree said. "I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me boat?" " Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy. " So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. " Sorry, my boy. But I don't have anything for you any more. The only thing left is my dying root ." The tree said _ . "I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I'm tired after all these years," the boy replied.
"Good! Old tree root is the best place to lean on and rest. Come and sit down with me and rest. " The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled _ . | middle3070.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "He will visit his grandpa."
},
"options": [
"He will go to William's house for fun.",
"He will stay at home.",
"He will visit his grandpa.",
"He will exercise in a park."
],
"question": "What will Kevin do this ... | Dear William,
It's 2:25 am. I can't sleep. There is something that I have to tell you. Our grandfather feels bad and gets very sick. He had a fever for the whole day yesterday. So, Aunt Ruby sent him to the hospital last night. Did your father tell you _ ? Mike and I planned to go to New Town to visit him this weekend. Do you want to go with us? Maybe we can cheer him up.
Grandpa took care of us when we were little. After grandma died, he spent lots of his time being with us. He helped our parents a lot. He changed diapers for us, stayed with us when we were sick, and took us to a park every day. He was so nice to us. We have to do something for him now. As we know, _
Please call me when you see this email. I have to buy the train tickets today.
Yours,
Kevin | middle5415.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "draw our attention to Internet jargons"
},
"options": [
"explain some Internet jargons",
"suggest common Internet jargons",
"laugh at the Beijing father",
"draw our attention to Internet jargons"
],
"question": ... | Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum asking what "PK" meant.
"My family has been watching the 'I Am the Singer' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the "I Am the Singer" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition raking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at Middle schools have also been finding their students using _ which are difficult to understand. A teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write the compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. I loved to 'FB' with him together; he always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" is Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl)."FB" means Fu Bai (corruption)."KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language. If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, meaning an ugly looking femal) or a Qing Wa (frog, meaning an ugly looking male ) is, you will possibly be regarded as a CaiNiao! | middle3064.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "on Dec. 10 2012"
},
"options": [
"in October ,2012",
"in February ,2013",
"on Dec. 10 2012",
"on Thursday"
],
"question": "Mo Yan will go to Stockholm for the ceremony _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_ques... | Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced Peter, the Secretary of the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday. The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10. The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 8 million Swedish Kronor (about 1 million U.S. dollars).
Mo Yan was born in 1955 and grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. As a 12-year-old during that very unordinary time, he left school to work, first as a farmer like his parents, later as a worker in a factory. He didn't begin to study literature or write until he joined the People's Liberation Army in 1976. His first short story was published in 1981. In his writing, Mo Yan draws the readers' attention to his youthful experiences and the cultures in the province of his birth. His novel Hong Gaoliang Jiazu (1987, in English Red Sorghum 1993), which consists of five stories was successfully filmed in 1987, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In addition to his novels, Mo Yan has published many short stories and essays on many different topics.
his stories have been translated into English, French , Japanese and many other languages.
Mo Yan not only brings a great shot to the world but also a great joy to China. | middle8131.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "six"
},
"options": [
"four",
"five",
"six",
"seven"
],
"question": "There are _ people in the family. .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answ... | It's Sunday morning. My parents, my uncle, my sisters and I are all at home.My father is sitting near the window. What is he doing? He is reading a newspaper. He wants to know what happens all over the world. My mother is watering the flowers in the small garden. There are some beautiful flowers in it. Some are red, and the others are yellow. They look nice. My uncle is my mother's brother. He is a worker. He is watching TV now. He is a basketball fan . And he is good at playing basketball. Now he is watching NBA on TV.
Where are my sisters? Lily is over there, and she is listening to the radio . She likes popular music very much. Lucy is in her room. She has a computer. Now she is surfing the Internet. She is writing an e-mail to her friend. What am I doing? I am doing my homework. | middle7202.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because Mr Miller wouldn't pay for her work."
},
"options": [
"Because that was her first part-time job.",
"Because Mr Miller had no time for him.",
"Because she wanted to go home.",
"Because Mr Miller wouldn't pay for ... | When I was 14, I decided to make some pocket money by mowing lawns in summer. I worked hard because that was my first part-time job. After working for one week, Mr Miller said that he had no money for me. Oh, dear! He wouldn't pay for my work! That surprised me greatly. I argued with him, and then I went back home.
My parents told me not to complain about Mr Miller. He was in difficulties. Then my mother call up Mr Miller and they talked about something on the phone. A few days later, my mother asked me to return to Mr Miller's garden, because he was too weak to look after it.
When I came back, Mr Miller said, "Sorry, I have no money, but I can do something for you." He played CD for me. Hearing the beautiful music, I was so interested in it that I forgot the money and did the work with pleasure. At last, Mr Miller gave me a ticket to a concert.
After that, I became very interested in music. And now, I have been a popular musician. I should thank Mr Miller greatly. | middle1673.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in their car"
},
"options": [
"by bus",
"in their car",
"by bike",
"on foot"
],
"question": "The husband and the wife went shopping _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | One day, my wife and I went shopping. We took the car as we had a lot of things to buy because my brother and his family were going to spend the weekend with us. We stopped the car in front of the shop. An hour later we came back to the car with a lot of things. Then the trouble started. We could not open the car door. "Oh, dear," said my wife. "What are we going to do?" "Let's ask that policeman," I said. The policeman was very kind and glad to help us. Soon he got the door open. Just at that moment an angry man came up and shouted. "What are you doing with my car?" We looked at the number of the car, and our faces turned very red. | middle1115.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "lost a piece of its own"
},
"options": [
"spent much time talking with insects",
"wanted to enjoy the sunshine",
"was looking for its missing piece",
"lost a piece of its own"
],
"question": "The circle rolled v... | Once a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete ,it could only roll very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with insects . It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fitted. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece. Then one day the circle found a piece that fitted perfectly, it put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole, with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to insects. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left the piece it found by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.
Sometimes, we are perfect when we lose something. A man who has everything is a poor man in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something better.
We couldn't be perfect, but we must be brave enough to love, kind enough to share happiness with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us. | middle481.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Fat."
},
"options": [
"Tall.",
"Short.",
"Thin.",
"Fat."
],
"question": "What does Tom look like?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text":... | Tom is a fat boy when he is ten. He likes watching TV very much. He watches TV at least 5 hours every day. Wherever he goes, he will be late.
One day, he finds a pair of special glasses in his post-box. He also finds a message saying, "With these you can see time."
The boy wants to have a try. He puts the glasses on, looks at his brother, a tall and thin boy, and sees a big box of flowers on top of his head. And it isn't just like his brother. When he looks at his parents, he also sees the flowers. The three boxes are very beautiful. Then, he looks at himself from the mirror. He sees the flowers, too. But his flowers goes to the mouth of the television. Its mouth is big. His flowers becomes fewer and fewer.
At last, he learns that watching TV is a _ of time. He can learn nothing from it. He decides he will never again let the television eat his time. | middle7564.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "protect your head"
},
"options": [
"protect your body",
"protect your head",
"help your bike riding",
"protect your arms"
],
"question": "If you wear a helmet in your bike riding on the road,it can _ .",
"... | Do you like travelling ?More and more students like riding bikes to travel on the road.But it may be dangerous on your trip.For your own safety ,do the following things.
