questions list | article stringlengths 9 6.44k | id stringlengths 9 14 |
|---|---|---|
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Anxious and terrified."
},
"options": [
"Brave and calm.",
"Anxious and terrified.",
"Shy and quiet.",
"Heroic and fearless."
],
"question": "In the film, what was the manner of the author's character when facin... | "There's going to be one less boy in the room!" The words rang in my ears as the criminal pointed his gun against my head. The floodgates opened and tears ran down my face. No one in the courtroom moved. Everyone was held silent with fear. A few seconds passed and the criminal put down his gun, turning his back on me.
"Cut!" the director shouted with joy. One take! We had done the scene in just one take. Then all the people who acted in the film went off for lunch.
I got my food and joined them, and the criminal, who had moments before been so scary, took his seat beside me and told us many funny jokes. A table of adults surrounded me, but I was never uncomfortable talking with strangers. I worked with these people and they worked with me. We talked, we laughed, we got to know each other and sometimes we became friends. At the end of the day we all went our separate ways, but we had been drawn close by working together to make this play.
After the show was broadcast, my friends asked if I had been scared of the criminal. At first this sounded funny. He was, after all, a kind and intelligent man. Then I realized that they didn't see that side of him. Television and films are about creating an alternate life that appears real even if for a while. We had been successful in doing that. Even my friends, who knew the real me, were drawn in the make-believe world of our story.
Acting has helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin and in communicating with others. I feel relaxed during interviews and when leadership opportunities come. Change is not threatening to me, and I am grateful for the chance to learn and to grow in knowledge and experience in my life. | high15837.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "they hoped he could gain something from it"
},
"options": [
"they hoped he could gain something from it",
"they knew he hated to part with Belker",
"they wanted him to remember Belker forever",
"they intended him to lea... | Some of the most painful moments I spend as a vet ( ) are those spent with my customers assisting my animal patients from this world to the next. Making this final decision is not easy, and I have often felt powerless to comfort the sorrowful owners.
That was before I met Shane.
I had been called to examine a ten-year-old dog named Belker who had developed a serious health problem. The dog's owner--Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane--were hoping for a miracle . But I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia for the old dog in their home. As we made the arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the euthanasia. They felt Shane could learn something from the experience.
The next day, _
Shane seemed so calm, patting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
A few minutes later, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's death without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a little while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up: "I know why."
Shocked, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next astonished me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, "Everybody is born so they can learn how to live a good life: like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long." | high9385.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "online advertising to surpass radio next year"
},
"options": [
"online advertising to surpass radio next year",
"radio is the world's fourth-largest advertising medium",
"the 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing",
... | The Internet will overtake radio in 2008 and become the world's fourth-largest advertising medium, a year earlier than forecast.
Global spending on Internet advertising increased from 18.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 24.9 billion dollars last year, according to Zenith Optimedia, the media-buying agency.
The Middle East and Asia are driving a boom in global advertising spending. Zenith predicted _ of 7.7% in spending in Asia in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In the Middle East and Eastern Europe, advertising spending is growing faster than in North America and Western Europe, which are "maturing rapidly" as advertising markets, Zenith said.
Advertising spending in the Middle East increased by 22.4% between 2005 and 2006, compared with growth of 5.2% in America and 4 per cent in Western Europe. Zenith attributed the huge percentage share in the Middle East to the growth in local economies and high oil prices.
In addition to the Olympics, the U.S. presidential election and the European football championship in Austria and Switzerland next year will be the biggest contributors to overall growth during the next two years. However, Zenith noted, the market should brace itself for a fall in revenues after those big events end. | high20654.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "adjust one's diet or breath"
},
"options": [
"apply science to our life",
"operate on various patients",
"adjust one's diet or breath",
"look after mentally-ill people"
],
"question": "You can learn how to _ ... | What Is Natural Medicine
Natural Medicine is to use the natural environment, the nature of the material itself to cure diseases and restore the health.It involves bettering one's breathing way, sunbathing, improving one's diets and so on, which play an important part in our healthcare.
Start a Rewarding Career Today
The Australian Institute of Applied Sciences College of Natural Medicine provides you with Nationally Recognized natural medicine courses that can be studied in the comfort of your own home, or at our Brisbane campus in the heart of Stones Corner.AIAS College of Natural Medicine has been providing accredited natural health courses for more than 20 years, and offers accredited certificate, diploma and advanced diploma level natural medicine, beauty and massage courses.
Why Study at the Australian Institute of Applied Sciences
With over 36 years of specialized training and 120 courses, our Natural Medicine College is Australia's longest running and most sought after training provider for Natural Medicine Education.Our state of the art facilities, highly experienced instructors and friendly support staff make us the first choice for Distance Education and On-campus study.
Studying at Home
All of our courses are available to study at home.We provide all the material and support you will need to successfully complete your course.
