questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "France"
},
"options": [
"America",
"Egypt",
"France",
"China"
],
"question": "Matt loved the stamps from _ best.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | Matt's hobby was collecting stamps. He had stamps from many countries, like America, Egypt and China. On his birthday, can you guess what people gave him? That's right----stamps.
Matt's favorite stamps came from France. He had almost every stamp from 1954 to 2003 except one. That was a 1974 special edition . It was very hard to find.
He looked for it everywhere. He asked his friends and relatives to help him. But nobody could find the stamp. It made Matt very sad.
"Don't worry," his father said to him. "You'll find it one day."
"I hope so," Matt said.
"Be patient ,"his father said. "Don't give up."
Besides collecting stamps, Matt liked writing. He had a pen friend in France. They wrote to each other every month. Matt's pen friend, Philip, gave him a big, green stamp. It looked old. When Matt received the letter, he was very surprised. On the envelope, he looked closely at the stamp. It was the 1974 special edition stamp. Matt was so happy! He told his sister, his mother and his father.
"You see," his father said, "You did find your stamp. So, you see, it's good to have two things in life."
"What are they?" Matt asked.
"Friends and patience ." he answered. | middle293.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "her family are too busy to be with her"
},
"options": [
"she has got everything",
"her family is too rich",
"she has no time to stay with her family",
"her family are too busy to be with her"
],
"question": "Jea... | Jean is a bright young woman from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has almost everything that money can buy. But the people in Jean's family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. In fact, Jean is quite lonely.
So Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ. She likes being anonymous talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name Linda on QQ and made a lot of friends.
Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and he lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had the same interests in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them many hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot the time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent a picture of himself: he was a tall, good-looking young man with big, happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.
When Jean's father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him, so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of the rock singer they liked most. But when Jean knocked in David's door in San Francisco, she found that the special friend she had written to was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim! | middle8045.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "maybe Tom's learning style is not good"
},
"options": [
"Tom's teachers are very lazy",
"maybe Tom's learning style is not good",
"Tom's classmates often help him with his homework",
"Tom is clever enough to finish his ... | Dear friends,
I'd like to share my suggestions about studying with you. "Studying" is not the same thing as "doing homework"! Studying may include doing homework,but it also includes a lot more, as you will see. So if you say that you have no homework,and therefore you can't or you don't have to study, you're mistaken!
I am going to give you some suggestions on how to study efficiently. _ worked for me when I was in the high school and college.
Not only that, but they also worked equally well for me in literature and math.
Although everyone's learning style may be different,and some of my suggestions may not work for you, I still ask you to try them. A lot of successful students have used them.
Please send me suggestions about studying that work for you. I will try to include them into the further version of this guide.
Here are some of my suggestions:
A. Manage your time.
B. Take notes in class and rewrite them at home.
C. Study hard and study in a quiet place.
D. Read texts actively and slowly. Do it before and after class.
E. Finish your homework by yourself.
F. Do not only study for exams.
Yours,
Emma | middle7376.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "my new teacher"
},
"options": [
"my parents",
"my new classmate",
"my new teacher",
"my good friend Jim"
],
"question": "In the morning, I help _ to carry the box to our classroom..",
"question_type": "c... | This is my first day at our new school. In the morning, I help my new teacher Mr Hu put some new English textbooks into a big box. And then I carry it to the classroom. The box is very heavy.
I walk very slowly with the big heavy box in my arms. A boy runs very fast to me. He can't stop. Oh, dear! My box drops on the floor and there are books everywhere on the floor.
"I'm very sorry," the boy says again and again. He helps me to pick up all the books. He then helps me to carry the books to our classroom.
Who is he? He is my classmate. His name is Jim. He comes to China with his father. He is from England. | middle2568.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "an English girl"
},
"options": [
"a English boy",
"a English girl",
"an English boy",
"an English girl"
],
"question": "Jenny is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | Jenny is an English girl. She is a nice girl. and she is my good friend, My name is Amy. My father is John. My mother is Helen. Jack is my brother. I love them. I like singing. Jack likes reading. My favorite color is blue. | middle3676.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "David Crystal thinks Netspeak helps develop the habit of writing."
},
"options": [
"David Crystal thinks Netspeak helps develop the habit of writing.",
"Geoffrey Nurberg believes Netspeakers can write Standard English.",
"Jam... | My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr3:-@ kids FTF. ILNY, it's gr8.
Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad; neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cell phones. To new comers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the translation of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's great.
School teachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted .
"Everyone should just relax", say linguists . They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing, has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nurberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says. "kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mails, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than their parents."
Linguist James says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can _ that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents. They too will think this way. James argues that languages do not and cannot become corrupted. They simply change to meet the new needs.
However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but learning to write proper English is a must for their future."
Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, aged 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun. " | middle4131.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "get to know it"
},
"options": [
"invite the teachers to visit them",
"get to know it",
"see if the school was far",
"play with his classmates"
],
"question": "Before the family moved to the new area, the son was... | We moved to a new area when our son was in Grade Five. Before we moved, we took him to spend half a day at his new school. There he saw his new classmates and teachers. He enjoyed the visit. During the almost 150-kilometre drive home, he told us that he had told some of the students the dace when we would move there. And he had also invited them to visit us.
The moving day, a Saturday, was a busy day. We arrived at our new house at noon. About an hour later, kids began to come and soon one of them invited our son to his house to play for the afternoon.
By the time he returned, he knew where most of the kids lived and the histories of their families.
On Monday morning, the doorbell rang just before the time he would leave for school. Then it rang again and again.
By the time he was ready, we had eight young boys waiting to walk to school with him on his first day. They all live near us.
I asked them if their parents had sent them. The answers surprised and pleased me, "No, we just came so that he would have someone to walk with." and "It is the right thing to do."
The friendships were formed from that day. We have lived here for nearly six years and the same group of kids still play together, go to parties on weekends together, and surfing the Internet together.
I am still thinking how welcoming and kind those kids are. And how lucky my son is to have them as friends. | middle3138.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "there is lotts o f f at in them"
},
"options": [
"there is some meat in them",
"there is too much tofu in them",
"there is lotts o f f at in them",
"they are from Steve's Steakhouse"
],
"question": "Lisa doesn't... | I'm Lisa from London,England,and I'm a vegetarian.That's someone who don't eat meat.Why am I a vegetarian? Well,I love animals,so I don't want to eat them.We can stay healthy if we eat onlv fruit and vegetables.
A lot of people are vegetarians in England.There are a few shops and restaurantints that sell food Just for us.For example,there's a store near my house that makes lots of dishes with cheese and tofu. The tofu is great but I can't eat the cheese.It has too much fat.
It's easy to be a vegetarian when I'm at home.1 cook lots of interesting dishes from grains and vegetables.I can make many different kinds of food,and I often cook meals for myfamily they aren't vegetarians,but they don't mind vegetarian food
In some restaurants it is difficult to get vegetarian food.Last Sunday, I went to Steve's Steakhouse with my friends.They all wanted to eat roast beef. I looked for vegetarian food,but
every dish had meat in it.I asked the waiter;"Can you give me something with no meat?"He asked,"Would you like some fish?""No,thanks,"1 said."I only want vegetables--no meat,and no fish.""But this is a steakhouse."said the waiter."People come here because they want to eat meat!"
So we didn't eat in Steve's Steakhouse.We went to an Italian restaurant.My friends had meat pizzas(yuck!),and Ihad a big salad. | middle4657.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "south American"
},
"options": [
"north American",
"south Asian",
"north Asian",
"south American"
],
"question": "Most of the hummingbirds live in a(n) _ forest.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | If you are lucky enough, you may find the hummingbird , the smallest bird of the animal world, in a south American forest.
Though the hummingbird is no bigger than a bee and weighs only 2 to 3 grams, it can fly as fast as 50 meters in a second. It can fly forwards as most birds do, and it can fly backwards as well. The strangest thing about it, however, is that it can stay still in the air, just like a _ .
Whenever a hummingbird needs food, it will fly slowly towards a flower. It won't stand on the flower, as bees do, but just hangs to the flower and then begins to sunk the honey from inside the flower with its needle-like beak.
The hummingbird is very particular in building its nest . It takes great trouble to choose materials. It likes soft ones better than hard ones. Its eggs are so small that a common match box can hold as many as one hundred of them. | middle5549.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a big playground"
},
"options": [
"many football fans",
"a very good football team",
"many football players",
"a big playground"
],
"question": "If a country wants to take part in the World Cup, it must have _... | In the world, soccer (or football) is the most popular sport. This is because many countries have wonderful teams for the World Cup. The World Cup is held every four years.
To remember the 2002 FIFA World Cup, children from different countries and more than 60 children from different Japanese schools came together and spent three weeks drawing a big picture called"Dream World Cup"in Japan. The children drew animals, flowers and people playing soccer under bright blue sky. They wished each football team good luck by drawing the flags of all countries that would take part in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The picture was put up in a park near a playground in Yokohama.
Are you a football fan? The World Cup makes more and more people interested in football. Teenagers like playing and watching football. Many of them love some football stars so much that they get pictures of their favorite players such as, Figo, Oven and Pauleta. And they put the pictures up on the walls of their rooms. That is the way to show their love for the World Cup.
,. | middle2226.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "how English speakers create the words"
},
"options": [
"how people learned English",
"how English speakers create the words",
"how people spoke English",
"how people taught others to speak English"
],
"question"... | There are some stories behind English words.
You've spent a lot of time studying how to use English in a proper way. But have you ever wondered why English speakers say some of the things they say? For example, why do they say "an easy task" is "a piece of cake"? Why do the two letters "OK" means "all right"?
Many English words and phrases have stories behind them. Sometimes these stories can help us look back into old western history. Let's take a look at a few of the original * common English words and phrases: OK
"OK" was an American who lived in the 19th century. His name was "Old Kinderhook". In one year he was trying to take the place of the leader of his town. His supporters went around the town shouting " OK \ OK \" The supporters thought their future leader was " all right". The expression caught on, and now if something is "all right" , people like to say "OK|"
Boss*
Is your boss nice to you? If not, just be glad you weren't living in the old times. Back to that time, bosses could do anything bad to their men and could even beat* them! That explains why the word "boss" comes from an old German word meaning "to beat".
A piece of cake
A famous American writer named Ogden Nash lived in the 1930s. Many readers enjoyed his poems and wrote them down in their notebooks. In one of his poems, Nash wrote, " Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake. " His readers found these words interesting and quickly wrote them down. They thought that if one picture in a newspaper could make you famous, wouldn't life be easy?
For nearly 70 years, "a piece of cake" has meant any task or activity that is easy. | middle6040.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Very much."
},
"options": [
"Not at all.",
"A little.",
"Very much.",
"We don't know."
],
"question": "How does Mrs. Curie like Paris?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Paris is a very nice city. Mrs. Curie often goes to Paris and she has a good time there. Mrs. Curie is old and very
, so she sometimes can't find her way.
Now she sees a man near a bus stop. "I can ask him the way," she says.
"Excuse me," she says in French. "But can you tell me the way to Notre Dame de Paris , please?"
But the man doesn't know French. He is Australian! Then he puts his hand into his coat and takes out a small book. He opens it and finds a phrase . He reads, "I'm sorry. I don't speak French." | middle8079.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "food and water"
},
"options": [
"sunglasses",
"money",
"lace-up shoes",
"food and water"
],
"question": "Before starting a walk, _ is the most important thing that walkers must remember.",
"question_type... | Information for New Members
Welcome to Banktown Bushwalking Club! Here are some things you need to know:
Most walks are in faraway places. You need to take enough food and water for a full day of activity on each walk. This is the most important thing to remember.