Wear a bike helmet and it can protect your head.Look for a helmet that fits you well.Even the best,most expensive helmet won't protect you if it doesn't fit.
Wear the right clothes.They can make you feel better.And they can also protect you.Bright-colored clothes help people see you clearly-even in the daytime.Don't wear dark-colored clothes like black or brown while riding a bike.
Keep the rules of the road while riding a bike.Always ride on the right side of the street in the same _ .Never change your direction without first looking behind you.Don't ride too closely to cars-the cars may stop and the doors open suddenly !Finally,don't wear earphones while riding a bike-you need to hear what's going on around you. | middle5373.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "taxi driver"
},
"options": [
"watch maker",
"taxi driver",
"farmer",
"policeman"
],
"question": "Joe is a _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"ans... | Joe is a taxi driver. Now, after working for a long time, he is very tired. So he lies down on the chair in his car, and wants to have a sleep.
But a man comes up to his car, and asks, "Excuse me, what's the time, please?"
Joe is a little unhappy ,but he looks at his watch ,and says, "It's 10:15."
The man thanks Joe and goes away. Joe says to himself, "Now I can go back to sleep again."
But at 10:20,another man comes up and asks the same question, " Excuse me, sir, what's the time, please?"
Joe can't sleep again. He has to tell his man the time. In ten minutes, four people come to his car and ask the time. He is very friendly, but he wants to sleep. So he writes "I don't know the time." on a piece of paper and puts the paper outside the window of his car."Now no one will come and ask me the time."
But he is wrong! Look, another man is coming up to his car. He is knocking loudly at the window of Joe's car. Joe wakes up. The man says, "It's 10:50 now, sir!" | middle6652.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "move around and do the programmed work"
},
"options": [
"guard factories, warehouses and museums",
"send loud, painful sirens when it is stolen",
"sense moving objects and signal police",
"move around and do the program... | Many companies use guards and expensive alarm systems to protect their property . Soon a new kind of protection will be used--robots. Engineers have been working on the first mobile robots for businesses. The robots will guard factories, warehouses and museums at night.
The mobile robots will move around slowly on wheels. They will be able to detect(,) people through walls and pick up sounds, such as breaking glass. They can be fixed with loud sirens to frighten thieves, or radios to signal police or guards.
To protect a building, a robot will have to move around without knocking into the walls. Information about the building will have to be stored in the robot's small, built-in computer. A floor map could be programmed into the computer's memory, for example.
A mobile robot will not be able to do everything. Unlike human guards, it will not be able to climb stairs, open doors, or move along rough ground. It won't be able to tell the difference between friends and enemies. Because of that, people will have to be prevented from entering the area it moves.
One kind of mobile robot will be able to "sense" whether a chair or a box has been moved and go around it. This robot will also judge size well enough so that it won't send an alarm if a cat crosses the room. And if someone tries to steal this robot, it will sound a loud, painful siren. The three-foot-tall robot is hard to be stolen anyway. It weighs about 200 pounds.
U.S. companies pay almost $10 billion a year to protect their property with alarm systems and human guards. Mobile robots may be cheaper. | middle4045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "August 5"
},
"options": [
"April 5",
"August 5",
"April 21",
"August 21"
],
"question": "Xu Jiao's birthday is on _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,... | Have you seen the movie Changjiang 7(CJ7)?The story is about a boy called Dickey. He lives a poor life with his father. His father doesn't have any money to buy toys for him. One day his father finds him a strange toy from a junkyard . Dickey names it Changjiang 7 (CJ7). It is an alien dog. It can do many things that humans can not do. Dickey takes it to school to help him in many ways.
CJ7 is a popular movie. Xu Jiao,born on August 5,1997 in Ningbo,Zhejiang,plays Dickey. On April 21,the girl won Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards for her play in CJ7.Now Xu Jiao becomes a new film star. She is well-known especially among young kids. Many of them want to own such a helpful toy as CJ7.
Xu once said it was difficult to play a boy. "To get an idea of what a boy is like," she said,"I watched boys and I also studied and played with them a lot." | middle2434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "read papers"
},
"options": [
"talk",
"stand",
"eat something",
"read papers"
],
"question": "On the bus, the English people often _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | In England, people don't often talk much. You can get on a bus or a train,and everyone sits looking out of the window.
Often they read books and papers, but they don't talk much. When you meet English people they often talk about one thing--weather . So when you meet somebody in England, you can say, "Nice weather for the time of year!" "But it is a little cold today," somebody may answer. "But it will be a little warmer later,"you can say. Talk like this, and the English people will think," How friendly you are !" | middle2352.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Lead"
},
"options": [
"Iron",
"Silk.",
"Lead",
"Gold"
],
"question": "What do most hair dyes contain?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_te... | Colorful hair speaks more about beauty. Now it becomes popular and people are dyeing their hair to make it different. Dyeing hair with natural products is good for health while dyeing with chemicals is harmful. Researches have found that dyeing hair with chemicals can make people have cancer.
Lead is very harmful for the human body and it is used in most hair dyes. Since the base of hair is the scalp ,you may have allergic reaction .
While dyeing your hair it is important to take some safety measures. You can follow them even when you are applying dye on your hair at home.
* It is better to apply hair dye for a few minutes. If you leave your hair with dye, longer than the necessary time,then you may get some skin problems.
* Don't forget to wear gloves while applying dye on the hair. This will protect the skin of your
hands.
* After applying hair dye it is important to wash your hair with water.
* Hair dyes are made of chemicals. If you mix different hair dyes ,there may be chemical reaction. So, It is not a good idea to mix different hair dyes at the same time.
* Finally all the bags of hair dyes carry the directions( ) Try to follow them very carefully. This will lower the chance of allergic reaction. | middle1883.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "right"
},
"options": [
"important",
"unfair",
"wrong",
"right"
],
"question": "More Americans realized that it was not _ to treat black people differently from white people.",
"question_type": "cloze_quest... | Every January we celebrate the life of a great man, Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. He believed that all Americans should be treated fairly, no matter what their skin colors were.
Dr. King was born in 1929 in Atlanta. Because he was black, he could not go to the same schools as white children. Black Americans also had to use separate restrooms, restaurants, theaters and swimming pools in some states.
Dr. King thought this was wrong. He was a Christian minister who worked for equal rights for black people. He helped organize _ to change those unfair laws.
It was a hard fight. Dr. King was attracted and arrested many times. But more and more Americans grew to understand that it was wrong to treat black people differently from white people.
In 1963, Dr. King led many people in a march to Washington, D. C. where there he gave his famous speech "I Have a Dream". He said people should be judged by their hearts, not by their skin colors. His efforts helped bring about new laws to create equal rights for all Americans.
The third Monday of January is a holiday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. We should respect his courage in working to improve the lives of so many people. | middle6134.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A Greenwich Village modal."
