questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "continued the race with the dog"
},
"options": [
"abandoned the dog immediately",
"fed the dog with enough food",
"adopted the dog for convenience",
"continued the race with the dog"
],
"question": "After meetin... | Exhausted,covered in mud and desperately hungry,a team of Swedish athletes sat down for a meal as they prepared to take on a dangerous 20-mile trek through the Ecuadorian rainforest.
As they opened their canned meat,a tired Mikael Lindnord noticed a miserable stray dog staring at him out of the corner of his eye.
Feeling sorry for him,he fed the dog a meatball and thought nothing of it,but as the team stood up to continue their race the animal started to follow them--and he didn't stop.
As the group of four navigated the final two stages of the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship,the dog befriended them and was eventually given the name Arthur.
Every tiring task the team face,Arthur would do the same.He swam alongside them while they kayaked down rivers,dragged himself up hills during hikes and pulled through knee--deep mud during treks.
Even when the team tried to get rid of their new member out of concerns for his safety--he refused to leave.This meant when he was tired they stopped for a break and when he got stuck in the mud they pulled him out.
After six days the team finished the race,and the dog had suffered.They therefore decided to take him to a vet while still in South America to have him checked out.
During that time Lindord thought to himself that after their experience,they could not leave Arthur,so he decided to adopt him and take him back to Sweden.He applied to the Swedish Board of Agriculture and was made to wait to see if his application was successful.After a tense few days,the team arrived at the airport with Arthur and boarded the plane with him back home.
Lindord said:"I came to Ecuador to win the World Championship.Instead,I got a new friend." | high9804.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "West Europe"
},
"options": [
"America",
"the West",
"West Europe",
"West Germany"
],
"question": "A lot of women in _ wish that they were born men.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born
men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
"Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is
still men's world," said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes
in "Women's Liberation". "I don't wish that I were a man," she says. "And I don't think many
women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work,
for example, we often do the work that men do but paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that
are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you are a man, you have a much better
chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there... or engineers or
scientists?" | high21013.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Britain"
},
"options": [
"Russia",
"India",
"Britain",
"America"
],
"question": "The author of the passage is most probably from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"an... | If there is one thing I'm quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The basic British character won't change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don't much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?
Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody's enjoyment.
The nature of what is news may change. What essentially makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it's love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It's quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted electronically from thenational equivalents of Fleet Street (,) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I'm pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You'll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own _ by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device to do the job for you.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it's never really satisfying to read something just on a screen. | high2951.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Many suppliers produce for more than one brand."
},
"options": [
"The factories are often distant from companies.",
"Many suppliers produce for more than one brand.",
"There are no common standards for their checks.",
"... | Doubt usually comes along when companies talk very proudly how socially responsible they are, but Nike's decision to publish its entire list of contract suppliers on the Internet is harder to ignore. Nike's move opens a new front in companies' efforts to face their critics.
As Nike states in its latest corporate responsibility report, it is often hard to confirm exactly what is happening at about 800 factories that make its footwear and clothing under contract, many of which are remote.
Nike is hoping other companies will publish their factory lists, too. Hannah Jones, Nike's vice - president for corporate responsibility, says Nike would like to see the best - run contract factories using their social position as suppliers to the big brands to try to get more work.
Nike's approach moves corporate responsibility into its third age. The first age was corporate philanthropy - companies donating money to various community projects. The $170, 000,000 that Wal - Mart gave in charitable donations last year is a good example. Of course, some critics oppose even this form of corporate generosity , arguing that companies should concentrate on making profits, leaving it to shareholders to decide what charitable donations to make.
Corporate responsibility's second age was reputation management and risk avoidance. Second - age corporate responsibility supporters believe agreement with the wider community can warn a company of future risks in advance.
Nike is now trying to go a stage further. The company says it sees corporate responsibility as a way of improving its performance rather than just protecting its reputation. Factories which ensure that workers are registered for social - security benefits often become more productive as a result. Attention to one aspect of staff management often leads to improvement in others.
If other companies publish supplier lists, they can together work out common standards, Nike says. At present, different companies have different standards, which make life difficult for the many factories that produce for more than one brand. If other companies published suppliers' locations, they could work out common standards and save money by relying on one another's checks. | high16867.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "have to be controlled to kill all of the pigs before your birds run out"
},
"options": [
"have different kinds that only include faster birds and slower birds",
"have to be controlled to kill all of the pigs before your birds run o... | Angry Birds has become a worldwide gaming mega hit but how did this game come into existence? Rovio is the name of the company that created angry birds, however, it's not the first game they developed. Surprisingly they have been creating games for several years but had just never broken through into the mainstream the way they did with angry birds. The idea for the game came about in 2009 when the company was looking at different ideas for games which they thought could become popular. It was a simple idea _ from some sketches of wingless and legless birds which were angry.
The sketches caught on among the staff who in turn created a unique design which became angry birds. The pigs were added into the game later in the development as an enemy. During this period of development, pig flu was being heavily reported in the news which is where the idea for the pigs appeared.
The basis of the game is very simple and is not unique to angry birds but has been seen in many other games previously. It's a simple physics/puzzle game. The player is given a slingshot and a limited supply of angry birds with different characteristics. Some birds are faster than others while others can be split into multiple birds. You control the trajectory of the birds with the slingshot which launches them towards rickety structures containing your main enemy, the pigs. In order to advance to the next level you must eliminate all of the pigs before your birds run out.
Rovio has released several different versions of the game at this point. The original, Seasons, and Rio. Seasons is a collection of holiday themed versions of the game while Rio was a movie tie in for the movie Rio. All versions continue to be updated with new levels which are free to those who have previously purchased the game. | high5958.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "honour anyone who has helped kids in need"
},
"options": [
"answer questions from chilren",
"match the Adults' Nobel Prize",
"give awards to chilren in poor areas",
"honour anyone who has helped kids in need"
],
... | Each year, prizes are presented to adults who accomplish great things in art, writing, science, and economics.So why not give awards to kids?
Harry Leibowitz asked himself that question in 1996.As an answer, he and his wife, Kay, created the World of Children organization and began handing out awards to kids and adults whose work has helped kids all over the world.The awards World of Children presents are nicknamed the "Children's Nobel Prize." On Thursday, World of Children honored six adults and two kids at its 11th Annual Changemakers for Children awards ceremony held at the UNICEF House at United Nations Plaza in New York City.
Talia Leman, from Iowa, was awarded a Founder's Youth Award for Leadership.She is only 13 years old, but she has accomplished a lot.In 2005, she founded "RandomKid." Since then, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $10 million to help kids in 48 states in the U.S.and in 19 other countries develop funding solutions to real-world problems.One place helped by RandomKid was a school built in Cambodia to enable 300 kids to go to school.The organization has also helped fix a school for 200 kids in Slidell, Louisiana, and provided interactive play centers that serve more than 500 kids in hospitals in Iowa.In faraway places like Africa, RandomKid has provided money for the purchase of water pumps.
Talia never thought that the organization she founded would be as successful as it has become."I did a project called TLC, which meant Trick or Treat for the Levy Catastrophe, where kids would trick-or-treat for coins along with getting candy," she told me."My goal was to raise $1 million.That seemed really high, but when you reach a goal, you always wind up reaching higher--and we actually raised $10 million." The money RandomKid raised provided help to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. | high21775.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Londoners read a lot"
},
"options": [
"Londoners are great because they read a lot",
"There are a great number of readers in London",
"Londoners are readers who read only great books",
"Londoners read a lot"
],
... | Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and of books -- especially paperbacks , which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy "proper" books, too, printed on good paper and bound between hard covers.
There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charring Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being "the biggest bookshop in the world" to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens' time. Some of these shops stock , or will obtain, any kind of book, but many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on philosophy, politics or any other of the myriad subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes only in books about ballet!
Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charring Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand volumes, the collector must venture off the beaten track, to Farringdon Road, for example, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so impressive as bookshops. Instead, the booksellers come along each morning and pour out their sacks of books onto small barrows which line the gutters . And the collectors, some professionals and some amateurs , have been waiting for them. In places like this one can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old volume that may be worth many pounds. | high14916.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "At the Derby Arms on Sunday"
},
"options": [
"At the Bull's Head on Sunday",
"At the Derby Arms on Sunday",
"At the Bull on Saturday",
"At the Black Horse on Saturday"
],
"question": "Where and when can you hear... | TODAY, Friday , November12
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at the Derby Arms .Upper Richmond Road West ,Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco .Free at the Lord Napier ,Mort lake High St ,from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m .Tel:682--1158.
SATURDAY, November 13
JAZZ Lysis at the Bull's Head ,Barnes Admission 60p.
MUSICAL HALL at the Star and Garter ,Lower Richmond Road ,Putney ,provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company .Good food and entertainment fair price .Tel :789--6749.
FAMILY night out ?Join the sing-along at the Black Horse .Sheen Road, Richmond .
JAZZ the John Bennett Big Band at the Bull's Head ,Barnes ,Admission 80p.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West ,give you Joe on the electric accordion .Tel:789--4536
SUNDAY, November 14
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco ,free at the Lord Napier ,Mort Lake High Street ,from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m .
FOLK MUSIC at the Derby Arms .The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio .Non-remembers 70p.Tel:688--4626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at Bull ,Upper Richmond Road West ,East Sheen .
THE DERBY ARMS ,Upper Richmond Road West ,give you Joe on the electric accordion . | high23162.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It has a lower body temperature than other mammals."
},
"options": [
"It has a lower body temperature than other mammals.",
"It only closes its eyes when underwater.",
"It's the only poisonous mammal in the world.",
"It... | When 18th-century scientists first came across Australia's platypus , they thought it was a trick. It is not surprising that the platypus made people confused. This funny-looking animal has feet and is a kind of warm-blooded mammal.
While other mammals usually keep their blood at around 37 degrees, the platypus has a lower body temperature of 32 degrees. As to its appearance, the platypus'mouth is not really like ducks'at all; its mouth actually looks a bit soft. The platypus closes its eyes when swimming. It uses its mouth to pick up outside information made by the creatures underwater.
Strangest of all, the platypus is a mammal that can lay eggs. And there is only one other kind of mammal that can lay eggs, the echidna of Australia. Both the platy-pus and the echidna lay soft-shelled eggs, and both feed their young with their own milk that comes out of their skin. These animals also walk in a way that is similar to crocodiles , with legs on the sides of their bodies rather than under them.
Though pretty, in a special way, the platypus is actually one of the few mammals that are poisonous. A male platypus has knife-like bones on its back legs which have enough poison to kill a dog.
The platypus has the honor of being one of the oldest mammals in the world. Until the early 20th century, it was hunted for its fur, but the situation has changed. Although the platypus is easily affected by pollution, it is not under any immediate threat. | high6289.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "six out of seven were wrong"
},
"options": [
"half of them were right",
"2,145 were on a jury",
"six out of seven were wrong",
"1,843 made seven choices"
],
"question": "Of the people who called up to respond, ... | Imagine that you are on a jury and you hear the testimony of an eyewitness who says that the accused person is guilty. You would probably vote to _ don't you think? Well, more often than not, you'd be wrong.
A few years ago, an experiment was done on an evening news show on WNBC in prefix = st1 /New York. Viewers were shown a film of what seemed to be a mugging. In this simulation, a man snatched a woman's purse. He then knocked her down and ran face forward at the camera so that the viewers got a good look at him. Viewers were then shown a lineup of six men. They were asked to decide if the mugger was in the lineup and, if so, to tell which one he was. In effect, then, they had seven choices. The suspect was either one of the six or he wasn't even in the lineup.
Of the 2,145 people who called up to respond, 1,843 were wrong. That means about one in seven was right. This is what you'd expect from random choice.
Eyewitness accounts can be the most convincing evidence presented to a jury. Yet we are finding out that such accounts can be faulty. Something is just wrong. Why is this so? Recent findings have removed doubts on whether memory can last long. We also know that it can be changed by things such as leading questions. Mistaken eyewitness accounts are common. They are also the major cause of innocent persons being convicted in the United States. | high22268.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the author`s mother decided to keep Commander"
},
"options": [
"the author had decided to sell Commander.",
"the author`s roommate sold commander to someone else",
"the author`s mother decided to keep Commander",
"the a... | Commander was my parents` cat but I knew him first. In fact, Commander was my college roommate`s cat. My roommate wanted to sell Commander, but no one would buy him. I called my parents to see if they would like to adopt him. My mom had always loved cats but my dad disliked cats very much. As predicted my dad said, "No way. No cats" Fortunately for me, my dad was out of town at a math conference. So I brought Commander home. By the time he returned, both my mom and Commander had decided that Commander was going to stay.
My mom said that Commander was going to live at our house for a "trial period" while we looked for a buyer. As the months went by there was absolutely no effort to sell Commander and it became clear to my dad that Commander was there to stay. Commander started sitting by my dad as he read the newspaper and slowly my dad began to like Commander---just a little bit.
By the time I came home that summer, I was surprised to see my dad carrying Commander around the house. Over the years, my parents` love for Commander grew to the point where they could not imagine life without him.
Once I finished college, my parents built their dream house and they named the floor plan The Commander! They worked with the architect to design the house so that it was perfectly suited both for them and for Commander.
Commander died at the age of eighteen. My mom still talks about him often and misses him, and so does my dad, which proves that not even the most determined cat-hating human being in the world can resist the charms of a cat once the cat decides he is moving in to your heart. | high7183.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Two."
},
"options": [
"One.",
"Two.",
"Three.",
"Four."
],
"question": "How many colors are there in the National Flag of Canada?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer... | The Canadian red and white maple leaf flag is officially called the National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag.
The red and the white used in the National Flag of Canada were proclaimed the official colors of Canada in 1921 by King George V. Although the maple leaf did not have its official status as a symbol of Canada until the announcement of the national flag in 1965, it had historically been used as a Canadian symbol, and was used in 1860 in decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada. The 11 points on the maple leaf have no special significance.
In the early days,the Royal Union Flag,or the Union Jack, was still flown in British North America. In 1925 and again in 1946, the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King tried to get a national flag of Canada adopted, but failed. In 1964,Prime Minister Lester Pearson appointed a 15-member, all-party committee to come up with a design for a new flag. The committee was given six weeks to complete its task.
The committee studied 2,000 submitted designs as well as 3,900 that had been gathered as a result of the 1946 committee's study. Those designs with a chance of being accepted were given to the full committee for further study.
The suggestion of a red and white single maple leaf design for the Canadian flag came from George Stanley, a professor at the Royal Military College. After a heated discussion, _ finally decided on his suggestion. | high14902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "can no longer have their privacy protected"
},
"options": [
"are often misunderstood by the public",
"can no longer have their privacy protected",
"spend too much on their public appearance",
"care little about how they... | Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today's stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine.They are at the center of much of the world's attention.Paparazzi camp outside their homes, cameras ready.Tabloids publish thrilling stories about their personal lives.Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature!
According to pyschologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities--famous people--worry constantly about their public appearance.Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names."Over time," Villarreal says, "they feel separated and alone."
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages.In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers.When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy.Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be.Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras.When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it.Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities.They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice.Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are.They are tired of being famous already. | high5794.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "that reminds us to drive our cars less"
},
"options": [
"when cars cause no damage to the earth",
"when we can go on separate holidays",
"that reminds us to drive our cars less",
"that tells us to refuse to drive any ca... | World Car Free Day is a very important day on the environmental calendar. Every September 22, governments, green groups and ordinary citizens stress the damage cars are doing to the earth. The day is a reminder that we do not need to rely so much on cars. Those who take part in the activity hope that we all should realize we do not have to accept our car-controlled society.
Carlos Pardo from Colombia's Sustainable Urban Transport Project said, "World Car Free Day is not only a celebration of fun ways to get around the city, but a demonstration of traffic-free streets and clean air is possible. But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to normal life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, our cities and our governments to help create lasting change to benefit walkers, cyclists and other people who do not drive cars. "
Car-free days were organized as early as during the 1970s, and several car-free days were organized in European cities during the early 1990s. An international car-free day was organized in Europe in 1999. The European Union adopted the idea in 2000. Today, as many as 100 million people in over 1500 cities worldwide celebrate this day.
World Car Free Day aims to take a large number of cars off the streets for all or part of a day. This will give people a chance to see what their town might look like with fewer cars. But some people say it is a one-day trick and does not make people give up their cars for the rest of the year. They say what is needed is a move towards a more sustainable city transportation system. | high21761.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is more advanced than the last version"
},
"options": [
"was sold out on Mar. 16",
"is more advanced than the last version",
"is cheaper than other cell phones",
"is sold only in the United States."