Wear good lace-up shoes, because you need to do some climbing sometimes.
Each walk has a grade. If you haven't been bushwalking before, we suggest that you start with an easy walk- Grade 1 or 2. If you have been bushwalking before, then a Grade 3 walk may be suitable.
All beginners need to call or e-mail the leader of an activity 48 hours before the start of the activity. They need to make sure that you are fit and able to finish the activity as planned.
Membership fees for a year:
$35 for an adult over 18 years old.
If a family joins the club, fees will be lower. $55 for the parents and $10 for each child between the ages of 5 and 18. | middle2232.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "may live in the south of Hezhou"
},
"options": [
"may pay more than Y=250 , 000 for it",
"must have breakfast in the kitchen",
"have to take a bath in the public bathroom",
"may live in the south of Hezhou"
],
"... | House for Sale
Y=250, 000, built in 2010
The house with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen and a breakfast room. It's in the south of Hezhou.
Shiji Supermarket, the biggest shopping centre in our city will open on July 8, 2011. Everybody with today s Hezhou Daily will get a small present that day. You are welcome.
Tel: 6668888
Add: No. 8 Renmin Road Hezhou Daily
June 8, 2011
Rose's Special Concert
Time: 2 p. m. , July 2, Saturday
Place: People's Stadium
Ticket Price: RMB 150 yuan for adults; 70 yuan for students June
25 , 2011 | middle3892.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In Grade Three."
},
"options": [
"In Grade One.",
"In Grade Three.",
"In Grade Six.",
"In Grade Seven."
],
"question": "If you're _ , you might regard the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgo... | In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.
In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls.
In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully .
In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.
In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to _ square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck with Nasty Nicky or Smelly Susan.
In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.
In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nicky or Susan , your new crush and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have to be embarrassed.
In seventh grade your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night before that you had forgotten to do.
In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball, but didn't laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.
In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party held by a senior so you wouldn't end up being the only freshman there. | middle4125.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "have time on the weekend"
},
"options": [
"call at 235-1143",
"have some children",
"have time on the weekend",
"be an interesting teacher"
],
"question": "If you want to teach in the swimming club, you can _ ... | Can you swim well? Are you free on Saturday and Sunday? Our club needs a swimming teacher to teach children from 8 to 10 years old. It is interesting to be with them. Please call Leo at 5968-4437.
Are you busy after school? No? Can you speak English? Yes? Then we need you to help some American students. They study in Beijing. They can't speak Chinese now. They are _ and you can make friends with them. Please email Mr. Liu at helpingus@gmail.com.
Can you play the guitar or the drums? Do you have time this Wednesday? Our music club will have a party that day and we need you to join us. It is fun. Please call Sam at 235-1143. | middle6732.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "thirteen"
},
"options": [
"four",
"eight",
"thirteen",
"fourteen"
],
"question": "Bill is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "h... | My name is Bill. I'm an English boy. I'm in a high school. Sam is my good friend. He comes from Canada. He is 13. I'm 13, too. But we don't look the same. Miss Zhang is my English teacher. We don't know her age, but she looks young. She is not Sam's teacher. Miss Zhou is Sam's English teacher. Now please look at my photo. In the photo, Sam, Miss Zhang and I are all happy.
,. | middle6042.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "four"
},
"options": [
"five",
"three",
"four",
"six"
],
"question": "There are _ people in the picture.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_... | Look, this is a photo of Mr. White's family. The man in the photo is Mr. White, the father. The woman is the mother. They have two daughters. The girl behind Mr. White is Mary. She's 14. The girl behind Mrs. White is Jane. She is 11. Mary and Jane are in the same school, but not the same grade. Mary is in Grade2. Jane is in Grade 1. They are good students. | middle2224.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "compare yourself with others to look down on yourself"
},
"options": [
"be afraid of difficulties",
"compare yourself with others to look down on yourself",
"run through life so fast",
"be afraid to learn"
],
"q... | Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce( )back.
But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?
Don't look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.
Don't let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best to yourself.
Don't give up when you still have something to give. _
Don't be afraid of difficulties. Be brave!
Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going.
Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily.
Don't use time or words carelessly. You can't get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery , and today is a gift; that's why we call it " the present". Life is not a competition, but a trip ,step by step. | middle4655.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because he is too busy."
},
"options": [
"Because he doesn't love them.",
"Because he is too busy.",
"Because he is a taxi driver.",
"Because he doesn't live with them."
],
"question": "Why doesn't the children'... | Jenny and Henry were born on the same day and they look the same. Their father is a taxi driver and he is busy all the time. He goes out early in the morning, but comes back when his children are sleeping in bed. He makes a lot of money but he doesn't talk with them about their study. The two children study in the same class. Jenny works hard at her lessons, but her brother likes nothing but playing. He is not good at writing compositions .
One day Mrs. Cook told her class to write a composition "My Mother". After supper Jenny wrote one in her exercise book and then went to help her mother to do some housework. But Henry went to play football. When night fell, he came back to watch TV until the TV play was over. And he took off his clothes and went to bed, he remembered the composition and had to go to the sitting room again. But he didn't know how to write it. He thought hard and at last he found a way. He found Jenny's schoolbag and brought out her exercise book and copied her composition.
Two days later Mrs. Cook asked Henry, "Can you tell me why your composition is the same as Jenny's?" "Yes, I can, madam," answered Henry. "We have the same mother. " | middle4133.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Natural eye care"
},
"options": [
"Natural eye care",
"Taking medicine",
"Seeing the doctor",
"Being happy all the time"
],
"question": "_ is the most important way to protect our eyes.",
"question_type": ... | Many of us don't pay attention to the importance of eye care. It's said that if you take care of your body, then you can be healthy. That is why our eyes should be given a lot of care. Natural eye care should be put in a number one place.
There are several causes leading to poor eyesight like not enough food, gene and aging . Televisions, computers and reading are also the causes of having poor eyesight.
If you happen to work in front of the computer, it is best to take a rest every once in a while. Something dirty can cause redness and they will make you feel uncomfortable. It is bad for your eyes, too. If this happens, the best way is to clean your eyes by using cold water. You must also try your best to protect your eyes from harmful thing. For example, sunglasses are not just fashion but they can also serve as a great way to protect your eyesight from _ .
Eating healthy foods will do good to your eyesight. Remember that vitamins A, C and E are good for eyes. Try to eat food groups that have these vitamins. And you should do eye exercises because exercise protects your eyesight, too. If a person exercises regularly and eats the right kind of food, his eyes will stay in good condition for a long time.
All above are natural ways of eye care that help us keep healthy eyes. Being happy all the time can be helpful to a person's eyesight, too. In a word, eye care is very important, no matter how old a person is.
,. | middle3884.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The day before yesterday"
},
"options": [
"Yesterday",
"Last week",
"The day before yesterday",
"Last year"
],
"question": "When did the writer's mother leave?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Dear Mom,
We had a nice time in the park last week, Mom, but you left the day before yesterday. Where did you? What happened to you?
When we were together, we went shopping, flew kites, went swimming ... You bought me a T-shirt in a store. You helped me with my homework. And you made sandwiches for me. We also slept together every night. You never said you would leave me. I began to look for you when I found you left, but I failed.
Mom, thank you for teaching me so much. I hope to see you again. It's time for bed. I miss you!
Yours,
Jim | middle2542.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To protect people from the rain."
},
"options": [
"To know when there'll be a heavy rain.",
"To check the weather report.",
"To protect people from the rain.",
"To remind people to take an umbrella."
],
"questio... | You can't always know when there'll be a heavy rain or when to take an umbrella with you. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather report before going out should cause you to get wet in the rain. That's why he created the Lampbrella--a lamp post with its own "umbrella".
The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. "Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw people trying to hide from the rain under the street lamps. I thought it would be a good idea to have a Lampbrella built into a street lamp." he said.
The Lampbrella is a street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy . It has an inside electric motor which can open or close the umbrella freely. The Lampbrella will offer people cover whenever it starts raining. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.
According to the designer, the Lampbrella would move at a very low speed in order not to cause harm to people. What's more, it would be grounded to protect from a possible lightning hit. Each Lampbrella would offer enough cover for several people. Being 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest man.
While there are no plans to take the Lampbrella into production , Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow company, and insists his creation could be on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide cover. | middle6724.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "In a small village."
},
"options": [
"In a town.",
"In a big city.",
"In a small city.",
"In a small village."
],
"question": "Where do the group have to make a meal in one show?",
"question_type": "factiod_... | Chinese TV viewers are getting a closer look at the changing roles of dads in the new reality show Where Are We Going, Dad? that is showing on Hunan Television. The show follows the adventure of five superstar dads who partner up with their young children(aged 4 to 6) and try to complete a set of tasks. In one show the group travel to a small village where they have to find something to cook a meal. Along the way we see the kids and their dads having fun, but we also see them having a lot of emotions . There are loving moments, tearful moments and uncomfortable moments as the dads try to deal with their cranky children.
The show provides an interesting view on modern family life. In the show, we can see how young dads are trying to find the best way to raise their children.
A father is very important for a family. Psychologists say that a strong fatherly influence is important in a child's development. Father teach their children skills and give them confidence to try new things. A child learns that if something goes wrong, he or she can _ on dad to help fix it. The psychologists also say that without a dad, a child runs a greater risk of dropping out of school and getting into trouble. | middle6730.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Yao Ming and a US report"
},
"options": [
"Yao Ming",
"A US report",
"Yao Ming and a US report",
"A NBA star"
],
"question": "_ wrote \"Yao: A Life in Two Worlds.\"",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | A large book NBA star Yao Ming's English autography will come out in New York, US , this month. It is called "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds." It talks about his first year in the NBA. Yao wrote it with a US report.
Alicia's Coming American singer Alicia Keys,23, will be in the "Wall of Hope" concert with other stars, on the Great Wall, in Beijing, on September 25. The R& B singer is a five-time Grammy winner.
Top singing award Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, 25, won Best Male singer at the Fourth Chinese Music Billboard Awards , in Taipei, on Saturday.
Football winners the Chinese under-17 football team is No. 1 in Asia. They won the Asian U-17 Championship in Japan on Saturday. They beat the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1-0. After 85 minutes, Wang Weilong shot the only goal. They took the cup for the first time in 12 years. | middle3648.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a student in Jenny's school"
},
"options": [
"a Maths teacher",
"a songwriter",
"an editor of the school newspaper",
"a student in Jenny's school"
],
"question": "Andy might be _ .",
"question_type": "cloz... | "I believe you're the right person to write an advice column for the students called "Dear Amy!". Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.
At first it wasn't too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.
"Dear Amy," it began, "I'm in real trouble. I've wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents won't even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I've tried explaining, but they won't listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree." The letter signed "Joe".
Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home?
Of course not. But didn't Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn't think out a good answer. Andy couldn't sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.
At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy's Maths class, sat down next to him and asked,
"What's wrong with you? You look a little worried."
"I guess I do," said Andy.
"If you got a problem, why don't you try writing to Amy about it?" asked Eleanor.
Andy sighed ; but she continued, "in fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn't answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You'd better read it - it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was signed Joe, a songwriter." | middle4127.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The names of the persons they didn't like and the date."