},
"options": [
"The Statue of Liberty.",
"Superman.",
"His serf-portrait.",
"A Greenwich Village modal."
],
"question": "What did Nathan put on his desk at college?",
"question_t... | Nathan Sawaya's childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and played with plastic toy bricks . His grandparents bought his first set of toy bricks when he was five years old and he's been building with toy bricks ever since. He even took his building bricks to college with him! Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village made of bricks on his desk.
Nathan started as a lawyer but gave up His highly-paid job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks in his working room in New York which he uses to make pieces of art. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait . It took him two days just to build the eyes.
Nathan's work has appeared in museums around the world. Children love his art because it is made out of the same toys that they play with at home and adults love his work because it is fascinating. Since it began in2007, Nathan's exhibition "The Art of the Brick" has been very popular with museum visitors everywhere.
"I'm proud that I took a dream I had as a child, to become an artist, and I have actually made a job out of it," says Nathan. "To do what you love in life is the most important thing." | middle1897.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He is a worker."
},
"options": [
"He is a worker.",
"He is a teacher.",
"He is a doctor.",
"He is a farmer."
],
"question": "What does Mr Smith do?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer... | Mr Smith works in a factory in the middle of the city. The factory is not far from his home. It is about 800 meters away. So Mr Smith doesn't go to work by bus. He usually goes there by bike, sometimes he walks to work. It takes him 10 minutes to get there by bike or 20 minutes on foot. He usually leaves home at ten minutes to eight. Today something is wrong with his bike. He wants to walk there. His work starts at half past eight in the morning and finishes at a quarter to five in the afternoon.
,. | middle2346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "about four years"
},
"options": [
"one year",
"half a year",
"about four years",
"two years"
],
"question": "I travel to work by bus for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | If you go to visit London, you'll see a lot of buses and cars on the road. You'll also see many bikes because more people travel by bike. Why? There are many reasons. First, it is very cheap to buy a bike, and it is quick, too. You often need to wait for a bus for half an hour. When the bus comes, there are so many other buses and cars on the roads, so the bus moves very slowly.
I travel to work by bus for about four years. I often arrive at work late and feel tired. Then one day, a friend of mine says, "I go to work by bike. Why don't we travel together?" "Because my bike is old, and there are so many buses and cars on the roads. I'll feel frightened." I answer. "Don't be afraid, if you follow me and we ride slowly, you'll be fine." he says.
Later, I buy a new bike. We go slowly, but we arrive at work quickly. I spend 40 minutes going by bus, but only half an hour by bike! Now I love riding a bike. And I feel healthy. Many people think my idea is good and maybe you'll see more bikes on the road in the future. | middle4737.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Listening carefully."
},
"options": [
"Walking slowly.",
"Listening carefully.",
"Standing sadly.",
"Writing quickly."
],
"question": "What is Holmes doing while Helen is telling her story?",
"question_type"... | "My dear lady," says Holmes. "You're shaking. Are you cold? Do you want a cup of hot tea?"
"I'm not cold," the woman replies, "I fear for my life!"
"We are here to help you. Don't worry about anything. I don't know you. But I know many things about you. For example, I know how you travel. You came to London by train. You also ride to the train station on a horse-drawn wagon ."[:]
"Why, yes. You're right. But how do you know these things?"
"I see a return ticket in your glove. I see fresh mud on the left arm of your dress. Now tell us your problem."
"My name is Helen Stoner," she states, "My mother and father are dead. I am living with my stepfather , Dr Grimesby Roylott. He comes from a rich family. But they are no longer rich. They have nothing except a small piece of land and a big old house. We are living in the house. Dr Roylott is using my mother's money for expenses . Part of it was for my sister and me. It was for our marriages."
Holmes is sitting in his chair. His eyes are closed. He is listening carefully to Helen's story. He hears every detail.
Helen continues. "My stepfather has no friends. He fights with everyone. He is strong and gets angry quickly. Everyone is afraid of him."
"He has no friends at all?" asks Holmes.
"No. He talks to no one except the gypsies . They are poor people who travel from place to place. A band of gypsies is staying on our land right now."
"Are you and your sister afraid of the gypsies?"
"My dear Mr Holmes. You are making me so sad. My sister is dead. That is why I am standing here in this room." | middle3058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because they feel and bounce alike."
},
"options": [
"Because they are easier to control.",
"Because they waste less material.",
"Because they look exactly alike.",
"Because they feel and bounce alike."
],
"ques... | In fall 2006,the National Basketball Association (NBA)started using basketballs made with synthetic ,or man-made ,material instead of leather .They made the change be- cause they wanted every basketball they use to feel and bounce the same.Not all leather balls are exactly alike in weight or how they bounce,but the synthetic balls are.
However,some players complained right away that the new balls bounced differently and were actually harder to control than the leather ones.
Physics helped answer questions about why the new balls felt different.For example,the scientists studied friction ,which in this case affects the ability of a player to hold onto a ball."The greater the friction,the better it will stick to his hand,"explains a scientist.
Tests on both wet and dry balls showed that while the synthetic ball was easier to hold onto when dry,it had less friction and became much harder to hold onto when wet.That's because _ stays on the surface of the synthetic balls but gets taken into the leather balls.
The scientists also tested bounce and found that the logo printed on the new balls made their surface uneven and caused them to bounce a little strangely com- pared with the leather balls.
In January,the NBA went back to using the leather balls.They aren't perfect,but for now,that's just the way the ball bounces. | middle4051.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "children"
},
"options": [
"men",
"women",
"children",
"boys"
],
"question": "It is not a good idea for _ to have to work hard.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | It is not a good idea for children to have to work hard. Children should study in school as hard as they can. They should not have to do heavy work with their bodies. When parents or others force their children to work hard, the results are never good. Many may be very bad. If a farmer makes his son work like a man, he may easily learn to hate farming.
Children sometimes do too much in gardens, in shops, or even in their own homes. They soon begin to hate such work with a force, because that can destroy their happiness. But there may be a worse loss, child's love for its parents. The feeling may become something different. When that happens, the old kind of love never returns. | middle2420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "English classes"
},
"options": [
"Chinese classes",
"P. E. classes",
"English classes",
"music classes"
],
"question": "Zhang Xin has five _ every week.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | Hello, everyone! I am Zhang Xin. Do you know what I see in America? Well, it is really an interesting trip. Now, 1et me tell you what I find in this trip.
In China, I have five English classes every week. When I study English,my teacher teaches me to say "I am fine" when people ask me "How are you?" But in the US., I find people say "I am good," or "I' m not so good."
One day, someone says to me with "What's up?" But I don't know what to say.
All the girls want to be nice. US girls like to get at a _ in the sun. But in China, girls only want to get white.
In China, study comes first, so we study hard and that's it. But in the US, a "good" student also does much for others , and they play sports or music after school.
After I come back from the US, I think for a long time. I can't forget this trip! | middle6646.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "On April 20th."
},
"options": [
"On April 18th.",
"On April 19th.",
"On April 20th.",
"On April 25th."
