questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Canada"
},
"options": [
"China",
"England",
"American",
"Canada"
],
"question": "Lin Na lives in _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text"... | My name is Linda. I'm a girl. I live in Canada .I have two big eyes. My eyes are green. I have long, red hair. I am 1.6 meters tall. I have long arms and long legs. I like black .Black is my favourite colour.
I have a friend in China. Her name is Lin Na. She has two big eyes ,too. But her eyes are black. Lin Na is short. She is only 1.5 meters tall. She has long hair, too. But her hair is black. She likes yellow. She has many yellow clothes. Yellow is her favourite colour.
Lin Na an d I look different, but we are good friends . | middle1069.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He was three years old"
},
"options": [
"He was two years old",
"He was three years old",
"He was ten years old",
"He was thirteen years old"
],
"question": "How old was Robert when the story happened?",
"qu... | Robert is thirteen years old now , but he still remembers one day ten years ago, when he tried to get a bottle of milk from the fridge. The bottle fell to the floor and the milk spilled all over the floor.
When his mother came into the kitchen , she didn't shout at him"Oh, Robert, it is _ . Well ,would you like to play in the milk for a few minutes ?" she said.
Robert was very surprised ,but he began to play in the milk quickly, after a few minutes, his mother said ," You know ,Robert, when you make a mess like this ,you have to clean it yourself ." He then cleaned the milk with his mother. His mother then said, "It's hard to take a big bottle with your two small hands. Here is another bottle .Let's see how to find a better way to take it." The little boy learned that if he took the bottle near the top with both two hands , he could do it easily . Robert also learned that it wasn't always bad to make mistakes .It was just the mistake that helped him to learn new things. What a good lesson!! | middle6706.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "yellow"
},
"options": [
"yellow",
"green",
"white",
"black"
],
"question": "when you want to wrap gifts, you can use _ paper.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | Now more and more people like to visit South Korea. People are interested in the tradition,clothes,songs,movies,TV series and presents.Do you want to know good manners about giving gifts?In South Korea,you should remember these things when you are giving a gift.
1.Wrap gift nicely. You can wrap gifts in red or yellow paper because these are lucky colors.In their minds,yellow or pink means happiness.Do not wrap gifts in green,white,or black paper.Learn to use the correct color when you wrap gifts.
2.Do not buy four gifts. In their minds,the number 4 is unlucky. So you should not prepare 4 things as a gift. The number 7 is lucky, so giving 7 small gifts is lucky.
3.Use both hands when you give a gift. If you use one hand to give a gift, people will think you are rude. Of course, people who receive a gift should use both hands, too. | middle4111.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Rabbit"
},
"options": [
"Tiger",
"Rabbit",
"Horse",
"Monkey"
],
"question": "2011 is the Year of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_te... | The Year of the Rabbit will begin on February 3, 2011. We Chinese use 12 different animals to stand for the order of our birth year. What does it mean to be a "rabbit" ? The rabbit is a symbol for kind, elegance and a love of beauty. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are kind and quick-minded . Although they are sometimes shy, they have a strong mind and will run after their dreams all their lives.
Rabbit people are talented and they like artistic activities, such as music and painting. They are so kind and well organized that they can be great teachers. There are some famous people who were born in the Year of the Rabbit. For example, actress US Angelina Jolie and England soccer star David Beckham. In China, famous director Zhang Yimou and kung fu star Jet Li are rabbits, too. | middle2560.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "40"
},
"options": [
"60",
"50",
"40",
"30"
],
"question": "Her successful career lasted about _ years.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer... | As one of Hollywood's all-time greatest actress, Audrey Hepburn is famous all over the world. When Hepburn died in 1993, the world mourned the loss of a great beauty, a great actress and a great humanitarian.
Born in Belgium on 4th May 1929, Hepburn dreamed of becoming a
successful ballet dancer. She had also been a model before she entered the film industry. In 1951, while acting in Monte Carlo Baby, Hepburn met the famous French writer Colette, who was attracted by Hepburn's beauty and charm. She insisted that Hepburn was the perfect girl to play the lead role in Gigi, a play based on her novel. That event marked the beginning of Hepburn's successful career.
Shortly after, Hepburn was chosen to play the lead role of a young princess in the Hollywood film Roman Holiday. It was a big success and earned her an Oscar for Best Actress. She also won a Tony Award for the play Ondine.[:..]
During her lifetime, Hepburn earned four more Oscar nominations. In 1989, she made her final appearance in her last film Always and played the role of an angel.
Throughout her acting years, she acted in only one TV series, Gardens of the world with Audrey Hepburn. By showing us the beauty of nature, Hepburn wanted to remind us that we should protect the environment.
Hepburn is remembered not just as a great actress, but also as a great humanitarian. She was honoured with a number of awards because of her efforts in her charity work. In 1992, the President of the United States presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 1991, Hepburn discovered that she had cancer. In 1993, at the age of 63, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. | middle2206.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "An English schoolboy"
},
"options": [
"An English schoolboy",
"A Chinese schoolgirl",
"A Chinese student",
"An American boy"
],
"question": "Who is Jeff?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"... | My name is Jeff. I'm English. But now I live in China. I am a student. This is my classroom. Fifteen small desks and thirty chairs are in the classroom. They are for classmates and me. A big desk is in the classroom, too. It's for my teacher. A clock is on the back wall of the classroom. Next to the clock is a map. It's a map of China. My classroom is nice and clean. I like _ very much. | middle4677.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the grandfather had broken it"
},
"options": [
"the grandfather had taken it away with him",
"the grandfather put it in a box",
"the grandfather had broken it",
"the family didn't look carefully enough for it"
],
... | That was my grandmother's first Christmas without Grandfather. When my parents and I arrived at her little house ,we found she had waited up all night for us.
Grandfather had always said that the Christmas tree was the most important decoration of all. So first we took out the beautiful tree that was stored in the closet . But the star was _ . It was my grandmother's favorite part of the tree.
"Why? It must be somewhere in the closet," my grandmother said.
As we opened up boxes one by one and found no star, my grandmother's eyes were full of tears. Grandfather had given it to her some fifty years ago, on their first Christmas together. But on her first Christmas without him, the star was gone.
The next morning, my family sat down together to open the presents.
"The last gift is to Grandmother from Grandfather," Father said, in a strange voice.
"From whom?" There was surprise in my grandmother's voice.
"I found this gift in Grandfather's closet when we got the tree down," Mother explained.
My grandmother opened the box. There was a shinning golden star and a note in it:
Don't be angry with me, dear. I broke your star while putting away the decorations, and I couldn't bear to tell you. I hope it brings you as much happiness as the first one. Merry Christmas!
Love, Bryant
,A, B, C, D,. (10) | middle3118.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "in a factory"
},
"options": [
"in a school",
"in a factory",
"in a hotel",
"in a hospital"
],
"question": "John's father is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_i... | I'm John.My father is a factory manager.He comes from America.My mother is a teacher.She's English.She can speak some Chinese.She is an English teacher at schoo1.I'm a student in my mother's schoo1.At school I can play with my Chinese friends.We can play football,basketball and table tennis.My mother can play the piano and tennis.She can also sing well. | middle6060.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "not big"
},
"options": [
"not small",
"not big",
"very new",
"very old"
],
"question": "Alan's room is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"ans... | Hi! I'm Alan.This is my dream house .It has a small but nice room.Some pictures are on the wall.There is a bookcase in my room.There is a desk and a chair in it.My schoolbag is on the desk.Oh!Where is my pencil case?It is under the chair.There are some pencils and a ruler in the pencil case.My shoes and a basketball are under the bed.I like my dream house very much. | middle4887.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was dead"
},
"options": [
"was poor",
"was dead",
"hates Cinderella",
"was rich"
],
"question": "Cinderella's mother cannot help her because she _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl called Cinderella.Her mother died and Cinderella's father had a new wife, who only loved her two ugly daughters.A handsome prince wanted to find a wife and invited all the girls to a dance.The ugly sisters had beautiful clothes but Cinderella stayed at home in the kitchen.A fairy helped Cinderella and used magic to give her pretty clothes and a carriage to go to the dance, but told her to leave at midnight because the magic would end by then.The prince liked Cinderella a lot and danced with her.Then the clock started ringing 12 p.m.and Cinderella ran out of the hall, leaving one glass shoe behind.
The prince wanted the lovely girl to be his wife.He walked around town with the shoe trying to find her.The ugly sisters wanted to marry the prince and tried to put the shoe on, but their feet were like elephants'.Then the prince asked Cinderella to try.The mother and ugly sisters laughed, but they stopped when the shoe went on Cinderella's foot.The prince made Cinderella his wife, and they lived happily ever after. | middle5541.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "her stepsisters"
},
"options": [
"Cinderella herself",
"her father",
"her new mother",
"her stepsisters"
],
"question": "All the good things were for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Cinderella
Once upon a time, there lived an unhappy young girl. She was unhappy, for her mother died several years ago, and her father married another woman. The woman had two daughters. They were her stepsisters (/)now. Her new mother didn't like her. All the nice dresses, shoes, delicious food, kind thoughts and care were for her own daughters.
For the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters' hand-me-downs . No lovely dishes and no nice rests. For she had to work hard all day, and only when evening came, she could sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders (,). That is how she got her nickname-Cinderella. | middle3130.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "are made of snow and ice"
},
"options": [
"are found everywhere",
"do business in summer",
"are made of glass",
"are made of snow and ice"
],
"question": "According to the passage, ice hotels _ .",
"quest... | Do you know that in some parts of the world, people build temporary hotels made of snow and blocks of ice? These are known as ice hotels.
Unlike usual hotels, all the rooms in the ice hotels are made of ice. In some ice hotels, even the glasses for drinks are made of ice blocks. So they only serve cold drinks. Also, hot food is not served in the ice hotels, but guests can eat hot food at places nearby.
To keep warm, guests sleep in comfortable sleeping bags on ice blocks that are covered by mattresses and reindeer skins .
There are some places in the ice hotels that are heated, such as the bathrooms. This is because, even though it is not as cold in the ice hotels as it is outdoors , indoor temperatures are still very low.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the ice hotels is that they are rebuilt every year. They can be used only during the winter months. The ice hotels melt away when spring arrives. The ice blocks used to build these hotels are from nearby rivers. So, when the ice hotels melt away, they melt back into the rivers. | middle7356.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Canada"
},
"options": [
"China",
"Canada",
"England",
"America"
],
"question": "Where is Mike from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text... | Mike lives in Zhengzhou of China. But he is from Canada. He is 12 years old this year. He speaks English. And he speaks Chinese a little. Mingming is his good friend. He is a Chinese boy. He often goes to the English Corner. He likes to speak English there. It helps him with English. Of course , he often helps Mike with Chinese. Mike has a pet at home. It is a dog. He likes it very much. _ . Mingming likes it, too. So he often plays with Wangwang in Mike's home. | middle1041.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because a falling birth rate must be stopped."
},
"options": [
"Because we need a larger population.",
"Because millions of people have jobs.",
"Because most families want to have a second child.",
"Because a falling bi... | The government in China plans to end its one-child policy and let families have two children instead.
The plan was announced on Thursday after high -level political meetings in Beijing. A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development, stop a falling birth rate and strengthen the country's labor force .
China, with the largest population in the world, started the one -child policy in 1980. But the government allowed only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some families in the countryside could have two children, if the first-born child is a girl.
In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children if one of them was an only child.
Jiang Quanbao, a teacher and population expert, explained how Chinese families react to the newest policy. "Too many young people in the cities are no longer interested in having a second child," he said. "People in the countryside are more interested. But some of them are already allowed to have two children. "
At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them have jobs. But the labor market population will drop in 35 years. That is to say, the country will be in great need of labor by the year 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births can solve this problem.
Boys and girls, what do you think of the two-child policy? Do you want to have a new-born brother or a sister? | middle7430.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "improve your language skills"
},
"options": [
"sing songs well",
"improve your language skills",
"get a model",
"get good books"
],
"question": "If you keep a diary, you will _ .",
"question_type": "cloze... | A good hobby is an important part of a teenager 's life. With hobbies, teenagers can become more familiar with history, social science and culture. Here are some hobbies for teenagers.