Benefits of Studying at Home
*Work at your own pace.
*No need to travel or relocate closer to a campus.
*No interruption to your existing commitments.
*You are still in full contact with the college via Telephone, Email and Post, so you won't be out of touch with the latest training techniques. | high10797.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "an American"
},
"options": [
"a Chinese",
"a Roman",
"an American",
"aThailand"
],
"question": "From the passage we can see that the writer is _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer... | The customs in different countries are rather different. If I have dinner with a Chinese host, he always puts more food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied it. That often discomforts(......) me greatly. I have to eat the food even if I do not want to. I have also noticed that when a Chinese sits at an American's dinner party, he very often refuses the offer of food or drink though he's in fact still hungry or thirsty. This might be good manners in prefix = st1 /China, but it is not in the West at all. In theUnited States, it is impolite to keep asking someone again and again or insist on his accepting something. Americans have a direct way of speaking. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, "No thanks." When an American is served with beer by the host, for example, he might say, "No, thanks. I'll take some orange juice if you have it." That is what an American will do. So when you go to theUnited States, you'd better remember the famous saying: "When inRome, do as Romans do." | high17946.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "remind him of his origin"
},
"options": [
"prepare him for the trip and warn him against possible problems",
"remind him of his origin",
"ask him to look for his great-grandmother",
"share with him the story of her chil... | "I was only thirteen when four of my team members and I were chosen by my swim coach to train with the Chinese National Team. The following piece shows how that experience has influenced me."
The night before I left for China, my mother called me into her room. I entered not knowing what to expect. I sat down at the end of her very neatly-made bed, opposite the bedroom table on which she kept a Ming-style vase illustrated in great detail. She told me that my great-grandmother was still living in the surroundings of Beijing. Her name was Ren Li Ling and she was 97 years old. This was the first time I had ever heard of her.
The dragon on the vase snaked through the flowers and vines as my mother said, "Pu Pu, look at me. You need to hear this so that when you go to China you will understand. You must keep this knowledge in your heart."
She told me a story about my grandfather, Ren Li Ling's son, who left Beijing to go to college in Taiwan. She told me how the Chinese civil war kept him away from his mother for fifty years, so neither of them even knew that the other was alive. No one from Taiwan could visit, write, or call anyone in mainland. All lines of communication were cut off.
She told me of my grandfather's devotion to his own children, and how difficult it was for him to send his daughter to America for her education, fearing that same separation. He gave my mother all that he could give -- nineteen years of love and fifty years of savings. I learned how my mother, through means only available in this country, would finally be able to unite my great-grandmother with my grandfather again. The dragon curled around the vase, connecting the separate vines. For a fleeting second, I felt it was present in my mother's room. It was all very strange, yet very clear. I began to understand that this trip to China was not just for me; it was for my mother, and her father, and his mother. Now, I had not only a future, but more significantly, a past. I saw the world with new eyes.
And so I went to China and met my great-grandmother. My great-aunt picked me up at the training center, and we rode in a taxi through the crowded city. The noise of the taxi and the city united into a deep roar. We finally stopped in front of a narrow street lined on either side with small one-level houses. As we made our way to a house like all the others, I drew the stares of many people in the street. My great-aunt led me through a rotting doorway into a room with a furnace , table, and a rocking chair where an old woman wearing gloves sat facing the doorway, covered with a worn brown blanket. I walked over and immediately embraced this frail woman as if I had known her all my life. My limited, broken Chinese wasn't up to expressing my complicated feelings. And even though I couldn't completely understand what she was saying in her thick Beijing accent, I knew -- the same way I knew what my mother had been trying to tell me before I left. Her joy shone through her toothless smile. She wouldn't let go of my hand. I haltingly asked her how she had managed to live such a long life. She answered in words I will never forget, "Hope has kept me alive. I have lived this long because I wanted to see my son before I died."
My fellow team members must have wondered how two people separated by three generations could be so close. Before this trip, I would have wondered the same thing. And even now, I can't quite explain it. We were as different as two people can be; some 85 years and 8,000 miles apart. We came from two entirely different cultures; yet we were connected by a common heritage .
I stayed for dinner which was cooked in a black iron wok over the furnace. The meal was lavish , prepared in my honor. As I began to eat, with my great-grandmother beside me, I felt the dragon was present. But this time, the feeling didn't pass; the dragon had become a part of me.
My great-grandmother passed away last year at the age of 100. With her highest hopes and wildest dreams fulfilled, I know she died happy. | high3870.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Live a real life"
},
"options": [
"Love your friends",
"Live a real life",
"Don't waste time",
"Be a good mother and wife"
],
"question": "The best title of this passage probably is _ .",
"question_type": ... | I no longer consider myself as the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they come. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.