},
"options": [
"The names of the persons they didn't like and the date.",
"The names of the persons they liked and the date",
"Their own names and the date.",
"T... | One day at the end of the class, a wise teacher told each of her students to bring a plastic bag and a bag of potatoes to school.
The next day she told her students, "From today on, for every person you don't like in your lives, you can choose a potato, write the person's name and the date on it and then put it in the plastic bag." Day after day, some of the students' bags were very heavy. They were then told to carry this bag with them everywhere they went for a week. They would put it inside their quilts at night, on the seats when sitting in a car or on a bus, and next to their desks at school. The days carrying the bag around with them made students get to know what a weight they were carrying in their minds. They had to pay attention to it all the time so that they wouldn't forget it. As time passed by, the potatoes went bad and smelt nasty . They all tried to get rid of them.
Too often we think of tolerance as a gift to other people, and clearly it is for ourselves! If we choose to keep our sadness and hatred in our hearts, we will have to carry them around all our lives.
Do you think you have got anything from the wise teacher and what she asked her students to do? | middle3890.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "From April 18, 2014."
},
"options": [
"From 2012.",
"From April 18, 2014.",
"Until June 8, 2014.",
"Every Friday through the coming year."
],
"question": "When did A Bite of China 2 appear on CCTV?",
"questi... | 17-year-old Tibetan boy climbs 40 meters up a tall tree only to get some honey as an ingredient for a traditional local drink. The money he makes from selling the honey will be used to pay for his younger brother's tuition fee .
This is only a scene from the first episode of CCTV's new documentary, A Bite of China 2(2), which appeared on April 18, 2014. But they are enough reasons for viewers to spend an hour every Friday until June 6 enjoying in front of their television sets. Viewers have had to wait a long time since A Bite of China 1 came out in 2012.
Back then, the seven-episode documentary was considered the best one ever produced by CCTV, with its good effects and rich food culture. A famous foreigner praised it, saying "it's the best TV show I've ever seen about food. I'm sure it's the best one ever made. "
The new season includes eight episodes, covering 300 types of food. According to CCTV, every minute of the show was edited out of 150 minutes of footage . Finding their subjects was often the hardest part of the film team's job. It took them six months to film a beekeeping couple , which included a journey of more than 2,000 kilometers.
Food is a personal thing, in that no dish suits all tastes. However, the program has still managed to move all sorts of viewers. "Compared with A Bite of China 1, the new season has a more human touch, which makes viewers cover some tears while their mouths are watering," said Sina Entertainment.
As always, the people are the most interesting part. A Bite of China 2 shows a greater dream--through homemade food, it tells the joys and _ of common Chinese in changing times, according to director Chen Xiaoqing of the documentary series .
"I was moved by the people in each simple story," said Li Weifang, 17, of Beijing No 3 High School. "Their work helps enrich China's food culture. "
In fact, that is exactly what the new season hopes to deliver . Through the program, "the listeners will see the characteristics of the Chinese people: save and tenacity ," Chen told Xinhua Internet.
,,. (2,10) | middle5239.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Fish and chips."
},
"options": [
"A hamburger.",
"Fish and chips.",
"Both.",
"Neither."
],
"question": "Which food could be more popular among British adults,a hamburger or fish and chips?",
"question_type":... | Britain Today
Food
British people like good food,and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month. Fast food is also very popular-- 30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but46% have fish and chips!
Sports
British people don't do a lot of sports. Only 17% of people go swimming every week,about 9% go cycling and 8% play golf--and only 6% of people play football( but 32% go to watch it ).
Cinema and TV
Films are very popular in Britain,and about 60% of people between 15 and 24 go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day -- two quarters more than women.
Holidays
British people love going on holiday,and have 56 million holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren't in the UK--27% are in Spain,10% are in the USA,and 9% are in France. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn't very good!
, | middle2556.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Global Positioning System"
},
"options": [
"Satellites",
"Receivers",
"Global Positioning System",
"Underwater Robot"
],
"question": "_ can tell you where the user is on the earth exactly.",
"question_type... | The Internet, mobile phones and iPads are parts of our lives now. Technology is greatly affecting all ways of our lives, from the ways we work to the ways we play. And it even causes a number of social problems such as cloning humans.
We have had lots of technology and it has changed our lives a lot. We are sure that humans will continue to use more and more technology. Here are some examples of modern technology that will change our ideas and will affect our lives greatly.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
It's a system that uses radio signals from satellites to show exact information. It tells you where the user is on the earth in all weather conditions. It's made up of three parts: satellites, control equipments on land and receivers.
Space Technology
Russian and American scientists have worked together for the International Space Station, (ISS) for a long time. They hope the ISS will provide a long-lasting lab. Such a lab will bring humans limitless advantages. It's even hoped that one day space technology will take humans to their new houses in space.
Underwater Robot
Hercules is a kind of underwater robot with some high technology equipments. It will be used to search for ancient ships which were destroyed into the deep sea during their journey long ago.
The world is changing so quickly that it's hard for us to catch up with all the new inventions because they seem to come out every month. It's important for us to learn about new technology and the role that it plays in our lives. So we should be willing to accept modem technology, or we will fall behind the times. | middle2230.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Write them down."
},
"options": [
"Do some reading.",
"Tell others.",
"Talk with your parents.",
"Write them down."
],
"question": "What should you do if you have any ideas or dreams according to the passage?",
... | When you are not happy, there are six ways to make you happy or feel good about yourself.
(1) Look in the mirror and say to yourself, "I'm a special person and there's no one in the world like me. I can do anything!" It really works!
(2) Do something nice for someone. Helping others always makes you feel good.
(3) Smile! Be friendly to people around you. Look for the good things in your friends and family.
(4) Learn something new! Do you always want to learn how to swim? Go for it!
(5) Read and start a diary . Turn offthe TV and let your imagination fly! If you have any ideas or dreams, write them down!
(6) Stay with your family. We all need our family time. Talk with your mum and dad or maybe even your cousin. | middle4641.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "student"
},
"options": [
"instructor",
"camper",
"student",
"reporter"
],
"question": "Before the writer came to the high school summer camp,he was a (n) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | In the summer between my first year and second year in college, I was invited to be an instructor at a high school camp. On the first day, when we were dancing and playing games, I noticed a boy under the tree who was small and thin. His shyness made him appear weak. I walked towards him, introduced myself and invited him to join in the activities and meet some new people. He quietly replied, "No, I really don't want to do this." I could understand that he was in a new world but I knew it wouldn't be right to force him, either. Actually, the boy didn't need a close talk but a friend.
At lunch the next day, I was leading camp songs when 1 saw the boy under the tree sitting alone. I tried again with the same invitation, but he refused once again. That evening I was told the boy's name was Tommy. Then I asked the campers to pay special attention to the boy and spend time with him when they could.
The days went by and the time came when we had to leave. We held a big, warm party to celebrate the closing of the camp. All the campers shared their wonderful moments. To my surprise. 1 found the boy from under the tree dancing joyfully with two girls. I couldn't believe it was the same person.
In October of my second year, I received a phone call from Tommy's mother. She told me that Tommy was hit by a car and killed. I offered my deep sadness. The mother said: "'Tommy mentioned you so many times. I want you to know that he went back to school and made new friends with confidence. You made a difference for Tommy during his last months."
At that moment, I realized how easy it was to give a bit of yourself every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I hope that everyone can pay attention to their own "boy under the tree". | middle7348.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The pen."
},
"options": [
"The pencil.",
"The pen.",
"Jack.",
"The pencil box."
],
"question": "Who is the king now?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I'm Jack's helper .
Jack's pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil-sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I'm the king in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.
Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It's new and nice. It's a music pen. It can write and sing. But I'm old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it very much! The new pen is his helper now. It's the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home? | middle6056.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "60"
},
"options": [
"18",
"29",
"60",
"250"
],
"question": "About _ people were hurt in the head-on crash.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"a... | News Review
Head- on Train Crash On May 18, two trains had a head-on crash near New York City. Over 250 people were on the trains then. About 60people were hurt, but no deaths were reported.
Travel Time Tourists came together to the Taishan Mountain, on May1. Over 180,000tourists
visited the place of great interest from April 29 to May 1, during the three-day holiday.
Brave Volunteer Liao Zhi , a dance teacher from Chengdu who lost her 1-year-old daughter and her legs in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, arrived in Ya'an 13 hours after the earthquake. The dancer said she had had a terrible time herself and knew what people needed most, so she decided to come and offer help.
Tomato Competition A tomato competition was held in Huainan, Anhui Province, on April
16. The best tomatoes were chosen according to their shape, color and taste. The competition hoped to encourage the farmers to grow better tomatoes. | middle1739.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to spend summer with his uncle"
},
"options": [
"for his winter holidays",
"to see his sick uhcle",
"to spend summer with his uncle",
"because he gets into trouble"
],
"question": "Peter goes to the country _ ... | To Make Everybody Happy
Peter's uncle lives in the country. Once in summer, Peter goes to stay with him for a few weeks. Whenever they go for a walk or for a drive in the car and pass somebody, his uncle waves to the passer-by. Peter is surprised and says, "Uncle Georage, you seem to know everybody here. Where did you meet them all?"
"I don't know all these people." answers his uncle. "Then why do you wave to them?" "Well, Peter ," says his uncle "When I wave to someone who knows me, he is pleased. He goes on his journey with a happier heart. But when I wave to someone who doesn't know me , he is surprised and says to himself, ' Who is that man? Why did he wave to me?' So he has something to think about during the rest of his journey, and that makes his journey seem shorter.So.I.make.everybody.happy. | middle2218.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "morning"
},
"options": [
"morning",
"afternoon",
"evening",
"night"
],
"question": "Alice and Bob meet in the _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"... | Alice is a white dog. She is two.Bob is a brown dog. Bob and Alice are good friends. Look at the two dogs.
Bob:Good morning!
Alice: Good morning!
Bob:What's this?
Alice: It's a jacket. It's my sister's. Oh, my sister is Grace.
Bob:What's that?
Alice:It's a book. It's Miss Miller's book. She is an English teacher.
Bob:Well,dogs don't like books. | middle5577.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "After his graduation from high school."
},
"options": [
"In 1982.",
"In 1998.",
"In 1991.",
"After his graduation from high school."
],
"question": "When did Nie join the army?",
"question_type": "factiod_qu... | Do you know Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng? Fei Junlong was born in 1965. He is a Chinese astronaut selected as a member of the Shenzhou program. He was born in Jiangsu and joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in 1982 at the age of 17. And since then he has only returned home six times. As a fighter pilot , he was selected to an astronaut in 1998.
He married Wang Jie in 1991 and has one son.
Nie Haisheng was born in September 1964. He is also a Chinese astronaut selected for the Shenzhou program. He is from Hubei. After graduating from high school he joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force, and became a fighter pilot. In 1998 he was selected for the astronaut program.
He was one of the three astronauts who were in the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 fight. Yang Liwei was also picked out for the flight, with Zhai Ahigang.
On September 23,2005 it was reported that Zhai and Nie would be one of the three pairs of astronauts who would be in the final training for Shenzhou 6. But in the end, Fei and Nie were chosen, and Zhai missed his chance to space again.