Collecting
Coins may be too expensive for teenagers, but postcards, bookmarks even T-shirts can be great things to collect. Teenagers can collect things that do not cost much. Many teenagers enjoy collecting things when they visit a place. No matter what they collect, the most important thing is the information they get from the collection.
Writing
Writing can improve teenagers' language skills. It can be a great hobby for teenagers. Writing a diary can help teenagers enter a private world. It is important for their development. They can also write stories and poems.
Building
Models, birdhouses and anything else that teenagers make with their own hands can make them happy. Building is a great hobby because it is easy to start. Most teenagers can find interesting things to build. Building can help them improve their creativity.
Music
Do you dream to be a music star? Music can give teenagers self-confidence . They can sing songs and play an instrument. Sometimes teenagers can learn music in a music club and make friends with the people who have the same hobby. | middle3656.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The sea"
},
"options": [
"The mountain",
"The island",
"The sea",
"The mainland"
],
"question": "Where does20% of Holland come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | I come from Holland . In our country, there are plenty of _ . There are more than 2,000 windmills in Holland. These windmills make electricity for the country.
It is a small country in Europe. About 20% of its land comes from the sea. The population of Holland is only 16,000,000.
The weather is very nice, so the flowers can grow very well. Maybe you like roses, kapoks or lilies. However, the tulip is a symbol of the country. People celebrate Tulip Festival every year. There are a lot of cows in this country. You can enjoy good milk and cheese here.
You can go everywhere by train, taxi, underground or ship. They are fast and convenient. People here also love to ride bikes. Riding a bike is free and relaxing.
What do children do when they pass their exam? They often hang a schoolbag and a national flag at the gate! Come and have a good time in Holland! | middle4139.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "to take part in a competition"
},
"options": [
"to raise money",
"to have a trip there",
"to take part in a competition",
"to buy their dance costumes."
],
"question": "Jenny's team would go to Florida _ .",
... | Jenny didn't know how her school dance team could pay for the travel to Florida for a national competition. It was difficult enough just to raise money for their dance costumes . What were they going to do? As the team leader, Jenny felt she needed to come up with an idea. .
At lunch, Jenny found that a lot of students were throwing empty juice bottles in the rubbish. She remembered the school had a recycling program a few years ago, but it had ended. Nobody wanted to bring the bags of bottles to the recycling center.
Jenny saw a chance. She went to see the headmaster. "If members of our team pick up the recyclable bottles every few days, may we use the money we collect at the recycling center for our dance team?" asked Jenny.
"I think that's a great idea, Jenny," said Ms. Weaver. "But if another team wants to take over next season, I'll have to give them a chance, too. " Jenny agreed that it was fair. She ran to the dance team to give them the good news.
Jenny knew that the money raised from empty bottles might not be enough to get them all the way to Florida, but they were a lot closer. She would find more ways to raise money for the dance team. | middle5227.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because it is interesting to live there."
},
"options": [
"Because it is a quiet place.",
"Because there are many people.",
"Because there are many cars and buses.",
"Because it is interesting to live there."
],
... | Where do you like to live? For this question, different people have different answers. Some people like to live in a city because there are many shops and supermarkets. They think it is convenient to buy things. But some people think it is good to live in a quiet town because they don't like the dirty air in the big city. They dislike pollution in the city.
Today, some people like travelling, so they would like to buy house cars. House car is both a house and a car. You can't buy it with a little money. There is a driving area in the car. You can do lots of things in the car. There is a bed and a lamp in the bedroom. You can make dinner in the kitchen. You can also find a fridge and a sink in it. You can listen to music and watch TV in the sitting room. If you are tired, you can have a shower or a bath in the bathroom. You can do most things you want to do. Life is travelling. Do you want to live in this kind of car? | middle2548.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "95"
},
"options": [
"80",
"90",
"95",
"85"
],
"question": "The former South African president was _ years old when he died.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | The world lost one of the most respected leaders. Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, passed away on Dec. 5, 2013. The whole world felt sorry about the death of Mandela, a great man of history.
Mandela is mostly remembered for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. Mandela was born in 1918. In South Africa, there are both black and white people. But at that time, Black people couldn't live or travel where they wanted. They didn't have the right to vote, either. Mandela didn't think that was right.
He organized many activities against it, but he was sent to prison for 27 years. Under international pressure, the government set Mandela free in 1990. Great changes in the law began to end apartheid. At that time, Mandela chose to forgive his enemies. He shook hands with the people who wanted him dead. He also encouraged black people to forgive the whites.
Because of his forgiveness, Mandela is remembered as a moral model by the whole world.
In1993,Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize. A year later, he became the first black president of South Africa.
Both black people and white people voted. Apartheid ended. In 1999, Mandela left office at the highest point of his power. | middle5233.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Making your dream come true depends on yourself"
},
"options": [
"A poor farmer is always a poor farmer.",
"Making your dream come true depends on yourself",
"A good friend can help you in doing everything",
"Talk wit... | Harry had a very small farm. He only had one cow but dreamed about having a large farm. He once asked his father Bill, "I'd like to have that land over there. How can I get it?" His father encouraged him to go and talk to the landowner to see how they could get the land. Harry said. "But we don't have enough money." His father said, "Don't worry. Go and talk to him."
Several years passed. Harry had not only the land, but also several hundred cows. He had a happy life with his wife.
Later, Harry's wife, Sarah, had a dream. "I want to build the biggest farm in the world." She said. They called their friend Manuel about this task. Three days later Manuel had a plan for the whole project. Then they asked, "How much will it cost?" Manuel said they needed a lot of money.
"Nobody will lend us so much money to build a farm," they thought. But the manager of the bank _ them and their dream.
A few months later, La manuel, the biggest farm in the world, was opened. | middle1055.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "England"
},
"options": [
"France",
"England",
"Belgium",
"Germany"
],
"question": "Edith Cavell was from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"a... | Edith Cavell was born in a little English village. She was a clever; hard-working girl and did well at school; especially in music and French. After she left school; her first job was to take care of the children of a rich family in Belgium . The language they spoke was French; so she found that her school studies were useful. She could understand them easily; at the same time she taught the children to speak English and play the piano.
After hearing that her father was seriously ill; Edith returned home to look after him. She then decided to become a nurse. Afterwards for five years she worked in an English hospital where she proved to be highly professional at her job. A Belgian doctor was so impressed that he invited her to his country to organize a training school for nurses. The First World War broke out in 1914 and Edith Cavell's school of nursing became a hospital. She stayed there to look after the sick and wounded soldiers . Edith treated them with kindness. Between November 1914 and August 1915 she secretly helped about 200 wounded soldiers and prisoners escape from the Germans. Later the German army found out what Edith had done and they arrested her. Finally; the Germans killed her; but they could not _ . A tall statue has been built in Trafalgar Square; London; in honor of the brave English nurse. | middle7424.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "watch a TV programme"
},
"options": [
"watch a TV programme",
"interview Keith Connolly",
"read a football newspaper",
"play with Keith Connolly"
],
"question": "One day, Danny did his homework hurriedly in orde... | Danny lived for football. He played it, watched it, talked and dreamed about it. His favourite football star was Keith Connolly - Lowgate's captain.
One day in January, after school, Danny hurried through his homework. He wanted to watch TV. Keith Connolly was doing an interview on the local news programme.
Danny hoped that the television wouldn't go fuzzy*or lose the sound when Keith
Connolly was talking. It was an old set, and it did things like that.
It wasn't clear enough, but at last Keith Connolly's smiling face appeared on the screen.
"What I really like about playing for Lowgate," he said, "is the fans. They're the best. They always support us. It's wonderful running on to the playground to all that cheering and chanting."
Danny wished he could be in that crowd at the Lowgate ground, but the price of a single ticket was far above anything he could afford. There was no chance of the whole family going, or even just Danny and his little brother.
"You won again on Saturday," said the reporter. "Did the team go out to celebrate?"
"We went for a meal together," said Keith Connolly, "but I have to be careful about what I eat, because I want to stay fit. I love doughnuts* very much ..."
Then the sound went fuzzy, and Danny jumped up and _ the top of the set heavily to make it come on again. He hadn't missed much. But he had missed something important.
Keith Connolly had been saying "... but I'm not allowed to eat doughnuts."
Danny hadn't heard that. All he heard was that Keith Connolly loved doughnuts. And at the end of Danny's street was a bakery*. It sold the biggest and the best doughnuts!
When Danny went to bed, he lay wide-awake, making a plan. | middle7342.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "it was cheap"
},
"options": [
"he hadn't eaten it before",
"he was hungry",
"it was cheap",
"he hadn't seen it before"
],
"question": "The man chose to buy the red and long fruit only because _ .",
"questi... | Long long ago a man went to India and he had never been there before. When he got there, he saw a lot of fruit, but much of it was expensive because they couldn't grow much because there was little water. Finally he saw a big basket of some very red and long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop.
So he went up and asked, "How much each kilo?"and the shop keeper said, "Two rupees . "Two rupees in India was nothing. So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it:oh, my god!His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burnt, and his face became red. He jumped up and down, saying, "Ah!Ah!Ah!"
But he still continued to eat the fruit!Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You're crazy, man. Those are chilies !You can't eat so many!People use them as a _ , but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can't just eat them like that. "But the silly man said, "No, I can't stop!I paid money for them, and now I'll eat them up. It's my money!"
And you think that man was silly, right?We sometimes do a lot of things like that. We spend money, time or effort doing something. And even though it's been a long time, hard experience tells us it won't work, and we know there's no more hope, we still continue just because we've put money, time, effort and love in to it. Just like the man who ate the chilies and felt so bad but couldn't stop because he didn't want to waste the money he'd paid.
So even if you've lost something, let it go and move on. That's better than continuing to lose. | middle1733.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "things to do for the weekend"
},
"options": [
"visiting teams",
"things to do for the weekend",
"famous players",
"prices to pay for the sports events"
],
"question": "The main purpose of announcing the above ev... | Bicycle tour and race
A bike tour and race will be held on August 26th and 27th(Sat. &Sun. ) at 5:30 a. m. The riders will leave Tian'an Men Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training leg . Then the next 55 kilometers' leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.
The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaihe, covering a distance of 20 kilometers. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.
Cost: 200 yuan; Telephone: 4675027
Brazilian footballers
The Brazilian Football Club play with Beijjing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium On August 26th. The club has four nation team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Ronario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.
Ticket Prices: 60/100/150 yuan
Time/date: 4: 30 p. m. August 26th(Sat. ); Telephone: 5012372
Rock climbing
The third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26th and 27that the Huairou Mountain--climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for audience.
Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.
Time/Date: 9~12 am, August 26th and 27th; Telephone: 7143177, 7144850 Wang Zhenghua | middle5555.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a book"
},
"options": [
"a book",
"a kind of drink",
"a kind of cup",
"a programme"
],
"question": "Three Cups of Tea is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_ind... | Today I want to introduce a writer Greg Mortenson to you, especially one of his works called Three Cups of Tea. It has been one of the best sellers. Why can it be so popular?
Greg Mortenson was born in the state of Minnesota and grew up near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Mortenson later became a nurse. He loved to climb K2 in Pakistan, the second highest mountain in the world. One day, he failed to reach the top of K2, and he became separated from his climbing group on the way down. He was very tired, sick and lost. He had no food, water or shelter .
Mortenson reached a poor village called Korphe in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan. The villagers had never seen a foreigner before. They provided food and a place for him. Mortenson became friends with the villagers and he wanted to see their school. But they had no school.
He promised to return and build a school for the children of the village. This was not easy. He had to return to the United States, ask people for money, buy materials in Pakistan, send them to the village and build the school. But he finally carried out his promise after more than three years. That first school in Korphe was so successful that he decided to continue building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It _ to be a great act.
Three cups of Tea is about many interesting people Mortenson met and the problems he faced.