So here's what I want to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure , it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived. | high20132.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because she wanted to offer help."
},
"options": [
"Because people there helped her.",
"Because she never went there before.",
"Because she wanted to offer help.",
"Because the old people there shared stories with her"
... | Last summer, as part of my high school graduation project, I volunteered at Saunders House nursing home. I choose this experience because it was something that I had never done before and I wanted to lend a helping hand. At first it was challenging because I was extremely shy. My goal in volunteering was to bring a smile to the residents by doing different activities from word games to playing chess. I feel as if I had finished that goal.
At the nursing home, I did a lot of different activities with the residents ranging from Jeopardy to Wheel of Fortune. One of my favorites was a word game where I would write a ten -letter word on the board and the residents would try to come up with as many smaller words as possible. I could tell that it was one of their favorite games because they always seemed to be so enthusiastic when they played. I also transported residents to and from their rooms when they needed help; and whenever it was a nice day out, I would take them outside to get some fresh air and relax. On Saturday mornings, I would deliver the newspaper to the residents and on Sundays, I helped with morning church services.
The most unforgettable part of this experience was when I had one-on-one conversations with the residents. It was incredible how many great stories they had to tell. Their stories were so interesting and the experience was unforgettable for me. | high14297.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "When the parents are at work or at school."
},
"options": [
"When the parents are retired.",
"When the parents are working or buying gifts.",
"When the parents are at work or at school.",
"When there are three generatio... | Generational differences and the economy are shifting more responsibilities for children from their parents to grandparents, according to a new survey.
More than one-third of grandparents aged 50 and older contribute financially to their grandchildren's upbringing, and 11 percent have a grandchild living with them, the poll by AARP showed.
40 percent of people who responded to the telephone survey, whose average age was 69, reported spending more than $500 on grandchildren over the past year beyond traditional gifts. Education costs accounted for about 50 percent, daily expenses for about 32 percent and medical and dental costs for about 18 percent.16 percent provided daycare for grandchildren.
"They are the safety nets for American families, helping to pay for practical expenses and necessities,"said Amy Goyer, AARP's multigenerational and family issues expert.
"We see many providing daycare services, while growing numbers even have grandchildren living with them,"she said, referring to the 16 percent who watch their grandchildren while the parents are at work or at school.
Overall, nearly 90 percent of the 1,904 grandparents questioned said they play a very or somewhat important role in their grandchildren's lives, and about 70 percent live within 50 miles of the closest one.
The poll conducted by Woelfel Research Inc. also showed that grandparents increasingly adapted to the younger generation's life issues and preferred ways of communicating.
More than one-third connect with their grandchildren via email, Skype or text messaging, while half said they routinely discuss topics ranging from values to drug and alcohol use.
Nearly 40 percent said they had discussed dating or sex with at least one grandchild. About 60 percent said they spoke with their grandchildren at least once a week.
Most of the grandparents said they had five or more grandchildren, while one-fourth said they have grandchildren of a different race, mixed race or different ethnicity. | high8925.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Cellphone Manners Are a Must"
},
"options": [
"Cellphone Manners Are a Must",
"How to Use Cellphones",
"Don't Disturb Others",
"The Popularity of Cellphones"
],
"question": "What could be the best title for th... | You are enjoying the beautiful scenery in a quiet place, but suddenly the peace and quiet is interrupted by the noisy sound of a cellphone ! Cellphones are everywhere, and some people don't know what the limits of cellphone use are.
For me, it's just a matter of education, good manners, and common sense. If I go to a beautiful place, it is because I want to enjoy nature. I can do it, but without bothering other people.
Nowadays, that's the biggest problem. People disturb other people, first with the ringing of their cellphones and then with their conversations because they usually speak very loudly. Not everybody in a public place should have to listen to private conversations . Even more annoying, you hear just one part of the conversation.
People need to learn how to use cellphones correctly. If there is an emergency ,cellphones are acceptable, but remember that just a few years ago few people had cellphones and the whole society survived!
But again, not everybody wants to listen to other people's private conversations. It's like smoking. _ . Our society has to learn to respect other people.
Sometimes when you are talking to someone, that person interrupts the conversation because of a cellphone call, without saying "I'm sorry." That is bad manners. They don't know how to respect other people. It's just common sense! But our society is sometimes so "common senseless!" So, we have to write some rules to prohibit cellphone use in some places. | high15162.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "The differences are very great."
},
"options": [
"Their differences are very small.",
"The differences are very great.",
"There are no differences between them.",
"Some people think there are, but some people don't thin... | What do you think of British people and American people? You might think that there are no differences between the people in the two countries. After all they speak the same language, don't they? But if you ask a British or an American person, the differences are quite great.
What do British people think Americans are like? The British think Americans are very strange. They make a lot of noise and they laugh too loudly. They are rich, and they only think about money. But the British do say that Americans are kind, friendly people. They are happy to help you if you are in trouble.