Nie Haisheng got married to Nie Jielin and has an 11-year-old daughter. | middle3106.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Toby"
},
"options": [
"Gramps",
"Toby",
"Toby's Dad",
"Toby's Mum"
],
"question": "This letter is written by _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Monday, April 17
Dear Gramps,
I was so upset last week when somebody stole my Super Racer from the park by your house. I called up the toy company but they said they have only red, blue and green racers. Dad called Cobb's Toy Store today and found out they might have purple ones. Can we go there when I come to visit you next week?You and I were only gone for a few minutes to the shop down the street to get ice-cream and cookies. Maybe the thief was watching us. Mum was surprised when I told her the racer was stolen. She said she used to leave things at the park all the time when she was young. Once she even left her bicycle for two days near the swimming pool.
Tell Grandma that I like the food she made last time. Ask Grandma if we can have pancakes with sugar for breakfast when I come this time. I have packed in my towel, comb and soap. Tell her this time I won't forget to pack in my toothbrush.
Love
Toby | middle8053.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "furniture in the local style"
},
"options": [
"a colorful,local style telephone",
"a bathroom with a carpet from wall to wall",
"furniture in the local style",
"comfortable and modern furniture"
],
"question": "... | When you are next in Hawaii,be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel.Whether you come on business or on holiday,you will find everything as comfortable and as convenient as you would expect in a first-class international hotel.Every bedroom has its own private bathroom,telephone,wall-to-wall carpeting and colorful,modern materials and furniture in the local style.
In the Mitsui Restaurant,you can choose your meals from as wide a variety of dishes,both Eastern and European,as you will find anywhere in the country.In the Beach Bar,you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort,to the music of internationally known musicians.Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name,or to the tables that surround the swimming pool.Throughout the hotel,you will find the service is both friendly and efficient.
The Garden Hotel is right on the beach,only five minutes' walk from Hawaii's modern shopping center.Here you will find all that money can buy,at prices you can afford. | middle7360.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "passed here 10 minutes ago."
},
"options": [
"went to the park 10 minutes ago..",
"went to the cinema 10 minutes ago.",
"passed here 10 minutes ago.",
"passed here 20 minutes ago."
],
"question": "The boy and th... | Amy: Excuse me, Jill.
Jill: Yes, what can I do for you?
Amy: Did you see two persons pass from here? I want to take photos with them.
Jill: Can you describe what they look like?
Amy: Yes, they are one boy and one girl. The girl is very beautiful. quite thin and has long hair. And that boy is also very tall. He is about 1.98 meters tall. He has big eyes and short black hair.
Jill: You mean Sun Yang, the famous swimming player? And he wears a pair of sunglasses?
Amy: Quite right. He stays in Shaoxing these days for swimming. Did you see them?
Jill: Yes, they passed here 10 minutes ago. If you go quickly, You can _ them.
Amy: I will do that. Goodbye. Thanks a lot.
Jill: Goodbye. | middle285.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "his friend"
},
"options": [
"his friend",
"his father",
"his mother",
"his teacher."
],
"question": "The boy saw _ on the wrong train.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Do you learn from your mistakes? I hope so. But have you ever made the same mistake twice? I have.Sometimes I make the same mistake three or four times!
Sometimes,good things happen because of mistakes.Once I got on the wrong train.That was a big mistake.But on that train,I saw a good friend.I was so happy I made that mistake!
Another time I ruined a surprise.My mother planned a surprise party for my father.She told me it was a secret.But I was just a little boy and I couldn't keep the secret.I told my father about the party.At first,my mother was mad at me.But then my father said he was happy he knew about it.He said he didn't like surprises.
When a good thing comes out of a mistake,that's a happy accident! | middle1077.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "believe"
},
"options": [
"think",
"dream",
"believe",
"dare"
],
"question": "The second word to tell the secret of life is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | One day , a young man goes to an old man. The old man is _ and he knows everything.
He looks up into the old man's eyes and says, "I know you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the secret of life."
The old man looks at the young man and answers, "I am thinking about that all my life. The secret is four words. The first word is think .Think about what you want to get from life. The second is believe. Believe in yourself, and don't care too much about what other people say. Just do your best. The third is dream. Dream about the things you love. Hold on to your dream, and never give up when you meet difficulties. The last is dare. Dare to make your dream come true. "
The young man nods his head and leaves happily. | middle6718.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Difficult."
},
"options": [
"Expensive.",
"Comfortable.",
"Difficult.",
"Smooth."
],
"question": "How was Marco Polo's three-and-a-half-year journey to China?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Marco Polo was from Venice, Italy. In 1271, at age 17, Marco went on a trip with his father and uncle to China. Today people often travel to different places around the world. But it was very hard for people from Europe to visit China then. After three and a half years, the Polos reached China on 1275.
While he was there, Marco Polo worked for Kublai Khan, the emperor of China. He was able to learn and experience many things that were new to Europeans. In his diary, he wrote, "Kublai Khan's palace is the greatest I've ever seen. The streets of the new capital. Daidu, are so straight and so wide." Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet in use in the West at that time. Homes were heated with "black stones... which burn like wood." These stones were coal, and most of the Europeans knew little about it then.
After 17 years in China, Marco and his family finally returned to Venice in 1292. After he returned home, Marco completed a book about his trip, full of facts about his wonderful experiences in China. | middle7406.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a little longer"
},
"options": [
"a day",
"a year",
"a little longer",
"than 365 days"
],
"question": "It takes the earth _ to go around the sun.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer... | Why is 2004 a special year? Because it is a Leap Year .
What's so special about that? Well, we have a Leap Year every four years. And it has 366 days, not the usual 365. In a Leap Year, we have 29 days in February, while in a usual year we have only 28 days.
Why do we have a Leap Year? We have a Leap Year so we can keep the calendar in step with the seasons. The calendar is a kind of clock for the year. But how long is a year? A calendar year is 365 days. But a true year is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds long. That's the time it takes the earth to go around the sun. So every four years we have one more day, and we put it at the end of February, the shortest month of a year. Then we have a Leap Year. | middle3660.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the United States"
},
"options": [
"Tokyo",
"London",
"the United States",
"New Zealand"
],
"question": "Where did Mariko visit?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_... | This month inTravelersCorner there are three teenagers' experiences in year-abroad programmes.
Mariko Okada - Tokyo
My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I'm not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned many English songs and lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.
Carla Fonseca - Rio de Janeiro
I spent last year studying English in London. I'm from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I'm glad to be home!
Alvin Chen - Hong Kong
Studying in New Zealand was a fun experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week----with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my homestay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I'm really glad I went. | middle5211.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Mr Smith drank too much"
},
"options": [
"Mr Smith was not careful",
"Mr Smith drank too much",
"Mr Smith forget they were on the bridge",
"Mr Smith couldn't work in the morning"
],
"question": "_ ,so he almost... | Mr Smith was in trouble those days. He drove a car for Mr Black, a rich businessman. He worked hard and the shopkeeper liked him. But he couldn't work when he drank too much.And once he almost fell into the river when he drove along the bridge. Mr Black became angry and was going to send him away. He had a big family and was afraid of it and promised he would stop drinking at once. The man told him to wait to be dealt with .
One Monday morning Mr Smith came into the office with badly burned ears.
"What happened to your ears?" asked Mr Black.
"Well", said the man. "I went to watch a football match yesterday while my wife was ironing clothes. She had put the iron near the telephone before she went to cook supper.
Our team lost the game and I felt sorry for it. As soon as I went in the sitting-room ,the phone rang and I answered the iron !"
"And what happened to the other ear?"
"When I put the iron down the table ,the telephone rang again !" | middle1063.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because she wants to show thanks."
},
"options": [
"Because she has a good smartphone.",
"Because she wants to show thanks.",
"Because she decides to become famous.",
"Because she is good at taking photos."
],
"... | The "59 smiles" on a smartphone by an old woman in Wuhan, Hubei province in about six months tell a big story. The smiles are from the 59 people who offered her seats on buses. "Everybody can be a good _ , because in many cases a friendly smile is all that is needed to build a better world." says Zhang Yongsheng in an article on youth.cn.
The 69-year-old Wuhan woman has taken photographs of the people who offered their seats to her on buses. The 59 photographs are good memories for her. Some of the smiles are shy, some friendly, while others are like sunshine.
The old lady is not good at taking photographs with her smartphone, because some of them are of poor quality, but in spite of that, the series of photographs has become famous immediately on the Internet.
The smiles that the old lady has taken show people's care and love for others, which is becoming valuable in today's society. Her act also expressed her thanks to those who have helped her, says Zhang.
Offering one's seat to elderly people on buses has become a hot topic of discussion. There have been many cases of quarrels between young and aged people recently. They could have been avoided if we had thought more about others and also more thankful when others offered help. | middle7374.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "A bank worker."
},
"options": [
"A computer engineer.",
"A customer.",
"A bank worker.",
"We don't know."
],
"question": "What was the first thief?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer... | Computers can help many workers. They can also help thieves.
There was one thief who worked in a bank of the United States. He paid for everything he needed by check . Then he told the computer not to take any money from his account for the checks he wrote. The bank's computer did what he said. And it did not take any money from his bank account. One day the computer broke down. People had to do the computer's work. They soon found out what was happening.
Another thief, who worked for a bank saw people filling in deposit forms . Many of these people did not know their account numbers, so they wrote only their names on the forms. They left empty places for their account numbers. The thief wrote his own account number in this place. When the computer read these forms it looked only at the account numbers. It did not look at the customers' names. It paid the money on these deposit forms into the thief's account .
Then there was the bank worker who told the bank computer to take ten cents off every customer's account each month and put it into his own account. For a long time the bank's customers did not notice that they were losing ten cents every month. But then someone did notice and told the bank. That was the end of that little game! | middle1705.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Using a credit card is easier and safer than cash"
},
"options": [
"We use digital money to shop online without paying money.",
"Digital money is most likely to be used instead of cash.",
"Using a credit card is easier and sa... | What's going to happen in the future? Will robots control our planet? Will computers become smarter than us? Not likely. But here are some things that scientists say are most likely to happen in 10 to 30 years from now, according to the BBC.2-1-c-n-j-y
Digital money
We used to pay with cash for everything we bought. Now when we use a credit card to shop online, money is spent without us seeing it. That means we are already using digital money. Using a card is much easier than searching our pockets for change. It is also safer than carrying a lot of cash.
When ATM cards were first introduced, they were not accepted everywhere. But now it's hard to live without them. It's reported that people in Sweden completely stopped using cash last year, and the US might be next.
Bionic eye
It's no longer something only in a science fiction movie. People who are blind may have a chance to get their sight back--by wearing bionic eyes.
A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to "see" the environment and send data to the mind. Now the bionic eye only allows patients to see lights and unclear shapes. A high resolution image could be just a few years away.
Self-driving cars
Unlike a human driver, a self-driving car won't get distracted by phone call, the radio or something outside the window. Sensors and cameras on the car would allow it to stick reduce the number of road accidents. You could even take a nap while the car driver itself.
Many vehicle companies are now planning self!driving cars. "By 2040, driverless vehicles will be widely accepted and possibly be the dominant vehicles on the road," said Jeffrey Miller, professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, US. | middle5563.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "helpful in communication"
},
"options": [
"simple to learn",
"negative to be used",
"hard to understand",
"helpful in communication"
],
"question": "According to the writer, body language is very _ .",
"q... | If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then the body is the mirror of our feelings. If we are feeling great, we may give our body signals . If we look at someone else's body, we can often tell how they are feeling by their body signals. So reading body language signals is a great tool in daily communication.
In case you don't think that learning how to read and use body language is important, here are some numbers for you. 7% of the information we receive is from what people actually say, and 38% of the information we receive is from the tone and the speed of their voice; while 55% of the information we receive is from their body language.