I think he is really wonderful. He should be the pride of his country. | middle3124.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "thirty one"
},
"options": [
"six",
"twenty-five",
"thirty one",
"thirty-five"
],
"question": "Mr. Gao is _ now.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | Mr. Gao lives in a town. When he was twenty-five, his son was born. He calls him Gao Ling. The little boy is clever. He and his wife love him very much. It's September 1st today. A new school year begins. Gao Ling is happy and
wears his most beautiful clothes. He's going to school with his new bag. "Let me take you to school, dear." said
Mrs. Gao. "Thank you, Mummy," said the boy. "The school is not far from here.I can go there myself." At school a
teacher met the little boy and asked, "What's your name, my little friend?" "Gao Ling, sir." answered the boy.
"How old are you?" "Six, sir." "What's your father's name?" "Gao Daling, sir." "How old is he?" "He is six, too,
sir." "Oh," the teacher said in surprise. "Is he as old as you?" Yes, sir," said the boy. "He became a father only on
the day when I was born." | middle4878.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "many natural wonders"
},
"options": [
"valleys",
"mountains",
"deserts",
"many natural wonders"
],
"question": "Tibet is the home to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | Tibet is in the southwest of China. It is the home to many natural wonders, such as valleys, mountains, lakes and even deserts. Tibet is very large, so it is perfect for traveling, especially the bike tour .
You can start the wonderful bike tour in Tibet's capital, Lhasa. It is 3600 metres above the sea level. It's very high, isn't it? So it is important to spend a few days there to get used to the thin air there, or you may feel sick and get hurt. The bike tour will pass rivers, large open grassland and high mountains, including the world's famous Mount Everest .
After finishing the bike tour, people will feel quite successful. They will also have hundreds of photos of the wonderful places. | middle1900.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "there are too many cars"
},
"options": [
"there are too many cars",
"they are too wide",
"many people walk on them",
"the cars don't go fast"
],
"question": "The streets in the writer's town are very busy becaus... | I live in a new town with my family. There are lots of tall buildings in the town. The streets are busy and the traffic is heavy, but the pollution is not very serious .
In our town, more than half of the buildings have fifteen to thirty floors. Most of the people live in such tall buildings, but they don't have to climb the stairs. They use lifts to go up and down.
Many restaurants, supermarkets, cinemas and theatres are in very tall buildings. They are big, bright and modern. So people enjoy eating, shopping, seeing films and watching plays in them.
The streets in our town are wide, but because there are too many cars, they are still very busy. Sometimes when you come to the street crossing, you have to wait for the green lights for a long time. The people in our town never put _ everywhere or put dirty water into the river, so you cannot see much pollution in our town. I hope you'll come to visit our town if you like. | middle6909.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to use things wisely"
},
"options": [
"to use things wisely",
"to cut down many trees",
"to use paper carelessly",
"to use more and more things"
],
"question": "The \"Reduce\" rule mainly requires us _ .",
... | It's important to learn things about protecting environment. Here's a 5Rs rule for us.
*Reduce
If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely. A large number of trees are being cut down to make paper. If everyone uses paper carelessly and then throws it away, soon we would not have any trees left. Some other things are also being wasted, and people don't know what to do with waste in big cities, so it's necessary to reduce waste.
*Reuse
You should always think of reusing the usable things before throwing them away. Give your clothes or things you don't use to the poor. In a family, you may pass such clothes on to your younger brothers or sisters.
*Recycle
Bottles, cans and paper can easily be recycled. By doing so we save lots of time and money, for example, cola cans are sent to a factory, where they're smashed flat and smelted , and the metal things are made into new cola cans.
*Recover
When you buy a box of apples, there may be a few rotten apples, you have two choice: one is to throw the whole apples away, or you should cut off the rotten parts and use the good parts. In this way, you are recovering the eatable parts of food.
*Repair
If one of the legs of your table is broken, you can repair it instead of throwing the table away. If you want to change for better ones, it's better for you to sell the old ones or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair. | middle3871.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "their parents"
},
"options": [
"themselves",
"Japan",
"their parents",
"their classmates"
],
"question": "Japanese students have heavy pressures from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They have heavy pressures from their parents. Most students are always told by their parents to study harder and harder so that they can have a wonderful life when they grow up .Though this may be a good idea for those very bright students, it can have terrible results for many students who aren't gifted enough. Many of them have tried very hard at study but fail in the exams and make their parents lose heart. Some students feel that they are hated by everyone else and they don't want to go to school any longer .They become _
It is surprising that though most Japanese are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way .Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers' work to help their children .To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to those schools opening in the evening and on weekends. They only help the students to pass the exams and never teach them the very real sense of the world.
Many Japanese schools usually has rules about everything from the student' clothes to things in their school bags. Child psychologists now think that such strict rules are harmful to the feeling of the students. Almost 40% of the students said that no one had taught them how to get on with others , how to tell right from wrong and how to show love and care for others, even for their parents.
,. | middle3865.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Many things"
},
"options": [
"Only hard things",
"Many things",
"Few soft things",
"All things"
],
"question": "_ can be recycled.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answe... | It's important to learn about protecting our environment. Here is a 5R rule for us:
1. Reduce
If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely. Millions of trees are being cut down to make paper. If everyone uses a little paper carelessly and throw it out, soon we would not have any trees left. Other things are also being wasted, and people don't know what to do with the waste in big cities. So it is necessary to reduce the waste
2. Reuse
You should always think of reusing the usable things before throwing them out. Give your clothes you do not use or the ones which are too small to the poor. With a family, you may pass on such clothes to younger brothers or sisters.
3. Recycle
Bottles, cans and paper can easily be recycled. By doing so, we save lots of time and money. For example, coke cans are sent to a factory, where they are smashed flat and melted and the melted things are made for new coke cans.
4. Recover
When you buy a box of apples, there may be a few rotten apples. You have two choices: one is to throw the whole apple away, or you could cut off the rotten parts and eat the good parts. In this way, you are recovering the eatable parts of food.
5. Repair
If one of the legs of your table is broken, you can repair it instead of throwing it away. If you want to change for better ones, It is better for you to sell the old things or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair. It is true that North America is a "throw-away" society . But the time has come to change our way of life so that we can protect our environment. Every one of us should try our best. | middle258.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Making their homes beautiful."
},
"options": [
"Making their homes beautiful.",
"Visiting their friends.",
"Traveling all over the world.",
"Making a lot of money."
],
"question": "How do many English people spe... | DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programs show people how to DIY.
English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK---"An Englishman's home is his castle". Huge numbers of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful "castles". If there is anything that needs fixing around their houses, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experiences with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford to buy a bigger house. They are looking at how they can make their houses better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.
DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to put together themselves with a few basic tools . However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can't understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions (,), many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don't care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230 000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41 000 who fell off ladders .
Therefore, DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if _ . Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY. | middle270.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "chocolates"
},
"options": [
"eating",
"God",
"chocolates",
"reading books"
],
"question": "John likes _ very much.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | John is an American boy. His family is in China now. John likes chocolates very much. But his mother doesn't give him any. They are not good for him, she thinks. But John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves him very much, and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother lets John eat them. She wants to make the old man happy. One Sunday evening John says in his room, "Please, God. Make them give me a big box of chocolates tomorrow. It's my birthday." His mother says, "God can't hear you, my boy." "I know, but my grandfather is in the next room. He can hear."
,. | middle7395.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "you should try to understand him"
},
"options": [
"you should try to understand him",
"you should avoid seeing him again",
"you should ask God for help",
"you should look on him as God"
],
"question": "According... | "Sometimes you just get a strict teacher.Instead of letting others know that this isn't your favorite class.Make an effort to show your teacher you are doing your best."
jocelyn Howard,16
"Learn to put your activities in order of importance.School comes first,and if you just study as soon as you get home,it's OK.You can also relax and play computers or do the other things you enjoy.But don't settle for just _ .Try hard! And don't be afraid to get help from teachers."
April Madlangbanyan,17
"If you have trouble getting along with a specific teacher,pray about it.Ask God to help you see that teacher through HIS EYES,not your own.And talk with that teacher.Good communication can strengthen any relationship-even with a hard-to-get-along-with teacher."
Lisa Shaw, 21
"Being a good student means being organized.Remember to bring all your supplies, everything-to each class every day.Make sure that you'll never skip class.And when you're in class,really pay attention! Don't let yourself daydream or write notes to friends.Completing your homework on time is also important."
Victoria Walsh.16
"When you're having trouble getting along with a certain teacher,stay calm! You may not agree with him or her,but you've got to remember the teacher is the authority figure.So make sure that you're respectful and open-minded.Ask for a specific time the two of you can talk.Explain yourself and address problem,not the teacher."
----Amanda Baken,18
"Being a good student means studying often,not just cramming before a test.Identify your weak areas.For example,maybe you don't have good reading skills or it's hard for you to take notes.Once you identify what your weakness is,ask for help in these specific areas.Be willing to go in early or stay after school to get extra help.Go into the school year knowing that being a good student will require time and effort!"
Tiffany Irving,20 | middle4844.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "At about 9:30 am."
},
"options": [
"At about 8:30 am.",
"At about 9:30 am.",
"At about 10:30 am.",
"At about 11:30 am."
],
"question": "What time does John have breakfast at the weekend?",
"question_type": "... | I am John.. I always get up late at the weekend. At about 9:30 am, I have breakfast. After breakfast, I start doing my homework. We have lunch at about 12:00, and then I watch TV or have a rest . I like reading and I often read some interesting books in the afternoon. I like sports, too. Sometimes I play football or basketball with my friends at school. My school is near my home, so I can walk there. Every weekend, my father takes me to a restaurant for a big dinner. I can enjoy lots of nice food. I like my weekend. | middle3695.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "allow children to make their own decisions"
},
"options": [
"help children go to college",
"make children read more books.",
"allow children to buy more books",
"allow children to make their own decisions"
],
"q... | Most parents hope that their children can be happy and successful. But do you know the most powerful way to encourage them to be so? The answer is to allow them to make their own decisions.
Different people have different ideas about children's decision making. Unfortunately , most parents make decisions for their children--what they wear, what they eat and what movies they watch. In fact, it's not good for children's growing.
Children should be allowed to make decisions when they are very young. But this doesn't mean they are allowed to do everything. For example, you shouldn't take your children into a convenience store and tell them they can have anything they want. They would be overwhelmed by the choices. But you can give them a choice among snacks. When children get older, expand the number of choices you give them. For example, allow them to decide the activities they want to take part in or when they decide to go to bed.
The next step is to get your children to think before they act. Ask themselves several important questions. First, why do I want to do this? Second, what are my choices? Third, what are the results of the actions? After the three questions, they are sure to have right decisions. | middle6935.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "sports hall exercise"
},
"options": [
"physical activity",
"body movement",
"sports hall exercise",
"outdoor exercise"
],
"question": "The writer thinks many people probably misunderstand the word\"activity\" to... | The keys to reaching or staying at a healthy weight are regular exercise and good eating habits. Teens should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day. Note the word "activity". As long as you're getting your body moving, it doesn't have to mean doing difficult exercise or going to the sports hall every day. All that matters is that each week you get the right balance of activity, including aerobics , strength building, and flexibility exercise. Make exercise a habit by arranging some time every day.
On days when you have soccer practice or an aerobics class, you may have no trouble exercising for an hour or more. But most of us are busy, and 60 minutes a day for exercise seems like a lot of time. The good news is that it's OK to divide it into shorter exercise breaks throughout the day.
Just as you might have a healthy snack to stop yourself from getting hungry, exercise snacks can keep energy levels high. So get up 15 minutes early and do some stretching activity. Walk fast or run slowly for 15 minutes after lunch. Do the same thing after school -- or walk or bike home. Add to that taking the stairs, PE class, and walking between classes during the day, and you've probably reached your 60 minutes.
Here are five simple ways to make an exercise lifestyle change: | middle1082.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Because he didn't want the writer to go through the bill carefully."
},
"options": [
"Because it was a fine day indeed,",
"Because he wanted the writer to look at the bill carefully.",
"Because he wanted to tell the writer wh... | Henry was a carpenter of our village. Once I asked him to make a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I arrived home that evening, Henry was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for his work.. My wife said to me, quietly,"That's his ninth cup of tea today." But she said loudly, "It's a beautiful table,dear,isn't it?" "I won't decide about that until I see that bill." I said.