What do Americans think of the British? Well, they think the British are cold and very unfriendly. They are not interested in success or in making lots of money. They think Britain is the best country in the world. They look down upon other countries. But Americans say that the British are quite good workers. They are brave and honest. And in time of trouble they face difficulties happily.
You can see that these ideas can cause misunderstanding between the British and Americans. But when American and British people become friends, they usually find things are not as bad as they expected.
,: | high8716.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Essay and multiple-choice."
},
"options": [
"Essay and multiple-choice.",
"Essay and critical writing.",
"Multiple-choice and math.",
"Multiple-choice and literature."
],
"question": "Which parts are included in... | If you are a high school senior graduating and looking to enter college in 2006, you will take the new exam.
The biggest change to the SAT will be the introduction of a new writing section. The writing section will consist of two parts: an essay and a multiple-choice section. Students will be given 25 minutes to respond to a prompt and construct a well-organized essay that effectively deals with the task. The essay question may require students to complete a statement, to react to a quote, or to agree or disagree with a point of view. In any case, a good essay will support the chosen position with specific reasons and examples from literature, history, art, science, current affairs, or even a student's own experiences.
Essays will be scored based on the procedures for the current SAT II: Writing Test. Essays will be graded by two independent readers On a scale of 1~6, and their two scores will be combined to form an essay subscore that ranges from 2 to 12. Should the readers' scores vary by more than 2 points, a third reader will score the essay; The readers will be high school teachers and college professors who teach composition. To ensure that essays will be scored in a timely manner, they will be scanned and made available to readers on the Internet for grading purpose.
The writing section will also include multiple-choice grammar and usage questions. Some of these questions will call upon students to improve given sentences and paragraphs. Others will present students with sentences and require them to identify mistakes in diction , grammar, sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, proper word usage.
The highest possible score on the new writing section will be 800. Scores on the essay and multiple-choice section will be combined to produce a single score. A writing subscore will also be assigned. The highest possible scores on the Critical Reading and Math sections will remain 800 each, making 2,400 a perfect score on the new SAT. | high7425.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "www. gardnermuseum. org"
},
"options": [
"www. pafa. org",
"www. museumofglass. org",
"www. noguchi. org",
"www. gardnermuseum. org"
],
"question": "Which of the following websites offers information about the f... | Use your American Express Card to enjoy one-day visit at four of America's greatest museums. Note the participating museums, and their exciting special exhibitions that you will not want to miss, listed below.
Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Chairs
February 11-May 8, 2012
Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum's collection and "chair photographs" from around the world presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous masterpieces.
For more information:www. gardnermuseum. org
New York
The Noguchi Museum
Noguehi and Graham
December 1, 2011-May 1, 2012
Noguchi's long-term collaboration with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high point in the history of both modern dance and art. The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this collaboration.
For more information:www. noguchi. org
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
In Full View:American Painting(1720--2012)
January 11--April 10, 2012
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy has been home to America's artists for more than 200 years. The Academy collects and exhibits the works of famous American artists, and is well-known for training fine artists. 2012 at the Academy begins with the largest exhibition of Academy's distinguished American collection in the institution's history.
For more information:www. pafa. org
Seattle
Seattle Museum of Glass
Murano:Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection
Through November 7, 2011
This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano, the island of glassblowers near Venice, Italy. Watch live glass-blowing shows in the Hot Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions.
For more information:www. museumofglass. org | high1054.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "is still working"
},
"options": [
"stops working",
"is still working",
"is full of names",
"improves your memory"
],
"question": "You remember names though you are not thinking about them because your subconscio... | Sometimes ideas do not appear when you are concentrating your attention and mysteriously appear when you are not. Modern science recognizes this as a result of incubating the problem in your subconscious , yet can't account for why it occurs.
When you quit thinking about a subject and decide to forget it, your subconscious mind doesn't quit working. Your thoughts keep making associations(,). This is why you've experienced suddenly remembering names, getting solutions to problems you've forgotten about, and ideas out of the blue when you are relaxing and not thinking about any particular thing.
You may try solving a problem with your subconscious mind by writing a letter to it. Now let go of the problem. Don't work on it. Forget it. Do something else. This is the incubation stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness, in your unconsciousness. Open the letter in two days. The answer might magically pop into your mind.
An advertising agency was under pressure to come up with a marketing campaign. Bert, the creative director, wrote the following letter which he addressed to his subconscious mind.
Secret Expert,
I need to come up with a new marketing program to introduce a new season of television shows. I'm interested in some kind of campaign that will capture the audience's attention more than one time. Is there something people need that we can advertise on? What kind of products, foods and services should we investigate? I need your idea about a fresh approach to advertising.
