questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the passage doesn't tell us"
},
"options": [
"speaking",
"using body language",
"writing letters",
"the passage doesn't tell us"
],
"question": "According to the passage, people communicate with each other mainl... | Many people think that the most popular way of communicating with other people is through the mouth. But what they don't know is that actual communication using mouth accounts for only around 10% (or even less) of all the means to communicate a message.
Moreover, you can never determine the honesty of people by what they say alone. In fact, words expressed through mouth do not reflect what people really think or feel. The only way you can determine their true inner feelings and thoughts is by reading their body language.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you can "see through" the emotions of other people? For example, you ask a person if he can do an important task. He says "OK". But deep inside, you are questioning yourself, "Is he really willing to do this job?" or "Does he have the confidence to finish this task?" You can't question him directly because that would be like belittling him. And even if you ask him those questions, his replies will not tell you what he really feels or thinks.
Then what is the final solution? Here are just a few of the magic tricks you're about to discover:
*Actions to make someone like or trust you.
*How to win in a negotiation .
*How to attract the opposite sex using body language.
*How to increase your sales using body language.
*How to help you find out who is telling a lie.
And a lot, lot more!
Body language is very easy and fun to learn. With this book, you will make body movements to achieve the success you've always longed for. Do yourself a big favor and get a copy of Body Language Magic. | high18917.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To advertise some goods."
},
"options": [
"To show how fashionable the items are.",
"To compare some goods.",
"To teach how to operate the items.",
"To advertise some goods."
],
"question": "What's the purpose o... | Item 78431 The Video Camera Pen
$129. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484
This is the pen that has a built-in video camera, capturing(,)videos or still images with a click of its button. Ideal for use while secured in a pocket, it can capture up to five hours of video. Its battery provides up to two hours of power before requiring a recharge.
Item 78098 The Wristwatch Camcorder
$149. 95; Available for 3-day Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484
This is the men's watch with an unnoticeable camera located at the two-o'clock position, yet the watch's hands never make it covered. So you'll be always ready to capture a famous person or a pet's ridiculous actions. The camera's rechargeable battery provides up to two hours of use from a four-hour charge.
Item 77918 The only 55 Inch Widescreen Personal Movie Theater
$ 249. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone:l-800-321-1484
This is the only personal media viewer that provides a private viewing experience just like watching a widescreen 55 inch television from 10 meters away. It connects to a video iPod, iPhone, portable DVD player with two AA batteries providing up to six hours of continuous operation.
Item 77281 The Digital Phone Album Watch
$ 99. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484
This is the watch that vividly displays 120 of your favorite digital photographs. You can download digital photographs to the watch. The watch can be viewed in the Photo Album mode or digital mode ( time and date view). A six-hour charge provides up to 10 days of use. | high10393.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "give people some advice on taking part in Yoga classes"
},
"options": [
"tell people how to relax themselves",
"let people know more about Yoga",
"give people some advice on taking part in Yoga classes",
"tell peoples Y... | Feeling tired? Under too much stress? Well, you may want to try Yoga . It's what more and more people have been turning to to release the trouble of modern life. Practically unheard of in the West until 50 years ago, Yoga has become one of the most popular health trends around the world, including prefix = st1 /China. If you search for Yoga on line in Chinese, lots of pages are there to see, most of which are main pages of Yoga clubs. In order to keep fit and lose weight, many girls spend more than 1000 yuan taking part in Yoga classes every month.
However, are you really ready for it? There are several things you need to know before you really take it.
First, do not force your body too much. Yoga has many difficult poses. They are beautiful and worth boasting if you could finish them. But if you force yourself to do as exactly as an experienced Yoga teacher does, you may hurt your body, instead of strengthening it. Do you remember you original purpose for playing Yoga? It is self -building, not competing.
Second, do some research about the Yoga class that you are to registering. Yoga is new in Chinaand there are not so many certificated well-trained Yoga teachers. Some not well organized clubs just find someone learn a little Yoga and certificate them. But be aware, a non- _ teacher might wrongly guide you and you could not benefit from the classes much except that they force you to exercise your body a bit. Considering about the large amount of money you invest in it, it's worth and reasonable to make sure the teachers in the club are qualified before you join.
Third, it would be better to learn something about nutrition when you practice Yoga. In the very beginning, Yoga was part of the Vedas, bible of the traditional Indian philosophy. So it could be regarded as a kind of lifestyle. When you have decided to care for your body, why not feed it properly? In fact, good clubs have their own nutritionists.
Anyhow, make sure you are ready before you act. The fashion may change quickly. But what benefits is still good for us. | high23759.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because they want to feel happier and live longer."
},
"options": [
"Because they want to avoid health.",
"Because they want to add mental and physical fatigue.",
"Because they want to feel happier and live longer.",
"B... | The purpose of keeping fit is to avoid illness ,resist the mental and physical fatigue that make us more likely to contract infections ,and above all to feel more pleasure in being alive. Research has shown the value of a balanced diet ,fresh air, sunshine ,enough rest and some forms of regular exercise for everyone .If everyone followed this plan ,the number of people visiting the doctor and going to hospital would be considerably reduced.
Unfortunately ,although most people acknowledge the importance of physical fitness ,not enough of us put this into practice .We spend too much time watching others from the comfort of an armchair or a seat in the stand at a sports stadium.
One reason why people who are physically fit to live longer is that they do not put the heart under excessive strain and so they reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases .They also avoid suffering the consequences of weakened muscles ,which are the cause of a great deal of back and abdominal trouble.
About 640 muscles for about 45% of our body's weight ,they must have the ability to store energy and be continually supplied with fuel by the blood .Sensible exercise ,suited to each individual and preferably undertaken on the advice of a doctor ,is the best insurance of meeting these requirements. | high9781.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "longhand note takers engage in more processing than laptop note takers"
},
"options": [
"longhand note takers engage in more processing than laptop note takers",
"students using laptops paid attention and took deep notes",
"h... | If you remember taking class notes in longhand , there's a good chance you also remember more about a variety of topics than today's students do. A study investigated whether taking notes by hand helps you learn better than taking notes on a laptop. It was no contest.
Study authors and psychologists Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California- Los Angeles conducted three separate experiments involving a total of 327 students. All students got the same lectures, but some used laptops, and others took notes by hand.
When it came to learning the concepts, the handwriters won. When it came to retrieving facts, the groups were comparable, except when given time to go home and look at their notes, at which point the handwriters did better.
"Even when allowed to reviewnotes after a week's delay, participants who had taken notes with laptops performed worse on tests of both factual content and conceptual understanding," the study states.
Learning suffered not because of "multitasking" or the distraction available to students using Wi-Fi- enabled laptops. In the lab, scientists allowed no extraneous activity. Students who paid attention and took deep notes on their laptop still didn't learn as well--in fact, the study suggests the thoroughness of their notes contributes to the problem.
Laptop users tend to record long, _ quotes, which they type mindlessly. Handwriters are more selective. They "wrote significantly fewer words than those who typed," according to the study. By processing and selecting the more important information, they studied more efficiently, said researchers.
Here's what's a bit frightening: When the laptop students were instructed to cut down or eliminate the verbatim note taking, they couldn't. The study adds to a ton of evidence that for learning, writing is better and that the hand has a "unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas."
Of course, the chance of persuading students to put away their laptops is probably zero. Many of them can't write longhand, a forgotten subject in many American schools, itself a source of controversy.
So are we stuck with traditional classrooms and learning techniques if we want the brightest pupils? Perhaps not: Another possibility, some have suggested, is apps that permit handwriting on tablets, a compromise that students might accept. | high7974.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "a funny Halloween story"
},
"options": [
"a funny Halloween story",
"mainly about two brave kids",
"mainly about a spooky house",
"mainly about the custom of Halloween"
],
"question": "This passage is _ .",
... | One Halloween a little boy and his friend went out for a fun night of trick-or-treating. At first everything was great. They were getting lots of candy as they went from house to house, but then they saw a house which they hadn't been to before. It was a very spooky house. Being young and brave, they decided to go up to the door and knock. After all, scary houses might have the best candy!
As they walked up the long winding path, they saw things that chilled them to the bone! They heard sounds that frightened them. Maybe they should turn back. But the little boys, being very brave, just wanted to see what was in that house, so they went on, not deterred by the things they heard or saw. As they slowly made their way up to the door, they imagined what might be inside. Maybe it would be a witch or maybe a ghost!
After knocking several times, the door slowly creaked open. To their surprise, a monster slowly came out to greet them. They were so scared that they couldn't move! What could they do? Then the little boy had an idea. He said, "Trick or treat!" Then the big scary monster, much to the kids'surprise, reached over and brought out a huge bowl of the best candies they had never seen. Wow, the kids thought, this was great! It turned out that the house was decorated for Halloween, and the big scary monster was just wearing a costume, just like the kids. Since they were the only kids, and were brave enough to go to the scary house, they could take as much candy as they wanted. | high9959.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Young people should learn first aid to help the injured."
},
"options": [
"Young people should learn first aid to help the injured.",
"Learning first aid can help young people win an award.",
"The injured are encouraged to ac... | Do you know a child who has used first aid to save a life or help an injured person?
St.John Ambulance is seeking young people who have acted quickly, calmly and effectively at a real emergency for its annual Young First Aider of the Year awards.
The awards are open to all those under 18, and the closing date for nomination is April 30, 2016.The winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in June, 2016.
"St.John Ambulance believes it is essential for young people to learn first aid so that they can help anyone who is injured," said Sandra Stocker, director of St.John Ambulance Awards Committee."The Young First Aider of the Year is a wonderful way to celebrate their bravery and quick-thinking."
Nomination for the Young First Aider of the Year is now open.Please complete and return the nomination forms as soon as possible and certainly no later than April 30, 2016.The committee will decide which of the nominees will receive the Young First Aider of the Year awards by considering the actions of the nominees along with their ages and other factors.You should send any evidence you have with the nomination form, showing the nominees' actions.
Examples of evidence could include:
* Newspaper clippings of the incident.
* Police incident record numbers.
Once a nomination form is received, the nominee or nominator may be approached for further details of the incident.For further information please get in touch with Sandra Stocker by email or on 020-73244082 or 020-732440813.
Find out who our winners will be for 2016. | high12584.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a newspaper"
},
"options": [
"a story book",
"a novel",
"a newspaper",
"an advertisement"
],
"question": "This passage is probably taken from _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer"... | Most American students have to say goodbye to fancy fruits these days. In school restaurants across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken their place.
"People are afraid to spend now." said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. "They don't know what the future will bring". During the financial crisis , several of the country's biggest banks have been forced to sell or close. This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive things.
The crisis began last year. Experts think it was because US banks lend money too easily. Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders , the whole world was in trouble.
This month the US government agreed on a $700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But no one is sure whether it will help or not. Last week presidents from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. | high891.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "it thought goose eggs were delicious"
},
"options": [
"it thought goose eggs were delicious",
"Su's nest was too close to the raccoon's",
"it wanted to hunt the goose for food",
"Su's appearance in the area annoyed it"
... | We bought a pair of geese one spring when they were both two weeks old. One was a female Chinese goose I named Su and her mate was a white goose I named Goose. They would follow us all around the yard talking to us whenever we came outside. At night, they stayed in a box in our kitchen until they were too big and then they stayed at night outside. They loved the river and soon began staying out all night on the river. Whenever I wanted to know where they were, I would make a honking noise , and they would answer me and come into the yard for their corn.
One night, I was woken up by loud noise. We ran out to see what was wrong. A raccoon had decided that some goose eggs would taste good and had come too close to the setting.When we found Su, the raccoon had caught her by her neck and was biting it.We drove it away and took Su to the garage, washed her wound and wrapped it up in a bandage.Goose knew she was there and wanted to be with her, so we opened the small garage door and he hurried in.After two days and nights, I released them back outside.
For the first three nights at dusk, we would get her and carry her into the garage for the night and Goose would come running behind us to join her there.We were touched by his devotion to her.We took off her bandage and she was fine so that next night, we had not planned to take her to the garage any longer.We were amazed, however, that when dusk fell that night, she climbed the back steps to our garage door waiting for us to come and get her in! They do not speak our language, but they know when people care about them and love them and they respond in kind. | high22447.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "its marvelous ancient buildings"
},
"options": [
"its beautiful churches, palaces and houses",
"its unique St. Mark's Square and the Grand Canal",
"its picturesque waterscape",
"its marvelous ancient buildings"
],
... | Today, one can trace Venice's rich past from its buildings. Most cities can claim at least a handful of outstanding churches, palaces or houses of historical interest, but in Venice very nearly everything is remarkable, from the magnificent Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square ) and the palaces that line the Grand Canal to the centuries-old homes of simple fishermen. It would be easy to say that the city itself is an enormous museum if it were not for the fact it is so obviously alive.
At first sight, Venice looks unbelievably permanent, an apparently complete Renaissance city so untouched by time that there seems no reason why it should not go on forever. Now the city is slowly sinking, as the clay on which it is built loses its elasticity and the massive wooden piles rot away. Flooding, such a rare occurrence a hundred years ago now happens several times each winter.
The damage caused by the flooding is immense, and the fabric of the ancient buildings is now being further damaged by pollution from the mainland town as well as by the wash produced by the constantly increasing number of motor boats that speed up and down the canals.
A further threat to Venice comes from the Venetians themselves, some of whom are not particularly interested in preserving the city as one of the wonders of the world and would prefer to see it modernized.
"What better place is there for the meeting of dear friends? See how it glows with the advancing summer; how the sky and the sea and the rosy air and the marble of the palaces all glimmer and melt together." Thus wrote the famous author Henry James, of Venice, which provided the setting for his story "The Aspern Papers", in the nineteenth century. The Splendor of Venice has captured the imagination of artists for centuries --- and not just of the great painters and novelists. How tragic now that she is faced with the double threat of man and nature. Venice indeed will be lucky to survive. | high13842.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they had different education levels"
},
"options": [
"they had different life goals",
"one always wanted to beat the other",
"they had different education levels",
"they wanted to show their different success"
],
... | A planned visit to Trinidad and Tobago sometime ago by a former American president, suddenly took an amazing turn form the initial plan. The presidential aircraft could not land in Trinidad and Tobago. It was reported that the runway of the airport was too short. Therefore, the aircraft had to land in a nearby country and they came into the country by road.
Everyone has a runway by which events enter into his life. The events here could be favors, miracle, connections, job opportunities, etc. The size of your runway determines the level of results that will be attracted into your life.
I have a story of two good friends. They finished high school together. One wanted to further his studies while the other decided to look for a job. As time went on, the one that wanted to work was always there to support the other one especially in the area of fees in school for a long time. As destiny would have it, they both lost contact and after a very long time, they met again but on a very different level. The one that added values to himself by going back to school had stepped up greatly to become the general manager of a big company and the other was just a little lifted. So, it was time to pay back. The one of general manager could only support him financially and make him the chief driving officer in the company. Even though he would have loved to give him a higher post he was not qualified especially in terms of skills, orientation , experience and so on. In other words, his runway was too short for such an opportunity.
Everyone must increase in knowledge and training . You must step up in your education level, human, business and communication skills. Your relationship with people must improve by being a good person. Your runway is enlarged anytime you add values to your life.
There are some jobs, opportunities, favor that cannot protect base in your life. They will have to be coming from other people into your life because you have failed to work on your own runway by improving on your abilities. It is not too late or too early to start in life because every stage in life is a good place to begin. | high9795.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "In Helmand."
},
"options": [
"In Rhosneigr.",
"In Birmingham.",
"In Helmand.",
"In Bastion."
],
"question": "Davie was wounded _ according to the passage?",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | A soldier who lost both his legs after being blown up in Afghanistan is racing a sports car in his hometown this weekend.
Remarkably David Birrell will not only drive the Mazda MX5 but he does without any specially adapted equipment.
Davie, 28, has battled back from terrible injuries after a bomb blew up directly below him. He gave himself first aid and fired at Taliban fighters until help arrived. Davie was always interested in motor sport and after spending weeks in hospital was introduced by Help the Heroes to Mission Motorsport, which helps the wounded recover. The charity are organizing a major event, Race of Remembrance, at the Anglesey Circuit near Rhosneigr of North Wales in November, and Davie was at the circuit yesterday for an official launch.
He said,"It's my first time racing on Anflesey. This means everything to me. I loved it straight away, and it gives you something to focus on, to try and stay in front of others. I was boxing since the age of eight and my whole life has been one-to-one competition. But now everything has changed."
Davie, a corporal in the Black Watch, was in Helmand in April 2010 when his interpreter stood on the bomb. He said,"I was confused and went blank for a couple of seconds. There was dust in the air and I couldn't see. Both legs were still attached but there were massive injuries to my right leg and my left foot was broken."As the Taliban began firing he returned fire and waited for help. He added,"A medical team came over. I was taken back to Camp Bastion by helicopter. I was there for two days before being flown to hospital in Birmingham."
He had lost his right leg and the following year had his left leg _ below the knee, ending the Army career. | high7960.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "by making themselves taste unpleasant"
},
"options": [
"by fighting enemies together",
"by hiding themselves from enemies",
"by attacking enemies with chemicals",
"by making themselves taste unpleasant"
],
"ques... | For most of history scientists and mankind in general considered plants to be passive organisms just with no reason or means of communicating with one another. But new research has revealed that many plants actually 'chat' quite a bit over their own networks, which may also indicate that your auntisn't quite as crazy as you thought. You know, the one that talks to her petunias and expects an answer.