These non-verbal signals will help you a lot, but you still need to focus on what people are saying. If you focus too much on their body language signals, you and the person may feel uncomfortable. It is useful to be able to read people's body language, but it is useful to learn how to send the right signals and avoid the wrong signals too. Body language may be given several interpretations. Many signals have different meanings, depending on the person and the situation. Be sure of it when you are trying to read a body language signal. | middle3112.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Some of the children and their parents played the poor."
},
"options": [
"Half the poor and half the rich joined in the activity.",
"Children played the rich and parents played the poor.",
"Parents played the rich and childre... | On Children's Day 2004,Hong Kong held an interesting activity.In this activity,children and their parents played the rich and the poor.In the dinner,the rich could have delicious food,but the poor could only have bread with porridge.
Parents all hoped to have the dinner for the poor with their children.They hoped that their children could be taught a lesson from the dinner.
Now many people on earth don't have enough food or clothing.Every day only half of the world could enjoy enough food.
The activity was held to make the families understand the differences between the poor and the rich and also make parents know that too much material life won't always do good to the children. | middle4696.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the migrant workers of China"
},
"options": [
"the factory owners of China",
"the business men and women",
"the migrant workers of China",
"the people in Chinese cities"
],
"question": "The writer thinks _ a... | We can see them every day, on every street corner, on every construction site in cities. They work day and night in the terrible working conditions and weather. They build the roads, the theaters, the cinemas, and the supermarkets. They're China's _ .
More than 140 million workers have left their homes to look for job in cities. They hope to be rich, but they realize they have many problems making money. And one of the problems is the pride and discrimination from the people in cities.
When night falls, I can see the sad faces of the migrant workers everywhere. You can see them playing cards along the streets. Many are living far away from where they are.
I can sometimes feel their pain, knowing exactly what it feels like to live so far away from home in a city where I walk a different walk and talk a different talk.
Yes, they dress differently and speak differently. Different habits, but they work hard. The people in cities regard them as outsiders, and most governments refuse to give them medical care and public schooling for their children.
So many things need to be changed. The first is discrimination! They may not make as much money as some people in cities, they may not have everything we have, but they are honest. They are very important and necessary to China's economic development and have become an important force for the change of Chinese society. They're building the new China. So we should help them with our hands. | middle5588.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "They bring people together."
},
"options": [
"They make people rich.",
"They bring people happiness all the time.",
"They make people younger.",
"They bring people together."
],
"question": "What's the idea of V... | Are Sports Important?
Sports are all around us. We watch and read sports news. There are also sports clubs,
and even sports-only channels on TV. In many countries, players make millions of dollars every year. But why are sports so important? They're only games, right?
Our readers answer:
Vlad (Ukraine)
Sports bring people together. In 2006, our team was able to play in the 2006 World Cup for the first time. Everyone was happy. Rich and poor, old and young, men and women--everyone was in the streets together!
Mike (U.S.A.)
Sports bring people together, but they divide them too. Fans of different teams fight all the Time
-they shout and hit each other. And here's another example: My brother plays high school baseball.Last week, his team played an important game. At the game, two parents fought about a call .
Come on ... baseball is only a game! Sports are so competitive these days. It's all about winning. Then the game isn't fun.
Oba (South Africa)
Right now, some of the world's best soccer players are from African countries, and the 2010
World Cup games will be held in South Africa. Yes, some players make a lot of money--maybe too much, but sporting events (like the World Cup) bring tourists and money to countries
and people. And that is good for Africa. | middle6081.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a village"
},
"options": [
"China",
"a city",
"a village",
"a large village"
],
"question": "The two deaf men live in _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3... | There are two deaf men in the small village.One is Mr. Brown and the other is Mr. Green.They live near to each other.They are good friends.
They often talk together.They talk about all kinds of things.Sometimes they are worried about their hearing.But one thinks the other is deafer.
One day,Mr. Brown comes to Mr. Green's house.Mr. Green is sitting in a chair.He is having a rest.Mr. Brown stops at the door and asks,"Can you hear me?" There is no answer.Mr. Brown goes near and asks again,"Can you hear me?" Again he doesn't hear any answer.Mr. Brown is quite pleased.Still he goes nearer and asks for the third time,still there is no answer.At last,Mr. Brown goes up to Mr. Green and says,"Now I know you are much deafer than me.You don't hear my questions.""I am much deafer?" says Mr. Green,"No,I answered you three times,but you didn't hear my answer." | middle3847.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "eleven people"
},
"options": [
"ten people",
"four children",
"eleven people",
"five people"
],
"question": "Mr Brown sees _ in all .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"... | One day Mr Brown sees a young woman with several children in the street. He is very surprised because all the children are wearing the same clothes. White caps, blue coats and yellow trousers. "Are all these children yours?" he asks the woman. "Yes, they are," she answers. "Do you always dress them in the same clothes? " asks Mr Brown. "Yes," answers the mother. "When we have four children, we dress them in the same clothes because we don't want to lose any of them. It is easy to see our children among other children because they are all wearing the same clothes. And now we have ten, we dress them like this because we don't want to take other children home by mistake . When there are other children among ours, it is easy to see them because their clothes are different." | middle2581.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "north"
},
"options": [
"west",
"south",
"north",
"east"
],
"question": "Last winter,there were heavy snows in the _ of China.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | It snowed heavily last winter in northern China.Big snows came to Beijing,Hebei,Shanxi,Ningxia and Xinjiang.For many cities,it was the biggest snowfall in 50 years.The snow made traveling hard.Many schools had to close for days.
Jia Aizhen,14,lives in Taiyuan,Shanxi.Her math teacher asked them to have a test on Wednesday.Because of the snow,they had the test later on Sunday.
"It was good because we had more time to study for the test,"said Jia.She enjoyed the snow from the window at home.
"I felt quiet and relaxed to see the white snowy world."
Kang Xinyi,13,and Wang Doing,13,are classmates at Shijiazhuang No.43 Middle School in Hebei.Their school stopped on Wednesday.Kang said the snow outside was 40em deep .
"It was so good we didn't have to go to school!"said Kang.
Kang,Wang and another friend had a snowball fight and made a snowman .They also helped clear snow off the streets.
"I never saw such a big snow,"said Wang."Last year we only made a small snow panda,but this year our snowman is 1 meter tall!"
"If the snow didn't _ for traveling,we would hope it would never stop!"said the girls. | middle3853.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "listening to music"
},
"options": [
"taking some photos",
"listening to music",
"reading a book",
"sleeping for a while"
],
"question": "According to the passage, _ is a good way to keep away from being bore... | Some advice on travel
Here is some advice on travel. I think it will be helpful to you.
1. Forget fashion! Always wear your most comfortable clothes and shoes when you go on long trips.
2. If you're going somewhere cold, remember to take your warm clothes with you.
3. If you are going somewhere sunny, remember to take some sun block and sunglasses.
4. Traveling on trains and buses can be boring, so you'd better take an MP4 player.
5. Always take a camera with you to _ those special moments.
6. Be careful with your things whenever you go to crowded places, like a train station.
7. Always leave room in your bag for souvenirs .
8. Tour buses often stop at expensive shops along the way. Save your money by buying souvenirs at local shops.
9. Most countries have lower prices for students, so if you are, take your student card with you.
10. If you travel abroad, remember to take your passport. | middle508.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "easy"
},
"options": [
"difficult",
"easy",
"simple",
"possible"
],
"question": "It wasn't very _ to find jobs in the northeast of England.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | It was very difficult to find jobs in the northeast of England, and when John lost his job, he found it was impossible for him to get a new one.He had soon spent all his money, so he decided to go down to the south of the country.He was told that the things there were better, and that it was easier to find work.The best way to get there was by train.He went to the railway station and got into a train for the south.
He was the only passenger in his compartment when another man came in.He was carrying a gun and said to John, "Your money or your life!"
"I haven't got a penny," John answereD.
"Then why are you shaking so much?" the man with a gun asked angrily.
"Because I thought you were the ticket-collector and I haven't even got a ticket," answered John. | middle6095.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Liang Bo"
},
"options": [
"Wu Mochou",
"Zhu Zhiwen",
"Liang Bo",
"Liu Huan"
],
"question": "_ becomes \" The Voice China\".",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index... | China's New Voice
Three months ago,Liang Bo was just a student who was studying music in the college. Now he becomes " The Voice of China". The lucky young man is the winner of The Voice of China, the most popular TV show this summer. People think Liang's voice is natural, clear and touching.
The 21-year-old boy was born in Changchun, Jilin. Like many other young Chinese, he fell in love with music by playing the guitar. Liang got his first guitar as a birthday gift when he was in middle school. He spent days and nights practicing. " I can't live without my guitar."He said.
Many people think Liang Bo is just like famous Chinese rock singers such as Xu Wei, Wang Feng and Zheng Jun. But the young man doesn't want to stand in others' shadow ." I like them, but I'm not going to copy them. I will be who I am." he said. | middle4682.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "her uncle had no children"
},
"options": [
"her uncle had no children",
"she treated her uncle very well",
"her uncle didn't get along well with his children",
"she was very poor and her uncle wanted to help her"
],... | June and I were both poor when we were young. At that time, June always said, " If I got rich, I would buy a bigger apartment and a new wardrobe ." Of course, she said this just for fun and she never imagined that she would really become rich.
A few years ago, June was surprised and excited when she came into a fortune from her uncle, who had been single. After receiving it, she made a shopping list. On it she wrote down all the ways she could use to spend the money. Every time I told her not to spend all of the money and to save some, she would always say impatiently , " I know, I know!"
One day, when I was in June's home, she passed a piece of paper to me. "I thought over your suggestion for several nights. I've decided how to use the money. I hope my money will be helpful to those who need help," she said.
I was pleased to hear what she said. Then I took the paper and only saw the two words written by her: Charity and Family. I smiled and played a joke on her, "Don't you want to move to a new apartment? That is what you have been dreaming of."
"Actually, I have been looking forward to it, but now it doesn't seem so important to me anymore," she answered with a smile.
When I was about to put the paper on the table, I found there were still a few words. June had written: and a new wardrobe. | middle246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "four"
},
"options": [
"two",
"four",
"five",
"six"
],
"question": "There are _ season in a year.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_tex... | There are four seasons in a year. They are spring, summer. autumn and winter.
Spring is a beautiful season. In spring, the trees turn green and the flowers come out. Everything looks new. We can have a trip in spring. Summer is a happy season. In summer, we can swim and eat lots of ice cream. Autumn is a
season. In autumn, some leaves on the trees turn yellow or red. Winter is a cold season. In some places, it snows and everything looks white. The children like playing with snow.
Winter is my favourite season. I like snow very much. | middle8090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "park"
},
"options": [
"clothes store",
"bank",
"post office",
"park"
],
"question": "The writer's house is near a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2... | Now many boys wear the same clothes as girls, and some of them have long hair. So sometimes it's difficult to tell whether they are boys or girls.
One Sunday morning, I went for a walk with my grandfather in the park near my house. After a while, my grandfather was tired, so he sat down on a bench near the pool.
"Oh," my grandfather said to the person with long curly hair next to him on the bench. "Can you see the person with long hair on the other side of the pool? Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Which one?" asks the person with long curly hair.
"The one who is eating a hamburger near the pool," said my grandfather. "He is a boy," said the person, "he's my son, Han Han."