],
"question... | SAN FRANCISCO -- Sales for Apple's third generation iPad has hit record in the first days after it was on the market, Apple and carrier AT&T said on Monday.
The new iPad went on sale on March 16 in the United States along with nine additional countries and areas.
"We had a record weekend, and we are thrilled with it," Apple's CEO Tim Cook said Monday at a conference.
Shortly after the conference call, AT&T said the launch of the new iPad set a new single-day record for its sales.
"On Friday, March 16 AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales, showing strong demand for the new iPad on the nation's largest 4G network," said the mobile carrier in a brief announcement.
The new iPad is Apple's first 4G-capable product, featuring retina display, HD camera and faster processor. Before hitting stores, the new iPad pre-sales were sold out worldwide in two days.
BEIJING -- A Chinese farmer was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday for stealing art pieces from the Forbidden City last year, court authorities said.
Shi Baikui, 27, was fined 13,000 yuan ($2,059) and was deprived of his political rights for 3 years, according to the ruling announced by the Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing Monday morning.
Shi, from East China's Shandong Province, broke into the heavily guarded former home of Chinese emperors in the heart of Beijing, and stole nine art pieces made of gold and jewels, on May 8, 2011, the court said in a statement.
While hurriedly escaping, Shi left behind five of the pieces in the Forbidden City's compound . Failing to immediately sell the treasures, he threw the other four pieces away the next day, the document said.
Six pieces were recovered and the three missing were worth about 150,000 yuan ($23,760) in total.
Shi was arrested by police at an Internet cafe in Beijing's Fengtai district 58 hours after the theft. | high21007.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To play various educational games."
},
"options": [
"To play various educational games.",
"To figure out the BASIC code.",
"To get the knowledge of algebra.",
"To read some latest news."
],
"question": "What did... | I remember the first time that I was extremely happy. I was about 8 years old when for the first time, there was a computer in the classroom. I remember that my teacher allowed each student to take turns playing various educational games on the computer. One day, I found the source code for one of these games. Without knowing or being taught any programming language, I was able to figure out some _ of the BASIC code.
Anyone who knows a bit of programming can tell you that I just give myself an infinite number of lives in the game, so I can continue playing forever. This was also my first introduction to algebra , and I didn't even know it at the time. This was a decisive moment in my life. For the first time that I can remember, I was quite happy because of what I was learning and what I was able to do. As a result, I became enthusiastic for the rest of my life about self-learning and computers, and I was quite happy doing them, too.
I've noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic in what they do. This enthusiasm, along with good health, is the key to being happy. It also leads to self-confidence and fulfillment in life, too. It may also lead to success, wealth, and achievements.
Yes, success, wealth, or achievements seem to bring some people happiness, too. Yet, I don't think they can indeed make people happy. I know plenty of people who are successful and wealthy. However, I also know several of the people with successful businesses are not happy with what they are doing. I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys, cars, computers, and televisions, yet they never seem content for too long.
Please remember that happiness comes from enthusiasm, and happiness is the journey of life, not the destination. | high3483.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "likes Miss Mao very much"
},
"options": [
"is a troublemaker",
"likes Miss Mao very much",
"is happy these days",
"doesn't like to tell her secret to anyone"
],
"question": "Tian Yan _ .",
"question_type"... | Dear Editor,
I'm a Senior I student in a middle school. This term, my favorite teacher, Miss Mao, no longer teaches us. I want to see her, but I'm afraid that she no longer likes me and I don't want to trouble her. I really miss her. What should I do?
Tian Yan
Dear Tian Yan,
It's bad luck that you have lost your favorite teacher. But, if she is still in your school, nothing can stop you going to see her. When she isn't busy, ask her if she minds having a quick chat. You can then tell her she was your favorite teacher--everyone is happy to know that they are liked!
If she has left the school, it will be more difficult to meet her. It will be hard, but remember people always come and go in their lives. We can't rely on them to be with us all the time.
You may be sad to say goodbye to her, but we can remember and learn from her. Think of her best qualities.
You could also try looking for similar qualities in your other teachers. Study hard and give your new teacher a chance. In time, you might start to see that he or she has different qualities to learn from.
Finally, you can not completely rely on other people to get you through your studies , or even your life.
Editor | high16873.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "trying to save as many starfishes as possible"
},
"options": [
"dancing along the beach with starfishes",
"walking with a dancer",
"picking up starfishes for sale",
"trying to save as many starfishes as possible"
],... | Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the sea to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.One day he was walking along the shore.As he looked down at the beach,he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach.So he began to walk faster to catch up.As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing,
but instead he was reaching down to the shore,picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.As he got closer, he called out,"Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused,looked up and replied,"Throwing starfishes in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked,why are you throwing starfishes in the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out,And if I don't throw them in,they'll die."
"But, young man,don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfishes all
along it.You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely.Then he bent down,picked another starfish and threw it into the sea,and said,"It made a difference to that one."There is something very special in each and every one of us.We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference.And if we can know that gift,we will gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.
We must each find our starfish.And if we throw our starfish wisely and well,the world will be better. | high18686.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it's better to be pear-shaped than apple-shaped"
},
"options": [
"it's better to be pear-shaped than apple-shaped",
"it's better to be apple-shaped than pear-shaped",
"apple-shaped fat people have fewer problems than pear-sha... | Fat on human body is distributed in two different ways. Some fat people have a large chest and no waistline , looking rather like apples. Others are fatter below the waist, looking more like pears.
Doctors in Cambridge, England have been examining the relationship between health and fat distribution. They find that the pear-shaped fat people have fewer problems than the apple-shaped people. What seems to be most important is not just how much fat you have but where you have it. The doctors measured the apple-shaped women and pear-shaped women and examined them with X-ray scanners (X). Human beings have two types of fat, one is outside fat that is the fat below the skin and the other is inside fat that lies inside the body. Using the X-ray scanners, the doctors found that the "apples" have a large amount of inside fat. If this inside fat is much more than outside fat, it will probably cause health problems such as obesity . The best treatment for obesity is to reduce the inside fat. But unfortunately diet treatment simply makes an apple-shaped person into a smaller apple and a pear-shaped person into a smaller pear. At the moment there is no effective way of reducing the inside fat. | high23610.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "has been studying laughing for many years"
},
"options": [
"thinks banning weapon can end wars in the world",
"has put his machine calculating laughter into market",
"has been studying laughing for many years",
"is an e... | Japanese professor Yoji Kimura believes laughter is a weapon that in healthy doses can end the world's wars. To measure it, the expert on communications has invented a machine to chart out laughter--and a new unit of "aH" to calculate it.
"We have found that children laugh more freely, releasing 10 aH per second, which is about twice as much as an adult," Kimura, a professor at Kansai University in the western city of Osaka, told reporters. "Adults tend to calculate whether it's appropriate to laugh and under those restraints they eventually forget how," he said.
"Laughing is like a restart function on a computer. Laughing freely is very important in the course of human development," he said.
Kimura, who believes in "a change from a century of wars to a century of humor and tolerance," has studied the science of laughter for decades in Osaka. In his theory, human laughter is produced in four emotional stages. "I believe there is a circuit in the human brain that creates laughter," Kimura said confidently.
To measure laughter, he attaches sensors on the skin of a tested people's stomach, particularly the diaphragm , and detects muscle movements. "I have a theory that humor detected in the brain gets directly released through the movement of diaphragm," he said. By checking the movement of the diaphragm and other parts of the body, it will be possible to see if a person is only pretending to laugh while also telling different types of laughter, Kimura said.
Kimura wants to make the measuring device as small as a mobile phone and possibly market it as a health and amusement device. Kimura said he planned to present his findings this summer to the US-based International Society for Humor Studies, adding that he looked forward to looking at differences in laughter internationally. | high1294.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population"
},
"options": [
"food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population",
"people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside",
"it is harder to... | Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16thcentury when English rulers fried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921. The British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland. In the north, is part of the united kingdom. The republic of Ireland. In the south. Is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes ,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of bunger. This, and a shortage of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Greeks", Since independence, Ireland has revived its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different are as have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc. | high700.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Misunderstanding of English"
},
"options": [
"Misunderstanding of English",
"Three Young Frenchmen",
"Misfortunes of Three Frenchmen",
"A Few English Lessons"
],
"question": "Which of the following would be the ... | No matter how well you understand a foreign language, misunderstanding still exists between native speakers and you. Here is such an example.
Three young Frenchmen were travelling in Britain. Though they had taken a few English lessons before their holiday, they were often in trouble because of their misunderstanding of English. One day they talked about their misfortunes together.
The first Frenchman said, "I once heard someone shout 'Look out', I put my head out of a window and a bucket of water fell on me."
The second Frenchman said, "I was once in a ship and heard the captain shouted, 'All hands on decks ' I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them."
The third Frenchman said, "I once called early on an English friend and the maid who came to the door said, 'He's not up yet' When I went again for him, she said, 'He's not down yet'. I said, 'If he's not up and he's not down, where is he?' She said, 'He's still upstairs now. When I told you he was not up I meant he had not got up yet, so he has not come downstairs by now' " | high9810.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "short story"
},
"options": [
"science research",
"short story",
"news report",
"self-introduction"
],
"question": "The passage can be sorted as a _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answ... | Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model.Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer.
In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co.,he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time. At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor. _ Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant." Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one.
The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T.6.The two men became f'ast friends and would go on camping trips together.When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race.At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison.When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford:" As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings.I can only say that he is my friend." Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931.
Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath. Ford was a man with many strange behaviors( as was Edison)including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life.
The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled "Henry Ford-A Personal History" in the Henry Ford Museum.It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled "Edison's Last Breath".
There is a further mystery of this "last breath" test tube. It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath.
Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning.Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards .their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration. | high6464.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Sony M400"
},
"options": [
"Pearlcorder S702",
"Sony M9",
"Sony M400",
"Philips 585"
],
"question": "If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose the _ .",
... | Pocket Tape-Recorders "Family and Home Magazine" test what's on the market now.
1)Pearlcorder S702 $64
This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn't turn off automatically.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 240g.
2)Sony M9 $49.95
Small and very good looking, sony's latest offering scored most for appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. Doesn't switch off automatically but a red light shows if the machine is still running.
Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 195g.
3)Sony M400 $115
Lots of little control buttons that make a noise and are difficult to use . Recording was good but machine noise lost points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful.
Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.
4)Imperial OEM. MC $29.95
Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording was good as long as there was no background noise. Use only its own make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.
5)Philips 585 $80
Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light.
Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g. | high14123.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It has a history of more than 160 years."
},
"options": [
"It has been existing in London for three hundred years..",
"It has a history of more than 160 years.",
"It has been there since 2007.",
"It has been visited by ... | Though the last book of the spectacular Harry Potter series was released seven years ago in 2007, the young wizard continues to be extremely popular with both kids and adults. Over the years, Harry Potter fans have been able to experience numerous aspects of the young wizard's life, right down to his favorite drink -- butter beer. Now thanks to a British hotel, they can also spend a night in the wizard's Hogwarts Castle dormitory room.
The four-star Georgian Hotel in Central London, which recently opened its two wizard chambers , is ideally suited to reproducing J.K. Rowling's school of wizardry . That's because the hotel, which is still run by the descendants of the original owners, dates all the way back to 1851. It still remains its original styles inside.
According to the owner of the 163-year-old Georgian Hotel, the idea originated as a way to create a kid-friendly environment in a hotel that is well-known for its Victoria Classic and Belgravia Boutique rooms.
The wizard chambers that have been refinished to resemble the Hogwarts Castle dormitory rooms are furnished with everything a wizard fan could think of -- four-poster beds, stone wash basins, potion bottles, cauldrons (,), spelling books and even study tables. In order to make them appear even more magical, the hotel owners have added their own special touches that include placing a wand in the hand of the Mona Lisa painting that is in one of the chambers.
As you may have guessed, these unique accommodations are not cheap. The rooms, breakfast included, cost about $350 for two people. Kids sharing the same room pay only an additional $40 each. Given that the big wizard chamber can contain up to five people, the overall cost is perfect for families that are all Harry Potter fans. Special packages include a Muggle Walking Tour that takes Harry Potter fans through the areas of the city where parts of the movies were filmed or a visit to Warner Brothers Studio, home of the Harry Potter films' sets and props .
The hotel is certainly generating a lot of buzz among Harry Potter fans! | high9757.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in 1952"
},
"options": [
"in 1940",
"1942",
"in 1952",
"in 2012"
],
"question": "The NSA was founded _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer... | This is VOA. The National Cryptologic Museum is on Fort George G. Meade, a military base near Washington, DC. The method of hiding exact meanings is called coding. People have used secret codes throughout history to protect important information. The National Cryptologic Museum celebrated 60 years of cryptologic excellence in 2012. One event there marked the sixtieth anniversary of the National Security Agency. Two former NSA workers shared their memories of operating a code machine called Sigaba.
In 1940, an American woman named Genevieve Grotjan found some information being repeated in Japanese coded messages. Her discovery helped the United States understand secret Japanese diplomatic messages. After the United States understood the code, it was possible to study messages from the Japanese ambassador to Germany and to his supervisors in Japan.
Understanding these messages helped the United States prepare for a possible war in the Pacific with Japan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor. the American naval commander in the Pacific Ocean was Chester Nimitz. His forces were much smaller than the Japanese Naval forces. And the Japanese had been winning many victories. Joseph Rochefort had worked for several months to read the secret Japanese Naval code called JN-25. If he could understand enough of the code, he would be able to give Admiral Nimitz very valuable information.
From the beginning of 1942, the Japanese code discussed a place called "AF." Joseph Rochefort felt the Japanese were planning an important battle aimed at "AF." After several weeks, he and other naval experts told Admiral Nimitz that their best idea was that the "AF" in the Japanese code was the American-held island of Midway. Admiral Nimitz said he must have more information to prepare for such an attack.
The Navy experts decided to trick Japan. They told the American military force on Midway to broadcast a false message. The message would say the island was having problems with its water-processing equipment. The message asked that fresh water be sent to the island immediately. This message was not sent in code.
Several days later, a Japanese radio broadcast in the JN-25 code said that "AF" had little water. Joseph Rochefort had the evidence he needed. "AF" was now known to be the island of Midway. He also told Admiral Nimitz the Japanese would attack Midway on June 13.The battle that followed was a huge American victory. That victory was possible because Joseph Rochefort learned to read enough of the Japanese code to discover the meaning of the letters "AF."
One American code has never been broken. Perhaps it never will. It was used in the Pacific during World War Two. For many years the government would not discuss this secret code. Listen for a moment to this very unusual code. Then you may understand why the Japanese military forces were never able to understand any of it.
The code is in the voice of a Native American. The man you just heard is singing a simple song in the Navajo language. Very few people outside the Navajo nation are able to speak any of their very difficult language.
At the beginning of World War Two, the United States Marine Corps asked members of the Navajo tribe to train as Code Talkers.
The Cryptologic Museum says the Marine Corps Code Talkers could take a sentence in English and change it into their language in about 20 seconds. A code machine needed about 30 minutes to do the same work.
The Navajo Code Talkers took part in every battle the Marines entered in the Pacific during World War Two. The Japanese were very skilled at breaking codes. But they were never able to understand any of what they called "The Marine Code."
The Cryptologic Museum has many pieces of mechanical and electric equipment used to change words into code. It also has almost as many examples of machines used to try to change code back into useful words. | high8449.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "parents aren't used to losing control of kids"
},
"options": [
"parents aren't used to losing control of kids",
"teens like to have everything decided",
"parents blame teens for not respecting them",
"teens are eager to... | The clothes you wear. The food you eat. The color of your bedroom walls. Where you go and how you get there. The people you hang around with. What time you go to bed. What do these things have in common, you're asking? They're just a few examples of the many hundreds of things that your parents controlled for you when you were a child.
As a kid, you didn't have a say in everything; your parents made decisions about everything from the cereal you ate in the morning to the pajamas you wore at night. And it's a good thing, too--kids need this kind of protection on their own.
But finally, kids grow up and become teens. And part of being a teen is developing your own identity--one that is separate from your parents'. But as you change and grow into this new person who makes his own decisions, your parents have a difficult time adjusting .