Henry laughed and gave me his bill for the work. It said:
BILL
One dining table June 10,1995
Cost of wood 17.00
Paint 1.50
Work,8 hours(1 an hour) 8.00
Total 36.50
When I was looking at the bill,Henry said,"It's been a fine day,hasn't it?" " Quite sunny." "Yes,"I said. "I'm glad it is only the 10th of June." "Me too," said Henry, "You wait--it'll be a bit hotter by the end of the month." "Yes. Hotter--and more expensive. Dining tables will be 20 more expensive on June 30th,won't they,Henry?"
Henry looked hard at me for half a minute. There was a little smile in his two blue eyes. I gave his bill back to him. "If it isn't too much trouble,Henry,"I said,"Please add it up again. You can forget the date."
I paid him 26. 50 and he was happy to get it. | middle502.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "All of the above"
},
"options": [
"Join a club or group.",
"Talk with those who like the same things.",
"Join someone in some activity.",
"All of the above"
],
"question": "If you want to meet people and make fr... | Making friend is a skill. Like most skills, it improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends, you must be willing to take some action. You must first go where there are people. You won't make friends staying home alone.
Join a club or group, talking with those who like the same things you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activity. Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all, meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it's human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about the unknown.
Most of our fears about dealing with new people come from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are giving an opinion about us-finding us too tall or too short, too this or too that. But don't forget that they must be feeling the same away. Try to accept yourself as you are, and try to put the other person at ease . You'll both feel more comfortable.
Try to keep self-confident even when you don't feel that way when you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk tall and straight, look directly at other people and smile. If you see someone you'd like to speak to, say something. Don't wait for the other person to start a conversation.
Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that person-friendship is based on each other's liking and "give and take". They take time and efforts to develop. And there are things that keep a new friendship from growing. | middle1096.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To attract us to the zoo."
},
"options": [
"To frighten us in the zoo.",
"To make us lovely in the zoo.",
"To attract us to the zoo.",
"To show animals can do everything."
],
"question": "Why does the writer i... | Visiting the forest zoo
Come and see the Indian elephants and the new tigers from Northeast of China. The beautiful birds from England are ready to sing songs for you, and the monkeys from Mount Emei will be happy to talk to you. The lovely dogs from Australia want to laugh at you. Sichuan pandas will play balls for you. The giraffes from Africa are waiting to look down on you.
Tickets Opening time
Grown-ups : 3 yuan 9:00 a.m.--4:00 p.m. (Monday--Saturday)
Children over 1.4 m : 2 yuan except Friday (closed)
Children under 1.4 m : Free 10:00 a.m. --3: 00 p.m. (Sunday)
Keep the zoo clean!
Do not touch , give food or go near to the animals. | middle3859.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Linda had a geography test on Sunday."
},
"options": [
"Linda had a pen pal.",
"Linda had a geography test on Sunday.",
"Linda had English and geography at school.",
"Linda was busy with her studies over weekend."
]... | (Some classmates are talking about their weekend.)
Linda: I stayed at home and studied over the weekend. I studied for my English test on Saturday. Yesterday I wrote a geography paper. In the evening I talked to my pen pal on the phone. What did you do?
Tim: I had a good time. On Saturday morning I played tennis, in the afternoon I went to the beach, and in the evening I went to Nancy's birthday party. On Sunday I went to the mountains with my friends.
Mary: Oh, your weekend was great. But mine was boring. I stayed at home the whole weekend. I cleaned my room and washed my clothes. I even watered the flowers. And only in the evening I watched TV for a short time. Did you go out, Dave?
Dave: No, I didn't. I stayed at home and watched TV on Saturday. Yesterday I watched a movie on TV, Fearless. It was very exciting. | middle3681.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "3"
},
"options": [
"8",
"5",
"3",
"2"
],
"question": "There are _ people in Wang Bing's family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": ... | Wang Bing is a 12-year-old boy. He likes sports very much and does well in sports.
One afternoon, he comes out of the classroom and sees his father waiting for him at the school gate. He is very glad and he runs to his father. "Dad, please don't wait for me after school next time. I can go home by myself . I have grown up." says Wang Bing.
"Let's go," says the father, "I'll cook supper and you can do your homework at home: Mum is still at work."On their way home, Wang Bing sees some boys skating in a park. "Can I go and learn skating. Dad?" asks Wang Bing. "I'm sorry, my boy. You must go home and do your homework," answers his father, "but I can buy you an ice-cream." Then his father buys an ice-cream for him. When Wang Bing wants to eat it, a fly flies to the ice-cream.
"Drive off the fly,' says his father, "it's very dirty ."But Wang Bing says with a smile. "You don't let me skate, but can you let him skate for a while ?" | middle5596.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Hot in the daytime, cold in the night"
},
"options": [
"Always hot.",
"Always cold",
"Warm and wind",
"Hot in the daytime, cold in the night"
],
"question": "What's the weather like in a desert?",
"question_... | The hottest place in the world is the Sahara Desert in Africa. But there are deserts in many other places: in America, in Asia and in Australia. In 1917 the temperature in Death Valley, in the United States, was over 48degC every day for six weeks. That's very hot!
But deserts are not always hot. After dark, deserts are very cold.
Not many animals and plants can live in a desert, because it doesn't rain very often. But one animal likes the desert -- the camel. It has big feet to walk on the sand. It can live for a long time without water. Sometimes it doesn't drink anything for weeks -- so it gets very thirsty! When it finds water it can drink 100 liters at a time. | middle264.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "not wash your hair immediately"
},
"options": [
"wash your hai",
"not wash your hair immediately",
"get a better look",
"have a talk with a stylist"
],
"question": "Before going to the salon to style your hair, ... | Don't wash your hair every day. Here's why:
It will be easier to style. If you've ever washed your hair just before going to the salon to get another better look, you will be told by the stylist, freshly washed and dried hair isn't as easy to work with as hair that was washed a day or two ago.
Your color will last longer. If you color your hair, washing daily can _ your color and lead to more trips to the salon. Keep your hair looking bright by only washing every other day. When you wash your hair, do so with a shampoo so that you can make sure the color doesn't lose.
It will be healthier. The more you wash your hair, the more you're removing your hair's natural oil. That's right - too much time with the shampoo can really mean your hair become less soft and shining. Over-washing can dry hair out, which isn't a good idea. Keep your hair healthy by avoiding washing your hair every day.
Washing and drying take a lot of time for those of us with long hair. By cutting back on styling time, you will have more time to get ready, sleep or even fit in a quick jog or trip to the gym. | middle7381.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "six"
},
"options": [
"three",
"four",
"five",
"six"
],
"question": "There are _ people(;) in Lin Feng's family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | I am Lin Feng. This is a picture of my family: my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, my mother, my sister and I. My grandparents are in Beijing now and we are in Zhejiang. My mother is a teacher and my father is a doctor. My sister and I are middle school students. My sister is in Class 1,Grade 8 and I am in Class2, Grade 7. I have a good friend here. Her name is Zhang Ning. We are in the same class. | middle1928.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the danger of war passed two years ago"
},
"options": [
"there is no more danger of war",
"the danger of war passed two years ago",
"there is more danger of war now",
"are a great danger in the Middle East"
],
"... | Here is nine o' clock news
Prime Minister Abdul Krim of Tyrea has said that the danger in the Middle East is greater now than for the past two years. His country does not want war, he says, but the Tyrean people have waited too long for an end to the troubles with their neighbours. If war comes, says Mr King, Tyrea will be ready.
Ben Kitson, the writer of stories and plays for children, has died at his home in California. Mr Kitson was 82. His most famous book of stories, The Gentleman's House, sells all over the world, in more than twenty-five languages.
Policeman in New York have stopped work. Their leader , Mr Paulo Angeli, says that they will return to work only when they receive more money for working long hours and doing what Mr Angel calls "the most dangerous job in the city."
It has been a good year on the farm. The warm, wet spring, and the fine summer have been very good for all kinds of food plants. This means that fruit and vegetables will cost less in the shops this year.
And now it's time for "Morning Music".
. | middle933.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "One goat lay down on the rock so that the other could first leave."
},
"options": [
"One goat turned around and went back.",
"One goat jumped over the other and walked away.",
"They stood there and passed the rock carefully t... | Scene 1
On a wild mountain, two goats met on a rock just over a high cliff . The rock was so narrow that there was neither room for them to pass each other nor to turn round and go back.
One of them with great care laid himself down on the narrow rock, pressing as close to the rock as he could. Then the other goat gently and softly stepped over his friend, till, safely past him, he could lightly get away.
The goat that had lain down then drew himself up, safe and free to leap again from rock to rock, and eat the sweet grass on the hills.
Scene 2
Two other goats met on the banks of a wild, rushing stream. They found there was a tree across the stream. It formed a bridge from one side to the other.
They stood for a moment with one foot on the tree, each thinking that the other would draw back. But neither of them would give away, and they met at last on the middle of the narrow bridge!
They then began to push and fight with their horns , till at last their feet slipped, and both the goats fell into the stream, and were lost in the waters!
Both might have been saved if either of them had known how to give way to another at the right time. | middle5019.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "help"
},
"options": [
"use",
"help",
"make",
"take"
],
"question": "Computers can _ people to do a lot of work.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | We live in the computer age. People use computers to do much of their work. But few people know how to look after them. Remember the following when you use your computer:
1.Keep your computer in a cool, dry room. Too much or too little heat is bad for computers. Damp is also bad for them.
2.Do not let people smoke near your computer. Smoke of all kinds is very bad for many parts of a computer.
3.Do not eat or drink when you are near your computer. Pieces of food and a little water in the keyboard are also bad for a computer.
4.Keep your screen clean and do not have it too bright. They are bad for your eyes. Make sure the screen is not too far from or too near your eyes. Some people use different glasses to protect their eyes when they use a computer. | middle3468.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She got better with the antibodies from her brother."
},
"options": [
"She died of a very serious disease.",
"She got better with the antibodies from her brother.",
"She lost her little brother.",
"The transfusion faile... | Many years ago, when I was working as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Lisa. The poor little girl had a very serious disease and was dying. The doctor had done his best but no medicine really worked. The only chance to save her seemed to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother. The little boy had the same disease before and had developed the antibodies to fight the illness.
The doctor talked to the little boy about what they planned to do, and asked him if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for a moment. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it can save Lisa."
As the transfusion was going on, the little boy lay quietly in bed next to his sister. He looked at her and smiled all the time. When everything was done and the colour returned to his sister's face, his smile disappeared and he looked a little afraid. He looked up at the doctor and asked, " Will I start to die now?"
He was too young to understand the doctor. He thought he would have to give all his blood to his sister, but he agreed. | middle2010.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "6"
},
"options": [
"4",
"6",
"5",
"1"
],
"question": "According to the passage, how many new cases have been found in China?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"a... | Beijing-- During the 24-hour period ending at 4 pm on Sunday, China confirmed six new cases of human H7N9 bird flu , including five in Zhejiang and one in Jiangsu.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission said that a total of 102 H7N9 cases have been reported in China, including 20 that have died.
Of the total, 12 H7N9 patients have been _ from hospitals after receiving treatment, and the other 70 patients are being treated in designated hospitals, according to the commission.
A total of 33 cases, including 11 that have died, have been reported in Shanghai. Twenty-four cases, including three deaths, have been reported in Jiangsu province, and 38 cases, including five deaths, in Zhejiang province. Anhui province has reported three cases, including one death. Beijing has reported one case and three have been reported in Henan province.
China officially confirmed the human cases infected with the H7N9 virus since last month.
According to the commission, China's confirmed H7N9 cases are isolated and there has been no sign of human to-human transmission . | middle1519.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "October; April"
},
"options": [
"January; April",
"September; December",
"October; April",
"November; May."
],
"question": "Winter in Jilin is from _ to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | Jilin is a good place. It is in the north-east of China. On the north of it is Heilongjiang, the south is Liaoning, the west is Inner Mongolia and the east is North Korea .