Thanks, Bert
Bert mailed the letter to himself and when he read what he had written, he got his brainstorm, which was to advertise on "eggs". Somehow an association between "foods", "need" and "fresh approach" inspired the thought of using "fresh eggs to advertise." He arranged to put the ad for the television shows on eggs -- some thirty million.
The consumers look at a single egg at least a few times, when they buy the eggs at the store, when they transfer(,,) them to the refrigerator, and when they crack them open. It's unlike any other ad medium in the world, because you're looking at it while you are using it. | high13513.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "discover the association between Foxp2protein and vocal communication"
},
"options": [
"test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans",
"prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different",
... | American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special "language protein " in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day - over 13,000 more than men. "This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals," said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the "ultrasonic range", the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother's cage, she _ her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less "talkative".
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
"Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex," said Prof McCarthy.
"Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. " | high5232.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "People often believe that what they do is right."
},
"options": [
"Negative results have nothing to do with others.",
"People always feel responsible for their fault.",
"All the people are fond of escaping blame.",
"Peo... | Scientists explain why people often blame others when things don't work out. Researchers say that when it comes to fixing blame, we can't always trust our own judgment .When things go wrong and we're to blame, we 're supposed to feel guilty. Right? Not necessarily.
It turns out that when we do something that causes a negative result, we actually feel less responsible for our actions. But we see the entire situation differently if things turn out well.
The "blame game" is nothing new. Behavior experts have long known that people push responsibility to others, or to outside factors, when things don't work out. But the new research shows that this reaction is more than about wanting to escape blame. We actually don't believe that what happened is our fault.
To learn more about the "blame game", researchers conducted a study. They asked 34 people to press keys that produced three different noises. The noises were positive (amusement, laughter), negative (fear, upset, or anger), or neutral .
The volunteers were asked to try to judge the time that it took between when they pushed the button and when they heard the sounds. Volunteers felt there was longer time between their actions and the negative sounds than that between their actions and the positive ones. In their minds, the negative results were separate from their actions. Therefore, they were able to feel less responsible for them.
The findings suggest that perhaps more of us need to realize that unpleasant or negative situations may actually be our fault - even if we don't see it that way. And taking more responsibility for our actions could lead to better relationships with others. | high18446.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "They provide a safe means for the locals to do business."
},
"options": [
"They might help the local people apply for a bank account.",
"They will replace the banks completely in the near future.",
"They provide a safe means ... | With smart phones taking the world by Storm, a phone that can only send and receive voice calls and text messages may seem like a relic from a bygone age. Yet in East Africa,simple phones like these are changing the face of the economy, thanks to the mobile money services that are spreading across the region.
Using the text-messaging function built into the GSM system used by most cell phone networks, these services allow people without a bank account or credit card to use their phone as an electronic wallet that can be used to store. send or receive cash.
It works like this: you pay cash to your local agent who then tops up your mobile money account using a secure form of text messaging. That money can be transferred to another person by sending a message to their cell phone account.
For some the system is a lifeline. "If I didn't have my mobile phone. I would be very poor, "says Neyasse Neemur, a mother of four children who lives in northern Kenya. "Now I can sell fish."
Neemur took up fishing in July last year, but making money from it was a little tricky, especially as Turkana people do not usually eat fish. A truck from Ethiopia to Tanzania passes through her village once a week, and she arranged to have the driver transport the fish several hundred kilometres south to market in Kisumu, where her s sell the fish.
"I get the money transfer immediately." says Neemur. "Then I can pay for my children to go to school and for vegetables and beans," she adds, "so I don't need to eat fish."
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, payments worth around l billion Kenyan shillings($13 million)per day were transferred through Kenya's mobile money systems in 2009, equaling the country's credit card transactions . The bank expects mobile money transfers to overtake credit cards in 2011. | high17775.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The accommodation fees."
},
"options": [
"The on line reviews.",
"The security status.",
"The accommodation fees.",
"The nearby environment."
],
"question": "About what do Chinese women care more when choosing h... | The world's largest travel website,TripAdvisor,released a survey on female travel on April 9.It revea1ed that 43 percent of Chinese women have holidayed alone,slightly higher than the global average of 41 percent.
The survey covered 10 countries and regions,including China,the US, the UK,Germany,France,Italy and Spain,and aimed to explore woman's travel habits especially with regards to solo travelling. According to the survey,when choosing hotels,85 percent of Chinese women will compare prices on different travel websites,much higher than the wor1d average of 57 percent .However, 92 percent of women around the world regard online hotel reviews as an important reference while 71percent of Chinese female travelers do so,which demonstrates that global women travelers attach greater importance to hotel reviews to avoid unsatisfactory accommodation experiences. In contrast,though Chinese women do also check the ratings, they still prefer to be guided by 1ower prices.