In many families, it is this adjustment that can cause a lot of fighting between teens and parents. And issues like the type of friends you have or your attitudes to partying can cause bigger arguments, because your parents still always want to protect you and keep you safe, no matter how old you are.
The good news about fighting with your parents get more comfortable with the idea that their teen has a right to certain opinions. It can take several years for parents and teens to adjust to their new roles, though. In the meantime, focus on communicating with your parents.
Sometimes _ can feel impossible--like they just don't see your point of view and never will. But talking and expressing your opinions can help you gain more respect from your parents.
Keep in mind, too, that your parents were teens once and that in most cases, they can relate to what you're going through. | high847.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the Saturday before Christmas"
},
"options": [
"Black Friday",
"the day before Christmas",
"the Saturday before Christmas",
"Cyber Monday"
],
"question": "Which is the busiest shopping day of the year according ... | The day after Thanksgiving is considered the first day of the holiday shopping season in the prefix = st1 /United States. It even has a name -- "Black Friday." The name comes from the idea that this is the day when store owners begin to show a profit for the year.
In the past, before calculators and computers, workers recorded the profits and losses of American businesses in special books. They used red ink to record losses. They used black ink to record profits. They used the term "in the red" to mean losing money. "In the black" meant making a profit. So "Black Friday" was the day when the store owners moved from being "in the red" to "in the black."
Many people consider "Black Friday" to be the busiest shopping day of the year. But that is probably false. Researchers say it may be the day when the largest number of people go to stores. But it is not necessarily the day when shoppers spend the largest amount of money. Some experts say Americans just want to get out of the house the day after Thanksgiving. And many stores reduce some of their prices on "Black Friday."
However, experts say that many people wait until much closer to Christmas, December 25, hoping to find even lower prices. They say the busiest day of the year in terms of the amount of shoppers and sales is usually the Saturday before Christmas.
A marketing services company carried out a public opinion study about shopping last month. It asked almost one thousand Americans about their gift buying plans. One-third said they plan to go to stores to shop on the day after Thanksgiving.
The study found that these shoppers are mainly young people, probably because older people do not want to deal with huge crowds. In fact, business leaders say many older Americans are doing their shopping at home -- on the computer. They say the day most people shop online is the Monday after "Black Friday." They even have a name for it -- "Cyber Monday." | high23957.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Thankful."
},
"options": [
"Fearful.",
"Hopeless.",
"Thankful.",
"Regret."
],
"question": "How does the writer feel after he sees the old woman?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": ... | I'm walking along a riverbed in California. The future stretched out ahead, in the valley, hills and mountains. The past is there too, but today I prefer to walk forward, to live "in the now", and truly see all the good things in the world. Light clouds float high in the bright blue sky, and the sunlight shines off the house in the distance, People ride bicycles on the bike path that follows the river. They talk and laugh together. What a beautiful and peaceful scene it makes!
My heart is suddenly full of joy as I remember it is New Year's Day. A day to start afresh and I feel overwhelming gratitude for the gift of life God has given me. I pass by a man holding his son, on rot two years old, whose face is a study in pure joy and wonder, as he looks out over the green hills and towering mountains. Tears gather in my eyes with the sweetness of this simple thought. A man sits gazing into the distance. In this lonely scene, I'm reminded of other days in the past when sadness and hopelessness were my only companions. I say a silent prayer for him, and thanks to God. Then I walk on.
A young couple crouch next to a bicycle that has thrown its chain. As they look up, I smile and say "Happy New Year." They smile and wish me the same. It is a simple thing, but for a moment _ have become one with the world and a sudden joy takes my breath away. An old woman leans on a fence post. She doesn't seem either happy or sad, just gazes into the past, or maybe the future. A feeling of timeless peace flows through me and all fear of what the future may bring disappears. I thank her with my thoughts, and move on.
I walk by a stand of young trees. A loud burst of cheerful chirping from the little woods, and I can't help but laugh out loud. As I reach home, I say another thanks to God for the gift "now". It has taken a long time to find it, and although I can't keep it with me all of the time, I know that whatever the New year will bring, there will be joy and enough love of "now" to help me through the hard times that we all must face.
Happy New Year! | high21198.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "About 15."
},
"options": [
"About 15.",
"8.",
"18.",
"About 10."
],
"question": "How old was the author, when their family got a TV?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
... | I was eight when my neighbors got a TV. It was small and expensive, but that didn't matter. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Everyone in the building came up to the fifth floor to see this latest wonder of the modern world. That was in 1948.
Soon, a lot of people got a TV, but not us. My parents didn't think it was good for children. Being a good son, I didn't argue with them. But I secretly watch TV--at my friends' homes.
By 1955, televisions weren't so expensive and were much larger. My parents still thought they were not good for us, but my sisters insisted, saying they were the only people in the neighborhood who didn't have one. All their friends talked about certain programs and actors, but they couldn't. Their friends laughed at them, which made them feel very unhappy. My youngest sister cried, saying she was never going back to school and that life without a TV wasn't worth living. Nothing my parents said made her feel better. The next morning, without telling us, they went out and got a new TV.
When we were young our parents allowed us to watch TV for two hours a night. And we couldn't watch until our homework was finished. But after a year or two, TV wasn't exciting or new anymore. It became just another part of our lives like shoes or soap. My parents still had fears about TV. We were going to forget how to read, and TV was going to fill our minds with violence, they said.
Today people still argue about the value of TV. Nobody can deny the power of TV, which has a powerful influence on our lives. On average, Americans spend 30 hours a week watching TV. Is this influence good or bad? This is an unanswerable question indeed: It is hard enough to measure influence; and it is even harder to decide what is good and what isn't. What is good, I suppose, is that many people are concerned about TV's influence and that we have the power to change what we don't like.
The people of Monhegan Island, 18 kilometers away off the coast of Maine, don't have electricity, and they decided; once again, that they liked that way. Electricity, they think, would make life too easy and spoil their way of life. Maybe the young people wouldn't want to go to town dances anymore. Maybe they would be more interested in staying at home and watching TV. | high4273.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "What your preference for dogs or cats tells about you."
},
"options": [
"Differences between dogs and cats in their personality traits.",
"Factors that influence people's preference for dogs or cats.",
"How raising a pet help... | Are you a dog person or a cat person?
With so many photos and videos of cats and dogs doing cute things online, it's easier than ever to answer which of these furry friends you like more. There are many reasons why people prefer one type of pet over the other. So, have you ever wondered what your preference for cats or dogs says about you?
In fact, a 2010 study done by Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas, US, and his graduate student Carson Sandy found that dog people are more extroverted , agreeable and conscientious than cat people.
"Cats will occasionally engage in social activities, but usually after only a few minutes they will give up the game. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time," said Modern Dog magazine.
Just on the basis of dogs' nature being more sociable than cats', you may expect that the personalities of dog people also reflect higher sociability. And Gosling's study found that dog people are generally about 15 percent more extroverted and 13 percent more agreeable, both of which are associated with social orientation .
In addition, dog people are 11 percent more conscientious than cat people. "Conscientiousness" is a tendency to show self-discipline, to complete tasks and aim for achievement. This trait also shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
In comparison, cat people are about 12 percent more anxious, but they are also 11 percent more "open" than dog people, due to a general appreciation for art, emotion, imagination, curiosity, adventure, unusual ideas and variety of experience. And people high on openness are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs.
Despite so many differences, there are some things that cat people and dog people have in common. "Both types of people consider themselves close to nature, dislike animal-print clothing and generally look on the better side of life," noted Mother Nature Network. | high19407.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "When she was 4 years old."
},
"options": [
"When she was born in Uganda.",
"When she was 16 years old.",
"When she graduated from college.",
"When she was 4 years old."
],
"question": "When did Omega join the Af... | When Omega was born in Uganda, she did two things: Smile and then sing. When Omega was 4 years old, her talent for music was recognized, so she became one of the youngest members of the first African Children's Choir . She traveled the world with the choir, and it was from this experience that she grew into a singer today.
Although having a beautiful voice, she had to find other ways besides music to earn a living at first. When she was 16, her parents sent her to the USA to study. Like her mother, Omega wanted to become a doctor and do something meaningful in her country of Uganda.
However, like many artists, _ that she had to choose. With encouragement from her family and friends, she opened her own production company after graduation. Since then, she has been working as an artist. Her songs make people feel good about life. Apart from that, she is also interested in health care and education. Omega is one of those Ugandan females who are showing the world their valuable talents. | high20286.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "obeying the reasonable rules and social regulations"
},
"options": [
"behaving and considering what their parents require",
"obeying what is required on some special occasions",
"obeying the reasonable rules and social regula... | To discipline means to teach. To be well disciplined is to have learned to live in accordance with the sensible rules and regulations that society has set up for the behavior of its members.
Unless the child learns from each disciplinary situation how better to govern his conduct, effective discipline has not been developed. Parents must accept for themselves the idea that successful discipline results in learning. When they approach situations in which a child must adapt themselves to demands made upon them as learning situations, many problems usually thought of in connection with discipline disappear.
Unfortunately, the word discipline has come to have other less constructive meanings. Far too often discipline is thought of as punishment. To many people, to discipline a child means to spank him or use some other method of punishment. Such people consider discipline a way of either keeping a child from doing something or of forcing him to do something.
It is the task of parents to build within themselves and within the children with whom they live this capacity for self-direction, based upon an understanding of what is required of individuals in a democratic society. This means learning to act in those ways known to be necessary for the "good life", not for one's self alone but also for others.
Developing the capacity for self-discipline in a child is a long, slow process. Much patience is required on the part of the parents. During this development, it is important that the child's self- confidence and comfortable acceptance of himself should never be sacrificed in a disciplinary battle; instead it should be increased through the ways in which his parents meet disciplinary situations. Many parents show a good deal of impatience if the little child does not rapidly learn how to keep clean, eat well, be orderly, and do what he is told. They are so eager for him to achieve these things that they seem to try to push him rapidly through his baby period. They seem also to think that learning to do these things at the earliest possible age will place the child one jump ahead in the competitive race foe success. But expecting too much too early is a common mistake and results in many battles. | high18719.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "People will get free tickets online."
},
"options": [
"People must buy tickets for visiting a museum.",
"Two museums offer free admission.",
"People will get free tickets online.",
"People can visit museums online and g... | Free Fun Guides
Free Admission to Hundreds of Museums Sept. 25
What a weekend! This Saturday, Sept. 25, hundreds of U.S. museums are admission free for the Smithsonian's yearly Museum Day.
Unlike previous Museum Day celebrations, you must sign up for a free ticket that admits two people to any of the participating museums. That means filling out a form and having the ticket emailed to you. Not bad for a free offer that will give you admission to museums such as the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and the Air & Space Museum in San Diego.
Free Books for Kids @ Barnes & Noble!
If your kids love to read -- and we hope they do! -- be sure to sign them up for Barnes & Noble's summer reading programs so they can earn a free book!
It's easy for kids ages 12 and under to participate. For Barnes & Noble's Passport to Summer Reading program, just download and print out your passport. Read any eight books, make a list of them on the back of the passport and bring it to any Barnes & Noble by September 7. Choose your free book from the list.
FREE Night of Theater Across the U.S. in October
It's the yearly run of the Free Night of Theater, when hundreds of theaters in 120 U.S. cities give away thousands of tickets to local productions.
While the kickoff date is October 15, many of the theaters start releasing their free tickets by Oct.1 or in waves during the month of October for performance dates throughout the month. Ticket seekers are limited to two tickets for one performance.
Find your city on the Free Night of Theater Website and check the listings for performances, their dates and their ticket giveaway times and locations. | high10345.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Development of the National Flag"
},
"options": [
"Development of the National Flag",
"Power of the National Flag",
"Types of Flags",
"Uses of Flags"
],
"question": "The best title for the passage would be \" _... | The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country.
The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years' development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.
Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People's food supplies were similarly _ . Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.
Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.
These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked. The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag. | high2164.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because Abner Craves told a Doubleday story."
},
"options": [
"Because a special commission was founded.",
"Because Doubleday provided false evidence.",
"Because Abner Craves told a Doubleday story.",
"Because Abner Cra... | You may have heard that a young man named Abner Doubleday invented the game known as baseball in Cooperstown, New York, during the summer of 1839. Doubleday then went on to become a Civil War hero, while baseball became America's beloved national pastime. Not only is that story untrue, it's not even in the ballpark( place for baseball).Doubleday was still at West Point in 1839, and he never claimed to have anything to do with baseball.
In 1907, a special commission created by the sporting goods merchant and former major league player A. J. Spalding used weak evidence-namely the claims of one man, mining engineer Abner Graves-to come up with the Doubleday origin story. Cooperstown businessmen and major league officials would rely on the myth's lasting power in the 1930s, when they established the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in the village.
As it turns out, the real history of baseball is a little more complicated than the Doubleday legend. References to games resembling baseball in the United States date hack to the 18th century .its most direct ancestors appear to be two English games: rounder a( a children's game brought to New England by the earliest colonists) and cricket. By the time of the American Revolution, variations of such games were being played on schoolyards and college campuses across the country. They became even more popular in newly industrialized cities where men sought work in the mid-19th century-.In September 1845, a group of New York City men founded the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club .One of them would make a new set of rules that would form the basis for modern baseball.
Cartwright's changes made the game faster-paced and more challenging from older games like cricket. In 1846, the Knickerbockers : played the first official game of baseball against a team of cricket players, beginning a new, uniquely American tradition. | high10423.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "May 2"
},
"options": [
"May 2",
"June 23",
"August 20.",
"September 1"
],
"question": "If you want to join in a tour,you can go on _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | The Harvard Student-led Walking Tour
Let a student show you Harvard ... on a free walking tour.
We welcome our neighbors to stop by the Harvard University Events & Information Center, located in the Holyoke Center Arcade at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge.
Let a student take you and your family,school,or organization on an interesting,hour-long historical tour of the Harvard campus.The tours leave from the Events & Information Center. Not only will you discover the location of fascinating exhibitions and programmes on campus,you will also see Harvard's rich sampling of American history and architecture from the Colonial period to the present
Schedule of Tours
Tours leave the Events & Information Center at 10 am and 2 pm Monday through Friday, and at 2 pm on Saturday through the academic year(February 4 through May 2;September 23 through December 16). Summer tours(June 24 through August 15)are offered at 10 am,11:15 am,2 pm,and 3:1 5 pm Monday through Saturday.Reservations for special tours of 20 or more people may be made by calling the Events & Information Center at(617)495--1573 or emailing icenter@camail. Harvard. edu. Tours are stopped March 23 through April 2 for Spring break,May 3 through June 23 for Spring intercession , and August 1 6 through September 22 for Summer intercession.
NOTE:Prospective students may take tours originating at the Harvard Admissions Office,located at Byerly Hall on 8 Garden Street in Cambridge.The Admissions staff will conduct information sessions.For more information,please call at(617)495--1551.
Harvard University Events & Information Center
Location:Holyoke Center Arcade,1350 Massachusetts Avenue,Cambridge MA 02138
Phone:(617)495--1573 | high16052.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Improvement in technologies"
},
"options": [
"Huntingdon Life Sciences",
"Improvement in technologies",
"Animal-fights militants",
"Scientists Alan and Thomas"
],
"question": "_ plays a leading role in replaci... | Scientists Alan M.Goldberg and Thomas Hartung describe recent advances in replacing the use of animals in toxicology testing.Improvements in cell and tissue culture technologies,for example,allow a growing number of tests to be performed on human cells alone.Computer models are becoming increasingly complex and many could one day become more accurate than trials in living animals.
Since the late 1990s,Huntingdon Life Sciences--a company that conducts testing of substances on animals conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration--has become a proving ground for aggressive strategies by animal-rights militants .At a hearing,a Senate.committee listened to testimony against Huntingdon employees and financial institutions providing services to the company.One experimentation witness at the hearing insisted that any means necessary were justified to spare animals' lives;he has previously accepted the idea of murder to that end.
Use of animals in testing and in biomedical research continues to be necessary in many instances and is ethically preferable to experimenting on humans or giving up cures that could save human lives.But for the sake of people and animals alike,the development and acceptance of animal substitutes deserve enthusiastic support.