It has a long and snowy winter. Usually the winter here starts from October and lasts for six months. Every year people come here for the Ice Lantern Festival and the winter sports.
Changbai Shan is the first mountain in the north-east of China. There is a lot of snow on the main mountain-"Baitou Shan" all the year, so it is named "Changbai Shan". It has great forests on it. There are tigers, deer, black bears and many other animals in the forests and there are a lot of hot springs and more than l,500 kinds of plants. On the very top of the mountain is Tianchi. If you come to the lake, you might see the monster in it.There is also a great waterfall where the Songhua River comes from.
Another place in Jilin is Xianghai in Tongyu County . There are more than 100 pieces of wetlands here. And they are of different sizes. There are 170 kinds of birds, some fish that we can't often see and over 250 different herbal plants and trees here. | middle6276.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "India"
},
"options": [
"China",
"India",
"America",
"Britain"
],
"question": "In the early 1700s where did most tea drunk in America come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {... | It may be hard to believe, but the American Revolution --the war that freed the American states from British control--began over a cup of tea. Tea was not the only thing that caused the war, of course, but it played a very big part.
The British people's love of tea is well-known. When the British won control over mush of North America in the early 1700s, they brought their tea- drinking habits with them. Tea quickly became the continents most popular drink. As tea could not be grown locally, just as in Britain, it was shipped into the country--mostly from India.
In the early 1700s, the Britain government made a special deal with the East India Company, as an English trading company. They agreed that no other company was allowed to bring tea to Britain or any country controlled by Britain, including America. It was a great deal for the East India Company, since it meant that the company could decide whatever price it wanted for its products. And _ always decided on a high price!
In North America, the local people did not like having to pay such high prices. Instead of overpaying for tea from the British, they turned to Dutch traders, who secretly brought tea to the country that was just as good--and much less expensive. Although this broke the law, the American people didn't care. They got the same cup of tea at a much lower price.
The East India Company, however, didn't like this at all. By the 1760s, they were losing millions of pounds each year to Dutch traders--a huge amount of money in a time when PS60 a year was considered a good income. Instead of reducing their prices to compete with the Dutch, the company asked the British government for help and the government agreed.
In 1767, the British introduced new law that increased the prices of all goods which were brought into America. These laws helped make the East India Company even richer and forced local people to pay much more for everything. The American leaders asked the British government not to do so, but the British refused to listen. These unfair laws increased Americans' anger about British rule and the rest, as they say, is history. | middle7168.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "For a week."
},
"options": [
"For a week.",
"For about half a month.",
"For a month.",
"For ten days."
],
"question": "How long did the children work on the farm?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | If you had the chance to leave the life you have now, what would you do?
Students from Fair-grounds Middle School, New Hampshire, US, chose to lead a special life for a week. They left the city and lived a different life by working on a farm. They handed over their cell phones and lived like any farmer's children. And they enjoyed it!
"I didn't know what would happen when we got there," said Tyler Swift, 14, "but there were so many fun things. So much hard work, too. It was a _ ."
"Getting up at 6 every morning, the students milked cows, spread hay , and washed hundreds of sticky buckets . The hardest part was cleaning up piles of poop in the animal houses. It smelled bad, but it was lots of fun!
None of the students said no to the work. "With the farmers' help, they did the work better and better. And they learned a lot more than just farming work." said Rick Brown, a science teacher at Fair-grounds.
"You get to know who can do what and learn to work with different people. The children all showed great team work." said Nick Quadros. | middle6262.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "thirteen"
},
"options": [
"eight",
"four",
"thirteen",
"fourteen"
],
"question": "Bill is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "B... | My name is Bill. I'm an English boy. I'm in No.8 High School. Sam is my good friend. He is thirteen. I'm thirteen, too. But we are in different looks. Miss Zhang is my English teacher, and she's Sam' s English teacher, too. We don't know her age . But she looks young. Look at this photo. It is yellow and red. It is mine.
,. . (5,2,10) | middle4475.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "some pets are as important to their owners as their children"
},
"options": [
"pets have the right to inherit money",
"money can make pets happy",
"it's the best way to spend money",
"some pets are as important to the... | In America, when people say"man's best friend", they don't mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal--a dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give joy to people's lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. Some people even leave all their money to their pets when they die!
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to be the"eyes"for a blind person or"ears"for a deaf person. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, they bring animals into hospitals for"visits".
Americans hold"Be Kind to Animals Week"in the first week of May. Pet shows are held during the week. Even if you don't live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food.
If you don't have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, just leave it alone, or make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to animals, try to speak up. As people, we must protect animals who can't speak for themselves. | middle2004.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "There are some ways to talk with our parents."
},
"options": [
"We should show respect to our parents.",
"It's important to trust our parents.",
"We should be thankful to our parents.",
"There are some ways to talk with... | Here are some tips on how to talk with your parents.
Try to start your talk with something fun. This will make talking easier. For example, ask your parents questions about their day. They love this!
Make it clear what you want to tell your parents If they have an opinion, let them finish and don't disturb. Ask them to do the same for you.
Show them respect by listening to them carefully. Look at their eyes sincerely.
Be honest. Honesty builds trust . Life is good when your parents trust you.
If your parents don't understand, that's OK. It doesn't mean they don't love you pr they're not trying. Sometimes you have to explain things to them again or in a different way,
When you finish the talk, thank them for listening,. Say something like, "thanks! That helped." It will let them know this is important to you, and make them want to do it more often.
If you feel there are still things to talk about, set up a time with them to talk about it another day. | middle2762.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "ad"
},
"options": [
"news",
"film post",
"story",
"ad"
],
"question": "The passage may be a(an) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text... | Hello Kitty, the Japanese white cat with no mouth,has a lot of fans around the world. A new home for Hello Kitty was opened in China in the summer of 2014.
The Hello Kitty Theme Park was built in Anji, Zhejiang Province and this is the first Hello Kitty Park in China.Anji is known for its natural beauty. It has large forests and many bamboo groves . So the new Hello Kitty Park will be both a playland and a natural park. Children and visitors will enjoy the fun of games and learn about the environment at the same time. There are five gardens in the park. Each of them has a different theme of the five natural elements: water, wood,fire, metal and earth.
Visitors to the amusement park will be able to enjoy 3D Games, watch Hello Kitty films and food service. Children can have lots of interesting activities here.
Now you see,Hello Kitty's new home was so interesting. So come and see it by yourself. | middle6504.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "About 30 years old."
},
"options": [
"About 7 years old.",
"About 20 years old.",
"About 50 years old.",
"About 30 years old."
],
"question": "How old was the old man's son?",
"question_type": "factiod_quest... | The train started moving. There were many people of all ages. Most of them were working men and women and young college boys and girls. Near the window sat an old man with his son, who looked about thirty years old.
As the train moved, the son was filled with joy because he was very excited at the scenery outside. He said in a high voice, "See, Dad, the green trees and the scenery are very beautiful!" It made the other people feel very strange. Everyone started talking in a low voice about the old man's son. A few minutes later it started raining. Raindrops fell on the travelers through the opened window. Seeing the rain, the old man's son said happily, "See ,Dad, how beautiful the rain is!" Hearing these words, a young lady became angry with the man, as the raindrops were dropping on her new clothes. She shouted at the noisy son and his father. "Can't you see it is raining? You! Old man! If your son is not feeling well, get him to a mental hospital quickly and please don't disturb us any more!" The old man's face turned red and then he answered in a low voice, "We are on the way back from hospital. He couldn't see anything at birth. Only last week he could see again. The rain and the nature are new to him. Please _ him." All the other people became quiet. | middle5025.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Care by the visitors."
},
"options": [
"Beautiful creatures.",
"Pleasure and knowledge.",
"Colorful butterflies.",
"Care by the visitors."
],
"question": "What could children get from visiting the butterfly show... | These days picture news is very popular with young people. Here are some chosen from the Internet by Jack. Read on to find out which one you like best.
SPRING is coming, together with butterflies ! On March 31,the Natural History Museum in London, UK, had a butterfly show. Children came over and played with these beautiful creatures. They also got to know how butterflies grow up. Colorful butterflies flew freely at the show. They sometimes landed on visitors. Look! A large blue butterfly sits on the nose of the girl.
Earlier in April 2014, Sanlian Taofen Bookstore became the first 24-hour bookstore in Beijing. It hopes to encourage more people to read books.
"We welcome everyone who loves to read books at any time." The general manager of the store told China Youth Daily.
Although many people can now buy books online, many readers still like the feeling in bookstores. They can touch the books and smell the print.
This year, many children in the UK will have a new language to study: Chinese.
Starting in 2014, students aged 7-11 in the UK need to study one of seven foreign languages. They can choose from French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek and Chinese.
The British government is offering to train a group of Chinese-language teachers. They will teach Chinese to more than 3,000 primary school students.
China and the UK work together in many fields. So it's important that the future generation can speak Chinese. | middle2992.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Three"
},
"options": [
"One",
"Two",
"Three",
"Five"
],
"question": "How many problems does \"a helpless mother\" have?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0... | Dear Abby,
I am a helpless mother, my son is 15 years old. I find out that the older he grows, the less we talk. I feel very worried and I really need help.
My first problem is about his hobbies, he seems to spend too much time on computer games. As soon as he gets home, he always turns on the computer, closes the door and locks others out. I am getting worried about him, especially when his English teacher told me he always fails(,) in the English exam.
Secondly, it seems that he is crazy about the new technology. However, to be honest, I don't have enough money and I can't _ all the things he wants.
Recently, I have found that he seems to be always alone. I have never seen him talking to his friends on the phone or going out with anyone on weekends. That is the last problem I have.
Do all the boys behave this way? What should I do to help him?
A helpless mother | middle7632.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because the hotel melts during the summer."
},
"options": [
"Because the hotel melts during the summer.",
"Because guests suggest changes to the hotel.",
"Because the hotel is damaged by the sauna.",
"Because more rooms... | Hotels can make a person's stay away from home as restful as possible. Hotels provide warm beds to allow guests a peaceful night's rest. Besides, some hotels offer guests special services such as newspapers to read in the morning, fresh coffee, and even breakfast. Hotel workers want their guests to feel warm and welcome when they stay in their hotel.
One hotel near the Arctic Circle, however, is different. This hotel gives its guests a cold welcome. The Ice Hotel, in Sweden, is all made of ice. The Ice Hotel might sound strange, but in some ways it is a special hotel. It has a front lobby where guests check into the hotel, plenty of rooms to sleep in, and even room service, which guests can use to have food delivered to their rooms. The Ice Hotel is different, though, because most of the items are made from ice.
It takes more than 30 tons of ice and snow to build the Ice Hotel. It melts in the summer and is rebuilt each winter. Different builders and artists create the Ice Hotel, so each winter this famous hotel has a new shape and design.
The effort of building the Ice Hotel is worth it, however. Walking into the Ice Hotel is like walking into a diamond. The walls reflect even the smallest bits of light. Ice pillars support the roof. The floor below shines like glass. Almost every inch of this hotel sparkles inside. Visiting the Ice Hotel is truly an unusual experience.