Interestingly,84 percent of Chinese women.Identified trying 1ocal food as one of the necessary activities when traveling alone,higher than the global average of 62 percent.Plus,76 percent of Chinese women and 73 percent of global females will take part in cultural and scenic activities.Surprisingly,only 30 percent of Chinese women list shopping as an indispensable must-do on their solo travel trips,lower than the average of 43 percent.
Trip Advisor China President Zheng jiali said,"Globally speaking,solo travel has gradually become a trend among the young generation. And there is no denying that women must face the greater challenges of unknown environments by themselves on their solo trips in the future."
For most Chinese women traveling alone,they not only focus on the journey process but also long for changes that travel can bring about in their minds . Among more than 9,000 respondents around the world, a majority spoke highly of independent trips which have caused significant changes in themselves, with 36 percent saying they have learned about different cultures,43 percent expressing that they are more confident than before and 56 percent feeling they become more independent.In addition,45 percent of Chinese female travelers think independent trips have helped reshape their outlook on life,well above the international average of merely 15 percent. | high19758.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Dirty and dangerous."
},
"options": [
"Easy and interesting.",
"Dirty and dangerous.",
"Pleasant and well-paid",
"Challenging and creative."
],
"question": "Which of the following can best describe the chimney-s... | If you've ever owned a chimney, you know that it can get pretty dirty. There's a whole lot of soot that gets stuck on the inside. That stuff has to get cleaned, or you could have a serious fire risk. While nowadays we have easier ways of doing this dirty job, in the way back days somebody used to climb up the chimney and clean all that soot. And the thing is, not just anybody could do it.
You had to be really small to fit up in the chimney, so they used to give the task to kids - some as young as four or five years old. They worked for their boss known as a master-sweep. They were often covered in soot, and were very likely to get burned. They often developed what became known as soot wart, a form of cancer.
Are your unfairness bells ringing? William Blake's certainly were. The physical dangers and widespread unfairness of the chimney-sweeping job really stuck in his throat, so much so that he wrote not one, but two poems called "The Chimney Sweeper".
The first poem (the one we're discussing here)was published in 1789 in a book called Songs of Innocence. These little poems took children and the joys of childhood innocence as their subject. As you've probably guessed by now, many of the poems in Songs of Innocence, like "The Chimney Sweeper", are about the ways in which childhood innocence is destroyed by unkind old adults. For Blake, innocence is, in many ways, a total joke. It doesn't exist, because it's always taken away by the realistic world - chimney-sweeping, death, poverty, etc.
What does a five-year-old chimney sweeper in 18th-century England have to do with you? More than you might think. It is reported that 150 million kids are in child labor in developing countries. Many of them work long hours and face dangerous health risks. Like Blake's chimney sweeper, these kids are not even given a chance at innocence because experience keeps getting in the way. | high11304.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "It falls on November 11\ntheach year."
},
"options": [
"It's only held in Canada.",
"Its ceremony lasts 11 hours.",
"It falls on November 11\ntheach year.",
"It's to celebrate the country's independence."
],
"qu... | Since the end of World War I (WWI) in 1918,Canadians, and millions of others around the world have paused at the 11thhour of the 11thday of the 11thmonth to honour the sacrifices our soldiers have made in different wars, fighting for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.
Known as Remembrance Day, the day originated as a tribute to the soldiers of WWI, a dark period for our young country, which claimed the lives of over 60,000 military personnel and civilians and over 16 million dead worldwide.
As there are no more surviving soldiers of WWI,today we rely on the wisdom and words of those soldiers who fought in the wars that followed,and this day now also recognizes their heroic contribution.
They tell us to always remember what those brave souls fought for, and all they ask in return is that we never forget.
That's why we wear the red poppy ;that's why when we see a soldier in uniform we should stop him or her and say "Thank you" ; that's why we take a pause from our busy lives for two short minutes today to honor that request.
Yet this message is fading away, year after year.
Take for example the terrible decision to allow parents to excuse students from Remembrance Day ceremonies at school.
Not only is this disrespectful, it distances the student from his or her classmates.
It is difficult to understand why any Canadian parent would want to remove their child from the time-honored tradition of reading the poem In Flanders Fields, while a wreath of poppies is laid.
It is more important than ever to teach school-aged children about our history,no matter how violent it was. Sheltering them from the realities of war is a great disservice.
Understanding why conflicts happened, or happen today, can help shape choices and decisions they make as adults.
Of course, because we live in a free society, we cannot force an individual to do something. _ is unfortunate, but some parents now have their child "opt-out" of the services. These people should be reminded they are free to make such choices only because of the men and women the rest of us are remembering. | high3643.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "It can't be damaged by water."
},
"options": [
"It is heavy for pupils to carry.",
"It can't be damaged by water.",
"It is one and a half meters high.",
"It is easily broken or damaged."