In fact, many plants form internal communication networks and are able to exchange information efficiently. These connections enable the plants to share information via internal channels in a manner very similar to computer networks. So what kind of things do plants tell each other?
Researcher Josef Stuefer found that one purpose for plants having their own "chat systems" is to warn each other. He and his colleagues were the first to prove that clover plants do indeed warn each other via these network links if enemies are nearby. For example, if one of the plants is attacked by caterpillars , it will warn the other members of the network via an internal signal. After receiving a warning, the other plants will strengthen their protective chemical and mechanical resistance so that they are less attractive to advancing caterpillars. This early warning system allows the plants to stay one step ahead of their enemies. Experimental research has revealed that this communication significantly limits the damage to the plants.
It is also known that plants have "family values", with new research revealing they have the ability to recognize close s in order to help each other survive. Research found plants from the same species of beach-dwelling wildflowers, for example, grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their siblings. Some researchers think that plants must communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant's family.
The research shows that our current concept of plants is probably a poor reflection of reality. Scientists are eager to discover in what ways, and to what extent, plants communicate with each other. | high24022.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "kept for special use"
},
"options": [
"forbidden",
"kept for special use",
"hired",
"bought"
],
"question": "\"Reserved\" in the passage means _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answe... | The woman's college had a very small car-park, and as several of the teachers and students, and many of the students' boy-friends, had cars, it was often difficult to find a place to park. The head of the college, whose was Baker, therefore had a special place in the car-park for her own car. There were white lines round it, and it had a notice saying, "Reserved for Head of College." One evening, however, when Miss Baker got back to the college a few minutes before the time by which all students had to be in, she found another car in her parking place. There were two people in it, one of her girl-students and a young man. Miss Baker knew that the young man would have to leave very soon, so she decided to ask him to move his car a bit, so that she could park hers in the proper place for the night before going to bed.
As the young man's car was close to the railings, Miss Baker had to drive up beside it on the other side, opened her own window and tapped her horn lightly to draw attention to the fact that she was there. The girl, who had her head on the boy's shoulder, looked around in surprise. She was even more surprised when she heard Miss Baker say, " Excuse me, but may I change places with you?" | high23995.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "had inadequate sleep"
},
"options": [
"ran out of money",
"had inadequate sleep",
"forgot to call his mother",
"failed to take good pictures"
],
"question": "During the trip, the author's son _ .",
"quest... | Traveler
My fifteen-year-old son has just returned from abroad with rolls of exposed film and a hundred dollars in uncashed traveler's checks, and is asleep at the moment.His blue duffel bag lies on the floor where he dropped it.Obviously, he postponed as much sleep as he could: when he walked in and we hugged, his electrical system suddenly switched off, and he headed directly for the bed, where I imagine he beat his old record of sixteen hours.
It was his first trip overseas, so weeks before it, I pressed travel books on him, and a tape cassette of useful French phrases; drew up a list of people to visit; advised him on clothing and other things.At the luggage store where we went to buy him a suitcase, he headed for the duffels, saying that suitcases were more for old people.
During the trip, he called home three times: from London, Paris, and a village named Ullapool.Near Ullapool, he climbed a mountain in a rainstorm that almost blew him off.In the village, a man spoke to him in Gaelic, and, too polite to interrupt, my son listened to him for ten or fifteen minutes, trying to nod in the right places.The French he learned from the cassette didn't hold water in Paris.The French he talked to shrugged and walked on.
When my son called, I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned forward and hung on every word. His voice came through clearly, though two of the calls were like ship-to-shore communication.When I interrupted him with a "Great!" or a "Really?", I knocked a little hole in his communication.So I just sat and listened. I have never listened to a telephone so attentively and with so much pleasure.It was wonderful to hear news from him that was so new to me.In my book, he was the first man to land on the moon, and I knew that I had no advice to give him and that what I had already given was probably not much help.
The unused checks are certainly evidence of that.Youth travels light.No suitcase, not much luggage and a slim expense account, and yet he went to the scene, and came back safely.I sit here amazed. The night when your child returns with dust on his shoes from a country you've never seen is a night you would gladly turn into a week. | high12590.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "A study indicates Native Americans can trace their ancestry to just six women."
},
"options": [
"A study indicates that women arrived in America around 20,000 years ago.",
"A study indicates six women gave rise to migrants of Ameri... | Nearly all of today's Native Americans in North, Central and South America can trace their ancestry to just six women whose descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA study suggests.
The finding does not mean that only these six women gave rise to migrants who crossed into North America from Asia in the earliest population of the continent.Rather, it suggests that only six left a particular DNA legacy that persists to today in about 95% of Native Americans, said study co-author Ugo Perego in Utah.
"The women did not necessarily arrive together, nor even all live at the same time," he said.Results indicate the women arrived sometime between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago.
The work was published this week by the journal PLoS One.Perego is from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City and the University of Pavia in Italy.The work confirms the previous indications of just six maternal lineages, as well as a date of around 20,000 years ago when the first people in North America arrived after crossing a land bridge from Asia, Perego said.
The researchers studied mitochondrial DNA, which is passed only from mother to daughter.They created a "family tree" that traces the different DNA _ found in today's Native Americans.By noting mutations in each branch and applying a formula for how often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each branch was.That indicated when each branch arose in a single woman.
The six "founding mothers" obviously did not live in Asia because the DNA signatures they left behind are not found there, Perego said.So they probably lived in Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that stretched to North America, he said. | high22453.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Because the human genome's completion can help to get rid of many diseases."
},
"options": [
"Because the human genome can destroy many illnesses.",
"Because the human genome's completion can help to get rid of many diseases.",
... | The Human Genome Project, a great $3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completed. The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging human life. But those communities and policy makers are also careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life.
For the last few years, the genetic advances in the fast developing field of biotechnology have provided material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the population imagination.
While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research in the Untied States, which began in 1990, is "unlocking the code" of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal diseases. Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with as yet terrible diseases, and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer or AIDS.
Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases. Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome, as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for these illnesses. | high885.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "writing might influence her studies"
},
"options": [
"they didn't like vampire novels",
"writing might influence her studies",
"Gibbs spent too much time online",
"a possible failure might let Gibbs down"
],
"qu... | A teenager has gained a six-figure sum for a vampire novel she wrote after being inspired by the Twilight. Abigail Gibbs, 18, who started writing the book aged 14, released chapters of her novel online, where the book eventually received 17 million hits. Harper Collins in Britain has now signed this talented author following her extraordinary Internet success.
Miss Gibbs, from Brixham, Devon, who is about to start studying English at Oxford University, is the first author to be discovered on Wattpad. Wattpad is an online library which allows subscribers to upload or read other people's stories. Miss Gibbs also said Stephenie Meyer's famous Twilight books had influenced her novel, The Dark Heroine. "I read the Twilight and did really enjoy it. At first, my parents were a bit opposed to my writing because I was staying up till 3 a.m. on school nights and they were worried that I might fall behind."
Miss Gibbs finished her book at the age of 16. She posted each chapter after she had written it on the Internet site, until she got to five chapters before the end when she stopped. "I had signed with an agent and he basically said, 'Don't post anymore so as to keep the readers' anxiety". That was tough because I disappeared in the site for a year and there were a lot of fans asking where I was. I have had so many requests from fans to upload the last five chapters; some people even said they were going to write their own endings." Her fans can buy the e-book for PS2.99, or wait for the paperback book priced at PS6.99 in shops next month. | high13856.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she should stop waiting and be free to live"
},
"options": [
"he hoped she would wait for him forever",
"his health was worsening step by step",
"she should stop waiting and be free to live",
"she would be more beautifu... | Dearest Clare,
As I write this, I am sitting at my desk in the back bedroom looking out at your studio across the backyard full of blue evening snow, everything is smooth and crusty with ice, and it is very still. It's one of those winter evenings when the coldness of every single thing seems to slow down time, like the narrow center of an hourglass which time itself flows through, but slowly, slowly. I had a sudden urge, tonight, here in the house by myself to write you a letter. I suddenly wanted to leave something, for after. I think that time is short, now. I feel as though all my reserves, of energy, of pleasure, of duration, are thin, small. I don't feel capable of continuing very much longer. I know you know.
If you are reading this, I am probably dead. But you know: you know that if I could have stayed, if I could have gone on, that I would have seized every second: whatever it was, this death, you know that it came and took me, like a child carried away by goblins .
Clare, I want to tell you, again, I love you. But I hate to think of you waiting. I know that you have been waiting for me all your life, always uncertain of how long this patch of waiting would be. Ten minutes, ten days. A month. What an uncertain husband I have been, Clare, like a sailor. Please, Clare. When I am dead, stop waiting and be free. Of me--put me deep inside you and then go out in the world and live. Love the world and yourself in it, move through it as though the world is your natural element.
After my mom died she ate my father up completely. She would have hated it. Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence, every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against. And when I was young I didn't understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present.
If I had to live on without you I know I could not do it. But I hope, I have this vision of you walking, with your shining hair in the sun. I have not seen this with my eyes, but only with my imagination, that makes pictures, that always wanted to paint you, shining; but I hope that this vision will be true, anyway.
Clare, there is one last thing, and I have hesitated to tell you, because I'm afraid that telling might cause it to not happen and also because I have just been going on about not waiting and this might cause you to wait longer than you have ever waited before. But I will tell you in case you need something, after.
Last summer, I was sitting in Kendrick's waiting room when I suddenly found myself in a dark hallway in a house I don't know. At the end of the hall I could see a rim of light around a door, and so I went very slowly and very quietly to the door and looked in. The room was white, and lit with morning sun. At the window, with her back to me, sat a woman, wearing a coral-color1ed cardigan sweater, with long white hair all down her back. She had a cup of tea beside her, on a table. I must have made some little noise, or she sensed me behind her...she turned and saw me, and I saw her, and it was you, Clare, this was you as an old woman, in the future. It was sweet, Clare, it was sweet beyond telling. I won't tell you any more, so you can imagine it. We will see each other again, Clare. Until then, live, fully, present in the world, which is so beautiful.
It's dark, now, and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.
Henry | high18903.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Opportunities to meet local people."
},
"options": [
"A safe and clean place to stay.",
"Welcoming atmosphere.",
"Membership benefits.",
"Opportunities to meet local people."
],
"question": "Which of the followi... | * Membership
Hostelling International (HI) is a membership organization, and HI membership gives you much more than a comfy bed! It puts you at the heart of a huge international family, where you can share experiences, travel and friendship with people of all nations.
* Membership Savings Program
Your National Association or Hostelling International Membership card not only opens the door to the world's largest network of safe, clean and welcoming hostels, but in many HI hostels, being a member now gives you at least a 10 percent saving on the cost of your accommodation - just one of the great reasons to become a member!
In some countries, membership is compulsory if you wish to stay in HI hostels listed on this site. To find out what is applicable in the country you wish to visit, please check the Membership Savings Program.
Apart from cheaper accommodation in many of our 4,000 hostels worldwide, membership also gives you access to thousands of travel-related savings at home and abroad. Please check locally with your HI hostel on arrival for details of these great benefits which can include: reduced-price admission to attractions and museums, discounts on meals, transportation and lots more.
Whatever your budget, membership helps you to explore and "Say HI to the world", backpack across Europe, discover Down Under, dance to Latin rhythms, chill out on an idyllic Asian beach or simply "Discover the real hostel experience" in one of our unique hostels worldwide.
* How to become a member
Purchase a membership from your nearest HI Youth Hostel Association office or membership selling outlet before you start your journey.
Purchase an international membership when you arrive at an HI hostel outside your country of residence. To check the price and availability of membership on arrival, please contact the hostel directly.
Alternatively, you can purchase a 12-month e-Membership during the booking process with your hostel stay. The e-Membership entitles you to stay in any HI hostel and receive at least 10 percent discount on accommodation charges compared to a non-member.
Please note: when you select your country from the list below you will be given full contact details plus a link to the national HI Youth Hostel Association website. Please select the Membership section on the site. | high10387.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the popularity of Facebook with students"
},
"options": [
"student's idea about Facebook",
"the development of Facebook",
"the popularity of Facebook with students",
"the rules of Facebook"
],
"question": "The p... | Ask just about any college student you know,and he is likely to tell you that he is a member of facebook.com.Many students say they check their e-mail.It's so popular "facelooking"has become a verb "Everywhere everyone is doing it,"college student Katie Silverman said,"It's like everyone's center of life."
Facebook is an online social meeting place where students create profiles ,share personal information, and meet other members. It is password protected and targeted to high school and college students;members must have an edu.email address to join.
Many students say it has changed their social lives, giving them an easy way to find and chat with classmates who share their interests."Some people might be too shy to go to talk to someone they like in one of their classes,but on facebook it's a lot easier to strike up a conversation,"said Rahul Vanjani.
The website was founded by two Harward University students who wanted to meet more of their classmates.It became so popular that the website is at 2,200 colleges and at 22,000 high schools.It says that it has 6 million active users,two--thirds of whom are on it every day.Many of the facebook members said their parents had no idea they were on it ."No way.My parents certainly don't know about it," said a college senior who asked us not to use his name.
To keep it popular,Facebook says it stops students posting improper information.Some students have paid the price.At Fisher College in Boston,two students were kicked out for using facebook.com to do something that is against the law.At North Carolina State University,four students were punished for posting photos about drinking. | high20244.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "parents don't trust their child as they should"
},
"options": [
"parents don't trust their child as they should",
"defendants are usually proved not guilty in court",
"parents have too much trust in their child",
"some ... | Perhaps a parent's most important contribution toward raising a trustful child is to develop a relationship founded on trust. A child of any age will feel proud and grown-up if parents frequently show their trust. In court a defendant is innocent until proved guilty. But in the family, a teenager "defendant" is too often assumed guilty.
Even when the child is caught in a complete lie, this should not be the end of trust. A parent can tell a child that a single lie is forgivable. Yet it should be clear that if lies continue, the child, like the boy who cried wolf, will suffer loss of trust.
When my wife and I discovered that our son Tom, then 13, had lied about throwing a party while we were away, we grounded him for a month. We also told Tom that we could no longer trust him, and we could not allow him to stay alone overnight again. This loss of freedom was an important lesson; he learned how hard it is to live with people when they don't trust him. As a result, now more than three years later we can again trust Tom to stay alone overnight.
Parents must always remember there is no easy answer to this universal problem of lying. We can set a good example, allow for privacy, monitor friendship, develop trust and punish wrong doing, but still we discover our child has lied to us. Finally that's why there is a need for trust on both sides of a parent-child relationship. Lying destroys closeness and friendship. For that reason, parents should always try to give a child the feeling that they can be trusted with the truth. Parents may start with a child's trust, but as the child grows older, parents must earn it. | high11927.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Laksmi Mittal."
},
"options": [
"Laksmi Mittal.",
"Ingvar Kamprad.",
"JK Rowling.",
"Silvio Berlusconi."
],
"question": "Which of the following persons has the largest fortune according to this year's Forbes ma... | In the USA Forbes magazine has published its annual list of the richest people in the world. Bill Gates of Microsoft is the richest man again for the eleventh successive year with a fortune of forty four billion dollars.
There are a record 691 dollar billionaires according to Forbes magazine. Between them they have a fortune of two point two trillion dollars. The highest concentration of the ultra-rich is in New York followed by Moscow and San Fransisco and then London and Los Angeles. But in total the very wealthy live in forty seven different countries with Iceland Kazakstan Ukraine and Poland entering the list for the first time this year.
Laksmi Mittal, an Indian born steel tycoon enjoyed the biggest increase in personal fortune. His net worth has quadrupled to thirteen billion dollars making him the world's third richest man. Ingvar Kamprad founder of the Swedish furniture chain Ikea also saw a big increase in wealth taking him to the sixth place. Developing countries make more of a showing than in past years -- there are for example three Russians and four Indians in the top sixty richest people, though surprisingly perhaps none from China excluding Hong Kong. Asian wealth is probably under represented as its usually spread among families whereas Forbes looks at individuals. Relatively few women feature in the list -- among them is JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels ranked 620th with a fortune of 519 million dollars. New entrants to the list include the founders of the Internet search group Google Sergie Brin and Larry Page each worth more than seven billion dollars after their company's recent stock market debut. The richest Italian is the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ranked number 25 in the global wealth league. | high20522.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "at Central Park on Saturday"
},
"options": [
"at Central Park on Saturday",
"at the front entrance of City Hall",
"at the ballgame",
"at 5:00 p. m."
],
"question": "You can probably eat Chinese, Italian and Arab... | SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Captain Goodfellow
Do you children enjoy interesting stories funny games, and exciting dance? Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach a11 these things to children at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00, free.
morning at 10:00 Free.
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and leam about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898.
International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same kind of food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5 :00 p. m.
Take me out to the Ballgame
It's October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Red- birds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold... don't forget sweaters and jackets.
Do you want to hear "The Zoo"?
"The Zoo", a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US. Concert tomorrow night at 8 Rose Hall, City College. | high16090.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "explain how nature and nurture impact our friendships."
},
"options": [
"offer advice to women on how to form intimate relationships .",
"explain how nature and nurture impact our friendships.",
"explain how moves during chil... | Many women write to me perplexed about why they can't form close friendships. They try new approaches, put themselves in all the right places, see therapists, and read relevant self-help books. They consider themselves interesting, loyal, kind and friend-worthy people. But for reasons unknown to them, they have a tough time forming intimate relationships. Many admit to not having even one close friend.