Temperatures inside the Ice Hotel are usually below freezing. Guests wear warm jackets, hats, gloves, and thick boots. Even the owners of the Ice Hotel know that staying in a building with walls of ice four feet thick can be a bit cold. They have a solution though. The Ice Hotel has a sauna for its guests. A sauna is a room filled with steam, where guests can warm themselves. In a way, then, one could say that the Ice Hotel does give their guests a warm welcome after all. | middle1243.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "122"
},
"options": [
"365",
"122",
"8",
"52"
],
"question": "How many days do we sleep in a year? _ days.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"an... | There are 365 days in a year. We sleep 8 hours a day, so we have 122 days for sleeping. Then our work time has 243 days left. But there are 52 weekends in a year. Each weekend is two days. We lose another 104 days a year for work. It takes us about one hour to have breakfast and supper. This comes to 15 days over a year. But we can't work all that time-we need a holiday. Let's say we have three weeks' holiday. We don't work all day. Four free hours each evening takes up 61 days. We have to remember that we get 2 days' holiday at Easter, 3 at Christmas and 1 at the New Year. There are also 4 Bank holidays. Take those 10 days away and we have 32 days for work. But then we have one and a half hours' lunch every day, and half an hour's coffee break. That comes to 30 days a year. This means that we have only a few days left for work every year! | middle8267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "back home"
},
"options": [
"to have a basketball game",
"to his classroom",
"to see Mark",
"back home"
],
"question": "When Mark met him the first time, Bill was going",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
... | Just a Little Smile
Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw the boy in front of turn fall over and drop all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman . Mark stopped and helped the boy pick up these things. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark knew that the boy's name was Bill, that he loved computer games, basketball and history, and that he was having lots of troubles with his other subjects and that he had just _ with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed happily with a few laughs and some small talk, then Mark went home. They often saw . each other at school, had lunch together once or twice, and then they both finished middle school. They ended up in the same high school where they sometimes saw and talked with each other over the years. At last just three weeks before they finished high school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill asked Mark if he still remembered the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever think why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave anything for anyone else. I had put away some of my mother's sleeping pills and I was going home to kill myself. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, ! began to understand that if I killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life. " | middle3332.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Because she could do nothing first."
},
"options": [
"Because she could do nothing first.",
"Because Jenny often beat her.",
"Because Jenny always made fun of her.",
"Because Jenny always made her busy."
],
"que... | It was hard being the younger of two sisters. I got all the hand-me-downs . I never got to do anything first and my teachers always said, "Oh, you're Jenny's little sister." "No, I am Lauren!" I never liked being the younger. Jenny and I got along with a few fights here and there.
Then a few years ago, Jenny and I were in a car accident. She was okay, but I had a large scar on my face. I was very sad. Jenny told me I shouldn't worry about the scar.
One day we were riding home from school on the bus. A boy named Jordan made fun of me about my scar. This went on for about a month. Finally I broke down and told Jenny about him. She was angry.
When Jordan made fun of me the next time, Jenny stood up, walked to where he was sitting and said something into his ear. I didn't know exactly what she said, but Jordan never said a single word to me again.
So, even though getting all of the hand-me-downs might not be the best, I was very happy to have a big sister like Jenny.
When anyone asks now, I will tell them, "Yes, I'm Jenny's little sister."
,. | middle3326.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "encourage her to find out another way to solve her problem"
},
"options": [
"enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town",
"encourage her to find out another way to solve her problem",
"find out how many ways lead to the sq... | We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
"Look down, Elsa," Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village, And I saw the criss-cross of streets leading to the square. "See, my dear," Father said gently, "There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road. try another."
Now I understood why I was there, Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere . Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. _ She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, "The cook must have gone bad!" Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square, | middle4449.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Li Ming"
},
"options": [
"Wang Ping",
"Zheng Hui",
"Zhang Jian",
"Li Ming"
],
"question": "_ likes tomatoes.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"an... | I'm Wang Ping. I'm in Beijing. I like healthy food. I have milk and fruit for breakfast; rice , chicken and vegetables for lunch; vegetables, fruit and salad for dinner. Here is what my friends like eating. Let's have a look!
Zhang Jian(inBeijing)Like:
Li Ming(inShanghai)Like:
Zheng Hui(inBeijing)Like:
,. | middle2038.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Oil is very important in the modern world."
},
"options": [
"Coal gas can't be used in houses and factories.",
"Oil is very important in the modern world.",
"Many governments encourage people to waste oil as much as possible.... | Nowadays more and more people care about the exploitation of the natural _ , such as oil. Though there're many kinds of resources, with the fast increase of population and the increase of many more factories, the more we use, the fewer there will be left for the future. Oil is getting less and less year after year. It's said that oil can last for only 50 years. Natural gas perhaps will last about 38 years.
Oil can be used in many ways and it's difficult to imagine what the modern world will be like without oil. But oil isn't easy to find and get out of the earth. Men must study the rocks. When they think the rocks in a certain place may have oil, a metal tower is built. A machine in the tower cuts a hole down into the ground. At the same time, a steel pipe is pushed down to stop the sides from falling in and to keep out water. At last if the men are right, usually the oil rushes up the sides with great force by the pressure of the gas in the top of the rock, and it rushes high into the air. If the oil catches a light, there will be a terrible fire. So a kind of cover is fixed on the top of the pipe, and the oil can run out through taps .
If we are near the middle of the oil field, we can also get gas. Such gas is sent through pipes to towns far away and used in houses and factories like coal gas.
Today oil is under pressure as never before. The price of oil keeps rising all the time. In many countries, the governments encourage people to save oil as much as possible. | middle7140.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a lot of people are joining book clubs"
},
"options": [
"reading is important for men",
"a lot of people are joining book clubs",
"all the people are reading their books",
"fewer and fewer people in the USA are joining ... | Reading is an important activity for many Americans. Today, thousands of men, women and children are members of groups to discuss the books they read.
No one knows how many Americans belong to reading groups called book clubs. Yet publishers and bookshops report that more and more throughout the United States are joining the clubs.
Most of the clubs work the same way. Members read the same book at the same time. Then they meet to talk about the book. Members may be friends or people who live near each other. Or, they may be people who work together.
Book clubs may be for only women or only men. Or, they can be for husbands and wives together. Some are family groups where parents attend with their children. Children may belong to book clubs of their own.
Some book clubs in the United States are for husbands and wives. One woman says this is a great idea for a book club. She says husbands and wives often talk to each other only about their children, work, or money problems. "Talking about books," she says, "opens a whole new level of communication."
American children belong to book clubs, too. They may be as young as four years old or as old as eighteen. Some children's clubs get help from the Great Book Foundation . This educational organization provides lists of books to read. It also trains people to lead discussions about the books. | middle6538.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it is beautiful and quite different from other cities"
},
"options": [
"it is beautiful and quite different from other cities",
"there are a lot of kinds of boats on the canals",
"there are 177 canals in the city",
"it ... | Venice is the "Queen" of the Adriatic Sea . Every year thousands of people from all over the world travel to Italy to visit the city. Do you know why they like to go there for a visit?
Venice is a very beautiful city. It is quite different from other cities in the world. There aren't any roads or streets in the city, so there aren't any cars or buses. There are many canals in the city. There is one big canal and one hundred and seventy-seven small canals. People move up and down the canals in boats to go to work, go shopping or visit their friends.
But Venice is sinking It is going down and the water is going up. In 2040 Venice will be under water. The Adriatic Sea will cover the city. The Venetians love their city and want to stay there. So they want to save Venice form the sea. They do not want to leave. How can they save Venice? They can build some strong huge walls and gates in the sea. The gates will close to keep too much water out. In this way Venice will not sink. | middle1257.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A math museum."
},
"options": [
"A math museum.",
"A science museum.",
"A history museum.",
"A space museum."
],
"question": "What is the passage about?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | Welcome to the National Museum of Mathematics(MoMath).it is in New York City.It is
America's first math museum.It's also a fun place for both children and their parents.
Open the door ,you will open a new world of numbers,shapes and colours,and you will
find math is interesting.You can take part in many games and activities.They help you better
understand math." We want to give people fun ways to learn math,"MoMath founder Glen Whitney said."Here you can try riding a tricycle with square wheels .You can hop from one point to another and join lines to get pictures."
The museum is at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 1 0:00 a.m.to 5:00 P.m.,seven days a week,364 days a year(It is closed on Thanksgiving Day).MoMath closes early on the first Wednesday of every month,at 2:30 p.m.The ticket prices are$1 5 per adult and$9 per child,student,or the old people.
MoMath also has a traveling museum-Math Midway.It runs around the country to schools
and community centres .So you still can enjoy the fun of math even you live far from New York
City. | middle5031.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "People who eat sweet regularly."
},
"options": [
"People who eat sweet regularly.",
"People who eat lots of fat and fast food.",
"People who don't have a balanced diet.",
"People who eat lots of fruits and vegetables."
... | Have you ever wanted to stop eating something sweet but you just couldn't ? Is the first thing you do when you get home from school to look in the biscuit tin ? Can you eat a huge bar of chocolate all by yourself ? Can you say "no" to sweets at parties ? If you can't , then there is a reason...perhaps you're sugar addict ! Does that sound funny ? Well, doctors say that people who eat sweets regularly can easily become addicted to sugar .What's more, most sugar addicts don't even realize that they're addicted! Sugar addiction is serious because it can really _ your health .Doctors say that we should eat food which is healthy such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and that we shouldn't eat a lot of sugar ,fat or fast food .But sugar addicts can't follow this advice.They know they must stop eating sweet food, but they can't .So what can you do if you think you're addicted to the taste of sugar ?Well, here is some advice:
Eat some fresh fruits when you really want something sweet to eat .
Cut down on sweet food slowly. Don't try to stop eating it all at once.
You have to tell your parents, If they know, they will help you. | middle2986.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Black"
},
"options": [
"Red",
"Black",
"Green",
"Colorful"
],
"question": "_ is Lily's favorite color.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_t... | Lily has a black dress. She thinks it's very nice. Black is Lily's favorite color. She doesn't like colorful dresses at all.
Lily also has a pair of sunglasses. She bought the sunglasses with all her pocket money Y=20.She thinks they are really cool. She really loves them.
Linda is Lily's friend. She has a colorful scarf it's red, white and blue. She likes it a lot. This is Linda's watch. It's brown. Linda thinks it's lovely. Today is Monday, June 14th. Wednesday is Linda's birthday. Lily wants to give her a red and green wallet. | middle3440.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "jackets"
},
"options": [
"bags",
"skirts",
"jackets",
"T-shirt"
],
"question": "Murray's shop has _ in all colors at 25 dollars each.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"a... | Come to Murray's big sale on clothes and things for school. They are at a very good price .
Do you like jackets? We have jackets in all colors at 25 dollars each. Do you need bags for shopping or school? We have great bags for only 9 dollars.
For young boys and girls, we have T-shirts in red, yellow, white and black for only 20 dollars. And socks in all colors for 2 dollars, skirts and pants for 5 dollars!
See our nice schoolbags, pencils,pens and old books--everything for school! Come and see for yourself at Murray's shop!
,. | middle7815.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "All the above"
},
"options": [
"Lions",
"An elephant",
"A panda",
"All the above"
],
"question": "What animals are in the zoo?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_in... | There are many kinds of animals in the zoo. Look! There are two lions. They are very big and smart. Near them there is a small elephant. She is from Africa. She likes to eat grass. Oh, is there a koala? Of course. There is a two-year-old koala. He always sleeps in the day and at night he gets up and eats leaves. I like pandas best. There is one in the zoo. She is five years old. She is very beautiful, but she's very shy. Do you like her? | middle5964.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "six"
},
"options": [
"four",
"five",
"six",
"seven"
],
"question": "There are _ people in my family.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_te... | Look at this photo of my family. There are six people in my family. This woman is my mother. She is nice and looks so young.She is a policewoman . She works in a police station . She is a hero in my heart . That man in the black coat is my father. He is a scientist . He works in an institute . He is very busy. Look at this lovely boy. It is my little brother. My grandma looks after him. She is a nurse. My grandpa is that man in the brown coat. My father looks like him. He is a teacher. Can you see me? I'm behind my brother. I have a happy family. | middle5970.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Schools'cutting physical activity."
},
"options": [
"Schools'cutting physical activity.",
"Their interest in physical activity.",
"The tests including about 55,000 children.",
"Kids'unsatisfying schooling performance."
... | A recent research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes. The research comes because educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like P.E. class.
Researchers go over the results of fourteen studies. Twelve were from the United States, one from Canada and one from South Africa. The studies appeared between 2009 and 2013. They included more than 55,000 children, aged six to eighteen.
Thomas Singh, one of the researchers, says the studies showed a relationship between physical activity and scores on subjects such as math, English and reading. Ms. Singh offers some possible explanations :
" There are, first, physiological explanations, like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain. Being physically active means there are more hormones( ) produced like endorphins ( ). And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you will perform better in class. Also, students who take part in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them. This could improve their classroom behavior and help them know what they should do.