"Oh," my grandfather said, "I'm sorry, I don't know you are his mother." "No, I'm not his mother. I'm his father." | middle4872.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in the afternoon"
},
"options": [
"in the morning",
"in the afternoon",
"while I was in the back room",
"while I was in the garden"
],
"question": "The storm happened _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_question... | Last Sunday I saw the worst storm in years. It came suddenly and went on for more than three hours. After lunch, I went into my room to have a rest. The air was hot, and all was quiet.The strong wind started blowing into my room. Pieces of paper on my desk flew high into the air and some flew out of the open window. As I ran out to catch them, big drops of rain began to fall.
When I came back into the house, it was raining harder and harder. I tried very hard to close the window. Then I heard a loud crashing sound from the back of the house. I ran
out of my room to find out what it was--- a big tree had fallen down and broke the top of the back room. | middle6903.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "give her a lesson"
},
"options": [
"play some games",
"see the square",
"show her the way",
"give her a lesson"
],
"question": "The writer's father took her to the church to.",
"question_type": "factiod_ques... | We were standing at the top of a church not far from my home. I didn't know why.
"Look down," Father said. I tried and saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the streets to the square. "See, Elsa," Father said. "There is more than one way to the square. If you can't get where you want to go by one road, try another."
Earlier that day, I asked Mother to do something about what we had for lunch at school. But she didn't think the food was as bad as I said. When I turned to Father for help, he brought me to the church.
At school the next day, I filled a bottle with the soup for our lunch and took it home. I told the cook to pour the soup in a plate and bring it to Mother. She drank it and cried out, "What's the matter with the soup today?" I at once told her what I had done , and Mother said that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day .
Now I really understood why Father had taken me to the church. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every way to my goal. | middle520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To see if the virus is still around."
},
"options": [
"To help clean up the border.",
"To see if the virus is still around.",
"To protect the chickens from falling ill.",
"To make sure that the birds can find food."
... | Health officials in Canada are very busy these days. They are placing chickens at fixed points all along their 2,500 km border with the United States of America.
It's not a joke, nor have the Canadians gone mad. They are using these chickens to see if the West Nile virus is still around. The virus infects birds, so the chickens have a chance of catching the virus and fall ill. The West Nile virus is spread among humans. It killed seven people in New York last year.
Countries around the world are realizing that it may just be possible to stop certain kinds of people from entering their land. However, it is very difficult to stop viruses traveling from one end of the earth to another. When they travel to new places, they get used to the environment very easily and sometimes start destroying the local plant and animal life. These biological polluters are called smart polluters.
These smart polluters can be carried across borders of countries unknowingly. Just as we humans are travelling across the world more often than earlier, these biological polluters have also started journey much more. They slide into airplanes through their wheels. They dig into objects that travelers may be carrying from one country to another.
There are some good examples of how these polluters work. The water hyacinth of South America is blocking lakes in China and Africa. Tree snakes from Papua New Guinea are busy eating up some birds in the country of Guam, which breaks its natural balance.
That's why the customs officials in many foreign countries prevent people from bringing in a small plant, or an object made of wood that is in its natural form. The customs officials have these rules because these varieties of plants are special to certain places. The plants have the power to spread new illnesses among native plants and animals. Biological polluters always create problems in places where they do not belong. They could be special varieties of plants, bugs or even animals. | middle6917.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "have meals in darkness"
},
"options": [
"eat special dark food",
"choose any food they like",
"have meals in darkness",
"eat inside a whale"
],
"question": "Whale Inside is a place where people can _ .",
... | Have you ever heard about the Whale Inside Dark Restaurant? The restaurant is in eastern downtown Beijing. It's the first eat-in-the-dark restaurant in China, and also in Asia. The restaurant is so welcome, since it's open in January at jianwai SOHO in Chaoyang District.
People going there will experience darkness both during the day and the night. The restaurant offers not only a wonderful choice for food, but also a special environment for friends or parties.
Every day, Whale Inside receives at least 50 guests from everywhere around Beijing. About 10 per cent of them are foreigners.
The customers will go to the light to see the menu, and then they have to hand in all mobile phones, watches and other things that can give off light. They then move to the dark world. Waiters will lead them to the dark dining area. Of course, the waiters are all wearing special glasses that can make them see in the dark. Customers cannot see anything including their food or friends. They have to look for their spoons, drinks, and anything else.
Every table may get a "secret dish ". The guests will have one chance to guess what the dish is made of. Everyone who guesses it correctly can win a prize. "It is not easy," said the manager, "because without seeing it, only 30 per cent of the guests can get the answer." | middle4866.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "had his own ways of planting trees"
},
"options": [
"didn't know how to plant trees at all",
"wasn't good at his own medical job",
"had his own ways of planting trees",
"had nothing to do but plant trees"
],
"qu... | When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person.
When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important.
So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for whole summer.
After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down. | middle252.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Five days."
},
"options": [
"Five days.",
"Six days.",
"Seven days.",
"Four days."
],
"question": "How many days do many Americans go to work a week?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Many Americans go to work five days a week. American students go to school five days a week, too, so they usually have a two-day weekend. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday. At the weekend people spend their time in many different ways. Sometimes they go shopping. Sometimes they go for a drive. Sometimes they visit friends. Many families enjoy weekends together.
Many American families do some sports at the weekend. For example , in summer, they enjoy swimming and biking. In autumn, they prefer playing volleyball and tennis. In winter, they go skating and skiing . In spring, they like sightseeing and hiking . How happy they are! Do you have an enjoyable weekend? | middle8084.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Three."
},
"options": [
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four.",
"One."
],
"question": "How many kinds of hiking are there in the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"a... | The students of Class Three are going hiking for their fieldtrip. Hiking is good for people's health. Many hikers like to hike in the countryside, forest and mountains. Just walking for fun is the first kind of hiking. Many people like to hike in the parks or just on the sidewalks.
A hike can take a few hours or weeks. For most hiking, people just need clothes and shoes that are good for the weather. At the beginning hikers should start with walks that they can do in one day. As you get stronger, you can go on overnight hikes. Later you can go longer than that. You can make your hiking last a few days or weeks.
For safety , hikers should hike with someone. You should have one or two friends with you. It is also a good idea to carry a map.
Backpacking is another kind of hiking. People carry food, clothes and other things on their backs in packs. Backpackers can stay many days in the places where there is no food to buy. They carry what they need on their backs.
Now put on your hiking shoes and take a hike. | middle905.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he liked to do the same things as other people"
},
"options": [
"he did not like taking a bus",
"he liked to be different from other men",
"he liked to do the same things as other people",
"the bus did not always come o... | Mr. Carrey worked at a big company. He went to work by bus. One day when he was standing at the bus-stop, he watched cars go by. Many of the cars were new Sherry 700s, and most of them were yellow.
Mr. Carrey was a person who did not like to be different from other men. He always wore the same clothes as other men, ate the same food as other people, and did the same things after work as they did.
Two months later, Mr. Carrey bought a new yellow Sherry 700. He was very pleased with it, and drove to work in it the next morning. When he saw all the other Sherry 700s, in front, behind and on both sides of him, he was even more pleased with his car.
Mr. Carrey parked his car in a big car-park near the office building, and walked to his office. But when he came back at five o'clock, there were so many yellow Sherry 700s in the car-park that Mr. Carrey did not know which car was his. He tried his key in some of the cars, but people passing by gave him a look which he did not like. So he stopped.
Mr. Carrey could do nothing but wait nearly forty minutes until his car was the only yellow Sherry 700 left in the car-park. | middle1249.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "For about 50 years."
},
"options": [
"For about 10 years.",
"For about 20 years.",
"For about 50 years.",
"For about 60 years."
],
"question": "How long has the Internet been used?",
"question_type": "factio... | We are all busy talking about and using the Internet. But how many of us know the history of the Internet?
Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time .
At first the Internet was only used by the government , but in the early 1970s; universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and yet Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" the Internet easier.
Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among young people.
The Internet has become one of the most important parts of people s life. | middle2740.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "shops and banks"
},
"options": [
"shops and banks",
"libraries and schools.",
"banks and schools",
"hospitals and hotels"
],
"question": "The eye-recognition program has already been tested in _ in a few count... | Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The program works because everyone's eyes are different. So in the future you won't have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You'll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are.
The eye-recognition program is already being tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain and France. Soon, this technology will change all other ways of finding out who people are.
However, scientists are working on other systems. Machines will soon be able to know you from the shape of your face or hands or even your smell! We already have machines that can tell who you are from your voice or the mark made by your fingers.
Eye-recognition is better than other kinds because your eyes don't change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the program can be up to 94% correct, depending on how good the technology is. Some programs may only be right 51% of the time. In Britain, it was found that 91% of people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition.
In the future your computer will be looking at you in the eye. So smile! | middle4331.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Invitation in western countries."
},
"options": [
"Drop in anytime.",
"Come and see me soon.",
"Invitation in western countries.",
"Westerners."
],
"question": "The best title of this passage is _",
"quest... | When you hear Westerners say " Drop in anytime" or "Come and see me soon" , you should realize that it doesn't mean you are welcome to come over to their house anytime. It's wise to telephone before visiting someone.
Never accept an invitation unless you really plan to go. You may refuse by saying, "Thank you for inviting me, but I may not be able to come." If you are unable to come after accepting the invitation, be sure to tell those who invite you in advance that you will not be there.
When you have accepted the invitation to a party or a dinner, it is polite to bring small gifts with you, such as bottles of drink, flowers and chocolate. Sometimes Westerners may take you out to dinner in a restaurant and it does not necessarily mean that he is going to pay the bill at the end of the meal. He might want you to " _ ", which means each person pays his own bill. | middle2998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because they can learn skills and get money."
},
"options": [
"Because they don't want to be stressed out.",
"Because they can learn skills and get money.",
"Because they can get a good job in the future.",
"Because the... | Having a part-time job is an important part of growing up for American teenagers. It can teach them important skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives. And many teenagers find that making their own money gives them a sense of pride and freedom.
American teenagers are allowed to do part-time jobs at the age of 14. During the school year, teenagers may go to work a few times a week after school, and work for longer at weekends.
In summer, top part-time jobs for teenagers include at camps, swimming pools and amusement parks. These jobs are great for those who want to be active and have fun while making money.
Some of the most stressful jobs include teaching, nursing, and police work. These skills help to prepare teenagers for their later lives. When they grow up, the students with work experience are more likely to succeed than those without work experience.
A favorite job for many teenagers is babysitting, and they can start before the age of 14 if their parents agree. As long as they stay in the house and make sure the kids are okay, babysitters can do their homework, watch TV, or talk on the phone with friends. After the kids go to bed and before the parents come home, babysitters have lots of freedom.
It can be stressful to balance school, homework, and a part-time job. However, many American teenagers _ their work experience and the skills they get from the job. | middle3338.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Wizards of Waverly Place"
},
"options": [
"Barney and Friends",
"Wizards of Waverly Place",
"Her three albums",
"Her charity activities"
],
"question": "_ was (were) very successful and after that Selena Gomez ... | Selena Gomez won Favorite Female Singer at 2014 Kids' Choice Awards on March 29. It is a very important awards show held every year in America.
Gomez was born on July 22,1992 in Texas. The 22-year-old girl is an all-round star----she not only acts well but also sings a lot of popular songs. At the age of 7, Gomez first played with a purple dinosaur on the TV show Barney and Friends. In 2007, Gomez acted in Wizards of Waverly Place (<<>> ),which was a big success. After that, she played different roles in many films and become more and more popular.