],
"question": "Which of... | Children at a school in Italy have today begun an experiment to replace all their books with personal computers. The pupils involved will each be given a special laptop that contains their entire courses.
Until today, the Don Milani di Rivoli elementary school in central Turin was like any other. Children turned up, got out their books and pens and began the process of learning. But now, in what's being described as a unique experiment, 60 fifth-grade pupils and a number of third-graders, will start using computers only.
The mini-laptops, which run Windows software, all have a full curriculum programmed into them. The pupils will use the computers to do all their reading and writing. Security systems within the laptops mean the children's access to the Internet is strictly controlled. The machines weigh less than a kilogram, can be dropped from a height of 1.5 metres and are waterproof.
Instead of spending 700 dollars a year on books, the laptops, built by the Italian company Olidata, cost less than 400 dollars. One of the teachers involved in the scheme says that, for the first time, schools will be able to verify in a scientific way how a computer alone can improve the learning process. The experiment, which has the backing of parents, is due to last a year.
In other countries, such a programme is also being carried out. Venezuela is ordering one million low cost laptops for its school children. The machines will be based on the Intel Classmate laptop that has been designed for school children. Many see the deal as a blow for the One Laptop Per Child organization that has also been introducing its child- friendly machine to developing nations. | high11462.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "likely to know advantages and disadvantages of things"
},
"options": [
"likely to find the truth in life",
"unwilling to admit their own failure",
"unwilling to have a general idea of things",
"likely to know advantages... | Americans wear black for mourning while Chinese wear white. Westerners think of dragons as monsters. Chinese honor them as symbols of God. Chinese civilization has often shown such polarities with the West, as though each stands at extreme ends of a global string. Now in the University if California, Berkeley, a psychologist, has discovered deeper polarities between Chinese and American cultures--polarities that go to the heart of how we reason and discover truth.
His findings go gar toward explaining why American cultures seem to be aggressive and Chinese cultures so passive, when compared to each other. More importantly, the research opens the way for the peoples of the East and the West to learn from each other in basic ways. The Chinese could learn much from Western methods for determining scientific truth, said Kaiping Peng, a former Beijing Scholar, who is now a UC Berkley assistant professor of psychology. And Americans could profit enormously from he Chinese tolerance for accepting contradictions in social and personal life, he said.
"Americans have a terrible need to find out who is right in an argument," said Peng. "The problem is that at the interpersonal level you really don't need to find the truth, , or maybe there isn't any." Chinese people, said Peng, are far more content to think that both sides have advantages and disadvantages, because they have a whole awareness that life is full of contradictions. They do far less blaming of the individual than do Americans, he added.
In studies of interpersonal argument, for example, when subjects were asked to deal with contradictory information resulting from conflict between a mother and a daughter or a student and a school, Peng found that Americans were "non-compromising, blaming one side -- usually the mother -- for the causes of the problems, demanding changes from one side to attain a solution and offering no compromise" in dealing with the conflict. Compared to this angry, blaming American method, the Chinese were paragons of compromise, finding fault on both sides and looking for solutions that moved both sides to the middle. | high20867.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "how strict parents should be with their children"
},
"options": [
"how to take care of young trees",
"how strict parents should be with their children",
"how the young father should get on with his old neighbor",
"how t... | A young father was visiting an old neighbor. They were standing in the old man's garden,and talking about children. The young man said,"How strict should parents be with their children?"
The old man pointed to a string between a big strong tree and a thin young one."Please untie that string," he said.The young man untied it,and the young tree bent over to one side. "Now tie it again,please," said the old man,"but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again."
The young man did so.Then the old man said,"There,it is the same with children.You must be strict with them,but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on. If they are not yet able to stand alone,you must tie the string tight again.But when you find that they are ready to stand alone,you can take the string away." | high3125.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Five."
},
"options": [
"Three.",
"Five.",
"Six.",
"Seven."
],
"question": "How many kinds of animals can be kept in Best Friends Pet Care Resort?",
"question_type": "factiod_questions"
},
{
"answer":... | Do you want to visit Disney World? However, will you worry about your pet if you go to Disney World? To meet the needs of these people, a pet hotel has been built near the Disney World Resort in Florida.
The new pet hotel is named Best Friends Pet Care Resort and it is mainly open to dogs and cats. It has an area of 4,645m2. About 270 dogs and 30 cats can be kept there at the same time. Besides dogs and cats, it can also provide services for birds, pigs and rabbits. However, it can't take care of snakes and turtles now.
Best Friend Pet Care Resort is a very expensive hotel. There are several types of dog rooms, such as rooms with air-conditioners and VIP rooms. There is even a "private dog park". Owners can have a high-quality vacation with their dogs there. The cats are kept in the "Kitty City". The "Kitty City" is very comfortable and clean. Workers there will clean it once a day.