A recent study published in the
offers some clues as to how both nature (personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships. Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto, Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years, looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood. Their study, like prior ones, showed a link between residential mobility and adult well-being: The more times participants moved as children , the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.
But digging deeper, the researchers found that personality--specifically being introverted or extroverted -- could either intensify of buffer the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood. The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.
"Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships," stated Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, the first author of the study, in a press release from the American Psychological Association, "This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily. Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends."
Families often have to relocate -- across town, across the country, or across the globe. Yet, in many cases, their kids and young adolescents haven't yet built up a bank of friendships. So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child, whenever possible , and to move at the end of the academic year. | high15599.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To analyze the reasons why China's general English level is on the decline."
},
"options": [
"To advise the Chinese government to reform its exam-based education.",
"To analyze the reasons why China's general English level is on th... | In today's China, exchanges between Chinese and English-speakers are increasingly frequent. English skills are important to Chinese if China wishes to play a stronger role on the world stage. However, the general English level of the Chinese people is on the decline.
China's ranking in the 2015 EF English Proficiency Index dropped 10 drops. The Middle Kingdom was ranked 47th out of 70 countries rated, and is now _ several Latin American countries. The report triggered widespread discussion in China: in an increasingly international nation, why is the peoples' level of English getting worse?
A decline in the English level of the Chinese people is no accident. With China's exam-based education system, worsening English is inevitable. English education in China is too focused on grammar and ignored oral practice. This results in students that are often too scared to speak, for fear of making a mistake. Exam-based courses make it so students merely learn for the test, not learn the language.
In Latin America, nations do not have a rigorous exam system for English, but focus on promoting the language itself. Such programs that promote English include Chile's "English Opens Doors" program, Panama's "Panama Bilingual Education Program," and Mexico's "10 Million People Plan." Brazil, which also has a government program, is ranked first in the region for English.
The Chinese government should first think about how to reduce the amount of pressure on students taking exams in order to promote change in the current system of rote English education. This is the most important step.
Everyone has been recently focused on overseas returnees. The number of Chinese studying abroad has rapidly multiplied in past years. At the same time, the number of overseas returnees is increasing as well. The job market is also increasingly competitive for them and it is often more difficult for returnees to find a suitable job than it is for domestic graduates.
Difficulties and pressure in the job market for overseas returnees deters a number of Chinese from studying abroad. As a result, the number of Chinese with high-level English, carefully perfected abroad, has been reduced. This could be a major reason for why English is getting worse overall in China.
While China's overall level of English has declined, it has not affected China's huge emphasis on English education and training. China remains one of the nations that is most committed to the study of English. | high13103.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he promised his son that he would be with him whatever happened."
},
"options": [
"Because he promised his wife he would take care of their son.",
"Because others persuaded him to do so.",
"Because he promised his son... | In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. A father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.
After the shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what happened, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his promise to his son.
Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging.
Other parents tried to pull him off the ruins, saying: "It's too late! _ 're all dead! You can't help!" He replied, "Are you going to help me now?" The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off the school's ruins saying, "Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere. You're in danger. We'll take care of it. Go home." This loving, caring American father asked, "Are you going to help me now?"
The police came and said, "You're, anxious and it's over. Go home. We'll handle it!" He replied, "Are you going to help me now?" No one helped.
Courageously he went on alone. He dug for eight hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in the 38th hour, he heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!" He heard back, "Dad! It's me, Dad! You promised no matter what happened, you would always be there for me! You did it, Dad!" "What's going on in there? How is it?" the father asked.
"There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. "
"Come out, boy!"
"No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!" | high1444.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Nine months"
},
"options": [
"A day",
"A week",
"A month",
"Nine months"
],
"question": "How long after moving to Chicago did Sarah Outland take a staycation?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
... | Sarah Outland's weeklong "staycation" gave her a chance to explore her new surroundings after moving to Chicago. A day after moving to the Windy City last year, Outland started a new job and never got a chance to explore her new surroundings. After nine months as a resident, she finally took a week off work to visit famous landmarks, museums and shopping centers that were right under her nose.
If you glance through a newspaper or listen to a news broadcast recently, you may hear or spot a strange word, "staycation". Staycation is a new word the American press is employing to describe a vacation very close to your home, or simply staying at home during your vacation. It is a combination of words "stay"and "vacation".
According to many news reports, these staycations are achieving great popularity among American families this year. When asked about the reason for their expected staycation, respondents stated "gas prices are too high" (61 percent), "travel in general is too expensive (44 percent). The high price of gas for cars and airplanes has made it very expensive for Americans to travel compared to past years. When you combine this with the weak American dollar, it all adds up to people deciding to stay close to home during their traditional summer vacations.
For aggressive young Americans who are trying to balance family and work, a staycation can be a great concept. They want to enjoy their homes and the attractions in their area without the stress of packing or making reservation. They won't be paying high fuel prices either directly, at the pump, or indirectly, in airfare, other than the gas required to drive around town. Absolutely, it's friendlier on the environment when locals take trips to attractions in their own area, and not everyone is game for a vacation that involves staying on a hotel compound. Few people live close enough to a real destination to make this worth their while. | high9018.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "to talk about their efforts to keep fit"
},
"options": [
"to talk about their efforts to keep fit",
"to learn to tell stories",
"to make new friends",
"to share weight-losing experiences"
],
"question": "The kid... | This is the place for you to come to share stories with other real kids who are trying hard to improve their bodies and minds! Did you score a goal in your soccer game? Have you got rid of a bad habit? Are you working to reduce your stress in life? Tell the world what makes your body and mind healthy!
Posted by DP, Ohio
I have been working on a fitness equipment to exercise for over four months. I have completed my goal of losing weight and I am very proud of myself. That is so cool!
Posted by MK, Missouri
I was always tired at school, because I used to stay up late watching TV. I even fell asleep one day in my history class, and when I woke up, the teacher was looking at me and laughing! I decided that minute to start going to bed on time. It's kind of a drag missing the shows I like, but I can tell my body loves it----I feel so much better.
Posted by SP, Georgia
Last year , I didn't make the soccer team at school. I didn't want to try out again this year, but a few weeks before tryouts , I started kicking the ball around and practicing. When tryout day came, I decided to give it another shot. Guess what? I made the team!
Posted by JS , New York
I'm deaf, so I've had more trouble playing sports than other people. But who wants to sit at home all the time? I like to play basketball with guys in my neighborhood. I can't hear the ball bounce or listen to the guys call plays, but I've taught them to use some sign language, and so far, we've been unstoppable. | high8306.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Shakespeare's language excites positive brain activity."
},
"options": [
"Shakespeare uses functional change to mislead readers",
"Shakespeare's language excites positive brain activity.",
"Shakespeare's plays have a dramatic... | Research at the University of Liverpool, UK, has found that Shakespeare's language stimulates positive brain activity.
Shakespeare uses a linguistic technique known as functional change that involves, for example, using a noun to serve as a verb.Researchers found that this technique allows the brain to understand what a word means before it understands the function of the word within a sentence.This process causes a sudden peak in brain activity and forces the brain to work backwards in order to fully understand what Shakespeare is trying to say.
Professor Philip Davis, from the university's School of English, said: "The brain reacts to reading a phrase such as 'he godded me' from the tragedy of Coriolanus, in a similar way to putting a jigsaw puzzle together.If it is easy to see which pieces fit together you become bored of the game.But if the pieces don't appear to fit, when we know they should, the brain becomes excited.By throwing irregular words into seemingly normal sentences, Shakespeare surprises the brain in a manner that produces a sudden burst of activity -- a sense of drama created out of the simplest of things."
Experts believe that this heightened brain activity may be one of the reasons why Shakespeare's plays have such a dramatic impact on their readers.
Professor Neil Roberts, from the university's Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Center, and Professor Davis, together with Dr Guillaune Thierry, from the University of Wales, UK, monitored 20 participants using an electroencephalogram (EEG) as they read selected lines from Shakespeare's plays.
"The brain signal is relatively stable when we understand the meaning of a word but when the word changes the grammar of the whole sentence, brain readings suddenly peak.The brain is then forced to retrace its thinking process in order to understand what it is supposed to make of this unusual word," explains Professor Roberts. | high3253.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Attention from heart."
},
"options": [
"Deep understanding.",
"Attention from heart.",
"Saying \"I'm sorry\"",
"Doing nothing."
],
"question": "What does the author value most in the communication with each othe... | In my eyes, the most basic and powerful way to communicate with another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. And especially if it's given from the heart. When people are talking,there's no need to do anything but receive them. Listen to what they're saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. Most of us don't value ourselves or our love enough to know this. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of simple saying "I'm so sorry," when someone is in pain.
One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story people often interrupted to tell her that they once had something just like that happening to them. Her pain became a story about themselves. Eventually she stopped talking to most people. We connect through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that we understand,we move the focus of attention to ourselves. When we listen,they know we care.
I have even learned to respond to someone crying by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the handkerchiefs,until I realized that passing a person a handkerchief may be just another way to shut him down,to take them out of their experience of sadness. Now I just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry,they find me there with them.
This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It certainly went against everything I had been taught since I was very young. I thought people listened only because they were too shy to speak or did not know the answer. But now I know that a loving silence often has far more power to heal than the kindest words. | high11714.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "London starts a new bike hire scheme."
},
"options": [
"London starts a new bike hire scheme.",
"London needs better measures to cut traffic.",
"London encourages people to buy bikes.",
"London decides to protect the en... | London started its first major bike hire scheme on July 30th. Transport For London (TFL), the agency responsible for moving people around England's capital, put 5,000 bicycles in 400 different places around the city.
The idea is to cut traffic, reduce pollution and provide a greener way of getting around London's streets. The scheme had a few small problems on its first day as people could not lock the bikes properly once they had finished riding them. As a gesture of goodwill, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced all rentals on the first day would be free of charge. The bikes are available for free for the first 30 minutes but costs go up sharply since then. Renters have to pay $1.60 for the first hour and $78 for 24 hours. The bikes are clearly designed for very short trips.
TFL says it sees a "cycle revolution" happening in London. It predicts there will be around 40,000 new cycle journeys every day on the rental bikes. Mr. Johnson says he wants to see a return to the turn of the 20th century, when 20 per cent of journeys in London were made by bicycle. The scheme has received a lot of positive feedback in the first two days.
Many Londoners believe it is a great alternative to London's overcrowded and overpriced trains and buses. One person, Andy Clark, told the Reuters news agency, "It's a great idea. I've seen it operating in Paris and Barcelona and thought why don't we have one?" The Londonist Blog said the bikes were very strong and were "designed to bear a beating from both careless cyclists and drunken people". | high19348.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Finland has much bloodshed caused by firearms."
},
"options": [
"There was a school shooting in prefix = st1 /Finlandin 1989",
"Finland has much bloodshed caused by firearms.",
"The ancestors of Finnish people are mainly hunt... | On November 8,all flags in Finland were flown at half-mast .People were showing their respect to the victims of a high school tragedy.The day before,an 18-year-old boy opened fire at his high school, killing seven other students and the principal before ending his own life.
The first school shooting in Finland since 1989 _ the nation where gun crime is rare and people enjoy a high standard of living.While the police are busy searching for the killer's motives,another issue is creating debate in the North European country----the right to carry a gun.
Finland is one of a few developed Western countries that allow private possession of guns.The right to bear arms is deeply rooted in Finnish culture.Anyone older than 15 can buy a gun from certain shops,and gun clubs are popular places to hang out. The high school shooter was a member of the Helsinki Shooting Club,which has 1,500 members
Descendants of hunters,Finns have survived by hunting and fishing for thousands of years.But today hunting is just done for entertainment.And its land,half of which is covered by forest,provides an ideal site for hunting.
In Finland,there are about 56 guns for every 100 people.That figure is higher than any other country in the world except for the United States and Yemen.In comparison with those two nations,however,Finland has largely avoided bloodshed caused by firearms,at least until last week.However,the recent event proved the need for stricter gun laws.
Petri Oinonen,a gun dealer,said the shooting did not surprise him."It was only a question of when this was going to happen,not if it was going to happen." | high17365.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone."
},
"options": [
"Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.",
"It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.",
"It is comfortable to travel around ... | Travel Unaccompanied
Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. "It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone." Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. It is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone.It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year.He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He said he wished he had traveled alone earlier. "The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person," said the 30-year-old.
Richardson describes traveling alone like "a shot in the arm", which "makes you a more confident person that was ready to deal with anything". He said: "The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I'm dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try."
The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said: "Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness." | high5622.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Modern"
},
"options": [
"Modern",
"Crowded.",
"Hilly",
"Luxurious"
],
"question": "Which of the following words can best describe Athens?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index"... | With thousands of years of history and mythology in its area, prefix = st1 /Athens--named for the olive-tree-loving Athena---is more than a concrete jungle. It's a lovely city decorated by outdoor cafes, pedestrian streets, parks, gardens and plenty of characters. _
The city is connected three sides by Mt Parnitha, Mt Pendeli and Mt Hymettos. WithinAthensthere are no less than eight hills, of which the Acropolis and Lykavitos are the most famous. The hills provide a peaceful rest from the noise of the city.
Just about everything of interest to the traveler is within a small area surrounding Plateia Syntagmatos (Syntagma Square). This area is connected with the districts of Plaka to the south, Monastiraki to the west, Kolonaki to the east and Omaonia to the north.
Plateia Syntagmatos is dominated by the oldRoalPalaceand is the beating heart of the business district, with luxury hotels, banks and airline offices. Plaka, nestled below the Acropolis, is the old Turkish quarter and virtually all that existed when Athens was declared the capital of independentGreece. Though Plaka is packed with tourists in high season, it's also one of the prettiest and most atmospheric areas of the city. Monastiraki is the market district and a fascinating part of town to wander. Psiri, nearby, is full of stylish cafes and bars and makes a great place to stop for a rest of lunch. Kolonaki, a classy living area, is full of trendy boutiques, art galleries and cafes. | high17403.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "contains a large number of nerve cells"
},
"options": [
"looks like the cells of a honeycomb",
"is a simulation of a structure",
"is the famous \"grey matter\"",
"contains a large number of nerve cells"
],
"ques... | The most complex object known to humanity is the human brain -- and not only is it complex, but it is one of the few natural phenomena that science has no consciousness of. To try to replicate something that is so poorly understood may therefore seem like pride. But you have to start somewhere, and International Business Machines (IBM) and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, propose to start by replicating "in silico", one of the brain's building blocks.
In a partnership announced, the two organizations said they would be working together to build a simulation of a structure known as a neo-cortical column on a type of IBM supercomputer that is currently used to study the molecular functioning of genes. If that works, they plan to use more powerful computers to link such simulated columns together into something that mimics a brain.
In a real brain, a neo-cortical column is a cylindrical element about a third of a millimeter in diameter and three millimeters long. It is these columns, arranged side by side like the cells of a honeycomb, which make up the famous "grey matter" that has become shorthand for human intelligence. The Blue Gene/L supercomputer that will be used for the simulation consists of enough independent processors for each to be programmed to mimic an individual nerve cell in a column.
The EPFL's contribution to the Blue Brain Project will be to create a digital description of how the columns behave. The database from its Brain Mind Institute will provide the raw material for the simulation. Biologists and computer scientists will then connect the artificial nerve cells up in a way that mimics nature. They will do so by assigning electrical properties to them, and telling them how to communicate with each other and how they should modify their connections with one another depending on their activity.
That will be no mean feat. Even a single nerve cell is complicated, not least because each one has about 10,000 connections with others. And nerve cells come in great variety--relying, for example, on different chemical transmitters to carry messages across those connections. Eventually, however, a digital representation of an entire column Should occur.
Assuming that the growth of computing power continues to follow Moore's Law, the leader of IBM's side thinks it should be practical to mimic an entire human brain in silico this way in ten to fifteen years. Such an artificial brain would, of course, be a powerful research tool. It would allow neurological experiments that currently take days in a "web lab" to be conducted in seconds. The researchers hope that their simulated brain will reveal the secrets of how certain psychiatric and neurological, disorders develop. But that is probably not the real reason for doing it. The most interesting question, surely, is whether such an artificial brain will be intelligent, or conscious, or both. | high18730.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The wind did so."
},
"options": [
"The tree itself felt happy and was dancing.",
"The tree was too sad to sway as if to get rid of all trouble.",
"It was the warm spring.",
"The wind did so."
],
"question": "Wha... | Looking out of the window, my son saw a tree whose branches were strongly swaying back and forth. "How does the tree move its branches like that?" He asked.
Without rising from my chair, nor looking up from my book, I started to answer, "The tree is not moving the branches, son. The wind is..." But before the words were out, I _ myself. Instead I rose from my chair and moved to the window to join my son. I looked at the tree. From inside our room, from behind the window, I could neither feel nor hear the wind. I saw instead a tree with its branches silently moving and thought to myself, from inside this room, how could I possibly be sure that the branches were moving because of the wind rather than from the tree's own willing?
As I stood there with my son watching the tree, I became struck by the movement of the branches, the shimmer of the leaves. My mind quieted and I became less sure myself of what was causing the branches to move. Was it the wind, or was it some expressive, independent movement of the tree? "I see what you mean," I said to my son. "The movement of the tree is very beautiful."