All in all, the finding tells us that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school. Ms. Singh says schools should consider the finding before they cut physical education programs. | middle2979.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Discuss and solve problems together with their children."
},
"options": [
"Don't consider the needs of others.",
"Pay more attention to their children.",
"Develop closer relationships with their children.",
"Discuss and... | In the opinion of many people, the twoparent family is the correct way to raise children. Traditionally, this has been as the most natural way, but singleparent families have had to face prejudices against their lifestyle. However, the singleparent family is the fastest growing type of family. In the United States, a national survey showed that at least 50% of children will be members of a singleparent family. So we think it is important to throw prejudices away and to see the advantages of singleparent families.
When compared to twoparent families, singleparent families are usually at a disadvantage in some ways. They are often in short of money, and children receive less attention. What's more, single parents can find themselves under too much pressure of both work and home. Despite these disadvantages, it is possible for singleparent families to look for support from friends, schools, communities or other organizations. They need to remember that nobody can do it alone.
Surprisingly, singleparent families also have some advantages over twoparent families. Single parents have greater flexibility in spending time with children, because they don't have to consider the needs of a husband or wife. So they can develop closer relationships with their children. Another advantage comes from the fact that single parents often work together with their children to solve problems, which makes children feel more needed and valued.
It's important to remember that singleparent families have, until now suffered prejudices from some people. They think that it's easier for the children in singleparent families to drop out of school in teens, and to be jobless in their early twenties. But, with the support from friends, schools and communities, singleparent families become more accepted by society, and this situation is certain to improve. In the future we will probably see these prejudices disappear. | middle714.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "when the film was on"
},
"options": [
"when the film was on",
"when the film was over",
"when the old man was looking for the chocolate",
"when the woman was whispering to the man"
],
"question": "This story too... | A young woman was at the cinema,and she was enjoying the film very much.In the next seat there was an old man,and he began looking on the floor under him.The woman was angry and whispered ,"What are you doing now? What are you looking for?"
"A piece of chocolate ,"the man whispered to her,"I've dropped it on the floor."
"A piece of chocolate? "the woman said angrily,"It s dirty now! Take this and be quiet, please! I'm listening to the film!"She gave the man a big piece of chocolate.
"But."the man said,"my teeth are in the piece on the floor!" | middle1280.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Warm"
},
"options": [
"fashionable",
"popular",
"friendly",
"Warm"
],
"question": "People wear qiuku to be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
... | Your mom tells you to put on your hat and gloves. But as the cold winter season gets closer, it's so cold that even mom's advice does not work.
That means it's time to put on your qiuku! This is a kind of "thermal underwear " or long underpants that keep people warm in the coldest months of the year.
In Western countries, qiuku is usually known as long johns, but they aren't popular. Long johns in the US are usually two pieces, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, worn under other clothing or sometimes even used as pajamas .
Long johns first appeared in England during the 17thcentury. We call them long johns because the US boxer John L. Sullivan wore them while he boxed. But this is not a historical fact.
In the US, it gets quite cold and snowy in many places. And while parents often push kids to wear more clothes and long underwear, _
Part of the reason might be because it's not very fashionable and another reason might be because people don't spend much time outside during the cold months. So they just deal with the freezing temperatures when they have to leave the warm building. But in their parents' eyes, staying warm is more important than looking nice. | middle7829.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "opened a restaurant"
},
"options": [
"opened a restaurant",
"built a house",
"climbed onto the top",
"been policemen"
],
"question": "The Smiths have _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | Mr and Mrs Smith have just opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant, which said: "Meals on the house for three days."
A foreign student who didn't know much English passed by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt hungry. "Well, here is a restaurant. I'm going to have something to eat," he said.
He saw the notice when he walked towards the restaurant. "American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on the house! But how can I get onto the top of the house?" he asked himself
He looked around and found a ladder against a tree nearby. He was very glad. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him, "Hey, what are you doing up there?" Mr Smith was looking at him angrily. Beside him was a policeman.
'Doesn't your notice say 'Meals on the house for three days'? Is it just a joke?" the foreign student answered.
On hearing this, both Mr Smith and the policeman burst into laughter.
Do you know the meaning of on the house"? | middle2951.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "on the back of 20-yuan note"
},
"options": [
"on the back of 20-yuan note",
"on the front of 20-yuan note",
"on the front of 100-yuan note",
"on the back of 100-yuan note"
],
"question": "The Lijiang River of Gu... | Every day we use money to buy what we want. But have you ever really noticed the bill in your hand? There are different pictures on both sides of banknotes and interesting stories behind them.
Most banknotes have famous people on the front, such as a country's leader or a great scientist, while on the back of the paper note there are usually some well-known scenes or national buildings.
The latest editions of Chinese banknotes use the picture of Mao Zedong, founding father of the People's Republic of China, on the front of all yuan bills. However, the backs of the bills are different. The Great Hall of the People, on the 100-yuan note, is a landmark in Beijing. Important meetings are always held there. The Lijiang River in Guilin, on the 20-yuan note, is one of the most beautiful scenes in the world.
The US 1-dollar bill has the first president, George Washington, on the front side. A 13-level pyramid is on the back. Benjamin Franklin, a great scientist and politician from the US, appears on the front of the 100-dollar bill. You can see the White House, where the presidents live, on the back of the 20-dollar bill. | middle2789.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He was ready to plant a fig tree."
},
"options": [
"He was ready to plant a fig tree.",
"He was exercising in his garden.",
"He was riding along the road.",
"He was watering the plants in his garden."
],
"questi... | A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. On the ground lay a young tree, ready to be planted. The rich man called out to the old man. "What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?"
"This is a fig tree, sir." He said. "A fig tree?" The rich man was very surprised. "Why, how old are you, may I ask?" "I am ninety years old this year." "What ?" cried the man. "You are ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it will take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree." The old man looked around the garden. Then he said with a smile, "Tell me , sir. Did you eat figs when you were a boy?" "Sure , why do you ask this question?" the man asked. "Then tell me this,"he said. "Who planted the fig tree?" "Why-why? I don't know." "You see, sir. Our forefather planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me."
The rich man was quiet and said, "You are right, my good man. We should do something for the people after us. Thank you very much." The rich man rode away. | middle5780.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "who thinks she is better than anyone else"
},
"options": [
"who has a lot of money",
"who is cleverer than others",
"who is respected by others",
"who thinks she is better than anyone else"
],
"question": "The e... | In the past, many people depended on horses for transportation , farming and other kinds of work. Nowadays a lot of people still like to ride horses. So it is not surprising that many expressions about _ are still used by Americans today.
Long ago, people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall. Today, if a girl is too proud and looks down upon others, you might say she should "get off her high horse."
Last night, I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show. I decided not to answer it because "wild horses could not drag me away" from the television -- there was nothing that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do.
Sometimes you get information "straight from the horse's mouth." It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source. Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow. You could say you got the information "straight from the horse's mouth." However, you would not want to call your teacher a horse!
You may have heard this expression: "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do.
In politics, a "dark-horse candidate" is someone who is not well known to the public. Sometimes, a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election .
Another piece of advice is "do not change horses in midstream." You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river. Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun. | middle5958.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve thirty"
},
"options": [
"twelve",
"eleven thirty",
"twelve thirty",
"twelve fifteen"
],
"question": "What time does Mr.Brown often come home every morning?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
... | Mr.Brown is 80 years old. Every morning he goes for a walk in the park. And he comes home at twelve thirty for lunch.But today a car stops at his house. At twelve, two policemen help him get out.One of them says to Mr.Brown's daughter, "The old man can't find his way in the park. He asks us to take him home by car." The daughter thanks the policemen and leave. Then she asks her father,"Dad, you go to that park every day. But today, you can't find the way. What's wrong with you?" The old man smiles like a child and says, "I can find my way. I don't want to walk home." | middle7197.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada"
},
"options": [
"twenty and thirty-year-olds from Canada",
"twenty and thirty-year-olds from America",
"twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada",
"twelve and thirteen-year-ol... | Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O.--The Environmental Children's Organization.
We are a group of twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference.
Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.
I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.
I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go.
I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone . I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it.
I used to go fishing in Vancouver with my dad until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear about animals and plants going _ every day.
In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.
Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age?
All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions . I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you! | middle7183.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Students who get scores of 85 percent or above on all the activities."
},
"options": [
"Students who finish all the activities.",
"Students who finish first on the test.",
"Students who make the greatest progress in the test.... | Nearly half of elementary and high schools in the US use the Presidential Fitness Test. It checks kids' fitness levels. Students are tested at least twice a year. In 1956, US President Eisenhower created the test, and it has been a tradition in schools since 1966.
There are five activities in the test: sit-ups , push-ups , sit and reach, endurance run or walk and shuttle run . Students who get scores at or above 85 percent on all the activities can get a Presidential Physical Fitness Award.
The test encourages students to live a healthy and active life. Students taking the test are really testing their limits, according to the US National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
China has a similar test: the physical education(PE) test. Beginning at the age of 7, students in China are tested twice a year to check if they are healthy and strong. They also finish activities like the endurance run, sit-ups and the shuttle run.
However, unlike students in the US who get awards, Chinese students get points in PE tests. The highest score is 100. For junior school students, the PE test is more important because it is worth 30 to 40 points in the entrance exam for senior high school. In order to get a good score, most students begin to prepare for the test in their junior one year. | middle5794.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "grandfather"
},
"options": [
"grandfather",
"father",
"mother",
"neighbor"
],
"question": "Jim's _ gives Jim the drum.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1... | It is Jim's birthday today. He is five years old. He gets many nice birthday presents from his family and one of them is a big drum .
"Who gives him the drum?" his father asks.
"His grandfather does." answers Jim's mother.
Jim likes his drum very much. He makes a noise with it, but his mother doesn't say anything about it. His father is not at home. He is working in a school. So he doesn't hear the noise.
But one of the neighbors doesn't like the noise at all. So one morning she takes a knife and goes into Jim's room. Jim is making a noise with the drum. She says to him, "Hello, Jim. Do you know there is something very nice in your drum? Here's a knife. Open the drum and let's find it." | middle3483.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "didn't line up for the bus"
},
"options": [
"were foreigners",
"didn't have tickets",
"made a loud noise",
"didn't line up for the bus"
],
"question": "The British people tried to push the three gentlemen out of... | In England recently three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop and waited . About five minutes later, the bus they wanted came along. They were just going to get on when suddenly there was a loud noise behind them. People rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way . Someone shouted at them. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreigners seem all at sea and looked embarrassed ( . No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus that the first person who arrives at the bus stop is the first person to get on the bus .
Learning the language of a country isn't enough. If you want to have a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your host country. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man shaking his head at another to show that he doesn't agree. But in many parts of India a shake of the head means agreement. Nodding your head when you are given a drink in Bulgaria will most probably leave you thirsty .
In that country, you shake your head to mean 'yes'-- a nod means 'no' . At a meal in countries on the Arabic Peninsula, you will find that your glass is repeated refilled as soon as you drink up . If you think that you have had enough , you should take the cup or glasses in your hand and give it a little shake from side to side or place your hand over the top.
In Europe it quite usual to cross your legs when you are sitting talking to someone even at an important meeting. Doing this in Thailand, however, could bring about trouble . Also, you should try to avoid touching the head of an adult ----it's just not done in Thailand . | middle1294.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a lot of"
},
"options": [
"a few",
"a lot of",
"little",
"much"
],
"question": "Communities with _ elderly people might require more help from volunteers.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | Volunteers are people who do a job for the satisfaction of helping others.
Volunteers do many different types of jobs.Some volunteers read books onto tapes so that people with poor eyesight can listen.
Some volunteers deliver meals to elderly or sick people.
Some volunteers help tourists who visit a city during a major event like the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games.
Volunteers help whenever a community is hit by a natural disaster .
Volunteers assist(,)in putting out bush fires.They might also help to evacuate people from areas that have been flooded or hit by an earthquake or tsunami .
A community may not recover without the help of volunteers.
Some communities require volunteers more than others.
Communities that don't have much money require a great deal of help from volunteers.