In some instances, substitutes are already thought as good or better than animals,but supervising agencies have yet to catch up.In both the European Union and the U.S.,scientists and companies wanting to use the new alternative tests complain that regulatory standards for proving a drug or chemical to be safe for humans force the continued use of animals.Thus,animal-loving Americans might turn to persuading the EPA and the FDA to speed validation of new methods so that they can be more widely employed.And animal advocates who want to influence business could consider investing in the small biotech's and large pharmaceutical companies that are working to develop alternatives to animals in research. | high4515.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "photo"
},
"options": [
"photo",
"smartphone",
"webcam",
"website"
],
"question": "According to the passage, selfie is a type of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"ans... | Selfie is a photograph taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
In the digital age, selfies have taken off in a way that no one could have predicted. The art of the selfie is one that lots of people have practiced and perfected in recent years. A recent study shows 91 percent of teens have posted a photo of themselves online. Some celebrities are regular selfie posters, too. It seems that selfies are more than just a trend. They are here to stay.
Why are selfies so popular? The appeal of selfies comes from how easy they are to create and share. And posting selfies is popular for another reason: you can control your own image. "I like having the power to choose how I look," admits Samantha, a 19-year-old girl from Missouri, "even if I'm making a face." Actually, the most common selfie is the one where you look cute, partly because it's a quick way to get positive comments about your appearance. "If I feel pretty, I take one," says Andrew, a 23-year-old girl from Maryland, "when other people Like it, it's a mini boost of confidence."
Sure, showing off a new coat or that you're at a cool event is fun, but can be a trap to fall in. There's a danger that your self-respect may start to be tied to the comments and Likes you get when you post a selfie, and they aren't based on who you are--they are based on what you look like. Seeking validation is totally normal, and it's a healthy way for teenagers to develop their identity. But with social networks, where it's easy to get quick approval almost constantly, the selfie thing can quickly go out of control. It may even start to feel like an addiction: when you get a "LIKE", you're up. But when you get nothing, your confidence can decrease quickly.
Overall, opinions vary on selfie culture. It's up to you to shape the future of the habit. Ask yourself: are my selfies for fun, or do I need the comments? If you belong to the latter, it's recommended that you change your view. That could mean cutting selfies out entirely or just cutting down and making them more fun. So maybe you like to travel, or read or dance, or create crazy 3-D nail art...post them! Take it from us: it's so much more interesting. | high19361.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "wants to contribute to society"
},
"options": [
"made the first newspaper about two years ago",
"is learning journalism at a college in Allahabad",
"wants to contribute to society",
"lives in Allahabad, the state capita... | He is only 12 years old but Utkarsh Tripathi brings out a handwritten newspaper every week on matters like the environment. He does all this to satisfy his wish to "serve the country". A Class 8 student of the Brij Bihari Sahai Inter College in Allahabad, Utkarsh has been bringing out the newspaper Jagriti for the last one year. And for the four-page, black-and-white newspaper, Utkarsh not only takes the role of a reporter, editor and publisher, but also gives it free of charge.
Jagriti has about 150 readers belonging to various age groups in Allahabad, some 200 km from the state capital Lucknow. "Children make up major Jagriti readers ... my school friends, my seniors in school, teachers and also my neighbours," he said.
According to Utkarsh's father Hari Prasad, who runs a coaching institute, his son has a gift for writing and wants to serve the country in some way.
"More than two years ago, he began to read articles in Hindi Daily. One day he said that he wanted to start serving society from his school life itself. I then suggested why not work like a journalist and make people know their rights," he added. Utkarsh took the suggestion seriously and came up with Jagriti. "I try to cover social issues about environment, women foeticide and others in the editorial section, and also information about public welfare plans and important government policies for the betterment of the poor or children." Utkarsh said.
Jagriti also has successful stories of scientists, political leaders and other outstanding people.But how does he get time from his studies to bring out a weekly newspaper? "I believe if anyone is passionate about something, he or she can take out some time to realize his dream." Utkarsh replied.
Utkarsh's efforts are much appreciated by people in Allahabad. Nutan Devi, a local journalist, said, "For me it's real journalism ...It has renewed the objective of journalism that seems to have now got lost somewhere." | high12234.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "using fossils to follow the evolution"
},
"options": [
"searching the data on the net",
"sorting through the pictures of ancient times",
"using fossils to follow the evolution",
"analyzing the related images"
],
... | "Global warming could make humans shorter," warn scientists who claim to have found evidence that it caused the world's first horses to shrink nearly 50 million years ago. In fact, a team from the universities of Florida and Nebraska says it has found a link between the Earth heating up and the size of mammals - horses, in this case.
The scientists used fossils to follow the evolution of horses from their earliest appearance 56 million years ago. As temperature went up,their size went down, and vice versa ;" At one point they were as small as a house cat," said Dr Jonathan Bloch, curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History, which was quoted by the "Daily Mail" as saying.
The scientists say that the current warming could have the same effect on mammals and could even make humans smaller."Horses started out small, about the size of a small dog . What's surprising is that after they first appeared, they then became even smaller and then dramatically increased in size, and that exactly _ the global warming event, followed by cooling"
"It had been known that mammals were small during that time and that it was warm, but we hadn't realized that temperature specifically was driving the evolution of body size," Dr Bloch said in the "Science" journal. | high6302.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Those including the educated"
},
"options": [
"Those with a fear of ghosts.",
"Those without any common sense",
"Those including the educated",
"Only educated people."
],
"question": "What type of person would b... | Most people have some common sense. When we see something suspicious on TV, in the newspaper, or on the Internet, we roll our eyes and wonder how anyone could believe something so stupid. Nevertheless, there are stories that even educated people still believe. These tales may or may not be true, but they leave us wondering whether they are real or not. On National Geographic Channel, these stories are dissected in full detail in the series Is It Real.
Thousands of years ago, aliens landed on the Earth. They tampered with the evolution of humans and the results of this can be seen practically everywhere. Sound ridiculous? Not to some people. Believe it or not, there are those who believe that alien astronauts had a hand in making the human race what it is today. Travel back in time with Ancient Astronauts and visit our "alien ancestors".
In the autumn of 1888, Jack the Ripper roamed the streets of London's East End. After his reign of terror was over, five women had been killed. To this day, the mystery of who killed these ladies remains unsolved. No one knows for sure, but the truth may be revealed on Jack the Ripper.
Vampires . Just the thought of these fictional beasts is enough to make your blood run cold. While we may think that they only come to life in books and movies, vampires are actually based on real people. Historians, folklorists, scientists and doctors all work together to investigate the plausibility of vampires. Take a bite into this juicy mystery on Vampires.
No other channel can offer this type of programming other than National Geographic Channel. In this unique series, they've stripped away 12 myths that have stood the test of time to expose the truth and find out the answer to the question--Is it real? | high14645.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "save endangered animals from dying out"
},
"options": [
"make efforts to clone the endangered pandas",
"save endangered animals from dying out",
"collect DNA of endangered animals to study",
"transfer the nuclear of one... | With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species . That's a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called "Noah's Ark".
Noah's Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos , semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen . If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M's College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
"The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem," Kraemer believes. "They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort," adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
"They are trying to do something that's never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah's Ark. We're both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there's a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It's a research that is very much needed. " | high12220.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Children's academic performance afterwards will be affected."
},
"options": [
"Children from rich families will behave better in life.",
"Children from minorities may have less desire for learning.",
"Children's academic perf... | When children start kindergarten, evident gaps in science knowledge already exist between Whites and minorities and between youngsters from upper-income and low-income families. And they often deepen into significant achievement gaps by the end of eighth grade if they are not dealt with during elementary school.
The findings suggest that, in order for the United States to maintain long-term scientific and economic competitiveness in the world, policymakers need to renew efforts to ensure access(n.,) to high-quality, early learning experiences in childcare settings, preschools and elementary schools.
The researchers' study tracked 7,757 children from their start in kindergarten to the end of eighth grade. Researchers found that, among kindergarteners with low levels of general knowledge, 62 percent were struggling in science by the time they reached third grade and 54 percent were struggling in that subject in eighth grade. And general knowledge gaps between minorities and Whites were already large at the time when students began kindergarten.
"Children growing up in low-income families typically experience comparatively fewer early opportunities to learn about the natural and social sciences," the authors wrote. "Their parents often have lower educational levels and therefore less science knowledge themselves as well as fewer resources available to direct the children's academic growth. Children raised in poverty often attend poorly resourced schools that futher limit their academic opportunities."
Morgan said that, within families, parents who regularly talk and interact with toddlers can point out and explain physical, natural and social events occurring around them daily. This might help youngsters learn facts and concepts that will prepare them to take better advantage of science instruction they receive during elementary and middle school. | high14889.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "refuse something pressed down their throats"
},
"options": [
"are amazingly powerful and dangerous",
"may fight with all their strength against pills",
"refuse something pressed down their throats",
"are difficult to tr... | Pilling a cat can be a 'terrible" experience. Cats don't want something pushed down their throats, and they'll fight with all their strength to prevent it. In fact, it's amazing how powerful their small bodies can be.
The easiest way of pilling a cat is to press the pill into powder. Then mix the powder with a small amount of wet food. If your cat usually eats dry food, she will probably view the wet food as a treat and eat it up.
If your cat won't eat the wet food that contains the pill or if she is too ill to eat, you can get a "pill gun". There are some basic instructions. Getting your cat's mouth to open is going to be the most difficult part. First, be sure the pill is in a handy place. Then you can put your cat on a bookshelf with her bottom in a corner or you can put her on your lap firmly tied. Have your cat facing to the right if you're right-handed. With your left hand, hold your cat at the cheekbones, putting your palm at the top of her head. Keeping your finger off the trigger , with your right hand, Insert the pill gun until the pill is positioned over the tongue and open throat Be sure to give your cat a treat directly after giving the pill.
If you don't feel comfortable using a pill gun, you can try giving the pill by hand. Push your cat's head backwards just far enough so that her nose is pointing towards the ceiling. At this point, most cats will slightly open their mouths. With the little finger or ring finger of the hand holding the pill, open the bottom jaw a little more. You may need to hold her top jaw with your other hand while doing this. Aim straight and lightly throw the pill or drop it. Most cats will then swallow the pill. | high6316.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "not long"
},
"options": [
"a few more years",
"not long",
"few years",
"two thousand years"
],
"question": "It is _ since a man being operated felt all the pain.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
... | No one is glad to hear that his body has to be cut open by a surgeon and part of it taken out. Today, however, we needn't worry about feeling pain during the operation. The sick person falls into a kind of sleep, and when he awakes, the operation is finished. But these happy conditions are fairly new. It is not many years since a man who had to have operation felt all its pain.
Long ago, operation had usually to be done while the sick man could feel everything. The sick man had to be held down on a table by force while the doctors did their best for him. He could feel all the pain if his leg or arm was being cut off, and his fearful cries filled the room and the hearts of those who watched.
Soon after 1770, Josept Priestley discovered a gas which is now called "laughing gas".Laughing gas became known in America.Young men and women went to parties to try it. Most of them spent their time laughing,but one man at a party,Horace Wells,noticed that people didn't seem to feel pain when they were using this gas.He decided to make an experiment on himself.He asked a friend to help him.
Wells took some of the gas,and his friend pulled out one of Well's teeth.Wells felt no pain at all.
As he didn't know enough about laughing gas, he gave a man less gas than he should have. The man cried out with pain when his tooth was being pulled out.
Wells tried again,but this time he gave too much of the gas,and the man died.Wells never forgot this terrible event. | high9025.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Internet may Cause Depression"
},
"options": [
"Internet may Cause Depression",
"The Dark Side of Internet",
"How to Use Technology Properly",
"The Importance of Psychological Well-being"
],
"question": "The bes... | Internet use appears to cause a decline in psychological well-being , according to research at Carnegie Mellon University.
Even people who spent just a few hours a week on the Internet experienced more depression and loneliness than those who logged on less frequently, the two-year study showed. And it wasn't that people who were already feeling bad spent more time on the Internet, but that using the Net actually appeared to cause the bad feeling.
Researchers are puzzling over the results, which were completely contrary to their expectations. They expected that the net would prove socially healthier than television, since the Net allows users to choose their information and to communicate with others.
The fact that Internet use reduces time available for family and friends may account for the drop in well-being, researchers suggested. Faceless, bodiless "virtual" communication may be less psychologically satisfying than actual conversation, and the relationship formed through it may be shallower. Another possibility is that exposure to the wider world via the Net makes users less satisfied with their lives.
"But it's important to remember this is not about the technology _ ; it's about how it is used," says psychologist Christine Riley of Intel, one of the study's sponsors. "It really points to the need for considering social effects in terms of how you design applications and services for technology." | high14651.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Habits, attitudes, beliefs and expectations."
},
"options": [
"Habits, ambitions, behaviors, and excuses.",
"Hopes, asks, beliefs and expectations.",
"Habits, attitudes, beliefs and expectations.",
"Hardships, aims, beh... | Successful people have developed habits leading to success. Those are the people you want to study and follow. Do what they do. Read what they read. If they are local, see if you can take them to lunch and ask questions. If not, get a hold of some of the things they have written about or listen to them. Most successful people enjoy the opportunity to coach people along and to help them become successful. It is their way of giving back.
The trouble is that most people won't ask. They come up with excuses. They say to themselves, " I am not important enough for this person to talk to me."
The successful people understand that life is a learning experience and it doesn't stop in school. They always strive( ,) to reach the next level. Life will always give you the results of your actions. Ask yourself what actions are you taking? What are you creating? You create what you think about. Willie Hooks calls it our h. a. b. e.'s. Our habits, attitudes, beliefs and expectations. Before starting any new habit we have to know what we want. So how do we permanently change our habits?
Start your action plan. Put your plan together. What do I need to do first? Set my goals. Then next I would put a diet plan together. Then I would start an exercise program. You get the idea. Put a good solid plan together.
So there it is in a nutshell. We have the power to change any bad habit that we don't like. Will it be easy? Probably not, but it might not be as hard as we think either. The hard part is to get started. Remember that these habit have been a part of us for a long time so don't expect miracles at first. Use the process described above and you cam overcome and change any habit that you want to change. | high21832.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To lower \"bad\" cholesterol."
},
"options": [
"To help quit smoking.",
"To control blood pressure.",
"To improve unhealthy diet.",
"To lower \"bad\" cholesterol."
],
"question": "What is a major function of Lip... | Lipitor is a prescription medicine. Along with diet and exercise, it lowers "bad" cholesterol in your blood. It can also raise "good" cholesterol.
Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack in patients with several common risk factors, including family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, age and smoking.
WHO IS LIPITOR FOR?
Who can take LIPITOR:
* People who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and exercise.
* Adults and children over 10.
Who should NOT take LIPITOR:
* Women who are pregnant, may be pregnant, or may become pregnant. Lipitor may harm your unborn baby.
* Women who are breast-feeding. Lipitor can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.
* People with liver problems.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF LIPITOR
Serious side effects in a small number of people:
* Muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure.
* Liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start Lipitor and while you are taking it.
Call your doctor right away if you have:
* Unexplained muscle pain or weakness, especially if you have a fever or feel very fired.
* Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing.
* Stomach pain.
Some common side effects of LIPITOR are:
* Muscle pain.
* Upset stomach.
* Changes in some blood tests.
HOW TO TAKE LIPITOR
DO:
* Take Lipitor as prescribed by your doctor.
* Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take Lipitor.
* Take Lipitor at any time of day, with or without food.
* If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. But if it has been more than 12 hours since you missed dose, wait. Take the next dose at your regular time.
Don't:
* Do not change or stop your dose before talking to your doctor.
* Do not start new medicines before talking to your doctor. | high2170.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "their parents expected them to grow through travelling"
},
"options": [
"the UK education system is not so good as that of India",
"their parents had humanitarian projects in India",
"the voluntary work in Goa attracted them"... | Tragedy struck for brothers Rob and Paul Forkan when they lost their parents in the 2004 Asian tsunami. Now, over ten years later, they're using their flip flop business to help other orphans.
The boys had an unusual childhood. They were just 11 and 13 when their parents, Kevin and Sandra, took them out of the UK education system and moved the family to Goa in India. Their parents were of the philosophy that they would receive a healthier and fuller education by traveling the world and helping others. There they did lots of voluntary work and mixed with the local community. It was when the family were on holiday in Sri Lanka that the tsunami hit. Although the children managed to escape, their parents tragically couldn't. But Paul says their upbringing meant they were able to cope with this tough blow. "Our parents gave us this confidence that we could do anything, that nothing was hard to achieve," says Paul.