"Do you think the tree is dancing?" asked my son. "Why would it be dancing?" I asked. "Maybe it is happy because the sun is shining," he said. "Perhaps," I said. "Or because it's spring," he added, "and it's not cold any more." "Perhaps," I said.
As we continued to watch the tree together, I, too, began to appreciate the dance of the tree. I enjoyed the movement and sway of the branches, seeing little nuances that I hadn't noticed before. There seemed to be a rhythm to the movement, first strong and forceful, then light and gentle, then more vigorous, sometimes nearly violent.
"Are trees alive?" my son asked. "Yes, they are alive. Why do you ask?" "Because this tree looks happy," he answered. "Can a tree be happy or sad?" "What do you mean?" I asked.
"In the winter, trees seem sad," he said. "Their branches hang down, and they look cold and lonely. But now with the leaves on the tree and the sun shining and the birds flying, it looks happy." | high5144.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "inform us about the cowboy's spirit"
},
"options": [
"introduce cowboy movies and novels",
"introduce various productions associated with cowboys",
"show the cowboy's everlasting charm",
"inform us about the cowboy's sp... | The name "cowboy" conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagined cowboys range from white-hat-wearing heroes to gun-shooting hooligans .But, cowboys are actually real people from US history.
When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country's rural West. Ranchers hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie and drive the cattle miles to the market.
With the invention of barbed wire ,the cowboy era(1865-1890) began to come to an end. But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle. Many country/western songs during this time tried to capture the true cowboy spirit. Newspapers published cowboy tales in serial form and adventure novels followed. The bigger the fiction, the better the sales. These novels often portrayed cowboys as cruel and violent men. Cowboys carried the bad reputation for many years afterwards.
When movies began to be popular in the 1920s, the cowboy image changed again. Now, a cowboy became the great white knight that loved his horse more than the beautiful ladies he rescued. As the cowboy of the "Old West" spent more time with his horse than the ladies, this era's image was not entirely false.
Then, in the 50s,Hollywood began producing so-called "spaghetti westerns ".They earned the nickname because Italian companies financed the films and TV shows. This started the decade's "Cowboy Craze". While this didn't last long, it made modern country / western music, fashion and dance extremely popular.
In recent years, with the help of musicians, radio stations and bars, cowboy nostalgia has returned. Even though his image is still changing -- somewhere between ballad singing country boy and bar room fighter -- there's one thing for sure, _ . | high3535.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Edison wanted to invent things that sold well."
},
"options": [
"A11 the things Edison invented sold well.",
"Edison wanted to invent things that sold well.",
"Edison' s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular.",
... | Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries electrical power,recorded music and movies--his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing.He basically came up with the modern system of research and development.Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds.Edison's 1aboratories were the forerunners of Apple,Google and Microsoft.
Yet for a11 his scientific gifts,he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.He once said,"Anything that won' t sell,I don' t want to invent." But Edison,unlike Jobs or Gates,had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell.It took him years to understand that the phonograph was not a business tool but an entertainment invention.He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one.
We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever.Though we live in a time of great reformation,the U.S.is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology.American investment in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid1980s,while the government' s share has been dropping.And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development.The U.S.was once among the 1eading nations.Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data.We hope that Edison' s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more
young Americans to study science and engineering. | high11072.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "all above"
},
"options": [
"gestures",
"words",
"smiles",
"all above"
],
"question": "In our daily life, which of the following do we use to communicate with each other?",
"question_type": null
},
{
... | We use both words and body language to express our thoughts and opinions and to communicate with other people. We can learn about what a person is thinking by watching his or her body language. Words are important, but the way a person stands, folds his or her arms, or moves his or her hands can also give us information about his or her feelings.
Just like spoken language, body language varies from culture to culture. Making eye contact --looking directly into someone's eyes -- is in some countries a way to show interest. In other countries, however, eye contact is rude or disrespectful. The gesture for Ok, making a circle with one's thumb and index finger, has different meanings in different cultures. In Japan, someone who sees another person making the gesture will think it means money. In France, a person seeing the same gesture will think it means zero. In Brazil and Germany, however, the gesture is rude. The thumbs-up gesture, meaning "great" or "good job" in the US is rude in Nigeria, but in Germany and Japan it means the number one. The "crazy" gesture, moving the index finger in a circle in front of the ear, means "you have a phone call" in Brazil.
Even the gesture we use for "yes" and "no" are different around the world. In many countries, shaking one's head means "no", and nodding means "yes". In Bulgaria, parts of Greece, and Iran, however, the gestures have the opposite meaning. There are also differences as to how often we touch each other, how close we stand to someone we are talking to, and how we act when we meet or part. In some countries, for example, France and Russia, a visiting friend is greeted with a kiss on the check, in other countries people greet each other with a firm handshake, a loving hug, a bow or a simply a nod of the head.
While there are many different interpretations of our body language, some gestures seem to be universal. Pressing one's palms together and resting one's head on the back of one's hand while closing the eyes as if sleeping means "I am tired." A good way of saying "I am full" is moving the hand in circles over the stomach after a meal. If a person pats his or her stomach before a meal, it usually means " I'm hungry."
Perhaps the best example of universally understood body language is the smile. A smile can help us get through difficult situation and find friends in a world of strangers. A smile can open doors and tear down walls. It can be used to express almost any emotion. We can use a smile to apologise, to greet someone, to ask for help or to start a conversation. We can smile at ourselves in the mirror to make ourselves feel happier and stronger. And if we are feeling down or lonely, there is nothing better than to see the smiling face of a good friend. | high7753.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "too many Americans do not finish high school"
},
"options": [
"too many Americans do not finish high school",
"different methods to find graduation rates",
"services American children need to receive",
"the increase of ... | A new report says only about half of all students in the main school systems of America's largest cities finish high school. The report notes higher rates of graduation -- over 70% --in areas surrounding the cities. Researchers studied high school graduation rates from the 2003, 2004 school year. They also identified the nation's fifty largest cities. The largest, New York City, had a population of more than eight million. The smallest city was Wichita, Kansas. It had about three hundred and sixty thousand people.
Researchers used a system of measurement called the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates. School officials in many of the cities studied said the resulting numbers were too low. That is because different areas use different methods to find graduation rates. Critics say many methods do not give a true _ of the number of students who leave high school before finishing.
Other studies have put the national graduation rate at about 70%. But experts agree that too many students are not completing high school. They estimate the number at more than one million each year. The report was prepared for America's Promise Alliance. The private group aims to help children receive services they need to succeed.
General Colin Powell was chairman of America's Promise Alliance when it was formed in 1997. He attended the press conference Tuesday where the report was released. He said studies have shown that the US must do more to educate the leaders and work force of the future.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also spoke. She said the government will propose that states use the same methods when reporting graduation rates. Alliance officials also announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates. It is to include a series of meetings to be held in every state over the next two years. The meetings will bring together elected leaders, business owners, students, parents and education officials. They will develop plans to increase the number of Americans who finish high school. | high15214.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "shy people may have an advantage in discussion"
},
"options": [
"shy people are likely to be modest",
"hardworking students speak little in public",
"some students keep silent on purpose at school",
"shy people may have... | It's rare that you see the words "shyness" and "leader" in the same sentence. After all, the common viewpoint is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent networkers and that those shy people are not. A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of executives who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy--they're just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few "innies".
Unlike their outgoing counterparts who are more sensitive to rewards and risk-taking, shy people take a cautious approach to chance. Rather than the flashy chit-chat that defines social gathering, shy people listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They're not thinking about what to say while the other person is still talking, but rather listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.
Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence:they "own" the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.
Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers aren't modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to acknowledge mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.
Since shy people have a lower sensitivity to outside rewards than outgoing ones, they're more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren't primarily apparent. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Albert Einstein, who once said, " _ " Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.
The myth that shy people are less effective leaders than their outgoing fellows is just a misunderstanding. Make wise use of your personality strengths to lead your business no matter what side of the range you fall on. | high13665.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It is difficult to tell what people's gestures really mean sometimes."
},
"options": [
"We can easily understand what people's gestures mean.",
"It is difficult to tell what people's gestures really mean sometimes.",
"Gesture... | People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like "he went pale and began to tremble" suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock.
However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like "they stretched out their tongues!" "Stretching out your tongue" in English is an insulting(, )gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do. | high1322.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "tell us that it's difficult to make a significant change in our weight"
},
"options": [
"point out the relations between our body and mind",
"warn us it's extremely harmful to reduce or gain our weight",
"tell us that it's di... | You hear this,"No wonder you are fat.All you ever d0 is eat."You feel sad."I skip my breakfast and supper.I run every morning and evening.What else can I do?"
Basically you can do nothing.Your genes,not your life habits,determine your weight and your body constantly tries to maintain it.
Albert Stunkard of the University of Pennsylvania found from experiments that"80 percent of the children of two fat parents become fat,as compared with no more than 14.percent of the children of two parents of normal weight."
How can obese people become thinner through dieting? Well,dieting can be effective.but the health costs are great.
Jules Hirsch,a research physician at Rockefeller University,did a study of eight fat people.They were.given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day.After more than 10 weeks,the subjects lost on average 45 kg.But after leaving the hospital,they all regained the weight.
The results were surprising:by metabolic measurement,fat people who lost large amounts of weight seemed like they were starving.They had psychiatric problems.They dreamed of food or of breaking their diet They were anxious and depressed.Some wanted to kill themselves.They hid food in their rooms.
Researchers warn that it is possible that weight reduction doesn't result in normal weight,but in an abnormal state lust like that of starved non.obese people.
Thin people, however,suffer from the opposite.They have to make a great effort to gain weight Ethan Sims of the University of Vermont got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight.In four to six months--they ate as much as they could.They succeeded in increasing their weight by 20 to 25 percent. But months after the study ended,they were back to normal weight and stayed there.
This did not mean that people are completely without hope in controlling their weight.It means that those who tend to be fat will have to constantly battle their genetic inheritance if they want to significantly 1ower their weight.
The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true--each person has a comfortable weight range.The range might be as much as 9kg.Someone might weigh 60--69kg without too much effort.But,going above or below the natural weight range is difficult.The body resists by feeling hungry or full and changing.the metabolism to push the weight back to the range it seeks. | high7747.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a tiny microchip"
},
"options": [
"the identity number",
"the security code",
"a tiny microchip",
"a radio reader"
],
"question": "The Verichip is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | Anyone who has ever lost keys or money will have wished for a simple but effective way to make sure it never happens again. A US company is trying to help.
Using a tiny microchip which is implanted into the arm, they have come up with a replacement for cash or credit cards that cannot be left at home or dropped on the bus.
The Verichip is about the size of a grain of rice and works using radio frequency identification technology. At a shop, a radio frequency "reader" would send a signal and the chip in your arm would respond with your unique identity number. That would give the "reader" your financial information, and money could be taken directly from your accounts and you wouldn't even have to reach for your wallet.
The company also hopes to include other information on the chip, such as medical records, building security codes and passwords, making life even easier.
But not everyone is happy with the developments. Critics say that a lot can go wrong with the chip. A clever thief could build a fake reader that would steal your information without you knowing. So your money could still be stolen. Privacy is a big issue too. Stores, or even the government, only need to track the chip to find out what you buy, how much you spend and where you go.
And if you wanted to get rid of your chip, you would need an operation to remove it. | high8474.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Apollo"
},
"options": [
"Apollo",
"The Week",
"New Internationalist",
"The Guardian Weekly"
],
"question": "Which of the following magazines will probably provide you with articles about music and paintings?",
... | Apollo For lovers of the arts, Apollo is a truly necessary magazine. Covering the ages and the great civilizations of the world, Apollo brings you well-illustrated yet academic articles by internationally famous scholars, as well as information on exhibitions and sales. Experience five monthly issues for as little as PS5 each.
The Guardian Weekly gives you a global view with articles from four of the world's most respected newspapers. Read the news from different views and draw your own conclusions on the stories shaping our world. Try it for 3 months for just PS15.55. Plus get a free copy of The Guardian Year 2004.
New Internationalist Full of excellent writing and photography, the NI covers one key subject each month, from Terrorism to Poverty to Climate Change. Reporters from around the globe provide you with a comprehensive world view. PLUS: masses of fresh reports and stories to keep you up-to-date on world affairs. 3 months free and free World Map.
The Week is the only weekly summary giving you the best of the British and foreign newspapers in just 35 pages. Designed to be read in just 1 hour, it provides you with everything you need and want to know. Try The Week now with 13 issues for just PS13.75. If you decide it's not for you, just tell us within the first 6 weeks and you can get your money back. | high6459.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "$ 31"
},
"options": [
"$ 26",
"$ 31",
"$32",
"$36"
],
"question": "How much is the ferry fee for a family of two adults and two children aged 3 and 6?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"ans... | Statue of Liberty Basics:
Statue of Liberty Phone:212-363-3200
Statue cruise phone:877-LADY-TIX
Nearest subways to Statue of Liberty :4/5 to Bowling Green; N/R to Whitehall Street;1 to South Ferry (you must be in the first 5 cars of the train to exit at South Ferry). Follow the signs to Castle Clinton to buy tickets for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
There is plenty of room for running around and relaxing on Liberty Island.
For children 7-12 there is a Junior Ranger Program available. Pick up a free booklet on Liberty Island.
Admission to Liberty State Park is free, but you must buy a ferry ticket to get there.
Statue Cruises Ferry Ticket Prices: Adult:$13; Senior Citizens (62+) $10; children (4-12)$5; Children 3 and under free. You can buy your tickets for the ferry online at http//:www.statuecruises.come/ferry-service/welcome.aspx.
Ferry ticket included with the New York Pass----- present New York Pass in Castle Clinton bookstore for ticket.
Statue of Liberty Tour Hours
Ferries to the island leave from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Liberty Island closes at 6 pm and the last ferry returns to Battery Park by 6:30. Schedules are updated and revised frequently, so please check the official ferry schedule.
Statue of Liberty Tour Reservation
Climb the Crown of the Statue of Liberty with a Crown Ticket, which costs an additional $3 and includes access to the Museum and Pedestal as well.
Museum/ Pedestrian Tickets are free (with ferry ticket purchase).
Order your tickets in advance: 877-LADY-TIX or online when you purchase your ferry ticket.
Tour tickets are time specific. | high13671.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "tell you the results of a national drivers test."
},
"options": [
"prove that men are better drivers than women",
"give you safe driving tips",
"tell you the results of a national drivers test.",
"urge you to get an edu... | How good are U.S. drivers?
The CBS TV "National Drivers Test" showed that many U.S. drivers have a lot to learn. Here's why:
CBS picked 1,799 samples to take the test in TV studios in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. More than two out of five of the drivers failed the test. And the average score was the lowest passing mark-51 points out of a possible 80.
Chicago drivers did best with an average of 53 points. Los Angeles drivers came next with 52 points. New York and Philadephia drivers tied with 50 points-a failing score. Drivers with 50 points or less were rated "poorly informed" by the judges.
Here are some of the test results:
(1) Are men better informed drivers than women?-Yes. Men averaged 52 points. Women got average of 49.
(2) Are older drivers better informed than younger drivers?-No. Drivers under 26 averaged 52 points. Drivers from 27 to 45 averaged 51. Driver over 45 failed with 48 points on average.
(3) Does education make a difference?-Yes. College graduates averaged 52 points. High school graduates averaged 50. Those without high school diplomas got 48. And people who had taken driver education courses scored an average of 53 points-three more than those who hadn't.
(4) Does driving experience make a difference?-Yes. Drivers with three or more years' experience averaged 51 points. Drivers with less experience averaged 49.
Here are some surprising facts brought out by the test:
(1)More than one out of three drivers did not know that a blinking red light means a full stop. (2)Three out of ten drivers did not know that an octagonal (eight-sided) sign means stop.
(3)More than two of three drivers did not know what to do when being "tailgated"(,) The answer: slow down, drive to the right, and let the driver behind pass.
The results of the test were turned over to the National Safety Council. They will help future safety planning. | high1336.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "is highly praised by Chairman of the committee"
},
"options": [
"has studied the economics in Sweden",
"is the first to win the Nobel Prize in Economics",
"is highly praised by Chairman of the committee",
"has made regu... | Economists have studied how markets work for a long time.Generally,they work well.But markets do not always perform as expected.Jean Tirole of France won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studying why markets are imperfect,or inefficient,and what governments can do to regulate them.
The Nobel prize committee announced the $1.1 million prize in Stockholm to Jean Tirole.Itcalled Mr.Tirole"one of the most influential economists of our time".The organization said he had done important research in a number of areas.But it said,"most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with only a few powerful firms."
Mr.Tiro1e works at the Toulouse School of Economics in Toulouse,France.He is 61 years old.For about 30 years,Mr.Tirole has researched periods when markets failed,that is,when they did not provide good results in price and competition.He looked at how a small number of large companies,or even a single company,can strongly influence industries. Banking and telecommunications were among the industries he studied.
The Nobel committee said that unregulated markets often produce socially _ results. They can result in higher prices or companies that use their market position to block others* The committee said it chose Mr.Timle because he thought about how best to regulate markets.For example,Tore Ellingsen,Chairman of the committee that awards the economics prize,says Mr*Tirole showed the need to develop better rules for the banking industry.This became urgent after the world financial crisis of 2008--2009.
The economics Drize is called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alflred Nobel.Alfred Nobel did not establish the prize.It was first presented in 1969. | high10378.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The doctor gets more active professional support from the primary nurse."