Communities with a large number of elderly people might require more help from volunteers than communities with more young people.Without volunteers, some communities couldn't operate. | middle6464.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In 1850."
},
"options": [
"In 1750.",
"In 1850.",
"In 1950.",
"In the 21st century."
],
"question": "When was London the biggest city in the world?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer... | London has a population of over 7,000,000. From about the year 1800 until World War II, London was the biggest city in the world. But now there are many cities which are much bigger than it. London is famous for many things. Tourists come from all over the world to visit its famous buildings and hear the famous clock, Big Ben. Like many big cities, London has problems with traffic and pollution which stop the city from developing. Over one million people a day use the London underground, but there are still too many cars on the streets. The air isn't clear, but it is anyhow cleaner than it was 100 years ago. For me, the best things about London are the parks. There are five in the city center. But my children's favorite place is Hamleys, the biggest toy shop in the world. | middle847.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "What the daughter did these days worried her mother."
},
"options": [
"The girl knew her mother would ask her about the boy.",
"What the daughter did these days worried her mother.",
"The mother knew the boy who saw the film ... | She is a cute ,quiet girl. As a daughter, she has no secrets from her mother, who is very pleased with her. But these days she has become not so open as before. She has diary that she keeps under lock and key. Her mother cannot help worrying about her: what if she falls in love, which is too early for her age. After all, she is reaching the "dangerous time". These thoughts have caused trouble in the mother's mind.
One weekend the girl came to tell her mother that she was going to the cinema with her schoolmate and would return late. This was the first time her mother agreed, and she couldn't help worrying because her daughter had never been away at night before. The mother waited till nine. She decided to go out to meet her daughter. Just at that time the noise of a car pulling up drew her to the window and---there was her daughter, waving goodbye to a boy. Her heart missed a beat. When the girl came in, the mother was watching TV, just like nothing had happened. "Mum, I'm back." "Yeah." "Sorry to be late. Still sitting up?" "Yes. Oh, that ... Who's that boy? " The daughter fell silent for some time. "Ah. It's my monitor . He gave me a lift on his way home. Mum, I'm going to bed." "All right. Go to sleep early."
The next morning when the mother went to the daughter's room to do some cleaning, she found her diary left on the bed. After a few minutes' thinking, she at last opened it to the page of the night before. It reads: Mum, It's love that made you ask, but it would show your understanding of me if you hadn't. | middle4273.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "farmers's feelings"
},
"options": [
"students' feelings",
"farmers's feelings",
"the lives of workers",
"crops"
],
"question": "Country music is usually about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},... | Are you interested in country music? I like it very much !It will take me away for a while after I am tired . The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields. Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It's the spirit of America ,easy to understand ,slow and simple.
Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of famers . They talk about love, crops or death.
The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s,people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.
When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s. His song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is well-known and people still play it today.
,,. (
,2,10) | middle2602.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "cannot pass through space successfully"
},
"options": [
"has the longest wavelength among all the colors",
"cannot be taken in by the gas molecules",
"doesn't hit \"raised area\" in the atmosphere",
"cannot pass through... | A recent survey of 2000 parents in Britain showed that they are often afraid of science questions asked by their curious children only because they have no idea what the answer is. Here is a list of some simple questions that you can ask your parents to see if they know the answers.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: You probably know white sunlight is made up of seven colors. While it moves in a straight line when going through space, it starts to divide as it hits "raised area" in the atmosphere. The ones with longest wavelengths pass through easily. The blue , however , can be taken in by the gas molecules because it has a shorter wavelength , which in turn scatters it in different directions. That's why when you look up at the sky, it appears to be blue.
Q:Why does the moon sometimes appear during the daytime?
A: The simple answer to that is because just like any other object it is being lit by the sun. As long as it is around 45 degrees or even 90 degrees off the sun, it will receive light and be able to be seen. The only time it is not able to be seen during its 28-day orbit around the earth is when it is right between the earth and the sun. That's because its back , which is not lit by the sun, is facing us.
Q: Where do birds/ honeybees go in winter?
A: While the bird part is quite easy, since a lot of them get together and travel, the honeybee part is likely to puzzle your parents. It turns out that these busy insects stop being that active when the temperature drops below 50degF. Instead ,they get together in the lower central area of the hive and form a ball around their queen. This helps keep both warm enough to survive the cold winter months. | middle2164.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The writer's mother."
},
"options": [
"The writer's mother.",
"The writer.",
"Aunt Fanny.",
"Fanny's mother."
],
"question": "Who owns the recipe of making the best strawberry jam?",
"question_type": "factio... | As a young woman, my mother worked in the kitchen of a large farm owned by Fanny Cratty. She was hardworking and had a special skill in making delicious strawberry jam.
Aunt Fanny was single and had no children. She didn't like to share love with others. I thought she was very lonely, although she didn't mind it. She had a workshop where my mother helped her make the best strawberry jam, and everyone in our town bought it. But aunt Fanny asked my mother not to tell the recipe of making the strawberry jam to others.
When the strawberries were ripe, my family would pick them together. We talked and laughed, experiencing the fun of picking strawberries. But aunt Fanny never joined us. She just asked us to pick strawberries quickly and make more strawberry jam to make more money for her. Each person in our town said that she just paid attention to money rather than anything else. What a poor woman! It's no use having too much money because she had no family and friends to share her happiness during her lifetime.
Maybe it was the recipe that brought success to aunt Fanny. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the beautiful days spent with family and friends that truly make you _ . | middle7008.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Lucy's"
},
"options": [
"Lucy's",
"Kelly's",
"John's",
"Jack's"
],
"question": "In _ dream, Lu Han sang a song.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | Everyone has a dream. Some are good dreams. Some are bad dreams. Here are some kids talking about their dreams they had last night.
Lucy: In my dream, I saw my favorite band EXO singing a wonderful song. One of the main singer Lu Han wore special clothes and sang songs only for me. The songs were so beautiful that it touched my heart. I hope I didn't wake up this morning.
Kelly: Last night I dreamed I was an astronaut. I flew a rocket around the earth. The sky was so blue and the white clouds were here and there. I felt I was like a bird. I even sang a song because I was so happy.
John: I had a really bad dream last night. I invited lots of friends to my home to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. All the preparations were ready. Turkey was in the oven. Other food was on the table. Guests were happy and ready to enjoy the meal. However, someone shouted "Oh, my God!" All the guests disappeared . I didn't know what happened. I was scared so much.
Emma: I dreamed I became a pediatrician.. I could be a doctor for all small kids. It was really wonderful. I tried my best and saved many kids. Parents came to thank me. How happy I was! | middle6316.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Angry."
},
"options": [
"Angry.",
"Nervous.",
"Unlucky.",
"Helpless."
],
"question": "How did John feel when Bobby was promoted to manager?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | John and Bobby joined the same company together just after they completed their university studies the same year. Both of them worked very hard. Several years later, however, the boss promoted Bobby to manager but John was still a worker. John could not take it, and gave his resignation to the boss. He complained that the boss did not think much of those who were hard -working, but promoted only those who flattered him.
The boss knew that John had worked very hard for the years. He thought a moment and said, "Thank you for what you said, but I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave"
John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found a man selling watermelons. The boss asked how much they cost every kilogram. John shook his head and went back to the seller to ask and returned to tell the boss $1.2 every kilogram.
The boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. Bobby went and returned, saying, "Boss, only one person is selling watermelons. $1.2 every kilogram, and $10 for 10 kilograms. The seller has 340 melons. On the table there are 58 melons, and each weighs about 2 kilograms. They were brought from the South two days ago. They are of good quality."
Hearing what Bobby said, John realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided to stay and learn from Bobby. | middle1479.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Sound waves tell us where the oil has leaked out of the ground."
},
"options": [
"Sound waves travel through different kinds of rocks at different speeds.",
"People measure the pull of gravity to know if there is oil.",
"Soun... | Oil is so important that it is sometimes called "black gold". Almost half of our energy comes from oil. We use it to run our cars and factories and to heat our homes, offices and schools. Many everyday things are made from oil. Your shirt may have oil in the material. The soap you wash your hands with might also be made from oil. Your favorite plastic toy is made from oil.
Oil is hard to find, because it is trapped deep under the earth. Once the only way people knew there was oil someplace if it leaked out of the ground. Today, however, we have many ways of finding oil. One tool measures the pull of gravity. Places where gravity is weaker are more likely to have oil. Another tool is sound waves . Sound waves travel through different kinds of rocks at different speeds. We can use them to find the rocks that have oil in them.
We need a lot of oil, and we are using up the oil wells we know about. Soon we must find new ways of looking for this "black gold". | middle2170.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "have a cold"
},
"options": [
"have a stomachache",
"have a cold",
"have a toothache",
"have a backache"
],
"question": "If you don't often clean your hands, you may _ easily.",
"question_type": "cloze_qu... | If you don't often wash your hands, you can touch lots of viruses from many places and make yourself ill. You may have a cold when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth. One of the most common ways people have colds is by touching their noses or their eyes when there are cold viruses on their hands. If you don't often wash your hands, especially when you're sick, you may make other people ill. So you should follow the advice and wash your hands:
* After using the bathroom.
* After touching your nose or coughing.
* Before eating, serving or preparing food.
* After touching pets or other animals.
* After visiting the sick people.
* When your hands are dirty.
There's a right way to wash your hands. Follow these advice and you can keep your hands clean.
* Use warm water (not cold or hot).
* Wash for 15 seconds .
* Wash well under warm running water. | middle4501.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "when she was 50 years old"
},
"options": [
"50 years ago",
"in a city of Germany",
"when she was a high school student",
"when she was 50 years old"
],
"question": "Ellen started to learn English _ .",
"qu... | "It is never too late and you are never too old to start something new!" says Englishtown student Ellen Rema. Ellen began to learn English at the age of fifty, and in just a few years, she has made great progress!
Ellen chose to study on Englishtown because no evening classes were offered in the German countryside where she lives. On Englishtown, she has conversation classes online and speaks with native English-speaking teachers.
"Englishtown is a wonderful place for study," she says. Ellen began with the first level of Englishtown and quickly progressed. "I spent hours and hours studying," she said. "Maybe I wanted too much in a short time. I finished all my courses after 2 years, but I still had grammar difficulties."
Instead of giving up, she chose to continue. After another two years on Englishtown, she's still studying in the online classroom. "Studying online is never boring, but you need practice, practice, practice!"
Ellen says studying English isn't all about hard work. It should also be fun. "I really like the online conversation classrooms," she says. "I have learned so much about other cultures and traditions."
Ellen has been able to put her English to use by visiting England five times! "I'm very thankful to Englishtown because my life has improved because of it," Ellen says. | middle4267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "boarding students"
},
"options": [
"dorm teachers",
"boarding students",
"parents and students*",
"parents of boarding students"
],
"question": "This email is from Director of Campus Life to _ .",
"questio... | Dear Boarding Students,
At this time of school year,we can feel some students begin to experience excitement as the summer vacation comes. But some others still don't want to start packing. I once again ask for your attention as we will have summer camps for the new students. There is much work to be done in packing and cleaning-up,especially during exam week.
Each student will get a task list and each task has a deadline .The dorm teachers will work with each student each night to make sure you are getting the tasks done on time. It would be helpful if your parents encourage you to do a little packing and cleaning from now on. It means you can take the posters off the wall,pack up winter clothes,return all borrowed books to the library,etc. Spending twenty minutes a day on your tasks will make the last week of the term very easy,and you can spend more time on the important preparation for exams. If you plan to travel home,I'd like to remind you to take some of your _ with you.
The coming weekend is a"closed weekend".During that time no one is allowed to leave school. After packing we need to prepare the dorms for moving out,and store students' large belongings.
The last exam is on Thursday and all students leave after their exam. The dorm will remain open until 5 p. m. on Friday for those students that could not get a ride or flight. Please let us know if you need transportation to the airport.
Thank you again for all your attention during the last,busy month of school. As always,you,welcome to call or email me with any questions.
Peter Margio
Director of Campus Life
453-757-2630
pmargioC baylinschool. com | middle5179.txt |
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