],
"question": "When is Lu Han's birthday?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | How do you usually celebrate your birthday? Playing a soccer game may not be your first choice. But Lu Han, the former EXO singer, did just that and showed has an unusual side of him.
Lu Han celebrated his 25th birthday by playing a soccer game with players from Beijing No.47 High School on April 19th in Beijing, a day before his birthday. He scored three goals in the game.
Lu Han has often shown on Weibo that he is a big soccer fan and his favorite soccer team is Manchester United. He said more than once that he used to dream of becoming a professional soccer player.
So what was Lu Han's performance like on the pitch ?Fan Zhiyi, the former captain of the Chinese national soccer team, played with Lu Han in a friendly match in 2013. He thought that Lu Han is a top amateur player.
,A, B, C, D. | middle7558.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "On their horses."
},
"options": [
"In a boat.",
"On their horses.",
"By swimming.",
"By building a bridge."
],
"question": "How did they cross the river?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"... | One day, Tomas Jefferson, the president of the USA, was crossing a river with a group of travelers. The river was overflowing its banks. So it was very dangerous to cross it on a horse. Each man was fighting for his life! Then another traveler came and he wanted to cross it, too. But he didn't have a horse. He watched the group and then asked Jefferson to take him. Jefferson agreed immediately. The man climbed on. After they were both safe to the other side of the river, someone asked the man, "Why did you ask present for help? Did you know him?" The man was shocked because he didn't know Jefferson was the president. "All I know," he said, "on some of your faces were written the answer NO, but there was the answer YES on his face." | middle132.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "teacher"
},
"options": [
"scientist",
"teacher",
"doctor",
"farmer"
],
"question": "The writer is most probable a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,... | In today's class, I will teach you how to send birthday e-cards to friends anywhere in the world without leaving our classroom.I'll show it to you on 123 Greetings, which is one of the most popular free-card websites.
Step 1 Connect your computer to the Internet and go to 123 Greetings.Click "Happy Birthday".You will see hundreds of e-cards.Choose the card you'd like to send.
Step 2 Design your e-card.After clicking the card you want, you'll see the "Design" menu.In it you can find many things you can change to suit your taste, such as the colors and music.
Step 3 Add your message in the message box.The message box provides space for you to type a message.Think of something special and type the message into the box.
Step 4 Enter your e-mail address.Then enter the e-mail address of the recipient.Choose whether you want to be notified when your birthday e-card has been read.You can also choose whether to send the card immediately or at a later time. | middle5818.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Clearing your worries about your pets."
},
"options": [
"Giving you a topic to talk about.",
"Clearing your worries about your pets.",
"Helping your new friends to learn more about you.",
"Encouraging your new friends... | International travelers, whether traveling for business or pleasure, will find themselves _ from time to time. Here are a few ways to meet new people and perhaps even get new travel chances.
Make yourself friendly
Be relaxed and polite. Remember to put yourself in social activities. Restaurants, shops and parks are all great places to meet people. If you want to make local friends in a country, stay near the place the locals often visit.
Show your photo album
Keep a small photo album in your bag when you travel. Photos of family, friends and pets will help your new friends learn more about you and give you things to talk about. They will share their own stories with you, and it will help you learn more about your new friends.
Share something special
Can you help your new friends improve their Chinese? Can you cook a traditional Chinese meal? By sharing your skills, you can have a close friendship with your new friends that they won't soon forget.
Give some gifts
Many foreigners love Chinese goods but have to pay a lot when buying them in their homeland, so you'd better prepare some gifts such as silks, tea and works of art. They are always popular.
Exchange flats
If you and your new friends get along well, you can give them your information and plan to exchange flats for your next trip. Then you can visit their countries and stay in their houses while they stay in yours. In this way you will improve your friendship and live like a local abroad, but pay less for traveling. | middle2811.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Bob's teacher"
},
"options": [
"Bob's teacher",
"Bob's father",
"Bob's mother",
"Bob himself"
],
"question": "Who teaches Bob three words?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Bob Smith is a little boy. On the first day at school, his teacher, Ms. Green, teaches him three words--you, he and I. Then the teacher says, "I am your teacher. You are my student. He is your classmate."
When school is over, Bob goes home. His mother asks him,"What does your teacher teach you today?"Bob says with a smile,"Listen, Mom. I am your teacher, you are my student and he is your classmate."His mother says,"No, dear. You are wrong."Then she says, "I am your mother. You are my son. He is your father."
The next morning at school, Bob's teacher asks Bob to make sentences with the words "you, he and I". Bob stands up and says, "I am your mother. You are my son. He is your father." | middle7969.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a little fat"
},
"options": [
"too thin",
"a little fat",
"careful",
"brave"
],
"question": "We can guess that the girl is _ according to the passage.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"a... | As a girl, I've spent a great deal of my time on earth concerned about my weight. So I do know something about exercise. Let me tell you about the calorie-burning activities I've tried or will try.
Salsa
I try to maintain my weight through dancing. Dancing improves my coordination and sense of rhythm in addition to burning calories. I'm personally interested in salsa, which I find sexy and expressive . But I have not yet to start classes, because classes are very expensive, and I cannot find a dance partner.
Ping-Pong
Ping-pong is the national sport of China, so how could I know nothing about it?
My father is a ping-pong fan, and a really good player. He's won several informal matches. My relationship with ping-pong has always been on-and-off. I'll get into it for a while, and then lose interest. The reason is because I can't find a good partner. Some stronger can depress you, while someone weaker (or just as weak) can make the game boring.
Tae Kwon Do
I've recently decided to try tae kwon do as my regular exercise activity. There's a story behind this choice: A few weeks ago, I was sitting on a bus, concentrating on a book. Suddenly, the bus became very quiet except for the sound of a woman's crying. I looked up to see what had happened and overheard whispers that she had just quarreled with a man, and the man slapped her face. No one on the bus dared say anything because the man looked really strong. Even now I feel ashamed I was among the silent.
That's why I've made up my mind to learn something that will help me protect others and myself. | middle654.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "his father"
},
"options": [
"his mother",
"his father",
"his friend",
"Wang Hai"
],
"question": "Li Ming often walks with _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | Li Ming likes walking. He goes for a walk after his father comes back from work. Li Ming likes water very much. He often throws his toys into the water. He plays with the water and sometimes he is wet all over . His mother says, "You are from fish, I think."Li Ming is very glad. "Yes, I like fish very much because fish can swim."
One Sunday morning, Li Ming goes to a park with his father. There are many trees and flowers in the park. There are a lot of people in the park. Some of them are sitting under the trees. Some of them are sitting at the tables and having tea or drinks. There is a big swimming pool in the middle of the park. Li Ming asks his father to take him to the pool.
"Why do you want to go there?" asks his father.
"I want to learn swimming,"answers Li Ming. "And you can teach me , I think."
"You are too young. And I'm sorry I can't swim." says his father.
"You can't swim? Wang Hai's father swims very well. Why can't you swim?"
"His father likes eating fish. So he swims very well." Says his father.
"Oh, I see,"says Li Ming. "But you like eating chicken very much. Can you lay eggs ?"asks Li Ming.