},
"options": [
"The doctor gets more active professional support from the primary nurse.",
"Each patient is taken care of by a primary nurse day and night."... | Nursing at Beth Israel Hospital produces the best patient care. If we are to solve the nursing shortage. hospital administration and doctors everywhere would do well to follow Beth Israel's example .
At Beth Israel each patient is assigned to a primary nurse who visits at length with the patient and constructs a full-scale health account that covers everything from his medical history to his emotional state. Then she writes a care plan centered on the patient's illness but which also includes everything else that is necessary.
The primary nurse stays with the patient through his hospitalization. keeping track with his progress and seeking further advice from his doctor. If a patient at Beth Israel is not responding to treatment. it is not uncommon for his nurse to propose another approach to his doctor. What the doctor at Beth Israel has in the primary nurse is a true colleague.
Nursing at Beth Israel also involves a decentralized nursing administration; every unit is a self-contained organization. There are nurse-managers instead of head nurses; in addition to their medical duties they do all their own hiring and dismissing, employee advising, and they make salary recommendations. Each unit's nurses decide among themselves who will work what shifts and when.
Beth Israel's nurse-in-chief ranks as an equal with other vice presidents of the hospital. She is also a member of the Medical Executive Committee. which in most hospitals includes only doctors. | high5150.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was in the mood to help others"
},
"options": [
"watched a new movie",
"was in the mood to help others",
"had trouble parking her car",
"spent a long time in the supermarket"
],
"question": "This Friday afternoo... | I am usually in a bad mood after a long day at work, but on this particular Friday afternoon I was in a cheerful mood.I planned to have a good meal and watch Bridget Jones's Diary.
My local supermarket is always busy.The first parking space I spotted was convenient, but I'd noticed a woman in an old car circling for a while.I let her have it.On the edge of the car park I backed into the next available spot--it was a tight fit.
In record time I'd made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air.In such a rush of good spirits, I emptied my purse change into the hands of a homeless man and helped a struggling woman go backwards into a parking space.
Just as I spotted my car, 1 saw the woman I'd let have my car space earlier.I smiled and wished her a pleasant day.
As I got back into my car, I spotted the same lady looking ill at me."Hello," she said, hesitantly."This might sound crazy but I was on my way to drop some of my mother's things off at tile charity bins." I looked quickly at the orange bins in the corner of the parking lot, confused."I saw you helping those people, and you seemed so happy.My mom had a dress just like that."
She looked at me meaningfully.I smiled at her in encouragement, hoping she wouldn't notice that the dress she was admiring was now full of holes."I was going to give these away, but you are just so much like her." She passed a box in through the window.Shocked, unthinking, 1 took it automatically."I think she would like you to have it." She smiled and walked away.
After a pause, I opened the box.Inside was a beautiful gold necklace.It was the nicest gift I'd ever received, and it was from a complete stranger.
Later, I thought back on the day.I didn't feel the usual sense of exhaustion.The necklace was around my neck, a warm reminder of human kindness. | high18724.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "draw readers' attention to the topic"
},
"options": [
"test readers' knowledge of music",
"show the effect of music on children",
"draw readers' attention to the topic",
"ask readers to answer them"
],
"question... | Have you ever thought about developing your kids'interests in a positive manner? Have you thought about using music to help them focus their energies on a wonderful pursuit ? Do you realize that by doing so, you will better equip them in life? Your little child will love you all his or her life for the first music lessons that you may give.
Most kids have an interest in music. The only thing to do for you is to give direction to their interests so that they can focus on learning the fine art. Music teaches children to be persistent and disciplined. It also teaches them to try towards perfection and be a good team player. All this helps them not only in their studies but also in facing the challenges of life. Thus music at home and home recording are the first lessons you can present to your children.
How to maintain the interests of kids in various kinds of music and instruments? To solve this problem, it is important that at the beginning you bring home something that can hold the child's interest for quite some time. This would include instruments such as electric guitar or drums. Encourage them to download music which is free over the Internet.
Another thing to remember is that no one becomes an expert overnight. Have patience with your child. _ . A few words of appreciation will mean the world to them. Ask for their opinions and stick to the choice for quite some time. Be generous in praise.
Music is the perfect gift you can present to your kids. It is never too late and the sooner you start, the better. | high3521.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The waiter is good at playing yo-yo. ."
},
"options": [
"The waiter knows Jackie well.",
"The waiter is good at playing yo-yo. .",
"Jackie plays yo-yo in her spare time.",
"The author has a great interest in playing yo-... | Thanks to a young waiter, I only recently discovered that a friend of 20 years was once a yo-yo virtuoso .
"Oh, stop it!" Jackie said when I started laughing during our dinner. "I was, too. And I knew how to 'Walk the Dog.' "
"Wow, really?" said our waiter, Jumario Simmons, flashing a big smile at us.
"Don't encourage her," I said.
"What else could you do?" he asked.
"I did 'Round the World,'" Jackie said, now ignoring me completely. "That cradle thing, too."
I'd asked Jumario what he did when he wasn't waiting on tables. The 24-year-old waiter was so smart that I knew there had to be more to his story. It turns out that he won a regional yo-yo competition last year. He also gives free lessons to kids. "It gives them something to do," Jumario said. "Keeps them off the streets."
One of the great things about eating out is the table talk with strangers, which reminds us that everyone has a life and a name. But the other day I heard that some restaurants are ending this talk between diners and servers. I listened to the reporter describe how their improvements are allowing customers to text orders from their tables to speed up service.
The reporter got my attention with this sentence: "Five minutes after typing 'I'm at table 3', a meal arrives at the table." But there wasn't a "please" with this order, which should have been a request, by the way. If you've ever waited on tables, you know that the last thing you need is yet another way for a customer to be unpleasant.
Most servers are constantly mediating between customers' requests for substitutions and overworked cooks' accusations of treason. Except at high-end restaurants, servers also have to hover like mothers of preschoolers so that we might consider them worthy of a large enough tip to lift their pay to minimum wage.
Texting a server from a table a few feet away is equal to moving our fingers and shouting, "Hey, you!" It was rude in 1957, and it's rude now. You won't ever find me texting a waiter or waitress. | high11066.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The salt desert."
},
"options": [
"A cave.",
"The lake.",
"The salt desert.",
"A salt field."
],
"question": "Where did the salt for the hotel come from?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"... | There are many special hotels around the world. In Greenland, there is a hotel made out of ice. In Turkey, there is a cave hotel. And in Bolivia, there is the Salt Palace Hotel.
Thousands of years ago, the area around the Salt Palace Hotel was a large lake. But over time, all the water disappeared. Today, the area has only two small lakes and two salt deserts.
In the early 1990s, a man named Juan Quesada built the hotel. He cut big blocks of salt from the desert and used the blocks to build it. Everything in the hotel is made out of salt: the walls, the roof, the tables, the chairs and the beds.
The sun heats the walls and roof during the day. So the rooms stay warm at night, though it's cold outside in the desert. The hotel has twelve rooms. A single room costs $40 a night, and a double room $60.
A sign on the hotel's wall tells guests, "Please don't lick the walls." | high3247.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "aims at helping severely sick children fulfill their wishes."
},
"options": [
"was set up in the early 1990s.",
"was set up to help poor people all over the world.",
"aims at helping severely sick children fulfill their wishe... | In the last 30 years, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted nearly 300,000 wishes worldwide to children battling life-threatening illnesses, throwing light on worlds darkened by diseases and bringing hope to children and their families.
With a foreword by Make-A-Wish cofounder Frank Shankwitz, Once Upon A wish shares the wishes and stories of eight children. These families generously invite us into their worlds, allowing us to become part of their darkest moments, their unimaginable realities, their greatest hopes, deepest fears, and unbelievable successes.
Experience the story of Katelyn, a little girl, becoming a medical marvel after lighting all the odds stacked against her and making it her life-long goal to raise $3 million for St. Jude Hospital; read about a wheelchair-bound boy, Garrett, giving the gift of mobility to disabled Cambodian men and women; cheer for a little boy, Dakota, who collects millions of pennies each year to help others fight the disease he once fought. Become inspired and forever-changed by the generosity, hope, courage, and optimism of these children and their families and experience the power of two words - I wish.
Once Upon A Wish is a celebration of hope, revealing how wishes-come-true can become motivators and cherished gifts that will last a lifetime.
Price: $9.99
Where to download: Available on the iPhone , iPad , iPod touch, and Mac.
Category: Biographies & Memoirs
Published: Mar 05, 2013
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
Seller: The Perseus Books Group, LLC
Print Length: 352 Pages
Language: English | high11700.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "doesn't talk much with her mother"
},
"options": [
"is being fooled by the boy",
"has fallen behind in her studies",
"doesn't talk much with her mother",
"has chosen which college to attend"
],
"question": "From... | Dear Michelle,
Why can't my daughter manage her life better? She is 17 and an honor student, but she seems to be wasting her life away with a boyfriend who is holding her back.
He consumes every waking minute of her precious time and smooth-talks her as well.
His goal is to get her to agree to go to the college of his choice, not her choice, and because his grades are lower, his choice will be limited.
I feel like I want to rescue her, but she pushes me away and shuts me out. She has only brought us pride and joy; and now this! Help!
A worried mother
Dear Mother of a 17-year-old Girl,
Hmmmmm. What's the matter with kids today? Remember that song from "Bye Bye Birdie"?
Well if you do not, let me fill you in about teenagers and their life-management skills. Do not expect too much too soon because at the ripe age of 17, life-management is not within their reach, nor should it be.
Life experience creates both the conditions and the skills for management, and if management went before experience, there would be little of it.
Your daughter is an honor student for good reasons. She is smart, studies with intelligence and you have given her good values.
When the time comes for her to apply for college, and she visits the ones that are specifically designed for students at the top of their grade, she will most likely break away from her boyfriend's influence.
It is rare for an honor student to change the path of their academic career for _ . That being said, there might be some adolescent wisdom in her behavior after all.
Perhaps she is choosing to worry you, her parents, for unconscious reasons. Being such a good girl and being a steady source of joy might have become a bit too much for her.
Let your daughter have her own private moment of 11th grade rebellion. She deserves a break from perfection.
Michelle | high4528.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "To graduate from high school."
},
"options": [
"To be the oldest graduate.",
"To graduate from high school.",
"To surprise his fellow students.",
"To invite his children to attend his ceremony."
],
"question": "... | LOS ANGELES - Jesus Ibarra was puzzled by the elderly man.
He was obviously much older than other students at prefix = st1 /CentralAultHigh School. And he was an Anglo on a campus where most students are Latins, Blacks, and Asian - Americans.
"I asked myself what he was doing here," said Ibarra, 21, of Los Angeles. "I thought he was a visitor. The first time I talked to him, I asked a question in English, and he answered in Spanish. I thought he was white and Jewish. I never imagined that he would speak Spanish."
Jacob Blitzstein surprised his fellow students all the time. He isn't some _ man, though he wears his neat gray beard and conservative (traditional) clothes.
Blitzstein is warm and gregarious (enjoys being with others). He likes to hear a good joke and loves to tell a good story. He is determined, especially when it comes to realizing his dream.
Recently, that dream came true. At a graduation ceremony attended by two of his children and three grandchildren, Blitzstein, 81, graduated from high school.
After Principal Lanny Nelms handed him the diploma and announced his age, Blitzstein waved to the audience and cried.
And why not? He's probably the oldest CentralHigh Schoolgraduate since the school opened in 1974. According to theLos Angelesdistrict spokesman, although no records of such things are kept, Blitzstein is the oldest graduate he's ever heard of.
Earning his diploma took 10 years, during which the retired store owner suffered heart attack and ill health, and lost his wife and two brothers.
He kept to his task for a reason. "School is the best medicine you can have," he said. "You have something on your mind - a goal."
With his diploma in hand, Blitzstein states that _ .
"You know something ? I'm going to college," He told a visitor recently. He has checked out West Los Angeles and Santa Monicacommunity colleges and hopes to move from there to a four-year school.
"It's not a joke," he said. "If I live to the year 2008, maybe I'll be a doctor." | high17371.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The news shown is always about someone the person knows."
},
"options": [
"The program shown is always about the importance of TV.",
"The person always turns off the TV when it's time for news.",
"The news shown is always abo... | We are always told that TV is not good for us. If it is true, how come the TV-addicted kids of our young generation nowadays are much smarter than we are? In my family, the only persons who can work the TV remote control well are the children.
Probably TV really educates us. For example, we can learn a very useful medical fact: _ . "The killer was..." (dies)
But I suppose the biggest things that we learn from TV can be regarded as "Life Skills". Bad things simply happen on either stormy or dark nights. Emotional breakdowns make people wander in the heavy rain without raincoats or umbrellas. And contrary to the scientists, the crack of lightning and the accompanying flash come on at exactly the same time, wherever the scenes are.
I've even got to know useful geographical facts from science-fiction shows: Aliens only speak the language of English no matter which planet they come from.
To make good use of something that we learn from TV can make our security better. Consider these truths. When you are really attacked by 20 bad guys, you needn't worry about your being outnumbered. The criminals will hang back and take turns to approach you in ones and twos just so you can conveniently defeat them all. Bad guys who are completely covered in black clothes always remove their black masks to reveal that they are in fact, aha, women.
TV often teaches us a lot of important information as well about escaping from danger. Watch and learn. (1) If anyone is running after you down a passage, you will find that boxes have been conveniently placed near all the walls you need to jump over. (2) If you are tall and handsome, you can run from any number of armed criminals, and every shot will miss you.
Be warned, however, if your name card says "henchman" and you are part of a group of plain-looking people trying to catch a handsome individual, a single shot will kill you. But don't be anxious: TV also delivers useful information for bad guys. All cars are inflammable and have amazing shock absorbers that enable them to fly into the air and land without damage -- except police cars.
TV even teaches us about TV. Whenever anyone turns on a TV, it shows a news flash about someone they know. They then turn the box off immediately after that news item. | high5636.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The Lighthouse"
},
"options": [
"The Boat",
"The Captain",
"The Lighthouse",
"What was wrong?"
],
"question": "The best title of the text would be \" _ \".",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
... | A captain of a boat lost his way in the middle of a storm. While trying to control the ship and avoid sinking, he started feeling annoyed. The water became bigger; the noise of the water hitting the boat, like a feather carried by the wind, almost led him to hopelessness. But he did not give up and tried harder every time the waves hit the boat. In his desperate attempts to stay strong and keep the boat steady, he was unable to hear one of his crew officers yelling at him.
"Captain, Captain!" kept yelling the officer. He held on to one of the deck's bars in order not to fall off the boat, "Captain, Captain!" insisted the officer.
This time, while the officer was trying to approach him, a huge wave almost made the boat turn over and he fell and rolled on the deck till he luckily found another bar to hold on to. After several attempts, the officer finally was able to reach his fighting and tired captain, who had started to yell out his frustration and thoughts to the angry waves.
"If I am a good and hard-working man, why does this happen to me? And why can't I get out of this one? I have been sailing the open ocean for years to fish the best catch and get support for my family!! Why, why, why?!!!"
At that moment, his crew officer was able to catch the captain's shoulder and make him turn so that the captain could hear him.
"Captain, Captain!" yelled again the officer.
The captain looked at him angrily because the officer distracted him from his difficult task.
"What do you need, officer? Don't you see I am trying to control the ship and find our way back?" complained the captain.
His officer kept holding on to the captain and pointed at the opposite direction, towards the stern .
"Captain!" he replied. "The lighthouse is right over there, on the other side. We are going in the wrong direction!!" | high18042.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "No other animals"
},
"options": [
"No other animals",
"Some animals",
"Many animals",
"A few animals"
],
"question": "_ are more useful than a dog in the world.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{... | If you are in a town in a western country, you'll often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world. But the reason why one keeps a dog has changed Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals, and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told him to. Later people used dogs for hunting other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their master agreed. So dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chicks. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to fight other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn't have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog, but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family. | high2159.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "the Huangpu River"
},
"options": [
"the underground",
"the Huangpu River",
"the rain",
"the Yangtze River"
],
"question": "People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from _ now.",
"question_type": "c... | The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.
These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city's population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, an official in the water authority, said Shanghai's water consumption will not increase from its present amount.
Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, "Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve." He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China's economy.
Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city's infrastructure costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.
"The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages," Chen said. "The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water."
Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city's drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion. The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.
Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.
At present, the city has 600,000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated to use only 9 liters of water per flush. The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households - at a cost of Yuan each. In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.
Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage to improve the water environment. At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan. | high1450.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To find what they could to feed themselves."
},
"options": [
"To experience different lifestyles.",
"To go sightseeing in different places.",
"To find what they could to feed themselves.",
"To do more exercise to build ... | One day,Mr.Arnold was teaching a lesson,and things were going as normally as ever.He was explaining the story of mankind to his pupils.He told them that,in the beginning,men were nomads ;they never stayed in the same place for very long.Instead,they would travel about,here and there,in search of food,wherever it was to be found. And when the food ran out,they would move off somewhere else.
He taught them about the invention of farming and keeping animals.This was an important discovery,because by learning to cultivate the land,and care for animals,mankind would always have food steadily available.It also meant that people could remain living in one place,and this made it easier to set about tasks that would take a long while to complete,like building towns,cities,and all that were in them.All the children listening were attracted by this story,until Lucy jumped up:
"And if that was so important and improved everything so much,why are we nomads all over again,Mr.Arnold?"
Mr.Arnold didn't know what to say. Lucy was a very intelligent girl.He knew that she lived with her parents in a house,so she must know that her family were not nomads;so what did she mean?