What the boys did was to start a business selling ethically-sourced sandals. They're called 'Gandys' after the father of India's independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi. "He was in all our schoolbooks as kids; he's on all the money over in India; he's famous for wearing his flip flops," says Paul. The entire project was inspired by their parents' philosophy, their globetrotting childhoods and what happened to them in Sri Lanka. Their parents had previously worked in the fashion industry before quitting their jobs and focusing on humanitarian projects. Thus, Gandys is a very fitting tribute to their lives. Gandys sells flip-flops and donates 10 percent of the profits from every pair sold to orphans around the globe. In conjunction with Gandys, the Forkans also founded Orphans for Orphans, a charitable organization dedicated to helping orphans. They say they can make a profit and do good at the same time: they give 10% of their profit to charity, and have set up their own foundation through which they've been able to open a children's home in Sri Lanka.
This year alone, Gandys has sold 250,000 pairs of flip flops, which is only expected to increase. In 2013, the business made around 1.2 million pounds ($1.8 million). With more profits, more orphans will receive assistance. Hence, it's safe to say that the Forkan brothers are making their parents very proud. | high10437.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "His caddying experiences contributed to his later career."
},
"options": [
"He could have a relaxing job as a caddie.",
"He could make more money from the golf players.",
"His duty was to advise the players how to play golf."... | At the age of 11, Peter Lynch started caddying at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Mass. "It was better than a newspaper carrier, and much more profitable," the Fidelity vice chairman recalls. He kept it up during the summers for almost a decade. "You get to know the course and can give the golf players advice about how to approach various holes," he says. "Where else, at age 15 or 16, can you serve as a trusted adviser to high-powered people?"
One of those people was George Sullivan, then president of Fidelity's funds, who was so impressed with Lynch's smarts that he hired him in 1966. "There were about 75 applicants for 3 job openings," Lynch says now. "But I was the only one who had caddied for the president for 10 years."
In between caddying and managing money, Lynch went to Boston College on a scholarship from a program called the Francis Ouimet Fund. Named after the 1913 winner of the U.S. Open, the fund launched in 1949 which is open to Massachusetts kids only. Ouimet executive director Robert Donovan says, "Help with college is a logical extension of friendly relation between golfers and their favorite caddies, because there is a close tie to train up them to be excellent that happens between the players and the kids who carry their golf poles. And for the teens, caddying is all about being around successful role models."
It is obvious that caddies who are finally successful include all kinds of outstanding personnel, from actor Bill Murray, to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, to former GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch.
Of course, the great number of financial giants who caddied in their youth might be coincidence, but Dick Connolly thinks not. "Caddying life teaches you a lot about business, and about life," he says. "You learn to show up early and look people in the eye when you shake their hand, and you learn how to read people -- including who's likely to cheat and who isn't." Connolly is a longtime investment advisor at Morgan Stanley's Boston office, a former Ouimet scholarship student and, along with Peter Lynch and Roger Altman, one of the program's biggest supporters. He wants to share the most important lesson he learned on the links, so he says: "One golfer I caddied for told me that if you want to succeed in any field -- golf or business -- you have to spend a lot of lonely hours, either practicing or working, when you'd rather be partying with your friends. That's true, and it stuck with me." | high17358.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors."
},
"options": [
"Jeanne and Susan share all the habits including smoking.",
"Skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factor... | At age 61, identical twins Jeanne and Susan no longer look exactly alike. Susan smoked for many years and is an admitted sun worshipper, whose habits Jeanne does not share. A new study of twins suggests you can blame those coarse wrinkles, brown or pink spots on too much time in the sun, smoking, and being overweight.
Because twins share genes, but may have different exposures to environmental factors, studying twins allows an "opportunity to control for genetic susceptibility ," Dr. Elma D. Baron, at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and his colleagues explain in the latest issue of Archives of Dermatology.
Their analysis of environmental skin-damaging factors in 65 pairs of twins hints that skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors.
But when it comes to skin cancer, the researchers say their findings support previous reports that both environment and genes affect skin cancer risk.
Baron's team examined facial skin of 130 twins, 18 to 77 years old, who lived mostly in the northem Midwest and Eastern regions of the US, who were attending the Twins Days Festival in Ohio in August 2002. At this time, each of the twins also separately reported how their skin burned or tanned without sunscreen, their weight, and their history of skin cancer, smoking, and alcohol drinking. The study group consisted of 52 fraternal and 10 identical twin pairs, plus 3 pairs who were unsure of their twin status.
From these data, the researchers noted strong ties, outside of twin status, between smoking, older age, and being overweight, and having facial skin with evidence of environmental damage. By contrast, sunscreen use and drinking alcohol appeared related to less skin damage.
Baron and his colleagues say the current findings, which highlight ties between facial aging and potentially avoidable environmental factors--such as smoking, being overweight, and unprotected overexposure to the sun's damaging rays--may help motivate people to minimize these risky behaviors. | high16046.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "He treasured every bit of time with his family."
},
"options": [
"He treasured every bit of time with his family.",
"He has become a stranger to his children.",
"He takes his work more seriously.",
"He focuses more on m... | We all have our ways of marking time. As a photographer,my life is measured from one story to the next. My oldest son was born in the middle of a long story about the Endangered Species Act. My daughter came along with a pack of gray wolves.
Twenty stories later,though,it's the story in Alaska that I'll remember best. It was the story about the loss of wilderness--and the story during which my wife Kathy got cancer. That's the one that made time stand still. I stopped taking pictures on the day when she found that tumor .Cruelly,it was Thanksgiving. By Christmas,she had become very weak. Some days she was so sick she couldn't watch TV.
Early examination saves time. But ours was not early. By the time you can feel it yourself,it's often bigger than the doctor want it to be.
Cancer is a thief. It steals time. Our days are already short with worry. Then comes this terrible disease,unfair as storm at harvest time. But cancer also has the power to change us,for good. We learn to simplify,enjoying what we have instead of feeling sorry for what we don't. Cancer even made me a better father. My work had made me a stranger to my three kids. But now I pay attention to what really matters. This is not a race. This is a new way of life and new way of seeing,all from the cancer.
In the end each of us has so little time. We have less of it than we can possibly imagine. And even though it turns out that Kathy's cancer has not spread,and her prognosis is good,we try to make it all count now,enjoying every part of every day.
I've picked up my camera again. I watch the sky,searching for beautiful light. When winter storms come,Kathy and I gather our children and take the time to catch snowflakes on our tongues. After all,this is good. This is what we're living for. | high19375.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "soldiers"
},
"options": [
"mayor",
"soldiers",
"rescue workers",
"a fire brigade official"
],
"question": "Some of people including _ were killed or wounded in the blast accident.",
"question_type": "cloz... | ARIEL, West Bank: A suicide bomber blew up near Israeli soldiers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding about 30
Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel. "Soldiers were among the casualties . "People on the spot said the bomber blew up after soldiers eating at a food stand in a petrol station at the entrance of the settlement found him. According to some people on the spot accounts reported by Israeli media, a soldier shot and wounded the bomber, who then exploded.
The Magen David Adorn ambulance service said at least three people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the blast , which set the bomber burning at Ariel, about 25 kilometers east of Tel Aviv.
A fire brigade official said: "The bomber was still burning when we got there and we put out the fire immediately."
Meanwhile, a blast shook homes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early yesterday, damaging buildings but causing no injuries, Palestinian sources said. They said the bomb was planted outside the home of a member of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Ain el-Hilwch camp, and exploded while the family was sleeping. | high4501.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they add feeling and character to a communication"
},
"options": [
"most of them look funny",
"they are easy for lazy people to use",
"they add feeling and character to a communication",
"a reader cannot understand a me... | OK, I admit it: emoticons are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, blast the use of emoticons as "infantile just like the people who use them" He believes that words themselves should be enough. "If you're being funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent from the comment that goes before the emoticon," he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. "Men don't use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all," he said. "Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there' s an emoticon gene."
It's an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed "to seek out representations of humanity". He believes that they appeal not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow valid . Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I'd rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this. I don't regard any of my friends as lazy or immature . It's just a question of individuality. :) | high11729.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "children"
},
"options": [
"teachers",
"adults",
"children",
"women"
],
"question": "From the reading we know that all the four books are intended for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"... | Basic Study Manual: $30
Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by parents, teachers, business trainers and by students themselves. Read this book and learn:
What the three barriers to study are and what to do about them.
What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying.
Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding.
Buy and read the Basic Study Manual and use it to dramatically improve your ability to study.
Study Skills for Life: $20
L. Ron Hubbard's study technology for teenagers opens the door to their future success by giving them the ability to study and learn. Fully illustrated for easy understanding.
Learning How to Learn: $40
The basics of effe www.ks5u.comctive study for 8 to 12-year-olds, fully illustrated. Children who read and apply the materials in this book regain their liking for study and their ability to apply this knowledge in life. Get this book for a child you want to see win at his studies! Buy it before May 1, 2005, and you'll just pay half less.
How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children: $40
In spite of billions of dollars spent on "educational research", children are not taught the most basic skills of learning, even the most basic of these: how to use a dictionary. Written for children from 8 to 12-year-olds, this fully illustrated book will teach your child:
How to find words in a dictionary
The different ways that words are used
What the different marks and symbols that are used in a dictionary mean
How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words
It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What's more, you'll just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2005. | high16720.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They will put their cell phones outside before entering the room."
},
"options": [
"The way they dress and style their hair must be from the 80s.",
"They must leave their cell phones at home.",
"They will put their cell phone... | A family in Guelph, Ontario is spending a year living "in 1982".They're doing it so their kids can see what life was like before technology like iPads, computers and even coffee machines was part of everyday life.
They have stopped using all technology from their home and are relying on the things people would have used back in the 80s.There is a box at the front door where people can put their cell phones in, while they're visiting the family.
Blair McMillan and his wife Morgan want their kids--Trey, 5, and Denton, 2 -- to have a year without technology.
Instead of reading ereaders, they are reading books. Instead of using a GPS, they used paper maps. The home the family is living in was built in the 1980s.Even the way they dress and style their hair is from the 80s.
The whole idea started when young Trey was called to come outside. He didn't because he was busy playing on the iPad. That's why his dad thought of the idea of living "in 1982" for a year. The family plans to live like "it's 1982" until April next year. To them, one of the hardest things was giving up their cell phones. | high19413.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "London's Olympic Park is being built."
},
"options": [
"London's Olympic Park is being built.",
"London's East End hasn't changed much.",
"More than 6 Olympic events will take place in Greenwich.",
"No events will be ho... | Group Tours of the Area of the 2012 Sites
These are recommended tours for groups. Individual visitors wishing to join please click here.
East London and the Olympic Park Tour
From Central London, travel through London's East End -- recently fashionable, multicultural residential areas, and once famous for market gardens, fine churches, and shipping-related industries. Hear a little of the dark side with stories of Jack-the-Ripper and street gangs.
Now into the 21st century, you arrive at the Olympic Park, already under construction. Imagine the 80,000-seat Main Stadium, the Multi-Sports Arena, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Olympic Village, Broadcasting & Media Centre and Stratford City.
For those who have a whole day in which to see East London we recommend a morning East London and Olympic Park tour combined with an afternoon Olympic Greenwich tour.
2012 Sites Tour
The tour starts in Stratford where you view the work in progress on the Olympic Park.
Hear the history of London's Royal Docks, as you travel to the Boxing, Judo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Table Tennis and Taekwondo venue. View the O2 Arena. See the new London City Airport, Thames Barrier Park, University of East London, new waterside apartments and smart hotels.
For those who have a whole day in which to see 2012 Olympic London we recommend a morning 2012 Olympic Sites tour combined with an afternoon 2012 Olympic Greenwich tour.
2012 Greenwich Tour
Greenwich will host 6 Olympic events.Your tour of Greenwich will include the Greenwich Park, where the equestrian events will take place.
Cross the Meridian Line to see the large buildings at Woolwich. Finally, we can show you the exciting developments taking place on the Greenwich Peninsular, which will be hosting a number of Olympic events. | high4267.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "his devotion to music"
},
"options": [
"the wonderful music",
"the stress of the circumstances",
"his devotion to music",
"Bruno Walter's absence"
],
"question": "Leonard Bernstein was successful at the concert ... | Bernstein had been appointed Assistant Conductor for the New York philharmonic only a few months before that night. Just 25 years old, he was ly inexperienced. At the last minute, Bernstein was told he was to take Walter's place, so he didn't have any time to rehearse . The music he was going to conduct was very difficult. Plus, the concert was going to be broadcast nationally on the radio. Despite all these pressures, Bernstein rose to the occasion and received a standing ovation at the end of the concert. The event made national headlines, and Bernstein became famous overnight.
Some people feel they do their best under the most stressful circumstances. What was it about Leonard Bernstein that made him do so well in such a difficult situation?
Perhaps Leonard Bernstein did so well because music was his devotion. The son of a man who supplied hairdressing products, Bernstein became interested in music at the age of 10. By the time he was a teenager, he was performing in public. He became a soloist of the Boston Public School Orchestra, and for 13 weeks in 1934, he played classics on the radio. | high20292.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "nervous and uneasy"
},
"options": [
"nervous and uneasy",
"excited and hopeful",
"amazed and comfortable",
"pleased but embarrassed."
],
"question": "While meeting with Alec, Rebecca feels _ during the whole ... | A tall figure appeared from the dark door of the tent. It was a smoking young man about twenty three or four. He had an almost black face, though smooth. His moustache was black with curled points. There was an unusual force in his face, and in his daring rolling eyes. cef
Rebecca still stood hesitating like a swimmer about to make his dive, hardly knowing whether to return or move forward.
"Hi, my beauty, what can I do for you?" said he, approaching. Realizing that she was quite at a loss, the man spoke in a gentle voice, "Never mind. I am Mr. Thackeray. Have you come to see me or my mother?"
This scene differed greatly from what Rebecca had expected. She had dreamed of an aged and dignified face. She told herself to be calm and answered "I came to see your mother, sir."
"I am afraid you cannot see her-she is ill in bed," replied the representative of the house; for this was Mr. Alee Thackeray, the only son of the noble family. "What is the business you wish to see her about?"
"It isn't business-it is-I can hardly say what!"
"Pleasure?"
"Oh no. Why, sir, if I tell you, it will seem..."
Rebecca's sense of a certain ridicule(,) was now so obvious and strong that, despite her general discomfort at being here, her rosy lips curved towards a smile, much to the attraction of the young man.
"It is so foolish", she murmured. "I fear I can't tell you!"
"Never mind; I like foolish things. Try again, my dear," said he kindly.
"Mother told me to come," Rebecca continued; "and, indeed, I was in the mind to do so myself. But I did not expect it would turn out like this. I came...sir, I came to tell you that we are of the same family as you."
"Ho Ho! Poor relations?"
"Yes."
"Rossetti?"
"No. Thackeray."
"Ay, ay; I mean Thackeray."
"Our names are worn away to Durbeyfield; but we have several proofs that we are Thackeray. The local scholars hold the view that we are, and...and we have an old seal and a silver spoon marked with the same castle as yours. So mother said we ought to make ourselves known to you, as we've lost our horse by a bad accident. We can hardly make a living."
"It's very kind of your mother, I'm sure." Alec looked at Rebecca as he spoke, in a way that made her uneasy. "And so, my pretty girl, you've come on a friendly visit to us, as relations?"
"I suppose I have," looking less confident and uncomfortable again.
"Well, there's no harm in it. I mean it doesn't hurt to come and make yourself known to me. Where do you live? What are you?" ... | high5179.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Ladybug."
},
"options": [
"American Girl.",
"Ladybug.",
"Cicada.",
"Sports Illustrated for Kids."
],
"question": "Which of the four magazines is the most suitable for a 4-year-old child?",
"question_type": "... | American Girl
It's packed with the things that matter most to girls: party plans, games, crafts and girl-to-girl advice.
American Girlis an appealing, age-appropriate teen magazine that allows young girls to be themselves.
The magazine features fun contests, puzzles, giggles, and more! Stories, creative games, cool contests and great sports tips for girls aged 7-11 are available in each issue ofAmerican Girl magazine.
Issues per year: 6 Cover price: $ 27.95 Sale price: $22.95
Ladybug
Beautiful, colorful, and delightful to read, each issue is filled with charming read-aloud stories, games for memory and skill building, songs, poems, and activities for beginning readers. Parents can visit our online Parents Companion that recommends additional activities, crafts, and books.