Gomez made her own band at the age of 17. Fans love her songs because of her beautiful voice. By fan, she has released three albums . She also has a good sense of fashion. Gomez wore a beautiful dress at the Kids' Choice Award. It made her lovely and she shone the whole night.
Charity is an important part in Gomez's life. In October 2008, she was named UNICEF's spokes-person for Trick-or-Treat, which encourages children to raise money on Halloween to help poor children around the world. She said that she was excited to encourages other kids to make a difference in the world. | middle4457.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to develop some good habits"
},
"options": [
"to treat others gently",
"not to feel strange at school",
"to develop some good habits",
"to be better than other children at school"
],
"question": "The writer wish... | Dear World,
My son starts school today. It's going to be strange and new to him for some time. And I wish you would treat him gently.
You see, up to now, he has been king of his own room. He has been boss of the backyard. I have always been around to treat his wounds, and to comfort his feelings.
But now things are going to be different. This morning, he's going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand and start his life.
So, World, I wish you would take him by the little hand and teach him the things he will have to know. Teach him there are heroes, leaders and friends in this world. Give him quiet time to think over the mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on the green hill.
Teach him to believe in his own ideas, even if everyone else tells him he is wrong.
Teach him to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.
Teach him never to put a price on his heart and spirit.
Teach him gently, World, but don't love him too much, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. This is a big order, World, and see what you can do. He's such a little fellow. | middle2026.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Cola"
},
"options": [
"Juice",
"Water",
"Milk",
"Cola"
],
"question": "Tony's favourite drink is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_te... | Tony:I like eating hamburgers and drinking cola. Yes, they are not healthy. But I eat hamburgers and drink cola every day.I don't like vegetables. I hate tomatoes.
Cindy: My favourite food is chocolate and my favourite drink is milk. Milk can make me healthy. I drink milk every morning. I like fruit too. And my favourite fruit is oranges.
Zhang Qiang: I like meat. I eat beef and chicken, but my favourite is beef. So I'm strong and tall.
Liu Xin: I like candy and vegetables. I eat candy every day. But my mum says candy can make me fat. Now I'm fat so I do sports every day. | middle6240.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "successful"
},
"options": [
"popular",
"successful",
"comfortable",
"generous"
],
"question": "Many students want to get good education to be _ in the future.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | In Singapore,many middle school students spend a lot of their time on their studies. Good education is often regarded as a ticket to success in their future. So,many of these students try their best to get good grades in their examinations.They have a lot of homework every day and exams are a big headache.Sometimes,some of them are even made to go to remedial classes after schoo1.
Schools run programs outside school hours.The students can take part in sports and games,music and dance,hiking and rock-climbing ,etc.They are also very active in community service .
In their spare time,most students like to listen to pop music.And Hollywood blockbusters ,Hong Kong and Singapore movies are very popular among them.They understand IT very well.Some of them also spend their free time surfing the Internet,e-mailing their friends,playing computer and video games.
They sometimes go to cafes,fast-food restaurants,shopping centers and big bookstores.
So,it looks like life as a middle school student in Singapore is not easy but it is rich and colorful. | middle6254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a student; a student"
},
"options": [
"a worker; a student",
"a student; a worker",
"a student; a teacher",
"a student; a student"
],
"question": "My brother is _ and I am _ .",
"question_type": "... | I'm a school girl. My brother and I are twins. We are both at school. We like school. My parents are both teachers. They work hard. My brother and I study at No. 1 Middle School. There are twenty-five boys and eighteen girls in our class.
We go to school from Monday to Friday. We have no classes on Saturdays and Sundays. We usually get up at six o'clock, and have breakfast at half past six. We come to school at seven o'clock. Classes begin at eight. We have four lessons in the morning and two in the afternoon. We have lunch a fifteen past twelve. At three fifty we have sports.
We study Chinese, math, English, geography, physics, history, politics and other lessons. We like Chinese. We like English, too. Some of us are good at it.
We go home at five o'clock. We have supper at six o'clock. We do our homework at seven every evening and go to bed at half past nine, but sometimes we go to sleep at about ten.
We work hard, we study for the people. | middle8279.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Do some exercise"
},
"options": [
"Do some exercise",
"Clean the shoes",
"Have a rest",
"Eat enough fruit"
],
"question": "_ before leaving.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Many people like traveling (going to other places). Modern traffic is fast, so going to different places becomes very easy. If you want to travel, you must be healthy. But do you know how to keep healthy when you are traveling? The following information is important for you.
Before leaving:
Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and sunglasses.
Do some exercise for weeks or months before you leave.
While traveling:
Be sure not to eat dirty food or bad fruit.
Drink clean or bottled water.
Find time to take a good rest. | middle5985.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "milk"
},
"options": [
"milk",
"butter",
"jam",
"sweet"
],
"question": "Cheese is made from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "c... | The food in America is different from (......) that in China. The American people eat a lot of potatoes. They like to eat them every day. They often eat bread. They eat it with cheese, butter or jam . Cheese and butter are made from milk. The American people drink a lot of milk. They put it in the tea. They also drink coffee. And they like meat or fish with vegetables. After the meal, they have something sweet,it's dessert. | middle4443.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "make lonely old people's life better"
},
"options": [
"understand human-animal relationship",
"make lonely old people's life better",
"find the causes of old people's loneliness",
"improve the animal-assisted research"
... | Scientists are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to test whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study on the effect of robotic dogs on old people's depression , physical activity, and life satisfaction.
In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, scientists will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the scientists will review the data to test if it has produced any changes in the life of its owner.
"I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice," says a seventy-year-old lady. "When I'm watching TV, he'll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has his own mind."
The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The scientists say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog _ exercise and feeding concerns.
"At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate(......) to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry." Beck says. "Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters' blood pressure, oxygen levels or heart rhythms . AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people's minds." | middle2032.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "second"
},
"options": [
"fifth",
"second",
"first",
"three"
],
"question": "Mary is a _ year student.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_t... | Little Mary is a good girl. She's in Grade 2 now. Her home is not far from school, but she is often late for class because she likes watching TV, listening to music in the evening and she goes to bed very late. So she can't get up on time in the morning.
This term Mr White, Mary's uncle, works in her school. He teaches Grade 2 history. He often tells Mary to follow the school rules and come to school on time.
Today Mary get up late again. When she comes to school, it is 8:15 . Her uncle is waiting for her at the school gate. "You are ten minutes late for the first class." Mr White says angrily . "Why are you often late for class?" "Every time when I get to the street corner , I always see a sign . It says 'SCHOOL-GO SLOW! ' " says Mary. | middle2754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "three."
},
"options": [
"three.",
"five.",
"four.",
"six."
],
"question": "How many times do I play basketball every week?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"ans... | My favourite sport is basketball because it is very exciting.I like basketball because the NBA stars play very well.Basketball is very cheap and it is a good sport for our health.We can grow taller if we play basketball often.Also it keeps me fit.I play basketball three times a week.Most often I play it in my school.I often play it with my friends or I may play it myself.I feel very happy when I play basketball at school with my classmates.Sometimes I play basketball in the playground near my home.Basketball is very easy to play.If you play basketball very well, you can form a basketball team to take part in the competition.If you win the basketball competition, you will have the prize.You may become a famous basketball star. | middle4325.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "No, he didn't."
},
"options": [
"Yes, he did.",
"Yes, he didn't.",
"No, he did.",
"No, he didn't."
],
"question": "The lion didn't eat the mouse at last, did he?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Once upon a time, there was a lion and a mouse.
One day, when the lion was sleeping, the mouse ran onto his face. The lion woke up. He was very angry and caught the mouse. "I will eat you!" the lion said angrily.
The mouse cried out,"If you do not kill me, I would be happy to give you a reward ."The lion laughed at the idea. He did not think a little mouse could help such a big strong animal like himself. But he still let the mouse go.
After a few days, it happened. The lion was caught by hunters' net. He tried his best to leave, after half a day, but he still couldn't get out of the net. He was very sad, he thought he was dying. At that time the lion felt something nibbling(,) on the ropes. It was the mouse. Just before dark, the work was done. There was a hole in the net. The lion got free through the hole. He was very happy and thanked the mouse, "My friend, you have saved me. I will never _ the power of small animals like you."
From then on, the lion and the mouse became friends. | middle6532.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "four"
},
"options": [
"two",
"three",
"four",
"five"
],
"question": "There are _ amusing secrets about Disneyland mentioned in this passage.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | The popular Disneyland has some deep, dark, and sometimes amusing secrets that you probably don't know. Read on to learn them.
General Main Street
By using a special method of construction , Disneyland created an effect that you don't notice until your tired family leaves the park. The next time you enter Disneyland, make note of the distance that it appears you have to travel to get to the "Partners" statue. Then look at the exit of the park from the statue. That's correct. The distance appears to be shorter entering the park than going out. The purpose was to keep guests from wanting to take the long walk out.
Birthday fun
If you visit Disneyland on your birthday, be sure to tell the person at the gate that it's your big day. You'll be sent to City Hall where you'll be presented with a special sticker by cast members, letting everyone know it's your birthday. You may also be able to score special items from other cast members throughout the park, so it's certainly worth a try!
The music never stops.
Visitors like the music and sounds in the park.. Did you know the music never stops at the park? Even when the park was closed, the music and sounds are kept on going. Some believe it cost too much for Disney to keep turning off the music and then restarting it each day. But the truth is that it helps some workers clean up after 2 a.m!
Club 33
"Club 33" is the only place in Disneyland that provides guests with alcoholic beverages . Club 33 members and their guests get free entrance to Disneyland so long as they have a meal at Club 33 on the day of their visit. | middle5013.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "A nurse."
},
"options": [
"A doctor.",
"A nurse.",
"A piano teacher.",
"A bus driver."
],
"question": "What did Barbara do? _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his piano lesson. They were late. There was always so much to do, and Barbara, a night-duty nurse at the local hospital, had recently worked extra hours. She was tired.
"Mom!" Ben cried. "Look!" Just ahead, a car had lost control on the icy road and wildly rolled over, and then crashed into a telephone pole. Barbara went over. Thank goodness she was a nurse -- she might be able to help these unfortunate passengers. Then she stopped. What about Ben? She couldn't take him with her. Little boys shouldn't see scenes like this one. But was it safe to leave him alone?
For a little moment Barbara thought of going on her way. Someone else was sure to come along. No! "Ben, honey, promise me you'll stay in the car!" "I will, Mommy," he said as she ran.
Two girls of high school age were in the car. One was dead and the driver was still breathing. But if help came soon, the girl would live.
A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cell phone. Soon Barbara heard the ambulance sirens .
Later, Barbara was able to meet the families of the victims . They expressed their gratitude for the help she had provided. | middle3462.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "did very little work"
},
"options": [
"didn't do any work",
"did much work",
"did very little work",
"tried to finish his work"
],
"question": "John _ at school.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | John was ten years old and he was very lazy. He had to go to school, of course, but he was bored there and tried to do as little work as possible. His father and mother were both doctors and they hoped that he would become one, too, when he grew up. But one day John said to his mother, "When I finish school, I want to become a garbage collector."
"A garbage collector?"his mother asked .She was very surprised."That's not a pleasant job. Why do you want to become a garbage collector?"
"Because then I'd only have to work one day a week,"John answered.
"Only one day a week?"his mother said,"What do you mean?"
"Well,"John answered,"I know that the ones who come to our house only work on Wednesday, because I only saw them on that day." | middle7604.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Many people take cars or buses for traveling."