"We have all become nomads again," continued Lucy."The other day,outside the city,they were cutting the forest down. A while ago a fisherman told me how they fish.It's the same with everyone:when there's no more forest left, the foresters go elsewhere,and when the fish run out, the fishermen move on.That's what the nomads did,isn't it?"
The teacher nodded,thoughtfully. Really,Lucy was right. Mankind had turned into nomads. Instead of looking after the land in a way that we could be sure it would keep supplying our needs,we kept developing it until the land was bare.And then off we would go to the next place! The class spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what they could do to show how to be more civilized.
The next day everyone attended class wearing a green Tshirt,with a message that said,"I am not a nomad!"
And,from then on,they set about showing that indeed they were not.Every time they knew they needed something,they made sure that they would get it using care and control.If they needed wood or paper,they would make sure that they got the recycled kind.They ordered their fish from fish farms,making sure that the fish they received were not too young and too small.They only used animals that were well cared for,and brought up on farms.
And so,from their little town,those children managed to give up being nomads again,just as prehistoric men had done so many thousands of years ago. | high14678.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "shows films made by children"
},
"options": [
"is organized by a middle school",
"is as famous as the Toronto Festival",
"shows films made by children",
"offers awards to film school students"
],
"question": "Wi... | Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about
young filmmakers who aren't in film school yet and aren't, strictly speaking, even adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Films Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with "red carpet" interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
"What's really exciting is that it's film for kids by kids," said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. "We want to make this a national event," Ms. Gardner added.
The nine
to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B.B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. "A lot of the material is really mature," Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. "
is about the history of a family and
is about the dangers of secondhand smoke."
describes young immigrants' feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and full-length film whose title is
. | high15566.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "there are too many graduates with such degrees"
},
"options": [
"the graduates with such degrees are of poor quality",
"those fields have developed slowly in recent years",
"there are too many graduates with such degrees",
... | Chinese college students have graduated to find the job market vary from when they entered school and those so-called "hot courses" might fail to land them good jobs.
Graduates with different majors have very different experiences in the job market. But degrees in finance, economics and a few other fields often guarantee good jobs.
"I have applied to 15 companies online, and most of them show interest in hiring me," said WangLi, a postgraduate of labor Economics at Southwest University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. He said that all the students of economics, finance and accounting in his university had received at least two job offers.
Students of mining and materials science that were not popular before, however, have observed more employment opportunities than before. The employment rate of graduates from the courses was 100 percent at Guizhou University.
On the contrary, some so-called "hot courses" including law, journalism and computer science that have received large groups of students, failed them in the job market. Experts said high tuition fee of those courses led to blind enrollment expansion.
Another problem which makes it difficult for graduates to find jobs is the gap between school- learned- knowledge and requirements of real career.
In 2007, merely 60percent of computer science graduates were employed. Meanwhile, job vacancies in IT industry exceeded one million. IT companies complained about the large amount of money they spend on pre-career training of new employees. They hope universities adjust their courses to better prepare students for their future work.
In addition to academic background, employers are looking for college graduates with a good sense of responsibility. This merit is followed by a sense of team work, ambition, flexibility, eloquence, independence, confidence, pressure-bearing ability, communication skills and so on. | high8312.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Optimism about human progress."
},
"options": [
"Weakness of human nature.",
"Concern about climate change.",
"Importance of practical thinking.",
"Optimism about human progress."
],
"question": "What is the the... | Feeling blue about world ? "Cheer up." Says science writer Matt Ridley."The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and got nature."
Ridley calls himself a tat ional optimist--tactical .because he's carefully weighed the evidence optimistic .because that offence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good .And this is what he's set out to prone from unique point of view in his most recent book. The Rant anal Opting .He views mankind as grand enterprise that .on the whole .has done little but progress for 100.000 years. He backed his finding with hard gathered though years of research.
Here's how he explains his views.
Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different producers for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty .our own generation has access to more nutritious food .more convenient transport .bigger houses, better ears .and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us .This will continue as long as we there things to make other things, This more we specialize and exchange, the better off we'll be.
2) Brilliant advances
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ener before is that the four most basie human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour's light cost six hours' work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes' work to pay for. In 1950 it was eight seconds. Today it's half second.
3) Let's not kill ourselves for climate change
Mitigating climate change could prove just as damaging to human welface as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fassil-fuel electrieity is forhidden by well meaming members of green polucal movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that mes in a flood caused by climate change. If chmaic change proves to be xxxx, but cutting carbon canses realparn, we may well find that we have stopped a nose bleed by putting a tournquet around our necks. | high12209.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Alice didn't make any improvement in singing"
},
"options": [
"Alice didn't make any improvement in singing",
"Alice's voice became louder and louder",
"Alice didn't work hard enough",
"Alice was so proud and wouldn't l... | Alice always wanted to be a singer. Music was the most important thing in her life, but to tell you the truth, she took lessons for years, practiced every day, but in spite of all this, her voice didn't improve. Honestly, it didn't get better, it just got louder.
Her teacher finally gave up and stopped the lessons, but Alice refused to quit , and one day she decided to give a concert and invited her mere teacher to attend.
The teacher was very worried about what to say after the performance. She knew it would be terrible and it was. She didn't want to tell a lie, but she didn't want to hurt Alice's feelings either. Finally, she got an idea and went backstage to greet her former pupil.
"Well," said Alice, "what did you think of my performance?"
"My dear," said the teacher, "you'll never be better than you were tonight." | high19374.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "It is designed for your personalized needs."
},
"options": [
"It is designed for your personalized needs.",
"It is much cheaper than the tours from other companies.",
"It is organized by a Spanish-speaking agency.",
"It... | Why should you tour Spain with SpainExchange?
*We design and personalize your tour to fit your desires and needs.
*We are Spain insiders: we are located in Spain and we know the country.
You get the tour you want. You do not have to follow a schedule, but we encourage you to make your own with our help. If you have a few cities in Spain that you want to visit or a specific theme for your tour that needs some fine-tuning , we can do it for you. On the contrary, if you are not sure what's here and need some extra help, we can help you. We can assist you in developing the tour that fits you and your students.
You get more for your money. Yes, it may cost you the same price as with the other companies--usually less--but you will receive more in return. With any other company you will be mixed with other groups. With SpainExchange, your tour is for yourself and your students only: your group alone will be in your bus; your students will be housed in double rooms; they will have 2 paid meals per day, and your entrance fees will be on us.
Your students will have an educational experience they'll never forget. The students will learn about world history, not just Spanish history, art history, archeology, Spanish culture, and much more. Many students have "fallen in love" with Spain and make plans for future studies here. And teachers are amazed at how much Spain has to offer. As one teacher said, "I can't wait to come back and see the rest."
Only a professional Spain insider that is flexible to design the tour that fits your group can provide all that for you. Just tell us what you want and enjoy the ride. | high16047.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was waiting for the train to go home."
},
"options": [
"got on the bus",
"planned to ask for help",
"hung up the call by accident",
"was waiting for the train to go home."
],
"question": "When the phone rang, Th... | It was late, around 10 p.m. A young lady, named Thea, was waiting at the train station. She was waiting for the last train to arrive, when she heard her phone ring. It was her brother. The line was suddenly cut off when she answered, and the phone did not ring again. The lady waited for a call back, but her phone did not ring. She sat on the bench, holding her phone.
She was definitely uneasy. Her mother was very ill and was in hospital. She was looking around, looking for a phone loading station, but since it was already late, the stalls were already closed. She had no choice but to wait till the train came and wait till she got home.
A young lady in her late 20s approached her. She was very sincere. She asked what was wrong. Thea looked at the stranger's eyes and said "nothing". But the other lady was just so sincere and wanted to help.
She took out her cell phone from her shoulder bag and handed it to Thea. The helpful lady said, "Here's my phone; it has extra loads; you can make a call."
"Is it OK? " asked Thea. "Yeah," she said, looking directly into her eyes. Then Thea, in a very shy manner, slowly dialed a number and talked with someone on the phone. A smile was on her face. "Thank you so much; you took my worries away." "You are welcome; I am glad that I can give you a hand. "
In fact, kindness can be shared at any time in any place. | high17359.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It is an active, destructive volcano."
},
"options": [
"It formed 2,500 years ago.",
"Its latest eruption occurred 2,000 years ago.",
"It is an active, destructive volcano.",
"It is where the city Naples is located."
... | EVERY few hundred years, a sleeping giant in southern Italy awakens with a bang, spewing volcanic ash across the countryside. The volcano, called Mount Vesuvius, formed 25,000 years ago. During its most explosive eruptions, the volcano could blanket nearby cities with hot ash, sometimes also burying them with deadly flows of mud and rocks. One famous eruption occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, in the year AD 79. It lasted 18 hours and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people as they tried to escape.
Scientists and city officials had supposed that Naples, one of Italy's most populous cities, was far enough away that it would be safe from the volcano's _ . New evidence suggests that this might not be the case.
Researchers recently discovered 4000-year-old layers of ash and mud under present-day Naples. Just outside the city, they also uncovered abandoned villages, as well as human and animal skeletons. Most surprising of all, the researchers say, was the discovery of thousands of footprints from the same time period, pressed into layers of wet ash that had rained from the sky. The footprints show that thousands of people were fleeing to the northwest, away from the volcano, as it erupted.
Mount Vesuvius hasn't had a major eruption since 1631, but it's still very active. The discovery of the ancient ash layers, skeletons, and footprints is a warning that modern Naples, a city of 3 million people, isn't safe from the volcano, scientists say. So, when the volcano begins to rumble again, Naples should have an emergency evacuation plan ready - just in case. | high10436.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "wheat bread and eggs"
},
"options": [
"wheat bread and eggs",
"sugar and orange juice",
"sugar and bread",
"wheat bread and orange juice"
],
"question": "According to the passage,teenagers should have _ for br... | How would you like to learn more without having to study more?Here's how:
1.Get to bed and go to sleep.Your performance,attention,and the ability to concentrate are damaged by lack of sleep.Teenagers need nine to ten hours of sleep a night for best performance.
2.Feed your head.The brain runs badly if it doesn't get enough fuel.That means protein and complex carbs -eggs and wheat bread for breakfast,say,rather than sugary cereal and orange juice.The biggest mistake teens make is not to have breakfast or to go for sugar,which raises blood sugar levels.
3.Body exercise is brain exercise.Body exercise really improves brain performance,perhaps because it increases blood flow,or perhaps because it reduces stress and anxiety .Twenty minutes of activity a day that raises your heart rate will do great good.
4.Learn now what you want to remember for the rest of your life.Teenage brains are much better at remembering things than the brains of young children or adults.Scientists aren't sure why.Whatever the reason,the teenage years are the time to learn new languages and master other lifelong skills.
5.Learn the power of risk taking.Adults are always worried about the _ of teenage risktaking,and it's true that teenagers are more likely than adults to get themselves in trouble by drinking and driving.But the fact that the parts of the brain that drive people to try new,risky,and exciting things appear to be more developed in teenagers can be a huge advantage.Pick certain challenges-difficult sports,a hard job,mastering a performance art,traveling overseas-and the teenage brain is able to deal with them.They have this power they're given to go out and do it without fear.
6.Learn what you love.Because emotional systems develop fast in teenager brains,teenagers learn things they're interested in quickly and well.Their brains give them tools like attention on the project. | high2171.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "was at a loss and didn't know what to do at first"
},
"options": [
"calmed it down and checked its wounds",
"tried to hide it in a corner in her bedroom",
"was anxious to send it to its home in person",
"was at a loss a... | Little Lopsy fluttered into our home and our hearts one Saturday morning this summer. My husband went out to do something, and when he opened the door there was a great flutter on the ground and something came into the living room. It was clear that whatever it was was hurt.
I was in a bit of a shock and didn't know what to do next. Fortunately it calmed down and tried to hide itself in a corner. I realized it was a sparrow chick . There are a few sparrow nests under the roof of our apartment, and this little fellow must have fallen out and hurt itself. It was also very young, and obviously far from ready to leave the safety of the nest.
I ran to the place and found a box. Having read somewhere that one shouldn't touch a baby bird with one's hands, I picked the chick up with a hand towel and put it in the box. I placed the box outside the front door in the hope that the parents would try to feed it. They never came near it and I brought it inside. I placed the box on a table and it slept for about twenty hours. We later learned that it is quite normal for a hurt bird to sleep so much after undergoing such a hurt experience.
When it finally woke up we carefully examined it for wounds, but fortunately there wasn't any. It had hurt its right wing and leg, which meant it must have landed on its right side when it fell out of the nest. We named it Lopsy.
After doing some research we felt there was a chance that it might survive, but we weren't sure that it would ever be able to fly. A hurt bird doesn't stand much of a chance of survival and could fall easy pray to cats, other animals. Was it fair to allow it to live if it meant keeping it in a cage its whole life? It was a hard decision, but we decided to give it a go.
We started off by dripping drops of water into its mouth. It was very thirsty and drank quite a bit. Next we fed it with bread soaked in water. Our household routine soon revolved around Lopsy who needed to be fed about every three hours during the day. Fortunately we live on campus and my husband could come home during his breaks to feed our new baby.
Soon Lopsy was growing nicely. The bigger it got, the more vocal it became. There was no doubt as to who was ruling the house.
We remained concerned because its leg did not heal, and its wing seemed quite useless. I took it outside for exercise every day. I also hoped it would get used to the sights and sounds of nature. In the beginning all it was interested in was staying as close to me as possible.
Anyway, it got stronger and started running on the grass, and one day Lopsy found a fence it liked. It got to the point where I would leave it outside under its fence for about two hours at a time while I kept an eye on developments from our kitchen window. Soon Lopsy figured out how to get from one branch to another.[: ]
It also got to the point where it could flutter down from my hand to the ground, and I let it do this over and over again to exercise its wings. Then came the day that it actually flew into the fence. We were overjoyed when this happened.
Finally it got to the point where I left it outside in its fence all day and night, but I would still go outside to feed it. Lopsy remained vocal and would jumped over for its food as soon as I came into view. I left some bread on the wall next to its fence, but it would have none of it. The little fellow was totally spoilt and wanted to be spoon fed, but I saw him eating quite happily as soon as I left his line of vision. Some of the bigger species of birds were a bit aggressive towards Lopsy, and I continued to keep a close eye on it.
Not long after this we saw Lopsy flying without a problem. It still jumped to the side, but that didn't seem to stop it in any way. Other birds seemed quite curious about Lopsy. At first it chased them away if they came too close to its fence, but Lopsy soon seemed to realize that they were of its own kind and it stopped doing so. Then, one day, our fellow left the nest. We never saw it again, but I know Little Lopsy is now leading a happy life. This experience has taught me much. | high21833.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "its springy system"
},
"options": [
"its light body",
"its springy system",
"its living environment",
"the length of its jaw"
],
"question": "The fast speed of the trapjaw ant's jaw lies in _ .",
"questio... | Which animal has the fastest snapping jaw ? If you're guessing a shark or perhaps a larger animal, you'll have to think smaller. The trapjaw ant, which lives in Central and South America, moves its mouth parts at 35 to 63 meters per second. Another way to think about this is that the ant's jaws close at 125 to 233 kilometers per hour. That's 2, 300 times faster than the blink of an eye.
Scientists were able to measure the amazing jaw speed using highspeed video techniques. Sheila Patek, a biologist, says the key is that the jaws have a springy system, which is critical in getting explosive speeds.
Consider a bow and arrow. If you try to throw an arrow with your arm, it won't go very far. If you use a bow, elastic energy stored in the bow is released almost instantly when you release the arrow with your finger or a latch. The combination of the springy bow and latch mechanism is what makes the arrow zoom through the air.
Maybe even more amazing than how fast these ants grab food or even enemies is how they use this same energy to move. As the ant closes its jaws, it uses them to push off the ground--all faster than the eye can see without slow motion video. A snap of the jaw can send an ant up to 8.3 centimeters into the air. That's like someone who is 1.7 meters jumping 13 meters high! Not only can they quickly escape from enemies, but often a group of ants will start jumping all at once. It would be hard for their enemies to grab just one.
People have suspected the ants used their jaws to jump for over a century, but could only prove it with today's modern video equipment. | high1478.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "education program"
},
"options": [
"name of a school",
"training center",
"social organization",
"education program"
],
"question": "\"Dads Make a Difference\" is a(n) _ .",
"question_type": "cloze... | What is "Dads Make a Difference"?
A service-learning opportunity for teens that deals with fatherhood, parenting, and so on.
Older teens, grades 10--12, teach younger teens, grades 6--9, about the importance of fathers in children's lives, the legal and financial responsibilities of parenting.
Teen teacher training goals & objectives
The goal of the teen teacher training is to better understand the complex problems surrounding legal fatherhood in our society. By discussing what makes healthy families, explaining the meaning of paternity , and examining the risks people take in their lives, teens will develop the skills needed to make informed decisions in their own relationships and, finally, teach this information to others.
What's in it for me?
An opportunity to:
Learn life skills like communication, decision making, and problem solving.
Get the chance to use knowledge in meaningful and effective ways.
Develop leadership, planning, teamwork, time management, and organizational skills to help you in every aspect of your life.
Forming lasting relationships with adult mentors .
Comments from teen teachers
" 'Dads Make a Difference' made me realize how permanent and expensive parenthood is."