Issues per year: 9 Cover price: $44.50 Sale price: $33.95
Cicada
A monthly magazine for teenagers and young adults aged 14 and up. It offers high-quality fiction and poetry dealing with the issue of growing up, leaving the joys and pains of childhood behind, and becoming an adult. Cicadamagazine also encourages its teen readers to submit their own writing for publication. It's so inspiring and humorous that you will not be able to put it down.
Issues per year: 6 Cover price: $51.00 Sale price: $33.95
Sorts Illustrated for Kids
It covers sports kids like. Featuring interviews with sports heroes, entertaining comics, breathtaking action photos, tips from the pros , news items of recent notes, games, puzzles, cartoons, fiction, advice from athletes, etc.Sports Illustrated for Kidsis a magazine for children aged 8 and up.
Issues per year: 12 Cover price: $47.88 Sale price: $ 24.95 | high2616.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She thought they drove too slowly."
},
"options": [
"She thought they drove too slowly.",
"They made much noise on the ramp.",
"They didn't pay attention to the safety.",
"They tried to stop her car on the ramp."
],... | When I set out to drop my dad of fat the airport,it was dark and dreary .It started to rain on the way.When I left the airport,the visibility wasn't clear because of the drops of rain.It was before 6 am.
Even though the road conditions were poor,I drove at my normal speed.I was angry with the more cautious drivers ahead of me that were delaying my drive.The exit ramp to the highway was a tight spiral .It is a dangerous spot in good weather and totally scary when the weather is miserable or it is dark.But I didn't want to slow down and arrive home any later than necessary.I drove down the ramp too fast.The road was wet and my car slid,landing face down on the passenger side.
I didn't like to drive by myself at the time and had debated taking my husband and son with me on the trip.Thankfully,I was alone in the car.My accident was slight.In fact, I was lucky enough not to have a single scratch.I _ to think the injuries my son would have suffered had he been in the backseat of that car with no seatbelt when it rolled.After the ear rolled three times,I found my mobile phone was lost in a pile of small things that were all lying in the bottom of the car.A lady was kind enough to let me borrow her mobile phone,but with-out the numbers preprogrammed who could I call? I was lucky enough to remember my father's mobile phone number,and fortunate that he hadn't yet got on his plane.
You never know when an accident will happen.As a driver,I will keep safety in mind by obeying all traffic laws and have safe-driving habits,especially in bad weather.Insist your children always wear their seatbehs.Life is a journey and everyone should value it and enjoy the ride. | high10351.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "An editor of \"Ask Amy\" section of a magazine."
},
"options": [
"A reporter of a health magazine.",
"A kind-hearted friend of Joan's.",
"An advisor offering people career advice.",
"An editor of \"Ask Amy\" section of ... | Dear Amy,
My husband is a loving, creative and sensitive person who is 15 years my senior. (I am in my mid-30s.)
Now I still struggle with my ups and downs, and he is still broke. I have continually asked my husband to get a job. I know he's trying, but even a part-time job at a convenience store would make ends meet. His former profession as a freelance producer dropped off with the economy, and while he tries hard to find work in his field, he is extremely unwilling to accept the fact that he may need to get a "regular"job.
I love him very much, but I can't continue to keep my frustration bottled up. I tell myself I'm going to leave him if he doesn't find work, but I really want to stay together. How should I handle this?
Round the Bend
Dear Round,
Having been a freelancer for many years, I assure you (and him) that the true meaning of freelancing is that you have the freedom to accept a variety of jobs, as well as the responsibility to make a living between jobs. Freelancers teach, tend bar, sell things door to door and do anything it takes to bring home the money. Volunteering is also a wonderful way to keep busy and meet new people.
Amy
Dear Amy,
"Joan" was a 50-year-old reader who wants to spend her parents' gift (money) on a trip to India. Her retirement fund is less than half of what she will need for retirement. It's also clear that she hasn't budgeted monthly for car repairs and other out-of-pocket expenses. In your answer, you encourage her to go.
She's 50 and the clock is ticking! How will she feel about the trip she took when she turns 70 when she can't afford to retire? Maybe there are other ways she can experience Indian food, culture, history and art without spending the entire sum of money. When her "health slows her down." she may wish she had kept a rainy-day fund.
Realistic Reader
Dear Realistic,
Your argument is very logical and realistic, but there are also times when you have to go for it. I hope she does.
Amy | high13658.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "that does not actually exist"
},
"options": [
"that they are working in",
"that belongs to the American government",
"that does not actually exist",
"that was once shut down"
],
"question": "In Washington Busine... | Many young people in America go to camps when they are out of school during the summer. They are offered a chance to explore different things: nature, sports, music, technology ----even business and economy.
One such program for high school students in the Pacific Northwest is called Washington Business Week. The program began in 1975. Officials say forty-five thousand people have attended Washington Business Week. Other states now have similar camps.
Washington Business Week describes itself as a way to learn more about how to plan for the future in an ever-changing economy. Students form an executive management team. They lead an imaginary company to financial success.
The camp is held at three colleges in Washington State. The high school students live in the college housing. The cost of the camp is almost three hundred dollars, but families can receive financial assistance .
Some business camps are free. These are for students from poor areas. The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is an organization based in New York City that supports such camps. It has programs around the United States and its Web site lists international partners in China, Tanzania and a few other countries. NFTE says it has served more than one hundred thousand young people since 1987.
Among other business camps is Camp C.E.O.. C.E.O is an chief executive officer. And this camp is for girls only. Camp C.E.O. is supported by the Girl Scouts of America and takes place for one week each summer.
The camp took place last month in Tennessee. The girls worked with successful businesswomen
from different industries. The girls learned how to build a business and develop an idea into a product. And, we imagine, they also had some fun. | high13.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "he respected the elderly"
},
"options": [
"the manager asked him to do so",
"he respected the elderly",
"the couple wanted him to do so",
"he wanted more pay"
],
"question": "Jack brought the couple their food v... | When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description "old". I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think "growing old" is a problem since "old" shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn't want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don't respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don't show my feelings through words. | high6470.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "understanding the computer and knowing how to use it"
},
"options": [
"being able to afford a computer",
"being able to write computer programs",
"working with the computer and finding out the value",
"understanding the... | Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become "computer-literate". But not all experts agree that this is a good idea.
One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer, David does not see _ that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them "people-literate".
David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do. They find out. The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don't have to learn computer terms , but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming "people-literate". | high9743.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "More than 300."
},
"options": [
"150.",
"More than 150.",
"More than 300.",
"300."
],
"question": "How many types of food are covered in this program?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"ans... | A Bite of China Season Two(<< >> ) is coming! The program is shown at 9:00 on CCTV-1 every Friday night from April 18 to June 6, 2014. There are altogether eight episodes , all about history andculture of food, eating and cooking in China. The directors spent one year visiting more than 150 different parts of China. More than 300 types of food are covered in the documentary.
As an old Chinese saying goes, _ . It plays an important role in our daily life, and the rich food culture is also one of the most important parts of Chinese culture.A Bite of China Season Twowants to show the joys and sadness of ordinary Chinese in changing times through food.
A Bite of China Season Onewas shown on CCTV in 2012. It attracted more than 100 million viewers. It is all about food, while the second season cares more about the relationship between the people and the food. For example, the first episode shows a young man spent four hours climbing a 40-metre-high tree to get something nice for his brother.
The show reminds viewers of their homes and the tastes of childhood. One Weibo user wrote, "A Bite o f China Season Twomakes me have so many words to say. It makes me think of my parents and my grandmother. I haven't been home for a long time, so I have decided to go back in a few days." The show uses food as a window to introduce China to the world. Viewers can see how Chinese people love life by loving food. Anyone who wants to know more about Chinese culture and Chinese society should have a bite of the program. | high14137.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Not all the people in Beijing can have a holiday from November 7 to 12."
},
"options": [
"Cars can't be used in Beijing from November 3 to 12.",
"Not all the people in Beijing can have a holiday from November 7 to 12.",
"Citi... | Beijing plans to keep a tight rule on pollution by cutting emissions caused by industrial production and vehicles when it hosts the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
From November 3 to 12, the city will restrict the use of private vehicles based on evenand oddnumbered license plates, reducing the use of such vehicles by 35 percent, the municipal traffic committee said on Thursday.
All vehicles transporting construction waste and dangerous chemicals will be banned from the capital's roads during this period, but the restriction will not apply to buses, taxis and other vehicles such as police cars.
The measures are similar to those introduced from July 20 to Sept. 20 in 2008 during the Beijing Olympic Games.
"The number of passengers using public transport will increase by 3 million a day, " said Li Shaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.
During the 10 days, 400 additional buses will be used to transport commuters to meet the increased demands.
The municipal government has also drawn up eight plans to reduce industrial pollution during the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Zhuang Zhidong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said, "From Nov. 3, production at some companies listed by the government will be _ for 10 days."
Work will also be suspended at all construction sites and on demolition projects during this period.
"More importantly, Beijing will work with its neighbors to control emissions," Zhuang said, adding that there will be regular discussion on air pollution among six governments.
Neighboring authorities in Tianjin Municipality, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will operate strict pollution control measures over the 10 days.
Media reports said that from Nov. 7 to 12, employee departments, institutes and social organizations in Beijing can have a holiday, except for departments dealing with the APEC meeting and city management. | high13880.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "a disease"
},
"options": [
"a book",
"a man",
"a dog",
"a disease"
],
"question": "Rabies is the name of _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"a... | Do you often play with your pet dog or cat? Do you like touching wild animals such as squirrels? They are cute. But be careful. If they bite you, you may get a terrible disease----rabies.
Believe it or not, in the last five months, rabies killed more people in China than any other disease. 2,254 people got rabies in the first nine months of this year. In September, 318 people died of rabies. That is 37 per cent more than last September.
Animals like dogs, cats, squirrels and bats can have rabies. If they bite or scratch someone, rabies could infect the person's nervous system . The person could even die. It's important to get the right _ as soon as possible.
Every year, more than 50,000 people around the world die of rabies. Most of them are from developing countries. India has the most deaths. China is second. | high853.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "She reminded his brother of his slingshot."
},
"options": [
"She missed the duck very much.",
"She reminded his brother of his slingshot.",
"She wanted to force her brother do something for her.",
"She didn't dare to sa... | There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse ,he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck in the head and killed it. He was shocked! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes". But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen. "Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Every time Grandma asked Sally to do some housework, she will repeat the same story. After several days of Johnny doing both his work and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you. "
In our daily life, whatever we do, God is always standing at the window and he sees the whole thing. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, he not only forgives you, but also he forgets. | high12546.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Their robot knocked itself over ."
},
"options": [
"Their robot was too small .",
"Their robot didn't work fast enough .",
"Their robot knocked itself over .",
"Their robot had the shortest arm ."
],
"question":... | The robot moved into the fighting ring with confidence.Then it turned around quickly and knocked itself over.
The team of Scouts that built the 8-inch -tall machine immediately realized one arm was too long.They would have to work fast---practice time was over , and the real robot matches were about to begin .
"We tried to fix it , but by that time , the other teams had more advanced technology ," says Eagle Scout Matthew Patchen , 16. "They were a couple of steps ahead of us ."
In the end , Matthew's team didn't win the robot competition . But they had a great time working on their Robotics merit badges at the 2011 Advance Camp in Antioch , Calif .
Advance Camp is held the last Saturday in September at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch, Calif.Nearly 1,500 Scouts attended in 2011 and worked on different merit badges .Scouts choose from more than 50 merit -badge classes taught by counselors .They can earn merit badges from Fingerprinting to Nuclear Science to Swimming .Robotics is the most popular class .
First , one of the counselors talked to Matthew and the other Scouts in his Robotic class about the many different uses for robots . "I learned how advanced it really is ," Matthew says . "Robots are used in medicine and industry ." After the talk , the Scouts were divided into five-person teams . Each team was required to build a basic robot .
The next step was programming the tiny computer in the robot so it would make the right moves once it was in the ring .
"We programmed our robot so its arm was moving all the time ," Matthew says . "That way , it would knock the other robot over." .
That's when they discovered the arm on their robot was too long . As a result , their robot knocked itself over before it could fight with any other robots .
"It was a learning experience ," Matthew says . "You have to think ahead." | high23943.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Life Coaches Help with Tough Decisions."
},
"options": [
"Working Yourself Happy.",
"Life Coaches Help with Tough Decisions.",
"How to Cope with Daily Life with Life Coaches.",
"The Life-Coaching Movement."
],
"... | You've probably heard about sports coaches, fitness coaches, voice and music teachers, career counselors, psychiatrists and other specialists who teach skills and help us cope with daily life.
But there's a rapidly growing kind of professional who does a little bit of everything. She or he is called a " _ ". People who are at crossroads in their lives, and corporations that want to give certain employees a career boost, are turning to them for help.
The idea that one person's success story can change other people's lives for the better goes back at least to the 1930s. Dale Carnegie's famous self-improvement program "How to Win Friends and Influence People" came along soon thereafter.
But this new style of life coaches includes more than enthusiastic speakers or writers. They use their own experiences in business, sports, military service, or psychotherapy to help others make critical life decisions.
They often give their approach a slogan, such as "energy coaching" or "fearless living" or "working yourself happy".
Dave Lakhani in Boise, Idaho, for instance, works with salespeople to develop what he calls a "road map". He says an ongoing relationship with a coach is like having a personal fitness trainer for one's career and life outside work.
Lakhani's Bold Approach coaching firm also donates some of its time to help people who are anything but successful---including battered women and struggling single mothers.
But others in the so-called "helping professions" are not thrilled about the life-coaching movement. They say that anyone, trained or untrained, can call himself or herself a life coach, and that slick promoters who mess with people's lives can do more harm than good. | high11067.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "tell readers how he taught his ESL students to write"
},
"options": [
"show readers the difficulty he had in his work",
"explain his idea of English learning",
"show readers how ESL students live and study",
"tell reade... | Many ESL (English as a Second Language) students in the United States enroll in academic preparation programs and are in their late teens or early twenties. This is often a time when students are looking back on childhood in a different way. Their childhood memories and their viewpoint on those memories can be very useful for the production of wonderfully creative writing.
For this project, the students began in class by closing their eyes and trying to return to their childhood years in order to bring early memories to their mind. After imagining for a few minutes, they began to tell each other what they remembered about those years and tried to describe a particular incident that stood out in their memories.
That evening they wrote in their journals about the incident, embellishing the story as much as possible. The next day, they read the story to a different partner and got feedback . The partner's job was to: ask more questions to bring back the writer's memory; help the writer make sure that past tense verbs were used correctly, focusing on the difference between those things that were still true and needed present tense and those things that belonged specifically to the past. Two days later, students made necessary changes or additions and turned in a typed copy of their story. I then made my own comments about their work and asked them to revise their work. The third draft produced some very good work. | high3520.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "3"
},
"options": [
"2",
"3",
"4.",
"5"
],
"question": "How many causes are mentioned that result in the unpleasant phenomenon?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_in... | The past fifty years or so have seen the gradual disappearing of animals from this earth, fishes from the sea, trees and plants from the land.
Many factors result in this on pleasant phenomenon . Among them, hunting is the main factor that endangers wild life. Some people kill wild life for sport. They take pleasure in collecting heads and hides. Yet others specialize in commercial hunting like killing whales.
Apart from this, the rapidly growing human population threatens wild life on land, too. Towns expand and roads have to be built, so forests are burnt and trees are cut down. It seems that man needs every inch of land within his reach, so he moves on to the natural habitat of wild life. Tigers lions and leopards slowly die off without the food arm shelter that the forests provide.
In addition, rapid urbanization means industrial expansion. Very often, poisonous chemicals, industrial wastes and oil are dumped into the rivers and seas. Fish and birds are threatened.
Man depends greatly on animals for survival. He needs their flesh, hides and furs. Thus, man cannot, to without wild life; or he himself would die out. The public should be made aware that it would be better to shoot the animals with a camera than with a gun. In this way, they can preserve and help wild life to continue living rather than to remove all signs of it.
Man must learn to farm the sea as he does the land. He should control the amount and the frequency of his catch. Man also needs to build reserves, and to pass laws to stop the killing of animals, especially those that are already rare. To keep the present animal kingdom, the least that man can do is to clean the seas and to prevent pollution. | high16708.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He played with fire and burned himself"
},
"options": [
"He got hurt in a traffic accident.",
"He played with fire and burned himself",
"He set fire to a ball by accident.",
"He watched an action film on YouTiibe."