,. | middle640.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "One cold winter morning."
},
"options": [
"One cool autumn morning.",
"One cold spring morning.",
"One cold winter morning.",
"One hot summer afternoon."
],
"question": "When did this story happen ?",
"quest... | One cold winter morning, an old woman had to go to see her doctor. When she walked into the doctor's office, she told him that her right leg hurt and sometimes she could not walk. She asked him what was wrong. She told him that she had never had such a feeling before.
The doctor checked the old woman carefully, then he said, "You're in good health for a woman of your age. I think the trouble in your right leg is just a matter of old age catching up with you. We get all kinds of illness as we get older. The trouble will almost certainly end in spring."
"I don't think so, doctor!" she said. "My left leg is well, and it's the same age as my right one." | middle898.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "elementary school"
},
"options": [
"university",
"elementary school",
"junior high school",
"senior high school"
],
"question": "The story happened when the writer was in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_qu... | This summer I will leave the junior high school where I have been for three years. I am generally considered to be a careful and polite boy now. However, five years ago, I was a little bit bossy . I often fought with other boys and sometimes I even fought with my elder sister. When I saw Superman on TV for the first time, I dreamed of being a superman one day.
One P.E. class, I called up all of my friends to get together in our classroom. "Can anybody jump out of the window?" I asked them. After hearing this, all my friends kept silent. " _ ," I said. "Can you?" one of my friends asked me. "Sure!" I answered. "If I do it, I will get all the toys that you have. If I fail, you will get all of my toys, OK?" They said, "OK!"
Then I went up to the window of the second floor. I took a deep breath and then jumped down, stretching out my arms just like Superman. Then I hit the ground.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in the hospital. I was taken to the hospital because my arms were badly hurt. Later, I heard that my P.E. teacher nearly lost his job for this, but I never received the serious punishment I feared. | middle2805.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Mr. Gale is still young."
},
"options": [
"Mr. Gale is still young.",
"Mr. Gale is 100 years old.",
"Mr. Gale is one of the oldest men in England.",
"Mr. Gale was interviewed by a radio reporter after his 100th birthday... | Mr. Gregory Gale is one of the few people in England who are 100 years old. On the day of his birthday, he played a game of tennis and went for a long walk. A few days later a radio reporter came to his house and asked him if he had any "secrets of long life". This is what Mr. Gale said, "No, I don't know any secrets like that, but there are a few simple rules of good life. I've always kept them all my life. The first is this: Don't listen to those fools who tell you to give up all the pleasures of life! The second is to enjoy all the pleasures of life in moderation . For example, I've always smoked a few good cigars every day. Not many, mind you! Only two or three! I've always also drunk a little good wine with my meals, perhaps two or three glasses. The third rule is to take a little exercise every day. I've taken a little and on Saturdays I've played a little tennis or golf." | middle126.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "fun"
},
"options": [
"terrible",
"lonely",
"hard",
"fun"
],
"question": "People often think the life in space is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | An astronaut's work may sound exciting, but living in space isn't as fun as you think. The website www.space.com lists the disadvantages of living in space. Here are some of them.
When astronauts work outside the station during spacewalks, they have to wear special gloves. The gloves are very tight. They can hurt the astronauts' fingernails and even make them fall off.
In space, you don't have many choices in what you eat. It's hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables. It is not OK to eat bread because it leaves crumbs . Crumbs could fly around everywhere.
In space, it is impossible to have a good shower because water can fly all over the ship and break the machines. Astronauts have to use a special water-shooting gun and a washcloth.
Astronauts lose their bone strength quickly during their stay in space. So far, there is no way to solve this problem. They do exercise while they're in space to try to keep their bones strong as long as possible.
Perhaps the hardest part of life in space is the feeling of loneliness. Astronauts sometimes have to spend weeks and even months away from Earth. They miss their friends and families. | middle2193.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "health benefits"
},
"options": [
"health benefits",
"health problems",
"happiness and success",
"some trouble"
],
"question": "According to some surveys, singing can bring _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_qu... | Some people think that singing can lift our spirits ( ), while some other people don't think so.They don't like singing and they think singing can never make them happy.I do think singing can make us feel good, and it can lift our spirits.Let me tell you more about that.
Some researchers once did some surveys and proved it.The surveys show that singing can bring a lot of health benefits .If you sing with your friends, the effects may be even better.
John Lennon was once a teacher of Vocal Performance at Emporia State University.He says, "Singing is an inborn need.Babies sing to themselves and they seem so happy.Like babies, when we sing, we feel so good and singing makes us feel even better.I like singing and I am happy every day."
Music is a part of human nature.And singing is a form of expression that can be understood by everyone.Some people say that music is like a kind of language.The language can show people's opinions and attitudes to their life.Some songs can cheer people up when they are in trouble.Some songs can make people happy and excited.That's why the TV show The Voice of China is so popular with people. | middle5824.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Chinese"
},
"options": [
"Japanese",
"English",
"American",
"Chinese"
],
"question": "Li Lei is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_tex... | I am a Chinese boy. My name is Li Lei. I am twelve. My sister's name is Li Mei. She's Fourteen. Li Mei and I are students. We like school. My mother is a teacher. She is a teacher of English. My father is a policeman. My young brother's name is Li Hong. He is only four. We all like him. | middle7955.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "learn more about the life there"
},
"options": [
"teach in a school",
"volunteer in a hospital",
"join a writing club",
"learn more about the life there"
],
"question": "Yu Qiuyu went to Germany to _ .",
... | Yu Qiuyu is a famous writer. Once, he went to Germany to learn more about the life there. He found a room for renting . The owner was an old man. Yu looked around the room and found it very nice, so he decided to rent it.
The old man smiled, saying, "Don't worry, young man. You haven't lived here. I think you can try living here for a few days. Then you can decide whether to live for a long time or not." Yu thought it fair enough, and finally signed a contract of five days. The room was quite comfortable. The cleaners took away the trash every day. The hallway was always tidy and clean.
On the fifth day, when Yu wanted to talk with the old man about the long-time rent, he broke a glass carelessly. He was very nervous, feeling that the glass was expensive. However, when he told the old man on the phone, the old man said , "Don't worry. It's not a big deal. I'll bring one later." Yu swept the glass pieces into the trash bag together with other things, and put them outside of the door. A moment later, the old man came. After entering the room, he asked before Yu said anything, "Then where are the glass pieces?"
Yu answered quickly, "I put them outside." The old man went out at once. After looking at the trash bag, he came back to the room with a _ face. He said to Yu, "You can move out tomorrow, because I won't rent the room to you."
Yu couldn't believe his ears and asked, "Is it because I broke your favorite glass that you are upset?"
"No, it's because you didn't think of others."
Just then, the old man went out of the room with a pen and another trash bag. He poured out the trash that Yu had put in the bag. Then the old man picked up every piece of glass very carefully. After a long time, he put all the glass pieces into a trash bag, and wrote with the pen on the bag: "Dangerous! Glass pieces inside". And other trash was put into another bag, with "Safe" written on it.