"Speaking in form of groups and directing people in activities, I feel, is a valuable skill to have that I will use throughout my life."
"I wish I would have gone through this program when I was in Junior High. I know it would have helped me to really think about the future and to make good decisions."
" 'Dads Make a Difference' has helped me to know the effects of my actions before I take them and I know what risks not to take to protect my future." | high14650.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It makes its followers suffer a lot."
},
"options": [
"It is neither a waste of money nor a waste of time.",
"It makes something really important to the society.",
"It makes its followers suffer a lot.",
"It is practica... | If women are exploited year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion ,they are always made use of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is able to stand in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way waste hours of their time changing the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened; necklines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can say that the fashion industry makes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are seldom concerned with important things like warmth and that woman will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasnt at some time in his life smiled at the sight of woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes. | high9024.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes"
},
"options": [
"human beings should try to avoid making mistakes",
"no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes",
"mistakes and failures make up our life",
"human bei... | Mistakes are a part of life. To err is human. Failure is also a part of life, not the end of life. Be happy facing life's challenges. When you make the effort to be happy and to improve your life, you are actually rewarded along the way.
Life is like a game and maybe you can award points for every effort that has been a success for you. Try it. Add ten points for every achievement. And when you have reached 50 points, just yell, " Hey, I've won!" and give yourself a reward. If you happen to have missed your points for whatever reason, tell yourself, "Well, I tried!" which is better than not trying at all. Don't let it be said you didn't try.
What is it that you want to make yourself happy? Actually happiness means different things to different people. For example, an athlete will be happy winning his first race. For a new mother happiness would be seeing her baby's first steps. Happiness for a poor person would mean having a meal just for today. So happiness for you is really something simple that you want for yourself.
It really doesn't have to be big. As a matter of fact you should always have realistic expectations. Make the best out of every given situation. If you expect a certain result from a situation and it does not happen, don't get _ This just means trying harder next time. We all have in us the power to succeed. Don't let " give up " be a part of your vocabulary. | high7009.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "She thought it a betrayal of her younger self"
},
"options": [
"Changing a major was uncommon",
"Her advisor forced her not to do that",
"She thought it a betrayal of her younger self",
"She didn't want her childhood ... | Reflecting on the past about those decisions or actions that can't be reversed and being occupied with thoughts of "What if?" is no way to live. But there are a few things in life I'd probably do differently if I had the chance.
I once majored in architecture -- something I had been crazy about for as long as I could remember -- and then I suddenly had a change of heart. I made an appointment with my adviser, and told him I was no longer certain I wanted to pursue a career in architecture.
"Don't give up on your childhood dream!" "He's right," I thought. "I should just stick it out and I shouldn't disappoint the little girl who once loved architecture."
It was awful. I was _ , holding on to a childhood dream that had long since faded. When I talked with a friend about it a year later, he asked: "Right now, what do you want to do with your life?" That's when I came to the realization that dreams change over time and that you should give up the childhood dream if it's not what you want as an adult. Luckily, it wasn't too late. After some serious thought, I changed my major to journalism. It wasn't something I had always imagined myself pursuing -- but at that moment, it was what I wanted.
We grow up, and sometimes our dreams change -- and that's perfectly OK. You just need to ask yourself every once in a while, "Is this still what I want?" If the answer is no, move on and start chasing a new one. | high14888.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "often felt lonely"
},
"options": [
"often felt lonely",
"felt lucky as an only child",
"got little attention rom her parents",
"1iked to play with her friends"
],
"question": "When the writer was a child,She _ ... | I was an only child up until the age of eight.Every time I saw other girls playing or sharing their secrets with their sisters or brothers,I would feel sad for myself .At Christmas I found out that I was soon to be a big sister.I had no idea how I would deal with a baby in our house.The little experience I had with kids taught me that I didn't really like them.They were always making trouble.
My parents set off to the hospital one evening and planned to have the rest of my family and I come to the hospital later .To this day, I don't think I have gone through a more nerve-wracking experience than sitting in the hospital's waiting room.I was sleepless all night .When I was finally allowed to see my new baby sister , I was so scared.I reached out and when I got a hold of her,I fell in love with her.
For the first time,holding my sister had an effect on whom I want to be and because of her,rather than my parents' frequent requests.I have set out goals to improve my future.I want to be her role model,someone she can respect.The past two years has seemed to go by very fast.I've watched her grow older;I have seen her learn to walk and learn to talk.The fear that she held over me seems so small now.
Now you can see that the family is such an important part of my life:it has influenced who I am and who I want to be in my future. | high23942.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A course guide."
},
"options": [
"A course guide.",
"A book review.",
"An advertisement.",
"An official report."
],
"question": "What type of writing is this text?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answe... | Oxford's Department for Continuing Education runs over 1000 courses per year, offered on a part-time basis. Programmes include Oxford awards and degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level, online short courses, weekly classes, day and weekend events, continuing professional development and summer schools.
Oxford awards & degrees
Over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate Oxford qualifications: certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, Master's and Doctoral degrees, offered part-time, in the arts, social sciences, diplomatic studies, human rights law, health care and biomedical sciences, which involve overseas students. Course duration ranges from one year to several years part-time. The Department also runs a Graduate School to provide the support and guidance needed by those following part-time graduate programmes.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/qualifications
Online & distance learning
Choose from over 90 courses across a range of disciplines. Most are short courses of 5-10 weeks, accredited (officially approved). A few longer courses result in Oxford qualifications.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/online
Weekly classes
Approximately 500 part-time accredited classes, open to all, and held in Oxford, Reading and other locations. Topics are studied in depth over a period of 10 or 20 weeks.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/weekly
Day & weekend events
Courses of 1 or 2 days, usually held at weekends and taught by lecturers and speakers who are noted authorities in their field of research. Many courses are offered in combination with national organizations. Over 150 offered per year.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dayweekend
Professional development courses
200 courses per year, ranging from day schools to short refresher courses to full degree programmes. Subjects include health sciences, public policy, diplomatic studies, nanotechnology, electronics, historic conservation, environmental sciences, public administration, higher education leadership and more.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/cpd
Summer schools
Accredited and non-accredited courses of between one and three weeks, with over 120 to choose from. Most are designed for the general public; others are designed to allow professionals to update skills. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/summerschools | high12547.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Objective"
},
"options": [
"Curious",
"Positive",
"Satisfied",
"Objective"
],
"question": "What is the author's attitude towards traveling?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_inde... | Traveling can be a very fun and exciting way to vacation with your family, but it does not always turn out as expected. I have traveled a lot with my family over the years, but some experiences are worth forgetting altogether. I remember a particular traveling experience which sticks out in my mind for the wrong reasons.
My dad and stepmom had decided to drive to California for our family vacation. This was supposed to provide educational value, since we would be able to stop along the way and look at various sites in each state. Everything was going as planned until we decided to take a break and stop at the Grand Canyon . I had always wanted to see this exciting place and had decided to write a report on it for my eight-grade English class. We got out of the car and were walking on one of the paths to get to a cliff so we could take a family photo when I slipped and fell down. I fell on a piece of rock, and felt great pain run up my leg at once. My dad took me to the nearest hospital and, after an eight-hour wait in the emergency room , found out that I broke two bones in my foot.
Needless to say, our vacation was no fun for me because I was in pain during the whole two-week trip. I ended up making an appointment the day we got home to see a doctor for a check-up. That was definitely not what I consider fun or a great vacation, and it really _ our sightseeing plans. | high22484.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "ask people with sleep problems to try and use Somnapure"
},
"options": [
"ask people with sleep problems to try and use Somnapure",
"introduce a kind of medicine to help sleep better",
"draw people's attention to the bad effe... | Does this sound familiar? It's 3:00 am and you're still awake and staring at the clock. You can't sleep , and you've already tried all the familiar tricks - taken a warm bath , drunk a glass of heated milk ,tried counting sheep, and read a book -all with no success. If you are such a sufferer, remember you're not alone. Experts said that one in every four Americans have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Lack of sleep can hurt your quality of life in so many ways. Short temper, impatience, poor decision-making, and mood swings are common among those with sleeping problems. Besides, relationships with family, friends, and co-workers may suffer as a result. Improper sleep can also put your safety at risk by reducing your awareness.
When you're awake in the middle of the night, you can start to feel desperate for a way out . However, it makes sense to weigh the available treatments before choosing the one that's right for you. Other sleep aids may seem like _ , but it turns out that there are many disadvantages of these drugs. For one thing, they may require expensive, time-consuming trips to your physician. They may also be habit-forming or have unpleasant side effects like dizziness( ) dry mouth, and next-day sleepiness. Plus , they become less effective over time.
So what is the best sleep aid available on the market today? The answer is Somnapure , a product that represents nature and science coming together. This all-natural sleep aid which comes from Peak Life allows you to fall asleep quickly and remain asleep through the night . With Somnapure, you wake up feeling refreshed and energetic. Somnapure is currently giving away a 14-day trial here. Get your Somnapure trial for better, deeper sleep that you deserve. | high852.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Their house, cars and small amounts of savings."
},
"options": [
"Their income and savings.",
"Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.",
"Everything they own in their homes.",
"Actually, they have no wealth at a... | Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own -- their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.
Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.
The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government's poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11, 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor. | high15228.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Disappointed."
},
"options": [
"Calm.",
"Confused.",
"Ashamed.",
"Disappointed."
],
"question": "How did Deborah feel when she first hurt her knee?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer... | It was something she had dreamed of since she was five. Finally, after years of training and intensive workouts, Deborah Duffey was going to compete in her first high school basketball game. The goals of becoming an outstanding player and playing college ball were never far from Deborah's mind.
The game was against Mills High School. With 1 minute and 42 seconds left in the game, Deborah's team led by one point. A player of Mills had possession of the ball,and Deborah ran to guard against her. As Deborah was running to block the player, her knee went out and she fell down on the court in burning pain. Just like that, Deborah's season was over.
After suffering the bad injury, Deborah found that, for the first time in her life, she was in a situation beyond her control. Game after game, she could do nothing but sit on the sidelines watching others play the game that she loved so much.
Injuries limited Deborah's time on the court as she hurt her knees three more times in the next five years. She had to spend countless hours in a physical clinic to receive treatment. Her frequent visits there gave her a passion and respect for the profession. And Deborah began to see a new light in her life.
Currently as a senior in college, Deborah focuses on getting a degree in physical treatment. After she graduates, Deborah plans to use her knowledge to educate people how to best take care of their bodies and cope with the feelings of hopelessness that she remembers so well. | high13881.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "The start and development of watercolor."
},
"options": [
"The gradual weakness of fresco painting.",
"Oils having more power or influence over watercolor.",
"The rediscovery of watercolor in England.",
"The start and d... | Watercolor is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colors found in the earth with water.
Fresco , one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolor. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster . Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo's heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.
The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for the outdoors and also small, private pictures. The softness of watercolor had a remarkably strong attraction for them.
The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until in the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolor, producing such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. | high9742.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they keep the balance of nature"
},
"options": [
"they give us a source of food",
"they are beautiful and lovely",
"they keep the balance of nature",
"they give us a lot of pleasure"
],
"question": "Animals are ... | Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature . Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks , the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing. | high12.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "he is lucky to have many chances to get a job"
},
"options": [
"he is lucky to have many chances to get a job",
"it is difficult to find a job to make ends meet",
"his parents are full of complaint about their life",
"i... | My parents influenced us with the concepts of family, faith and love for one's motherland when l was young.Even though we struggled to make ends meet, they stressed how fortunate we were to live in a great country with limitless opportunities.
I got my first real job when l was ten.My dad, Benjamin, injured his back working in a cardboard - box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist.He rented space in a little mall and gave his shop the fancy name of Mr.Ben's Coiffure.
The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning the parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m. to pick up rubbish. Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower.Mom and I emptied rubbish cans and picked up rubbish by hand.It took two to three hours to clean the lot.I'd s1eep in the car on the way home. I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime, I acquired discipline and a strong work morality , and learned at an early age the importance of balancing life's competing interests---in my case, school, homework and a job.This really helped during my senior year of high school, when l worked 40 hours a week flipping hamburgers at a fast-food joint while taking a full load of college-prepared courses. _ .I attended the U.S.Military Academy and went on to receive graduate degree in law and business from Harvard.Later, I joined a big Los Angeles law firm and was elected to the California state committee.In these jobs and in everything else I've done, I have never forgotten those nights in the parking lot.The experience taught me that there is dignity in all work and that if people are working to provide for themselves and their families, that is something we should honor. | high6471.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "It took more than 20 years to build it."
},
"options": [
"It is the largest temple in the world.",
"It allows for temperature control.",
"It was built with white stone.",
"It took more than 20 years to build it."
],... | Through the following four cultural relics, the world has known about Korea's cultural treasures.
_
Pulguksa Temple plays an important part in the history of Korean temples. The building of Pulguksa Temple began in 751. In the year 774 the large temple was finished, becoming an important center for Korean national-protection Buddhism . The way used to create the store structure gave the temple a look of beauty. The building thus represents the excellent Korean sculpting .
_
Sokkuram Cave is a man-made cave, which has been sculpted from white stone in special sculpting ways. In the cave, a seated Buddha is the main statue. On the walls around him are found 38 other statues and the Four Heavenly Kings. This stone cave is one of Korea's greatest places, built when Shilla's religion, science and sculpture were at the height. It shows Shilla's knowledge of math, physics and art.
_
Haeinsa Temple's Changgyong Panjon is a world-class cultural treasure. It has 81,340 wooden blocks. Millions of Chinese characters were caved on the blocks. In addition to its artistic value, it is famous as the oldest Buddhist canon in the world today. The building is beautiful. What's more important is that its design allows for natural wind as well as temperature control. Each book is 69.5cm in width and 23.9cm in height. There are 23 lines on each of the blocks and each line contains fourteen characters.
_
Changdokkung palace, one of the five places of the Chosen Dynasty, was built in 1405. The oldest structure is Tonhwammun Gate. Other ancient buildings include Injongjon hall, Sonjongjon Hall and Taejojon Hall. The back garden for kings remains a great example of the ancient Korean scenery. | high13659.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Sophies Choice"
},
"options": [
"Kramar vs. Kramar",
"A Cry in the Dark",
"Sophies Choice",
"The Bridges of Madison County"
],
"question": "For which of the following films did Meryl have to learn a new language... | Meryl Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. She is regarded as one of the most talented actresses of all time. The following is a list of movies that Meryl Streep has been involved with:
Kramer vs. Krammer (1979)
In the film, Meryl plays a mother caught up in a custody dispute . Her co-star, Dustin Hoffman, said, "She's extraordinarily hardworking. I think she thinks about nothing else but what she's doing." Meryl won her first Oscar for her performance in this film.
Sophie's Choice (1982)
Meryl plays Sophie, a Polish war survivor. To prepare for the role she learned to speak German and perfected a Polish accent. Film critic Roger Ebert said, "This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most natural performances I can imagine." Meryl won her second Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
Out of Africa(1985)
Meryl is Karen Blixen, a Danish woman living in Kenya in the early 20th century. The story follows Karens attempts to run a coffee plantation and her love affair with big-game hunter Denys. The film is based on the memoirs of the real Karen Blixen.
A Cry in the Dark (1995)
This is based on the true-life case of the disappearance of baby Azaria. Meryl plays Linda Chamberlain, a mother who is wrongly accused of killing her own child. After spending four years in prison, it was found that wild dogs had taken away the baby. Meryl won Best Actress at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
The Bridge of Madison County (1995)
This movie is based on one of the biggest bestsellers of the 20th century (the book sold 50 million copies worldwide). Meryl plays Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride living in 1960s Iowa. It's about her brief affair with photographer Robert Kincaid.
Mamma Mial(2008)
This is a romantic comedy based on the stage musical Mamma Mial, featuring the music from 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA. Meryl plays Donna Sheridan, a hotel owner on the Greek island of Kalokairi. Mamma Mial made over U.S. $ 600 million worldwide. Apparently, Meryl had seen the musical in 2001 and was completely absorbed in it. She had no idea that seven years later she'd be in the movie version. | high10350.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "creativity"
},
"options": [
"creativity",
"imagination",
"responsibility",
"curiosity"
],
"question": "The math lessons became interesting because of the new teacher's _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questi... | That year, in the local school, there was a new math teacher, as well as some new pupils. One of the new kids was the stupidest child that anyone had ever seen. It made no difference how quickly or how slowly they tried explaining numbers to him; he would always end up saying something enormously stupid. Like two plus two was five, seven times three was twenty-seven, or a triangle had thirty corners...
Before this boy arrived, math lessons had been the most boring of all. Now they were great fun. Encouraged by the new teacher, the children would listen to the pieces of nonsense spouted by the new kid, and they would have to correct his mistakes.
Whenever the new teacher asked questions, the stupid kid would stand up but made the wrong answers, the other students all wanted to be the first to find his mistakes, and then think up the most original ways to explain them. To do this they used all kinds of stuff: sweets, playing cards, oranges, paper planes, etc. It didn't seem like any of _ bothered the new kid.
However,little Lewis was sure that it was bound to make him feel sad inside. Lewis was sure he would see him crying. So,one day, he decided to follow the new kid home after school. On leaving school, the new kid walked a few minutes to a local park, and there he waited for a while, until someone came along to meet him...
It was the new teacher!