},
"options": [
"Many people like staying at home on holidays.",
"People living in the city often go to another city for traveling.",
"It is easy to buy a ticket on holidays.",
... | Many people do not like to stay at home on holidays.They want to go out to see something different or do something interesting.So people from the country come to the city and people from the city go to the country for holidays.During the holidays trains,buses and planes are all very busy.It is very hard to buy train tickets or air tickets.Many people take cars or buses for traveling.
Last May Day my family went to the country by car for our holiday.There was too much traffic on the road,so we had to move very slowly.It took us about an hour to get out of the town.After some time,we came to a hill.It was green and beautiful.We thought this was a good place for a picnic,so we stopped and took the food,fruit and drinks out of the car.We sat down and began to eat.Suddenly a strong wind blew and soon it started to rain.We had to run back to our car and have our picnic in the car.Then we drove back home.What a sad holiday! | middle939.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "three years"
},
"options": [
"three years",
"six years",
"one year",
"two years"
],
"question": "The writer spent _ study at the school in Bath, England.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | From age eight to eleven, I studied at a small school in Bath, England. It was a small school of four classes, with about twenty-five children in each class according to age. For the most part, one teacher had to teach all subjects. However, sometimes the headteacher , Mr. Ronald Broaches would come in and spend an hour or so.
He was a large man with a very happy nature. He had a sense of humor and would be glad in telling the children small stories which make us laugh.
I found that he took great interest in me and he quickly found that I enjoyed puzzles. He would stop me as I was going to class and take a piece of paper out of his pocket, often with a puzzle on it. As time went on, they slowly gave me an interest in math and problem -solving that stays with me to this day.
To this day, I can remember Mr. Broaches' cheerful cry of "Well done!" whenever I got a problem right. I shall always be thankful that our paths crossed.
Mr. Bruoaches died just two weeks after I won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Unfortunately, I had no chance to speak to him before he died. I learnt late that he had heard of my success and I will always hope that he knew the deep influence he had made on my life. | middle1513.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "glasses were in style"
},
"options": [
"glasses could help eyes to see clearly",
"glasses were in style",
"eyes could send our light onto glasses",
"glasses could help with eye problem"
],
"question": "When the ... | "I can't see clearly, because I don't wear my glasses today." We always hear people saying something like this. Glasses are very important to many people. Do you know how they were invented and developed?
Glasses took a long time to develop into what you can find in the glasses store today. The Chinese first used colored glasses as fashion. They thought that those glasses had magic, but they didn't think that glasses could help eyes to see clearly.
In 1262, the inventor, Roger Bacon, discovered the amazing function of lenses , and he thought that glasses could be used to help people to see. Twenty years later, in Florence, Italy, the inventor, Alessandro di Spina, made the first pair of glasses that could help people to see.
Although these glasses worked, scientists didn't understand how glasses helped eyes to see. They thought that eyes sent out light onto whatever a person was looking at, and then the light came back to the eyes. Johannes Kepler finally found out how glasses worked.
Inventors continued to improve glasses. In 1784, Ben Franklin created glasses that had bifocal lenses. Many years later, in 1827, George Airy made circle-shaped glasses to correct _ , an eye problem that stops the eyes from seeing things clearly. | middle7162.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It's very large."
},
"options": [
"It's very beautiful.",
"It's very small.",
"It's very large.",
"It's very clean."
],
"question": "How does the building look?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | My name is Peter. I study in Cambell Middle School. It has a very large building. There are big playgrounds on two sides and a beautiful garden in front.
In the building, there is the headmaster's room, the teacher's rooms and thirty-four classrooms. We also have two labs and a library in the building. Our library is on the ground floor. It has books almost on all subjects. It opens after school from Monday to Friday.
Our school has uniforms . Boys wear white shirts and blue trousers. Girls wear white blouses and blue skirts. We all wear black shoes and white socks.
We study English, Maths, History, Biology, Music and PE at school. My favourite subject is Biology. I think it is fun. Our teachers are nice to us. They check our homework and help us when we need. I love my school and my teachers. | middle8251.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Someone you do not know can call you."
},
"options": [
"You can have a car accident.",
"Someone can post your photograph on the internet.",
"Someone can get your personal information",
"Someone you do not know can call ... | Mobile phones and the internet have improved our live in many ways. However, along with improvements, they have also brought a number of worrying problems.
Many car accident are caused by mobile phones. You can use many new mobile phones to get on the internet. This can be very convenient, but some drivers get on the internet while driving. Driving needs all our attention. By looking at their mobile phones and not at the road, these insensitive Drivers are a danger to us all.
Many of the dangers of the internet are well known. Children who visit websites without their parents' permission sometimes talk to older people they don't know and put themselves in great danger. People with blogs sometimes post embarrassing photographs of people they don't know on their websites without permission. There are also people who use the internet to get personal information that we do not want them to have.
Mobile Phone and Internet Safety Tips
If you need to use a mobile phone with you drive use a "hands-free" phone.
In difficult driving situations such as rain or snow, do not use your phone at all.
Do not make very important phone calls while driving. They take your attention off the road.
Tell your children not to talk with anyone they do not know on the internet.
In an embarrassing situation, pay attention to people around you. People will be shy about taking your picture if they know you're paying attention.
Refuse to give out any information personal information on the internet. | middle3304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "our parent"
},
"options": [
"our kid",
"our parent",
"our friend",
"our sister or brother"
],
"question": "The apple tree in the passage is just like _ in the life.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Once, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to climb to the tree top, ate the apples and played around it. With time on, the little boy grew up. He no longer played around it every day. One day, the boy came back, sad. "Come and play with me," the tree said. "I am no longer a kid." The boy replied, " I need money to buy toys." "I don't have money..., but you can pick all my apples and sell them." The boy was so excited. He picked all apples and left happily. The boy never came back after that.
One day, the boy returned. "Come and play with me," the tree said happily. "I have no time to play. We need a house for my family." "You can cut off my branches." So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. But he never came back since then.
Again, the boy returned and said. " I want to make a _ across the sea. Can you give me a boat?" "Use my trunk to build your boat." So the boy cut the 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 anymore. the only thing left is my dying roots." the tree said with tears.
"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." The boy replied.
"Good! Old tree roots is the best place to rest. Come and rest with me." The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.
You may think that the boy is cold to the tree but that's how we are treating our parents. The tree is our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with them. When we grow up, we leave them, and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. Whatever we ask for, parents will give everything they have and always be there waiting for us home. | middle3310.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Some people."
},
"options": [
"Everyone.",
"The writer.",
"Some people.",
"The teachers."
],
"question": "Who thinks that students won't have to go to school?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Some people believe that classes, teachers and school buildings will no longer be necessary in the near future because of the Internet and other new technology. Perhaps this will be true one day, but if the world has no schools, I can't imagine how our society will be. In fact, we should learn how to use new technology to make schools better. We should invent a new kind of school connected to libraries, museums, science centers, labs and even companies. Technological companies should create learning programs for schools. Scientists could give talks through the Internet. TV networks and local stations could develop programs about things students are studying in school. Labs could set up websites to show new technology, so students could see it on the Internet.
Is this a dream? No. There have been many cities where this is beginning to happen. Here the whole city is connected to the Internet, and learning can take place at home, at school, and in the office. Businesses provide programs for the schools and the society. The schools provide computer labs for people without their own computers at home. Because everyone can go on the Internet, older people use it as much as younger ones, and everyone can visit faraway libraries and museums as easily as nearby ones. How will this new thing of school change the usual way of learning? It is a little early to be sure, but it is very exciting to think about it. Technology will change the way we learn; schools will change as well; and we will learn something from the Internet. | middle1507.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Red"
},
"options": [
"Red",
"Green",
"Yellow",
"Black"
],
"question": "_ has the longest wavelength of all light we can see.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | If we are driving a car or crossing a street, we will stop when the traffic lights turn red. Why do we use red rather than other colors?
As we know, scattering happens when light goes through the air. For the same media, if the wavelength is long, the scattering will be short. If the wavelength is short, then the scattering will be long.
Of all light we can see red has the longest wavelength, so the scattering is the weakest. That means the red light travels far. In fact, it travels farther on rainy days.
Using the red light can help drivers in farther areas see the lights. It helps drivers slow down or stop in time. If drivers don't see the red light until they are close, they may not be able to stop the car in time. An accident may happen. Red can also excite people. We can act more quickly when we see the color red.
In a word, red light helps drivers stop in time and help prevent accidents. | middle6268.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a group of fish traveling together"
},
"options": [
"a place for students to study",
"a group of fish traveling together",
"a special kind of animals",
"a place for training dolphins"
],
"question": "The word\"s... | Can dolphins talk? Maybe they can not talk with words,but they can talk with sounds.
They show their feelings with sounds.Dolphins travel in a group.We call a group of fish a"school".They do not study,but they travel together.Dolphins are mammals ,not fish,but they swim together like fish in a schoo1.Dolphins talk to the other dolphins in the schoo1.They give information to the others.They talk when they are happy,sad or afraid.They say"welcome"when a dolphin comes back to the schoo1.They talk when they play.
They make some sounds above water.They make many more sounds under water.People cannot hear these sounds because they are very,very high.Scientists make tapes of the sounds and study them.Sometimes people catch dolphins for a large aquarium .People can watch dolphins in a show.Dolphins do not like to be away from their school in an aquarium.They are sad and lonely.There are many stories about dolphins.They help people.Sometimes they save somebody' s life.Dolphins' meat is good,but people do not like to kill them.They say that dolphins bring good luck.Many people believe this. | middle7176.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "eight hours"
},
"options": [
"six hours",
"eight hours",
"nine hours",
"ten hours"
],
"question": "Japanese and Korean people usually sleep about _ a night.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | The French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world's rich people, according to a survey.
The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean, who sleep the least in a survey.
And while more and more French people have meals at fast food restaurants, they still spend more than two hours a day eating.
That means their meals are twice as long as those of the average Mexican, who spends just over an hour a day on food.
The Japanese spend close to two hours a day eating and drinking, placing them third behind New Zealanders. The Japanese like to spend their free time watching television or listening to the radio. This takes up 47 percent of free time in Japan.
Turks, on the other hand, spend more than a third of their free time staying with their friends.The survey showed that the difference between work and free time within certain countries is clear.
As for Italians, men have nearly 80 minutes a day of free time more than women. Much of the additional work time of Italian women is clearly cleaning the house. | middle8245.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "They are heavenly bodies similar in nature."
},
"options": [
"They are heavenly bodies different in composition.",
"They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.",
"They are more asteroids than meteoroids.",
"Asteroids ar... | Unless we spend money to spot(,) and prevent asteroids now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
But $500 million worth of new telescopes right now, then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we'll have a way to change its course.
Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are (i) How likely the event is; (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare but if one did fall. It would be the end of the world. "If we don't take care of these bid asteroids, they'll take care of us," says one scientist. "it's that simple."
The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets(,) of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? "the world has less fear from doomsday rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them." Said a New York Times article. | middle7610.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A new-born giraffe's first lesson."
},
"options": [
"A new-born giraffe's first lesson.",
"A mother giraffe's story.",
"The lives of some great people.",
"The way for a giraffe to stand up."
],
"question": "What... | Bringing a giraffe into the world is _ . A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality of life.
In his book,A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it's sent sprawling .
When it doesn't get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there's safety.
Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, "I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They're beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they've realized some small parts of what they set out to do ." | middle1261.txt |
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