Yu was looking at it. He didn't know what to say. His face burned with shame. | middle4284.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "by car"
},
"options": [
"on foot",
"by car",
"by bike",
"by train"
],
"question": "Greg Heffley always gets to school _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | Greg Heffely is 11 years old. He is a student. In his class, some students get to school on foot.. Some get to school by bus. He lives far from school. He always gets to school by car. He is clever and naughty He always has a lot of ideas .He likes writing diaries. In his diary, he often writes many interesting stories about his life. He also draws pictures in his diary.
He has a lot of problems in school. And he makes a lot of trouble ,too. He runs away from a school basketball game. He often plays tricks on others. But he always makes a fool of himself. He is not good at making friends. But he wants to be the most popular in his school. He also has some problems at home. Sometimes he pulls the cat's tail and knock at others' door then run away.
Greg is not a good model. We shouldn't do things like Greg. But US children like reading his diaries. Do you want to read about him ? Go and read the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid(<<>> ). It is very popular in the US. | middle4290.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Sunny."
},
"options": [
"Sunny.",
"Windy.",
"Rainy.",
"Snowy."
],
"question": "How will the weather be if birds are flying high in the sky?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | What will the weather be like in the future? Some people say they can know the weather from animals.
If birds are flying high in the sky, there will be a nice day. When they sit in trees or stay close together, bad weather is on the way. Ants often build their homes on the steep side just before the rain comes. Cats like to clean their ears before the rain. Chickens make a loud noise and run here and there when the rain is coming. Frogs will stay in the water and make a lot of noise, too. But on a nice day, they are quiet and jump out of the water. Turtles often look for higher ground and cows like to lie down when the rain is on the way. | middle2839.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "4"
},
"options": [
"2",
"3",
"4",
"5"
],
"question": "There were _ main classes in the Aztec.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "... | The Aztec population was divided into four main classes.Nobles were the highest and most powerful class.They included the emperor and his extended family, as well as governors in charge of local areas, and members of the government.The nobles owned most of the land.Commoners made up most of the population.They ran small family farms or did ordinary jobs in the towns and cities.Serfs worked on the land owned by the nobles.They were given food and shelter, but weren't paid.Slaves were either prisoners of war or criminals who could be bought and sold.
Many Aztec people lived in rural villages, working the land.However, many more lived in large towns and cities.Tenochtitian, the Aztec capital and home to the emperor, became one of the largest cities in the world.Its construction began in 1325 AD, and it's believed that by 1500 AD more than 200,000 people lived there.
As with all Aztec towns and cities, there was a central area for temples and other special places in Tenochtitian.People could gather there to worship the Aztec gods. | middle6487.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a huge area of warm water"
},
"options": [
"a storm that hits every two years",
"a huge area of warm water",
"a wind from the south",
"some cold water in the Pacific Ocean"
],
"question": "El Nino is _ .",
... | In the 1500s, South American fishermen said that the sea became warmer every few years. They gave this special event a Spanish name 'El Nino', meaning 'the baby'. It is called 'the baby' because it arrives around Christmas.
El Nino is a huge area of warm water in the middle of cold water in the Pacific Ocean. It happens every two to seven years. It moves around the ocean and becomes bigger and smaller at different times. This warm water affects the weather. It is always raining over El Nino. El Nino contains a lot of energy. Scientists think this energy is formed when wind comes from the northern half of the world. The winds blow across warm sea water in the south. When the strong wind hits the warm water, violent weather happens. Scientists think that El Nino existed for many thousands of years.
El Nino affects every person in the world because it affects the entire world's weather. It can bring the rain that farmers need. It can bring storms that destroy homes. It can mean that fishermen cannot catch fish, and it can bring floods. There is nothing we can do about El Nino. It is an event of nature. We can help the world's weather by trying to stop the greenhouse effect and air pollution. The most important job for scientists is to learn how to predict when El Nino is going to bring dangerous weather. Then, people can try to prepare for storms, floods and droughts. New technology like satellite pictures and temperature measuring equipment can help. Still, it is very hard to say when or where El Nino will cause damage. | middle7941.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "2023"
},
"options": [
"2023",
"2022",
"2019",
"2018"
],
"question": "The 19th Asian Games is to be held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang in _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, China, was chosen to be the host city of the 19th Asian Games . However, some people say that the 19th Asian Games will be held in 2022, while some say 2023. Which is true?
To make it clear, we need to have a better understanding of Asian Games first.
The Asian Games is a multi-sport event. It is held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
The Asian Games are always held at the same year as the World Cup, which is also held every four years. Many people around the world pay more attention to the World Cup. This really makes the Olympic Council of Asia(OCA) worried. So, the OCA decides to _ the 18th Asian Games for a year. That is in 2019. In this way, the Asian Games won't be held in the same year as the World Cup. So Hangzhou will hold the event in 2023.
Hanoi , capital of Vietnam , is the host city of the 18th Asian Games. However, Vietnamese government announced in 2014 that Hanoi gave up the right to host the Asian Games because they don't have enough money.
Luckily, Djakarta , capital of Indonesia , was willing to be the host city instead of Hanoi. But then came another problem. Djakarta will hold presidential election in 2019, so the government wanted to change the holding time of the Asian Games back to 2018. The OCA agreed. | middle7799.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the ways to protect the environment"
},
"options": [
"some suggestions about cars",
"an advertisement",
"the changes to the climate",
"the ways to protect the environment"
],
"question": "The passage is mainly a... | Learning about the environment is very important. There are many good books that will help you learn. To get started, ask your teacher or your friends for some advice. You can also look at some good websites with information about the environment and climate change. Climate change may be a big problem, but there are many little things we can do to make a difference.
Driving a car or using electricity is not wrong. We just have to be smart about it. Some people use less energy by sharing a car. For example, four people can ride together in one car instead of driving four cars to work. Whenever we use electricity, we put greenhouse gases into the air. By turning off the lights, the television, and the computer when they aren't needed, you can help a lot.
Don't buy products that use too much energy. Some products, like certain cars, are made specially to save energy. These cars can travel longer on less gasoline . They don't pollute as much, either. Products like computers, TVs and VCRs with the ENERGY STAR label are made to save energy. Buying products with these labels will help protect the environment.
Buy recyclable products instead of non-recyclable ones. Recyclable products are usually made out of things that have already been used. It usually takes less energy to make recyclable products than to make new ones. So when you go shopping, look for the recycle mark on the package. The less energy we use, the better. | middle2187.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a lot of money"
},
"options": [
"a beautiful wife",
"a big house",
"a big piece of land",
"a lot of money"
],
"question": "The poor fisherman often dreamed of having _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions... | Once upon a time, there was a poor fisherman in a village near the sea .He always dreamed of having a lot of money. One day ,he heard that a big ship with a lot of gold _ in the nearby water.Because of this , for a long time he often went to the sea and hoped to find the gold .
One day, he was sitting on his boat daydreaming, he suddenly felt something heavy pulling on his fishing rod .He thought that good luck had come to him , and he pulled hard at it . "Wow! A big, gold chain !" He said happily when he saw the thing He then began to pull at the gold chain to try to get it all into the boat, but there seemed to be no end to it. When he got the more gold chain , the more water came into his boat .