The teacher gave the new kid a hug, and off they went, hand in hand. Following from a distance, Lewis could hear they were talking about math. | high5178.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a social problem of adoption"
},
"options": [
"a cruel mother who killed her daughter",
"a social problem of adoption",
"a family problem in Western countries",
"an unlucky child's fortune"
],
"question": "This ... | Peggy Hilt wanted to be a good mother. But day after day, she got out of bed feeling like a failure. No matter what she tried, she couldn't connect with Nina, the 2-year -old girl she'd adopted from Russia as an infant . The preschooler pulled away whenever Hilt tried to hug or kiss her. Nina was physically aggressive with her 4-year-old sister, who had been adopted from Ukraine, and had violent tantrums . Whenever Hilt wasn't watching, she destroyed the family's furniture and possessions. "Every day with Nina had become a struggle," she recalls now.
As the girl grew older, things got worse. Hilt fell into a deep depression. She started drinking heavily, something she'd never done before. Ashamed, she hid her problem from everyone, including her husband.
On the morning of July 1, 2005, Hilt was packing for a family vocation, all the while swallowing one beer after another and growing increasingly angry and impatient with Nina's deeds. "Everything she did just got to me," Hilt said. When Hilt caught her reaching into her diaper and smearing feces on the walls and furniture, "a year and a half of frustration came to a head," Hilt says. "I snapped . I felt this uncontrollable rage."
Then Hilt did something unthinkable. She grabbed Nina around the neck, shook her and then dropped her to the floor, where she kicked her repeatedly before dragging her up to her room, punching her as they went. "I had never hit a child before," she says. "I felt horrible and promised myself that this would never happen again." But _ . Nina woke up with a fever, and then started throwing up. The next day she stopped breathing. By the time the ambulance got the child to the hospital, she was dead.
Hilt is now serving a 19-year sentence for second-degree murder in a Virginia prison. She and her husband divorced, and he is raising their other daughter. She realizes the horror of her crime and says she isn't looking for sympathy. "There is no punishment severe enough for what I did," she told NEWSWEEK in an interview at the prison. | high20293.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The government urges teachers to concentrate on academic subjects."
},
"options": [
"The government urges teachers to concentrate on academic subjects.",
"The students are only wasting time working as apprentices.",
"Employer... | An Ofsted study reports that teachers are discouraging students who want to leave school and work as apprentices in beauty salons or hair dressers.
Inspectors questioned 105 young people for a report on apprenticeships published on Wednesday. They found several examples of young people who felt they had been laughed at by their teachers for wanting to progress to work-based learning, particularly in care or hairdressing, rather than stay on at school.
Right or wrong, is it any surprise that this is happening? From 2014,the government will measure schools according to the rate of their pupils who go to university. Brian Lightman , general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, says the government has already put teachers under "very great pressure to focus on academic subjects"
On the other hand, the Education Act 2011,which came into force in November, places schools under a duty to give fair career advice to pupils. This advice must include information on all post-16 education and training choices, including apprenticeships. This doesn't appear to be happening in several schools, according to Ofsted9S report. Many of the young people the inspectors talked to said the advice they had received on apprenticeships was "unsatisfactory".
Schools were also blamed for lack of work experience courses, which are particularly important for teenagers considering an apprenticeship. _ help students decide whether they enjoy a line of work and enable employers to see whether those on work experience have the potential to be hired as apprentices in future years.
But there is a good reason why they can't do this: they'd be unable to adapt to GCSE exams if they did. Sometimes, it seems, schools just can't win. | high4266.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "they make them but can't stick to them to the end"
},
"options": [
"they don't take them seriously at the beginning",
"they make them but can't stick to them to the end",
"they meet much difficulty in the process",
"the... | You make decisions, year after year, never lasting for more than a few days ending up lost and in the same place you started. Allow me to suggest some tips that may help you stick to your decisions creating long- lasting positive change in your life.
Telling other people about your plan can help in many ways. First, it is always easier to stick to a decision when you have other people supporting you. Your friends are less likely to tempt you with whatever it is you are trying to control if they know that you made a decision about it. Telling other people about your decision is also helpful in that it keeps us to the pressure on you to try and stick to you plan of action.
Choose a measurable and specific decision. Instead of deciding to "look better" or "have a better relationship with so and so", choose a more definable decision. Deciding to "eat a vegetable every day" or "go out for coffee once a week with John" is much easier to track and assess than a general decision to "be a better person".
Build a reward system. Connected to the last tip of choosing a measurable and specific decision is that when you do accomplish this specific behavior you decided to do, give yourself small rewards along the process. For example, for every week of healthy eating treat yourself with something special.
Creative visual aids. A colleague of mine decided one year for his New Year's decision to be more frugal. He decided to try and save money by lowering his monthly bills. So he posted a copy of his highest electric bill by his heater so that every time he wanted to raise the temperature he would see the high electric bill reminding him to be more cautious about his energy consumption. | high19412.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "watch TV programs online"
},
"options": [
"watch TV programs online",
"make a call",
"listen to music",
"read newspapers"
],
"question": "People use iPlayer to _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
}... | The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fad . Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter "i" - and many other brands are following suit. The BBC's iPlayer - which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet -adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear - popular in the US and UK - that plays music and video is called "iTeddy". A slimmed-down version of London's Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name "i".
In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most "i" products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent's "i", it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name.
But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter "i". Why not use "a", "b", or "c" instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King's College, London, "i" works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses "i", no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. "Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn't have one clear definition," he says.
"However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability." adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter "i" also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with "Google" and "blog", readers of BBC Magazines voted "i" as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with "2000" in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared. | high16721.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "can affect the consumers' purchasing"
},
"options": [
"is popular with the consumers",
"can pull all the consumers into the shops",
"can affect the consumers' purchasing",
"is as effective as an endorsement from common ... | Celebrity endorsements
Despite the fact that companies believe celebrities had a lot of pull with regard to the buying trends of consumers, researchers have discovered that this does not seem to be the case. British and Swiss researchers carried out a study showing that advertisements made by celebrities like David Beckham and Scarlett Johansson are not as effective as those by ordinary people.
In a sample of 298 students, researchers presented a magazine advertisement for a digital camera that was endorsed (...) by a fictional student claiming the camera was "hot" and his "preferred choice". The same advertisement was shown to other students, but with a difference: The camera was endorsed by a famous person in Germany.
While the students said that both advertisements were beneficial, the one made by the student topped the celebrity one if students aimed to impress others with their purchases . More than half of the students, who admitted purchasing products that would impress others, said they were influenced by the student's advertisement. Only 20% said the celebrity one would affect their buying decision.
Professor Brett Martin of the University of Bath's School of Management, explained that the findings could be used not only in Germany, but in other countries as well. " Our research questions whether celebrities are the best ways to sell products," said Prof Martin."Celebrities can be effective but we found that many people were more convinced by an endorsement from a fictional fellow student. This is because many people feel a need to keep up with _ when they buy." | high3509.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "are more used to sunny days"
},
"options": [
"are much happier",
"can't enjoy sunny days",
"are more used to sunny days",
"have lower levels of happiness"
],
"question": "People in California _ compared to p... | Rainy days don't have to get you down, a happiness expert has claimed.
Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioral Science at the London School of Economics, said that people only feel _ in bad weather because they think about it too much. Studies have shown that people who live in warm, sunny climates are no happier than those in chilly, wet climates, he says.
So the British talking about the weather may be making us gloomier than the weather itself.
He said: "A study was done that measured the happiness levels of people in California compared to the North West.
"They expected that people in California would be happier because it is more sunny, but they found that levels of happiness were exactly the same.
"If it is sunny every day you get used to it and the sunshine doesn't make you any happier.
"Most of the time the weather doesn't affect our well-being at all. But when we think about it, and think that it does, that's when we get miserable."
In his new book, Happiness By Design, Dolan argues that we can think ourselves happy by taking our attention away from what makes us sad.
"Most of our anxieties come from what might be," he argues. "If you want to be happier, pay attention to the things that make you feel good."
He also claimed that a problem shared was not always a problem halved. He claimed that humans are actually very good at being able to get over tragedy and loss.
Professor Dolan also admitted for the first time that he had a stammer , which had made his early life miserable. He claimed it only got better when he learned not to pay attention to his speech problem.
"Things are never as bad as you imagine them being," he said. | high10344.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Computer science."
},
"options": [
"Physical science.",
"Biological sciences.",
"Engineering.",
"Computer science."
],
"question": "According to the passage, which of the following is NOT emphasized by today's A... | For the most part, schools are designed to produce people who fit into society, not people who set out to change it. However, schools, particularly universities, may not only spread culture; they may add to the cultural heritage. Today American society places a good deal of emphasis on the development of new knowledge, especially in the physical and biological sciences, medicine, and engineering. In recent years, the nation's leading universities have increasingly become research centres.
An emphasis on research has led universities to judge professors not by abilities as teachers, but as researchers. Promotions, salary increases, and other benefits have long been dependent on research and publication. However, the most important is no longer publishing. To be successful these days, professors have to bring in money provided by government and private industry. Critics claim that academic success is most likely to come to those who have learned to "ignore" their teaching duties to pursue research activities. Defenders say that even when students themselves are not involved in research projects they benefit from such an emphasis on research.
Major research universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have also cooperated with industrial companies to develop technology and products with commercial potential. With university-industry ties continuing to grow, debate has increased about the consequences for basic science, academic openness, the control of information, the direction of research, and the influence on students. | high20287.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The author's naughty behavior as a child."
},
"options": [
"Learning through adventures.",
"The author's naughty behavior as a child.",
"The author's great love for his mother.",
"The author's experience of being stung ... | Growing up in the 1950s, I was a 10-year-old risk-taker who caused his mom lots of stress.
Once I got into my aunt's car so I could pretend to be a race car driver and accidentally knocked the parking gear stick off. The car rolled down the driveway as fast as it could go, crossed the road and finally stopped up against my neighbor's curb . I thought it was fun, but Mom didn't think so. Normally I would see a spanking coming, but this time I lucked out. I guess she was glad I was all right.
I enjoyed watching The Adventures of Superman on television so much that I wanted to fly just like him. One day I got into the closet and picked one of Mom's best pillowcases . I went out onto the front yard and tied the case around my neck, pretending it was a cape. Then, standing on the side of the porch , which was about 7 feet high, I jumped. The spanking my mother gave me didn't hurt as much as my scraped knees.
But the worst thing I ever did happened when I tried to impress the new girl across the street. She was incredibly cute, so I went over and introduced myself.
After I told her my name, she said she wanted to show me something she had found. We went into her backyard, and in the knot of the biggest and oldest tree was a beehive. She said she liked honey and asked me how to get it out.
"We could stand watch, and when they leave the hive, we can reach in and take the honey," I suggested.
A large group of the bees flew away, so I moved closer to the hive. I was brave and maybe just a little crazy. I managed to take a little bit of honey when a bee rested on my arm. I killed the bee, and then it seemed like thousands of bees flew toward me. My new friend screamed and ran.
I ran as fast as I could across her yard and up the long hill to my front door. I never looked back. The sound of the bees behind me told me the coast wasn't clear. When the group of bees attacked, I screamed for my mom.
As I reached my front door I saw her swinging a broom around me to get the bees off me. I didn't care that she landed a few hard hits on my head, I just wanted them off.
Finally I made it inside, sore from the stings and red from the broom, but I was alive thanks to my mom. My superhero. All she needed was a cape. I knew where to get her one of those. | high19406.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To ask people to give away their skis to the school"
},
"options": [
"To raise money to develop this area",
"To attract more tourists to the area",
"To appeal to more locals to attend the school",
"To ask people to give... | Do you have any skiing equipment you no longer need? A ski school in the far north of India could put it to good use.
In March we published a photo story about the extraordinary Zsnskar region in northern India,which is cut off from the outside world for more than seven months of the year,and only accessible via a frozen river.We also included information about the limited use of skiing in the region and the recent creation of the Zanskar Ski School:
"Despite the difficulties of travelling through the region when the snow comes,skiing hasn't traditionally been used as a means of transport by the locals,largely because trees don't grow here, so there is little in the way of raw materials from which to make skis.In 1995, a group of British scientists in the region noticed the lack of skis and one of them returned to set up the Zanskar Ski School in Padam.The school provides lessons for a small fee and rents skis to the local people. Among the benefits that the school hopes to bring are improved education--children often find it difficult to get to school through the deep snow--and the possibility of offering ski tours to tourists in the future.So far,more than 300 local people have received training,and local doctors and policemen regularly borrow skis."
But what we weren't able to include in the article is that the ski school is always on the look out for old skiing equipment--particularly of a size suitable for children--and, I thought. Now the European ski season is drawing to a close,there might be a few of you out there who have some old equipment you'd like to see go to a good home.If that's the ease you can get in touch with the school via their website www.zanskarski school.org. | high4272.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "something causing people to think and discuss"
},
"options": [
"something basic that happens in everyday life",
"how to educate children in different families",
"something causing people to think and discuss",
"the impo... | The Basics: First of all, there is nothing basic about this movie. The closest thing to the description this film has is about a Texas family of five struggling to relate and exist together when they are all very different people. They deal with death, fear, growing up, and just making it through a day. However, the story itself is woven into other visuals that make it just a part of what director Terrence Malick is trying to say. If you want something basic, stay away from this movie entirely. But if you're stricken by movies that make you say. "Wait, huh?" then you should rush out to see it immediately with someone and plan to hold a summit afterward discussing what it means.
A Method To His Madness? The loose, disjointed style of the story involved both the 1950s version of the O'Brien family as well as the present-day version of their oldest son Young Jack. There are no solid beginning-middle-ends in any scene; they play out more like a merory or a dream does in your head. Therefore, the audience is left with less of a definitive statement about what's going on, and more of an emotional connection to what they see on screen. We drift through scenes, getting a vague idea that Mr O'Brien is overbearing and Mrs O'Brien is very nurturing , and that the children are growing up with a strong sense of how to move around the imbalance between their parents. Now, throw in scenes of Sean Penn wandering around the high-tech modern city, looking like the rug has been pulled out from underneath his soul. Add in a dash of nature shots, including but not limited to magrna, the ocean, dinosaurs, and hillsides...
What Does It All Mean? It is very clear that Malick wants us to have a sense of this family as a part of the entire universe. A child frightened at his father's touch is a microcosm of the dark expanse above our heads, and it exists alongside the tides, animals, and even God. It all depends on what you believe, which is why this movie is so interesting. | high21199.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "they were afraid of being punished by Mr. Dawson"
},
"options": [
"Mr. Dawson didn't like kids",
"they were afraid of being punished by Mr. Dawson",
"Mr. Dawson was a bad-tempered old man",
"their parents told them not ... | An invisible smile
Mr. Dawson was an old grouch , and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious apple, even off the ground, because old Dawson, they said, would come after you with his ball bullet gun.
One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson's house on the way to Amy's house, but as they got close Janet saw him sitting on his front porch and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children, she was scared of the old man because of the stories she'd heard about him.
Amy said not to worry, Mr. Dawson wouldn't hurt anyone. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown, but when he saw it was Amy, a broad smile changed his entire face as he said, "Hello Miss Amy. I see you've got a little friend with you today."
Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree.
When they got out of Dawson on earshot, Janet asked Amy, "Everyone says he's the meanest man in town. How come was he so nice to us?"
Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.
After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her.
"An invisible smile?" questioned Janet.
"Yes," answered Amy, "my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn't afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, that sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious."
However, it's so easy to get caught up in everyday life that we forget how simple it can be to bring cheer to ourselves and others. If we remember what Amy's grandma said, that everyone wears an invisible smile, we too will find that most people can't resist our smile after a while. | high16735.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "the competition is challenging to you"
},
"options": [
"you are very interested in strict literature",
"there are many interesting advertisements",
"the competition is challenging to you",
"the community is crowded with... | Strictly Shakespeare is a creative writing community and monthly competition site. Its aim is to encourage, stimulate and promote authors, poets and wordsmiths by offering fun challenges, a targeted and friendly community and contact network and an interactive forum for critiques, advice, opportunities and self advertising in a fun and informative manner. The website currently receives one thousand visitors a month but with some amazing work being submitted and shared regularly its workers want to increase that number to highlight the talents of aspiring and creative writers across the globe.
Calling all writers: Are you a poet, aspiring author or lover of words? Strictly Shakespeare invites you to join it now. You don't have to write like Shakespeare to enter it. Every month they hold creative writing contests in both poetry and prose based on a theme or prompt and then the TOP TEN finalists are revealed and public voting is open to determine the cash prize winners.
Mission: It is to challenge and stimulate enthusiasts from all over the world and provide a forum to share and create. With thousands of visitors to the website, it is also great advertising for those who take part to earn the recognition they deserve and make contacts and new friends.
Entries and prizes: It costs only PS1.00 to enter our monthly trysts. It would prefer not to charge at all as they work out of passion as opposed to profit but by charging this minimal fee they can gather all the entry funds, which go into a cash jackpot prize for the winners at the end of each month. Rewards are therefore based upon the number of entries but they give away a minimum of PS20.00 regardless.
How to join: Simply visit the website www.strictlyshakespeare.com today, where you can browse through the amazing submissions of previous winners, take part in the forum or enter into the monthly competitions.
Monthly timeline:
1st of the Month: Prompts/Themes are posted their "News" page and the contests OPEN!
14th of the Month: Competitions close at midnight.
17th of the Month: Top TEN finalists are revealed and public voting OPENS.
26th of the Month: Winners revealed and prizes distributed. | high23956.txt |
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