... | A 15-year-old boy planned to put a ball covered with petrol into his mouth and set it on fire. He would film the dangerous action and put it on YouTube.And, lie hoped to become famous on the Internet.
But things didn't go the way he imagined.His clothing caught fire, and he was rushed to the hospital with serious bums on his body.
YouTube hosts millions of videos of people attempting dangerous actions.Many of them are by kids and young adults.Some experts say that by hosting these videos, YouTube encourages young viewers to take deadly risks.Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 180,000 Americans die from accidental injuries each year.That's one person every three minutes.More than 14,000 of those killed are kids under the age of 19.Is YouTube to blame?
People have always found it interesting to watch others try risky things..Audiences love these kinds of things.Some of the earliest Greek comedies had characters followed by wild animals and knocking into walls.Now, in the age of the Internet, anyone with a camera and a YouTube account can create this kind of 'fun".Many viewers, especially teenagers, are influenced by what they see and want to try it themselves."YouTube has taken the playing in the neighborhood to a worldwide level," says Clair Mellenthin, a researcher from the Centers.
Supporters of YouTnbe argue that it isn't YouTube's responsibility to examine its content."Parents should be the ones to make sure that kids are behaving safely," they say.In fact, YouTube has a rule on content.For example, dangerous activities that have a risk of serious physical harm or death are not allowed.Staff of YouTube, carefully watch the website 24 hours a day, looking for videos that are against their rules.But is this enough? | high18725.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Long-term shortage of care and love."
},
"options": [
"Long-term physical disability.",
"Long-term mental disability.",
"Long-term chronic illnesses.",
"Long-term shortage of care and love."
],
"question": "Whic... | A new report says African governments are ill prepared to handle the growing number of people over age 65. The population in Africa as in other parts of the world, is getting older. Currently, there are 36 million people on the continent 65 years and above. which is 3.6 percent of the population. up from 3.3 percent 10 years ago. That could rise to 4.5 percent by 2030 and 10 percent by 2050. The African development Bank is raising concerns over the shortage of health insurance and pensions .
The African Development Bank says. "Aging is highly linked with long-term physical and mental disability and a number of long-term chronic conditions."
"Africa is not well prepared to care for its aging population right now. And it needs to prepare for this fact." said Professor Mthuli Ncube. the African Development Bank's chief economist. African nations spend far less on healthcare than developed nations do _ about $26per person per year. Not so many countries have well developed medical aid plans for the elderly, whether they are privately provided plans or indeed government plans. If you look at the pension plans, you will find the pension industries are not well developed in some of the countries.
Professor Mthuli Ncube said African governments failed to take action on health insurance
and pensions because they were busy with economic reforms.
Another challenge for Africa is the worsening of informal systems of social protection. That is cash and support from both the extended family and community sources.
. The African Development Bank recommends governments help carry out health insurance and pension plans. Ncube said African governments didn't have to handle the health insurance burden alone. "It is not only a must but also an opportunity for private companies to add their bit in this regard", he said. The report also recommends that African governments consider providing ways of free health services. medications and long-term health care facilities for the elderly. | high5151.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the 19th century"
},
"options": [
"the 16th century",
"the 17th century",
"the 18th century",
"the 19th century"
],
"question": "The ceremonies of Coming of Age Day for 20 dated back to _ .",
"question_typ... | Coming of Age Day is a Japanese holiday held on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to help all those who are 20 or over realize that they have become independent members of society.
Coming of age ceremonies have been held since the ancient times in Japan. In the past, boys marked their change to adulthood when they were around 15, and girls celebrated their coming of age when they turned 13 or so. It wasn't until 1876 that 20 became the legal age of adulthood.
These days, many women choose to wear traditional clothing---a kind of kimono with special designs. For unmarried women, this type of kimono is the most formal thing they can wear. However, such a full set of formal clothing is expensive, so it is usually either passed down or rented rather than being bought specially for the occasion. Men may also wear traditional clothing.
Local city governments host special coming of age ceremonies for 20-year-olds. They gain the right to vote on their twentieth birthday and have new responsibilities as well. So the age of 20 is a big turning point for the Japanese. All young adults who turned or will turn 20 between April 1 of the previous year and March 31 of the current one and who maintain residency in the area are invited to attend. Government officials give speeches, and small presents are handed out to the new adults during the ceremonies.
After the ceremonies, the young adults often gather in groups and go to parties. | high17416.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The author is against them."
},
"options": [
"The author has no objection.",
"The author is against them.",
"The author has not shown it clearly.",
"The author regards them reasonable."
],
"question": "According... | Neither television nor radio nor magazines nor books nor any other medium can begin to match newspapers for depth and breadth of coverage . In fact, all these media themselves depend on newspapers to bring them information that they then process and distribute as their own brand of news.
Now many newspapers are locked in a struggle for survival. If they lose--which is by no means impossible--we all lose.
The great task for editors and publishers is to respond to the competitive challenge caused by online news, and at the same time use their own online news to increase their profits . As yet,they haven't figured out a smooth and sure way to do that.
So they cut some more to get profit. The cuts in size that they are making are in some cases risky and in others without considering the results. With every cut, publishers tirelessly argue that readers won't even know the difference. The trouble is that by the time customers do notice that they are getting less for their money,it will be too late--too late to notice the reduction in the number of readers.
The other big cuts, of course, are in staff . The victims would be the oldest and most experienced workers because they are the highest paid. While there is plenty of tired _ among them,there is also a lot of talent.
When experienced staff leave in large numbers--as they often do now--the newspaper loses great professional memory. But the real loser is the readers, who are suddenly robbed of the insights that only the experienced reporters can bring.
As for the future, there is at least one big, bright sign:intelligent young people will continue to flood into journalism in urgent search of jobs, despite its high demands and modest pay. | high10379.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Japanese tea house keeps a 430-year-old tradition"
},
"options": [
"Japanese tea house keeps a 430-year-old tradition",
"Sonobe Heihachi and his son Sonobe Shingo",
"Japanese restaurants springing up almost all over the world... | In the past few decades, Japanese cuisine has acquired global appeal. Japanese restaurants have sprung up almost all over the world. In Kyoto, the Heihachi Tea House boasts a 430-year-old tradition that the owners have kept all in the family. The tea house has been operated by twenty generations of the Sonobe family.
The Heihachi Tea House, in the northern part of Kyoto, is one of the city's oldest business establishments. It is said to have opened in 1576. The present owner, Sonobe Heihachi, who is also the chef, represents the 20th generation of the Sonobe family to oversee the tea house.
Sonobe Heihachi, restaurant owner, said, "During the middle of the Edo era, from 1603 to 1868, it became customary for commoners to dine in mat rooms. The Heihachi Tea House specialized in a dish comprised of rice with barley . It then became an inn and a little later, a restaurant."
Like every other chef, Sonobe Heihachi's day often begins at the market where he personally selects ingredients that will be served to his customers. The restaurant specializes in a style of cuisine known as Kaiseki Ryori--possibly the ultimate in Japanese cooking. It offers both fresh and ocean fishes on its menu, including bream and eels. The owner's son Sonobe Shingo is also an accomplished chef. His skills include the elaborate cutting of a "daikon" radish into strips. Later they will be shredded into thin strands to form part of the garnish for sashimi.
Sonobe Shingo admits that when it comes to the small details of running the business, father and son have different ways of thinking. Sometimes they clash.
But they share a passion for what they do and continue to preserve an innovative and deeply rooted culinary tradition. | high1337.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was once the place where the Hakkas chose to live together"
},
"options": [
"is a special residential architecture of Han Chinese in Fujian even today",
"was once the place where the Hakkas chose to live together",
"stands in... | Tulou, the special residential architecture of Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 32ndsession of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada.
In the fourth century, Han Chinese living in the Central Plains area began to migrate south, gradually gathering in Fujian and forming the Hakka communities. As a defence against enemies, the Hakkas chose to live in compact communities, and the tulou was their preferred houses. Tens of thousands of such earthen structures were constructed in Fujian Province.
Most tulous are to be found in the valleys, surrounded by high mountains, and some are in the depths of the great mountains. Most are three to four stories high, and look like circular blockhouses . Rooms on the first floor are used as kitchens, rooms on the second floor are used as barns , and rooms on the third and fourth floors are for bedrooms and living rooms. For defensive purposes, the rooms on the first floor have no windows.
Raw materials for the tulou were obtained locally. Their main building material was a mixture of clay, sand, lime and water, and egg whites, brown sugar and rice water were added as adhesive agents . It was then mixed to form the walls. Once they dried, the walls were so hard that driving a nail into them would have been difficult. Fir branches, which are extremely strong and do not rot, were used to strengthen them, and many centuries later they have remained their original look.
Tulous are located in a region where earthquakes happen frequently, and their circular construction helps them resist the regular shocks.
The proven design even inspired one famous Peruvian architect, who paid several visits to Yongding, to build a tulou back home. Not long after, an earthquake struck only 10 kilometers away, and while all the houses around the earthen building fell down, his tulou remained. | high13670.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Cao Min and her children experienced the terrible accident."
},
"options": [
"The film \"Titanic\" had been on show again in Shanghai.",
"Cao Min and her children experienced the terrible accident.",
"\"Liaoludu 7\" with all ... | Cao Min couldn't believe she was experiencing exactly what she had seen years ago in the film "Titanic".
Cao and her two children from Anhui Province were traveling on board the "Liaoludu 7" on February 22. They were among the first people on the ship who were rescued by lifeboats. Cao's one-year-old son was the youngest passenger on board.
The "Liaoludu 7" was traveling in the Bohai Straits from Lvshun in Liaoning Province to the port city of Longkou in Shandong Province. It suddenly lost its power at 2:30 pm and tilted on its side. With 81 people on board, the ferry began to sink.
"I was so scared that my legs couldn't move forward. They kept shaking even when I was asked to jump onto a lifeboat," Cao recalled.
Upon receiving the mayday appeal , China Marine Search and Rescue Centre immediately informed the State Council. The center sent eight lifeboats to the fishing boats.
After more than four hours of fighting strong winds and freezing ocean water, the passengers were recovered. All but four survived. These four died after spending too long time in the freezing waters, according to a spokesperson for the Beijing-based center. | high6458.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "People from Singapore"
},
"options": [
"People from Qatar",
"People from Thailand",
"People from Japan",
"People from Singapore"
],
"question": "_ may feel the most unhappy according to the poll.",
"questi... | As the richest country in the world, you'd expect that Qatar would also be the happiest. And you'd also expect Japanese people to be extremely positive, seeing as though they have the highest life expectancy. But clearly wealth and good health do not guarantee happiness after both countries failed to make the top ten most positive countries.
The poll ( ) of nearly 150,000 people around the world found that seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat attitudes are in Latin America. _ asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries if they were wellrested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment the previous day.
In Panama and Paraguay, 85 percent of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list. They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.
The people least likely to report positive emotions lived in Singapore, the wealthy and orderly citystate that ranks among the most developed in the world. Other wealthy countries also sat surprisingly low on the list. Germany and France tied with the poor African state of Somaliland for 47th place.
Many of the seven countries which were most positive do poorly in traditional measures of wellbeing, like Guatemala, a country torn by decades of civil war followed by waves of gangdriven criminality that give it one of the highest killing rates in the world. Guatemala sits just above Iraq on the United Nations' Human Development Index, a composite of life expectancy, education and per capital income. But it ranks seventh in positive emotions.
In Guatemala, it's a culture of friendly people who are always smiling, said Luz Castillo, a 30yearold surfing instructor. Despite all the problems that we're facing, we're surrounded by natural beauty that lets us get away from it all.
The poll shows that prosperous nations can also be deeply unhappy ones. And povertystricken ones are often positive, or at least a close approximation of it. | high8475.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "work in a diplomatic service"
},
"options": [
"make creative fashion designs",
"work in a diplomatic service",
"1earn craft as his first job",
"open a New Look House"
],
"question": "According to the passage. in... | Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family's original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic service, but by the time he was twenty-three, with his parents'money, he opened a small art gallery in Paris. By 1931, the money had been used up. Dior's friends in the art gallery, asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing. His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft .
In February,1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection. He was backed by a famous textile producer, Boussac, who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions. Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing, but he was good at fashion design.
The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust , usually with a low-cut neckline and a long full skirt. To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New look was a great success, for people were tired of tile extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions.
It is said that dresses by Dior were "constructed like buildings", but young people were attracted to his design, and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged into the production of his new style. Dior's revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion, rounded, gentle, feminine, a delight in elegance. A New Look House of Dior opened in 1948, followed by one in London. Considered as King of Couture(women's clothing)for years, the Dior empire grew until it covered every country in the western world, and included furs, hosiery, jewelry, perfumes, men's wear and on and on. More than 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then.
His sudden death in 1957 when he was 53 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior. Even now, so many years after his death, his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world, and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world, His first, great New Look, with its long skirts was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s. | high15201.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To see how Pompeians lived"
},
"options": [
"To find the volcano",
"To shop and eat there",
"To watch sports and plays",
"To see how Pompeians lived"
],
"question": "Why do large numbers of people come to Pompei... | Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for-its stadium and theatres, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii's people. They do not see them because Pompeii has no people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2000 years.
Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano. Mount Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe, But they were not.
In August of AD 79 , Mount Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ash began to fall on Pompeii . When the eruption ended , Pompeii was hurried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.
For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash. Then, in the year 1861,an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD79 , There were streets and fountains, houses and shops, There was a stadium with 20,000 seats , Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue color in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine, They liked bread, too; metal bread pans were in the bakery .In one bakery there were 81 round , flat loaves of bread -a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today . Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup. | high15567.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "has a car"
},
"options": [
"will live in Newport for about one year.",
"is a pet owner.",
"has a car",
"is looking for a large newly furnished house."
],
"question": "It can be inferred that the man in Advertise... | $2,000/1-bedroom Furnished Apartment with Parking
An employed, non-smoking professional male looks for 1-bedroom well-furnished apartment with parking in the Newport area for one month and possibly longer, starting as soon as possible, but it must be available by January 2nd. No pets, no drugs and no parties. The Internet access should be included. I am willing to pay security deposit.
Reply to: hous-tf7ew-2108157286@ craigslist.org
Room/Apartment Share for Use as Art Studio
I am looking for a space to rent as a painting studio. It can be a stand-alone apartment or a room in a house or an apartment. I do not need to use a kitchen, but need access to the bathroom. Just need lots of light. I am a responsible, neat adult female. The following towns are convenient: Edgewater, Fort Lee, Englewood, West New York, Cliffside Park, Ridgefield, Palisades Park and Fairview.
Reply to: hous-pax4c-2107692675@craigslist.org
$1,900/3-bedroom Apartment
I have a nice 1,500-square foot apartment for rent. With 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a big parking area and a nice backyard. It is close to East Orange General Hospital and VA Hospital. Major supermarkets and stores are just a short walk away. Hot water is included! Small dogs and cats are OK.
Please just call Tony at 973-886-9094. Thanks.
$1,200/2-bedroom Lovely Newly-Renovated Apartment
A lovely newly-renovated apartment. Clean and tidy! Living room, dining room, and eat-in kitchen. New appliances: air conditioners and ceiling fans. It is one of Irvington's best neighborhoods, situated near Union, Hillside and Maple-wood border. It is convenient to major highways.
HURRY! Call Louvenia at 908-313-3007 | high14679.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "as a tool to find out the thief"
},
"options": [
"to change back the farmer's corn",
"to beat the thief",
"as a tool to find out the thief",
"so as to play a game together"
],
"question": "The judge gave each ma... | According to an old story, a farmer once found that a bag of corn had been stolen from his house. He went to the judge and told him about his loss. The judge ordered all the people of the farm to come before him. He took a number of sticks of equal length and gave one stick to each man.
He then said, "Come before me again tomorrow. I shall then know which of you is the thief because the stick given to the thief will be one inch longer than the others."
The thief was afraid of being found out, and so he cut an inch off his stick. The next day the thief's stick was found to be one inch shorter than any of the others. In this way the thief was found out, and was at once taken away to prison. | high1451.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the future of space travel"
},
"options": [
"the future of space travel",
"the cost of space travel in the future",
"the development of spacecrafts",
"cheap travel in the future"
],
"question": "The passage is m... | Technology is changing our lives. Our present aerospace companies are gradually disappearing as private space concerns are being born every day. I'm going to discuss three spacebased businesses that are sure to soon influence us all.