But, the fisherman did not know it .He began to dream of a big house , a big piece of land , buying horses and cows...... He kept pulling in the chain though the boat kept sinking. At last ,the boat went under the sea and the fisherman died | middle5830.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "didn't like to do his homework"
},
"options": [
"understood much",
"did a lot of housework",
"didn't like to do his homework",
"learned science and biology very well"
],
"question": "Mr. Green _ when he was ... | Mr. Green is a famous writer now. But he said he was not a good student when he was young. He was often late for school and didn't like doing his homework. Sometimes he slept in class while the teacher was teaching. He didn't understand much, but he always thought he understood everything.
One day the teacher asked the students a question, "When John was ten years old, his brother was twenty. John is fifteen now and how old is his brother?"
Mr. Green answered, "That's easy. His brother is twice as old as John, so he is now thirty."
Another time, the teacher in a science class asked, "When it thunders , why do we always see the light before we hear the sound?" "But, Miss White," said Mr. Green quickly, "can't you see our eyes are in front of our ears?"
The third time, the teacher in a biology class asked, "Why can fish swim in the water?" "But, Miss White," said Mr. Green quickly, "don't you know fish can't walk on land?" | middle3299.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in the forest."
},
"options": [
"in the shop",
"at the zoo",
"in the forest.",
"on the farm."
],
"question": "Da Niu found the bird _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | Once upon a time, there was a farmer called Da Niu. One day he was walking in the forest and found a bird. The bird's was hurt and it cried. Da Niu picked it up and took it home. He looked after it carefully every day. The bird got well soon.
One morning Da Niu enjoyed the sunshine next to the wall. The bird took his hat and flew away. Da Niu was very _ and ran after it. He shouted , "What a bad bird you are!"
Suddenly he heard a big noise from his back. The wall he sat next to just now. fell down . | middle3272.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "email cherrylf@hotmail. com."
},
"options": [
"call 021-58609228",
"fax 021-58609728",
"call 010-69191617",
"email cherrylf@hotmail. com."
],
"question": "If an Australian student wants to learn Chinese, he or s... | House For Sale
Red Rose Garden, Pudong
3-storey home. 509 sqm total land area. 428.8 sqm built-in. 312.9 sqm garden.
Asking for RMB 13 million.
MP: 13761973547 Tel: 021-58609228 Fax: 021-58609728
Job Wanted
Cherry, 24, a shining girl, good at oral English and Putonghua. Now I am working at an international trade company in Guangzhou. I am kind-hearted, hard-working and healthy, and would like part-time weekend work offering Putonghua lessons to foreign friends. If you are interested, please email me at cherrylf@hotmail. com.
Beijing Snow World Ski Park
Price: 18 yuan (Ticket).
50 yuan/hour on weekdays and 70 yuan/hour on weekends. 120 yuan/four hours on weekdays and 190 yuan/four hours on weekends. | middle5603.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "push it first"
},
"options": [
"walk for a long way",
"push it first",
"make it in a circle",
"use a big tank"
],
"question": "To get water from a PlayPump, people need to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_qu... | For many kids in Africa, the colorful PlayPump is the first playground thing they have ever seen. When the children give it a push and jump in for their first ride, smiles of wonder appears on their faces.
The fun of going round and round in a circle is just part of the wonder. The wonderful invention doesn't only change the kids' play time, but also makes a big difference to the people's lives.
As the merry-go-round starts, _ pumps clean water up from deep underground and keeps it in a huge tank . People are welcomed to come and help themselves to get the water for free. They are very happy these days.
In the countryside of Africa, very few people could drink clean water. They don't have machines that can get water in their homes. Instead, they often walk a long way to carry water back.
Patricia Molope, a fifteen-year-old girl, explains that before her village in South Africa got a PlayPump, people would pay a taxi driver to take them to a well far from their homes. " Sometimes the taxi drivers were so busy that we would have to stop taking showers in order to save water. It was so far to walk there, but at present we have our own clean water in the village, and the life is better, too."
The hard job of carrying water usually is done by women and girls. Carrying water for miles and hours each day is such a heavy job that it sometimes prevents girls from being able to go to school.
Thanks to the PlayPump, getting water is quicker and easier-----and even boys join in. The pumps have become a new activity. Kids and adults seem to love playing with them while collecting water.
A boy named Khumalo, twelve years old, says, " I have seen many kinds of water pumps, but have never seen one that can keep water. When I grow up, I want to be an inventor so I can also invent clever things like the PlayPump that will help my country."
So far, more than 800 PlayPumps are being operated in schools and neighborhoods in four African countries, providing water for almost two million people. | middle7014.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They encouraged people to spend some of their work time thinking and improving new ideas."
},
"options": [
"They encouraged people to work a longer time.",
"They discouraged people to think freely.",
"They asked people to s... | Creativity is the key to a brighter future, say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.
If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have an important product: a new type of tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his old company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking and developing new ideas.
Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence . Just because a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.
Unluckily, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to use it in new situations. They may know the rules correctly, but they are unable to use them to work out practical problems.
It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it's choosing between two kinds of food for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money, but not help them too much if they make the wrong decision. The child may have a hard time, but that is all right. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble. | middle7772.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "have some troubles in the future"
},
"options": [
"have some troubles in the future",
"worry about everything in the future",
"not know the importance of making friends",
"not find anybody to help him"
],
"quest... | Friends are important to the children. Research shows that children who have no friends can suffer from difficulties later in life. Friendship provides children with more than just fun. In making friends, children learn how to get in touch with the others and solve problems. Having friends even does good to children's study for they can help each other during the class.
If the parents care about their children whether they made many friends,what matters is that the child is comfortable and happy with his friends. Parents need to understand the steps children take in building friendships. First of all, be a friend to your child. Good friendships start at home. Children begin to develop the necessary ability to go out and meet others through getting with their parents. Greet the child warmly and let him know you are glad to see him. Children learn a lot from how their parents stay with them and other people.
Teach children how to solve conflicts . Being able to work out conflicts is an important skill in getting along with others. If parents know the children have a conflict, let them work it out on their own. Only step in if it is really necessary, for example, an argument is getting physical.
Give children chances to practice staying together. Have children play games that require team work and group problem solving skills. For example, races are fun and provide plenty of practice in teamwork. "In what ways didn't you work well together? What might you do differently next time?" For these ideas, see books such as Games Book by Terry Orlick, Energizers by Carol Apacki, and Team-Building Activities for Every Group by Alanna Jones.
Encourage children to show thanks to the others. The parents can encourage children to do this by setting the example for them. | middle1303.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "sports car"
},
"options": [
"book",
"sports T-shirt",
"sports car",
"cellphone"
],
"question": "The young man wanted his father to buy him a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | A young man was getting ready for graduation. He always wanted a beautiful sports car, and he told his father this. On the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful box. The young man was disappointed when he opened the box and found a book. He shouted angrily,"With all your money you give me a book?"and rushed out of the house.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but he realized his father was very old and thought he should go to see him. Before he made a visit, he got a call telling him his father had passed away .He was also told his father had given all his _ to him. When he arrived at his father's house, sadness filled his heart.