First we have to make space travel cheaply and safely. Engine design is the main challenge. To make money in space, the cost of space travel will have to diminish . This problem will be the most difficult to solve. Liquid fueled rockets are the only way to get out of Earth's orbit. Finding new ways to power the flight to space is also another big challenge.
Finding the key to cheap space travel might be the biggest story of our times. There are a lot of great minds working on this problem. And companies are pouring money into research and development. In the next few years we'll see the first suborbital tourist. And not long after that we should really start to see new and exciting things as competition heats up.
Spacecraft design and production will naturally follow rocket technology. All sorts of crafts will be needed for the wide uses they'll be tasked with. Several companies in the United States have already made small, lowcost test vehicles.
Resources in space will provide great mining profits to those who can afford the cost of setting up such a huge operation. Can you imagine finding a huge asteroid of pure gold? The benefit to mankind is limitless. Mining on other planets, like Mars, also adds CO2 into the very thin atmosphere. Over time this can lead to the formation of an atmosphere similar to Earth's.
Space is going to offer us untold opportunity and wealth. But this is only going to occur if wealthy investors step forward and fund the first steps forward. It is certain that technology will take us to worlds we could never have imagined. | high13116.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing"
},
"options": [
"the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear",
"the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget hi... | What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.
A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.
The first says Earth's nearness to the Moon and the Sun -- a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years -- resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg.
Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 -- about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner's identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours.
Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth's surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions -- not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror.
Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many experts are applauding the fresh perspectives. (words:353) | high2158.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Academic essays are usually more formal than literary essays."
},
"options": [
"Literary essays are usually less formal, and are longer than academic essays.",
"The writer of an academic essay is not allowed to express his or her o... | In countries like the United States, essays have become a major part of a formal education in the form of free response questions. Secondary students in these countries are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and essays are often used by universities in these countries in selecting applicants. Essays are also used to judge the mastery and comprehension of material. Students are asked to explain, comment on, or assess a topic of study in the form of an essay. During some courses, university students will often be required to complete one or more essays that are prepared over several weeks or months. In addition, in fields such as the humanities and social sciences, mid-term and end-of-term examinations often require students to write a short essay in two or three hours.
In these countries, so-called academic essays, which may also be called "papers", are usually more formal than literary ones. They may still allow the presentation of the writer's own views, but this is done in a logical and factual manner, with the use of the first person often discouraged. Longer academic essays (often with a word limit of between 2,000 and 5,000 words) sometimes begin with a short summary analysis of what has previously been written on a topic, which is often called a literature review.
One of the challenges facing US universities is that in some cases, students may hand in essays which have been purchased from an essay mill (or "paper mill") as their own work. An "essay mill" is a ghostwriting service that sells pre-written essays to university and college students. Since plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty or academic fraud, universities and colleges may look into papers suspected to be from an essay mill by using Internet plagiarism detection software, which compares essays against a database of known mill essays and by orally testing students on the contents of their papers. | high18043.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Lighthouses."
},
"options": [
"A long history.",
"Lighthouses.",
"Friendly Indians.",
"Fishing industry."
],
"question": "What is Martha's Vineyard famous for?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{... | Martha's Vineyard has long been considered a favorite quiet of the Northeast. The vineyard is rich in history, breathtaking beaches, and beautiful scenery. It is well known for its unique lighthouses - you'll enjoy the variety and the history of each lighthouse, among the most photographed structures on the Vineyard. When the former First Family, the Clintons, chose to vacation on the island several years ago, it became a more popular tourist attraction.
Martha's Vineyard got its name from its discoverer, Bartholomew Gosnold, who gave it the name of his wife Martha and was in memory of the thick growth of wild trees on the land.
The island of Martha's Vineyard lies south of Cape Cod off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts,United States. It is nearly 20 miles long and runs from 2 to 10 miles in width. There are wide,hard beaches on the southern side. The north is hilly, but in the south and eastern parts there are wide areas of open land covered with wild flowers.
The island was discovered early in the 17th century. The Indians were quiet and friendly, and the new-comers fished for a living, making a lot of money from whaling . With the decline of whaling and sailing ships. Martha's Vineyard was almost forgotten until about 60 years ago when people began to buy the old houses of the whaling captains and the small building of the fishermen near the beaches. Now people go there year after year for their summer holidays. | high17370.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Their family couldn't afford the academy."
},
"options": [
"They were so curious as to make a joke.",
"Their family couldn't afford the academy.",
"One of the brothers was supposed to go into mines.",
"They wanted to su... | Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children.In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream.They both wanted to pursue their talent for art.After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement.They would toss a coin.The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy.Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy.
Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg.Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, _ work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation .By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming.Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream."And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn.Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you."
Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, "No...no...It is too late for me.Look...look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands!The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush."
To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands", but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it "The Praying Hands".The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder--no one ever makes any success alone! | high4529.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "made her think a lot."
},
"options": [
"was poorly woven.",
"made her think a lot.",
"cost her a lot of money.",
"was finished, but not ready."
],
"question": "The blanket the author received _ .",
"quest... | That woman carried a new blanket over her arm. Wordlessly, she gave it to me.
"Is it finished?" I asked.
She shook her head. "No. It is ready," she replied. I handed her the money and took the blanket.
"It is beautiful, so skillfully woven ," I said to my mother. "But what did she mean when she said it was not finished? How can it be ready if it is not finished?"
"I will tell you later," my mother said, "but first I will take you to the Navajo village."
We went down to the village. A group of young men were making sand pictures. We walked through the whole village, watching the different things the people were doing.
It was not until that evening that my mother finally explained the Navajo woman's words.
"Did you notice anything about the things the people were making?" my mother asked.
"What should I have noticed?" I looked at her and asked.
"Each thing the Navajo make has one small part that is not complete. The designs in their sand pictures are often not perfectly done, for example---the line of a circle may not quite close. If you look carefully at your blanket, you will probably find a stitch missing."
I took the blanket off, but it looked as perfect as any design could be. Then suddenly, I noticed that sure enough a stitch was missing!
"But why do the Navajo intentionally leave some tiny part unfinished?" I asked.
"They believe that when anything is completed or finished, it means the end has come--it will not be perfect until then. Then too, with a circle, they believe that they must leave a pathway for the bad spirits to run away and the good spirits to come in. So, often, they do not make the line close." | high11701.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "But they don't like to do so"
},
"options": [
"But they don't like to do so",
"And they are eager to do so.",
"But they wrote a letter to the Department of the Education reporting the thing.",
"But they do more exercise... | In my long years of teaching, I often ask my students to read the texts until they can recite them, and I tell them that recitation is an important part of their homework. However, some of my students are tired of doing so, thinking that it is both hard and useless. They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory and text itself never appears in a test paper.
In my opinion, it naturally takes time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so. When you are able to recite a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions. When you need them in reading or writing or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of language situation. How can we say that it is useless?
Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite. This is true, but you don't need to worry. While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised. Sure you don't remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able to read novels and newspaper. So, recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability. | high3246.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Early works were popular among young readers."
},
"options": [
"They were Never aimed at adults.",
"They forced readers to accept moral ideas.",
"They were greatly influenced by other writers.",
"Early works were popula... | Robert A.Heinlein was considered one of American's "Big Three"western science fiction authors,along with Issac Asimov and Arthur C.Clarke.He was born in a family of seven children in 1907,attended public school in Kansas City,and graduated from Central High School in 1924.In 1929 he graduated from fhe U.S.Naval Academy at Annapolis,and served as all officer in the Navy.This experience had a strong influence on his character and writing.At the age of thirty-two,he turned his hand to writing science fiction.
Heinlein's first published stories appeared in the action-adventure magazine Astounding Science Fiction in 1939.Under his influence writers started to examine how technology might affect the everyday lives of ordinary people,and society in general.
Heinleiu's early works emphasized adventure,and were aimed at young readers.In 1959 he received the Boy's Clubs of American Book Award.In these novels Heintein avoided open didacticism ,although his main characters learned lessons in courage and tolerance.Beginning in the late 1950s,Heinlein started to write specially for adults,and to deal with such topics as cloning,religion,and free love.
Heinlein produced fifty novels and collections of short stories during his career.One of his best-known works is the novel Stranger in a Strange Land,published inl961.A few years later it was adopted by the"Peace and Love"generation,and became the most successful science-fiction novel ever published.Glory Road(1963),written in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars stories,is another of his most popular works.
Within the framework of his science fiction stories,Heinlein repeatedly addressed such social themes as the importance of self-confidence and the duties each person owes to the society.In his fiction,Heinlein coined words that have become part of the English language, including"grok"and"waldo".He also described a modern version of a "waterbed"in his novel The Door Into Summer and several of his works have been adapted for film and television. | high18057.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "city development and birds"
},
"options": [
"city development and birds",
"the environment and birds",
"humans and wildlife",
"climate and wildlife"
],
"question": "The study deals with the relationship between ... | Australian cities can keep their native wildlife -- but only if they can kick their habit of urban sprawl . That's the finding of a new study by leading Australian environmental researchers Jessica Sushinsky, Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr Richard Fuller of The University of Queensland.
"While urban development usually reduces the number of birds in a city, building more compact cities and avoiding urban sprawl can slow these reductions greatly," says lead author Jessica Sushinsky. "Compact housing development leaves birds' homes untouched, leading to fewer losses of birds."
The researchers surveyed native and wild birds in Brisbane's urban areas, including living and industrial areas, public parks and gardens, major roadways and airports. They then used statistical modeling to find out what will happen to the birds as the city grows. The first setting was compact growth -- where multiple homes are built on land that previously had only one house. The second setting was sprawling growth -- a familiar pattern where homes are built here and there beyond the city's current boundaries.
The team's forecasts showed that a much greater diversity of species was lost over 20 years in the sprawling setting compared to the more compact setting. "Urban sprawl resulted in the disappearance of many urban-sensitive birds -- birds that only live in areas where there is native vegetation , such as parklands and woodlands," Ms Sushinsky says.
"On the other hand, we found the city with the compact development attracted more birds because it kept more of its parks and green areas."
Now the Queensland Government has adopted the more compact urban growth strategy, which, Dr Richard Fuller says, is good news for Australia's native birds. These birds are environmental specialists -- they need a particular environment to do well. "While compact development means smaller backyards, it can also make our entire cities more biodiverse," according to Dr Fuller. "The study shows that we should hold on to our green spaces instead of clearing them for sprawling development."
This is the first time science has modeled the effects of different urban growth strategies on birds, the researchers say. "Statistical models like these are important because they help us to understand the ecological consequences of a particular decision," says Dr Fuller. | high17364.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "I'll die in debt, say one in three"
},
"options": [
"I'll die in debt, say one in three",
"Desperate British",
"The beginning of the end",
"Borrowing money from any source"
],
"question": "The best title for thi... | Nine out of 10 people have run up unsecured debt and many fear they will never be able to pay back what they owe, a survey has claimed.
Around 89% of people aged between l|8 and 35 said they owed money on a credit card, loan or overdraft, the research showed.
A third of people admitted they did not think- they would ever be debt-free, 54% of whom said they would always need to borrow money in order to fund the lifestyle they wanted.
One in five of these people also claimed they were not worried about the possibility of their debts being passed on to their next of kin if they died before they were repaid.
Just over half who owed money said they did not feel in control of their debt, with 8% admitting they had needed to ask for help with repayments from a friend or family member.Eight out of 10 people also told the research for discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk that they thought it was too easy to borrow money through their bank or on credit cards.
Farhad Farhadi, MyVoucherCodes.co.uk's personal finance expert, said: "The majority of British adults owe money m some way, shape or form, but to see that almost a third think they'll never be free c ^ from debt is quite alarming.
"When borrowing money from any source, how you are going to repay it should always be in the back of your mind.
"A lot of people don't-really think about 'die consequences of borrowing money and it can be easy to get complacent, but keeping it all under control should be a priority _ .Only borrow what you really think you can afford to pay back." | high11715.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To let the public know who are influencing the policies."
},
"options": [
"To attract more visitors to the White House.",
"To allow people to know more about the life of the Obama family.",
"To let the public know who are inf... | WASHINGTON -- It is announced Friday that White House visitor records will be opened up on a regular basis for the first time in modern history, providing the public an unusually detailed look at who gets the opportunity to help shape American policy at the highest levels.
"Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process," the president said in a written statement issued by the White House while he vacationed with his family at Camp David.
By the end of the year, the White House will begin posting online every month the names of the people who visited in the last 90 to 120 days. Each person's full name will be listed, along with the date and time they entered and left and the name of the person they visited. About 70,000 to 100,000 people visit the White House each month, and the records will include tourists as well as people conducting business.
The White House pointed out several exceptions to the policy: "purely personal guests" of the Obama family; those cases in which the disclosure of visitors' names "would threaten national safety interests"; and those who come for "particularly sensitive meetings," like candidates for a Supreme Court nomination . Officials said only a "small number" will fit in the latter category , and their names would eventually be disclosed after they are no longer secret, like after a nomination is publicly announced. Moreover, they said, the number of undisclosed visitors will be disclosed, to make clear how few they are. | high3252.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the Internet"
},
"options": [
"agriculture skills",
"everyday life",
"the Internet",
"hotels"
],
"question": "It can be inferred that all the books can be relative to _ .",
"question_type": "summarizati... | Below you will find a selection of helpful books to learn more about effective campaigns and one-to-one permission email marketing and more.
* Advanced Email Marketing
Email is specially brilliant: low cost, high speed, personal, moving , and interactive. But there's a big difference between knowing that email is a powerful marketing tool and proving it. --A1 $15.00
* Sign Me Up!
Imagine it: prospects actually ask you to email your marketing information to them. At a time when people wouldn't give out their email addresses and don't believe most emails, it's harder than ever for ordinary marketers to separate their emails from waste emails.--A2 $13.00
* The Quiet Revolution
A revolution is taking place which will forever change the world of marketing. The strategies and techniques that have served marketers for years will not only decline in effectiveness, but will begin to quietly decline the very brands and the customer relationships that companies have worked so hard to create. --A3 $18.00
* Permission Marketing
Seth Godin, one of the world's foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that business can no longer rely only on traditional forms of "interruption advertising" in magazines and mailings, or radio and television commercials.--A5 $19.05
* TOTAL E-Mail Marketing
Total E-Mail Marketing shows how to run effective e-mail campaigns aimed at both getting and keeping customers. The book covers much more than simply guidelines on e-mail creativity. It explains how to plan and carry out e-mail campaigns which connect with other online and offline communication. --A6 $39.5
* Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank
This copy of the book offers the most comprehensive (and immediately usable) information on "how to make your website usable" in the fewest amount of pages possible. --A7 $31.4 | high15573.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he was not very good at maths"
},
"options": [
"he was always at the top of the class in maths",
"he understood the questions",
"he was not very good at maths",
"the maths teacher did not explain the questions carefully... | Donald was not very good at maths. He could not understand the teacher's explanations. Even when the teacher explained something a second time, Donald still could not understand it. "Never mind," Donald told himself. "I'm quite good at other subjects. I'll cheat in the maths exam, then I won't be in trouble."
"I will sit next to the boy who's best at maths," he thought, "and copy down his answers." The day of the exam came, and Donald sat next to Brian Smith, who always was at the top of the class in maths. Donald carefully copied Brian's answers onto his own exam paper. At the end of the exam, the teacher collected the papers and graded them. Then she said, "Well, boys and girls. I've decided to give a prize to the student who got the highest grade. However, it's difficult for me to decide who to give the prize to, because two students, Doanld and Brian, got the same grade."
"Let them share it," one of the other students said.
"I have thought about that," the teacher said, "but I have decided to give the prize to Brian." Donald was angry when he heard this. He stood up and said. "That is not fair. I got the same grade as Brian." "That is true," the teacher said. "However, Brian's answer to Question 18 was 'I don't know,' while yours was 'Neither do I.'" | high8307.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "think they can have a good time and develop relationships"
},
"options": [
"are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends",
"can both talk and watch the screen at the same time",
"think they can have a good ti... | When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what's happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen--they can't do both--and they don't understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships--not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding . A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked to them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to, and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents respond to the brains of their children. Since a girl's brain is better organized to send and receive speech, we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually disappointed to receive only short grunts in reply. | high7034.txt |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.