He began to see his father's important papers and saw the still new book. With tears, he opened the book and began to turn the pages. As he read the words, a car key dropped from an envelope in the book. It was the key to a sports car. | middle697.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because she was very sad."
},
"options": [
"Because she was crying.",
"Because she never had tears.",
"Because she was very sad.",
"Because she was very happy."
],
"question": "Why did the father tried to cheer ... | When I was small, my grandmother died. I was so sad that I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.
So it came as no surprise to learn that scientists believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.
Whatever it takes for us to _ pressure is important to our emotional health, and a study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we're very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying - holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering - can be bad for physical health. Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural -and healthy-emotional response . | middle5165.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Old people with Alzheimer's disease"
},
"options": [
"Old people with Alzheimer's disease",
"Students in primary school.",
"Old people who are strong and healthy.",
"Anyone around the world"
],
"question": "Who ... | There is good news for old people with Alzheimer's disease . As we know, people who have Alzheimer's disease may get lost easily. Sometimes they can't find the way to their home. All the family members must be worried about their safety. Now, some has invented GPS-enabled walking shoes. The shoes are very special and useful. They can help people find old people easily, wherever they go.
These walking shoes are especially important for people who are in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. According to the research, such old people have the highest danger. Let's see some terrible facts. About 60c/o of patients with Alzheimer's disease get lost for days when they go for a walk. Up to half of those who are lost and not found within 24 hours can die outside. If old people wear such shoes , you needn't worry about that. These shoes can help their families to find _ easily if they are lost. So you see, the shoes can ensure old people's safety.
These walking shoes are equipped with a GPS device in the heel. The shoes are very comfortable and they look like the shoes that many old people wear.
The GPS-enabled walking shoes have a great advantage. Of course, the shoes are suitable for children .Parents can ask them to wear such shoes. Then they can find their children easily. But some children have different ideas. Sometimes, they don't want their parents to know where they are. What will they do? Well... some children say that they will take them off and put them at home. | middle5171.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he hadn't put his heart into his studies"
},
"options": [
"the teacher blamed him from time to time",
"he was not a smart boy in his class",
"the test for the seventh grade challenged his confidence",
"he hadn't put his... | In the middle of the first term of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods.
One day, Miss White's impatient voice broke into his daydreams. "Steve! Pay attention!" Steve turned to look at her, fixing his eyes on Miss White, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.
"You all did pretty well," she told the class, "except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but..." She hesitated, her eyes searching his face. "...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!" She just stared at Steve. Steve dropped his eyes.
After that, it was war! Steve still wouldn't do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained _
"Just try it! ONE WEEK!" He was unmoved.
"You're smart enough! You'll see a change!" Nothing touched him.
"Give yourself a chance! Don't give up on your life!" Nothing.
"Steve! Please! I care about you!"
Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it! Someone cared about him? Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, both parents were out. He, quickly, gathered up a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks.
The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all smiles! God, she was beautiful!
Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Miss White's face was in total shock! The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!
From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed. He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!
He discovered that he could understand knowledge and translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to go ahead! | middle3500.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "expect to receive fair treatment"
},
"options": [
"expect to receive fair treatment",
"behave differently from humans",
"have no teamwork in their life",
"have bad relationships with each other"
],
"question": "... | Most humans expect to receive fair treatment. A recent study shows that monkeys may feel the same way. This is the first time scientists have seen this kind of behavior in animals.
Scientists chose monkeys for the research because monkeys have close relationship with each other and they also have good teamwork.
Sarah Brosnan, the leader of the research, put female monkeys in pairs. The researchers trained the monkeys to exchange a small rock with them. "That may sound simple, but not very many animals are willing to give things away." Says Brosnan. When a monkey exchanged a rock with the researcher within 60 seconds, she received a reward. Usually, the reward was a piece of cucumber.
The partner of each monkey who made an exchange also received a reward. Sometimes the partner got the same reward (a piece of cucumber), but other times the partner received a better reward (a grape). The researchers were surprised at how the monkey _ to the unfair treatment. When a monkey saw her partner get better treatment, she was unhappy. The monkeys did not want to continue the test or eat the cucumbers they received. Some monkeys even threw their food at the researchers.
Bronson's research suggests that monkeys do not like unfair treatment. However, as Brosnan explains, "We don't know how monkeys learn to dislike being treated unfairly. But that opens up a whole new research field." Scientists will continue their research. | middle7766.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "family name"
},
"options": [
"family name",
"given name",
"middle name",
"full name"
],
"question": "In China, the first name is the _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and a family name . For example, my full name is Ann Allan Green. Green is my family name. Ann and Allan are my given names. People don't use their middle names very much.So we can say Ann Green. We can say Miss Green or Mrs. Green. But we can't say Miss Ann or Mrs. Ann. It's different from Chinese names. In China, the first name is the family name and the last name is the given name. | middle6478.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "eyes"
},
"options": [
"head",
"eyes",
"ears",
"mouth"
],
"question": "Something is wrong with the woman's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"... | A woman is having some trouble with her eyes, so she goes to see the doctor. He is a new doctor and doesn't know her, so he asks some questions and one of them is, "How old are you?"The woman says, "I don't know, doctor, but let me think about it." She thinks for a minute and then says, "Yes, I know now, Doctor!When I marry , I am eighteen years old, and my husband is thirty. Now my husband is sixty. And that is twice thirty. So I am twice eighteen. That's thirty-six, isn't it?" | middle1317.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "took away all her money and put it in a bank"
},
"options": [
"took away all her money and put it in a bank",
"let her take care of all her money",
"gave all her money to her parents",
"spent all her money"
],
"... | Chen Jie, 14, from Ningbo, Zhejiang is a lucky girl. She got 3600 yuan as gift money this Spring Festival. However, her grandmother took away all the money and put it in a bank account.
Many students experienced the same thing as Chen. They got their gift money, only to immediately have it taken away.
Xiong Shengyue, 14, from Nanjing, doesn't agree with the practice. "I think the money should be the children's, " she said. " We should take care of it by ourselves."
It is not that simple, said Chu Chaohui, a researcher at national Institute of Education Sciences.
Giving gift money is used to show social status and develop relationships, he told Beijing Legal Evening News. Gift money has lost its traditional meaning of good will and has "little to do with the children". What's more, children don't earn the money through work. So he thought that parents should still play a big part in dealing with the money.
But Yan Honglan, a mother of a 14-year-old boy in Beijing, has let her son be responsible for his gift money since the age of 8. "I want to develop his financial skills, ' Yan said.
She also added:"No matter how you deal with the money, the most important thing is to make the children feel they're respected and trusted.
Chen supported Yan's idea. She said that though she knew her grandmother wouldn't waste her gift money, she would feel happier if she could at least know how the money is spent.
"It would make me feel a little bit more grown-up," she said. | middle1471.txt |
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