Apart from having good equipment, Best Friends Pet Care Resort also have other plans to meet the psychological needs of pets. Workers play music to the pets, walk with them, play with them and even read stories to them before they go to bed.
"We aim to make sure that pets will have a fun vacation here, just like their owners at Disney World," said the manager of the resort. | high5554.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Our reaction to pain is closely related to our expectation of pain."
},
"options": [
"We should learn to be sensitive to pain.",
"Our feeling of pain is decided by our environment.",
"Our reaction to pain is closely related t... | If you touch your finger to a hot stove, you know it's going to hurt. However, if you convince yourself beforehand that the pain won't be so bad, you might not suffer as much. According to a recent study, the part of your brain that reacts to severe pain is largely the same part that reacts to expectation of pain.
Researchers in this study worked with 10 volunteers, aged 24 to 46. Each volunteer wore a device that gave out 20-second-long pulses of heat to the right leg. There were three levels of heat, producing mild, moderate, or strong pain. During training, the volunteers would first hear a tone, followed by a period of silence, and then feel a heat pulse. They then learned to associate the length of the silent pause with the intensity of the upcoming heat pulse. The longer the pause, the stronger the heat pulse would be, causing more severe pain.
A day or two later, the real experiment began. The researchers found that the parts of the brain involved in learning, memory, emotion, and touch became more active as the volunteers expected higher levels of pain. These were mainly the same areas that became active when participants actually felt pain. Interestingly, when the volunteers expected only mild or moderate pain but experienced severe pain, they reported feeling 28 percent less pain than when they expected severe pain and actually got it.
The new study emphasizes that pain has both physical and psychological elements. Understanding how pain works in the mind and brain could eventually give doctors tools for helping people cope with painful medical treatments. | high18320.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "told in order to avoid offending someone"
},
"options": [
"that other people have interest in",
"that other people cannot believe",
"told in order to avoid offending someone",
"told in order to take advantage of someo... | What exactly is a lie? Is it anything we say which we know is untrue? Or is it something more than that? For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you. You say, "I wish I could help you but I'm short of money myself." In fact you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don't want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this. Is this really a lie?
Professor Gerald Gullion of theprefix = st1 /UniversityofSouthern Californiahas made a scientific study of lying. According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a "white lie", such as a woman at a party telling another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it looks awful. However, this is only one side of the story. Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention of fulfilling. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at: the lie from which the liars hopes to profit or gain in some way.
Research has also been done into the changes of people's behavior in a number of small, clearly unimportant ways when they lie. It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer they are saying "I wish I were somewhere else now". They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch .
Another gesture which gives away is what the writer Desmond Morris in his bookMan Watchingcalls "the mouth cover". He says there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth. Such a gesture can be understood, as an unconscious attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself or herself from lying.
Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation. It is not one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context in which the lie is told. | high17013.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "sixty years old"
},
"options": [
"25 years old",
"six years old",
"76 years old",
"sixty years old"
],
"question": "When Sam won the second thing that he'd won in his life, he was _ .",
"question_type": "... | Sam, an unemployed piano tuner, said it was only the second thing he had ever won in his life. The first thing was an Afghan blanket at a church raffle when he was 25 years old. But this was much bigger: it was $120,000! He had won the Big Cube, a state lottery game. To win, a contestant must first guess which number a spinning cube will stop on. The cube has six numbers on it: 1X, 10X, 50X, 100X, 500X, and 1000X. If he is correct, the contestant must then guess which of two selected variables is going to be greater. So, just guessing which number appears on the cube does not guarantee that you will win any money. Sam correctly guessed 1000X, but he still had to choose between two variables. One variable was the number of cars that would run the stop sign at Hill Street and Lake Avenue in six hours. The other variable was the number of times that a teenage boy would change TV channels in a three-hour period. This was a tough decision.
Finally, Sam flipped a coin. It came up heads, so Sam picked the teenager. He picked right. The stop sign was run only 76 times, but the teen clicked 120 times. Sixty-year-old Sam jumped for joy, for he had just won 1000 times 120, or $120,000. Sam dreamily left the lottery studio. Talking excitedly on his cell phone while crossing the street, he got hit by a little sports car.
Sam is slowly getting better. He was in the hospital for a month. His hospital bill was $110,000. And the insurance company for the little sports car's owner sued Sam for $9,000 worth of repairs. Also, Sam still has to pay federal taxes on his winnings. Sam doesn't play the state lottery any more. He says it's better to be unlucky. | high4892.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "the US economy has been recovering"
},
"options": [
"the US economy has been recovering",
"Milan faced competition from other cities",
"few big cities took part in the competition",
"the survey was made by an American o... | New York has taken the title of the world's top fashion capital from Milan. The annual survey suggest that the top five fashion cities are facing competition from Asia and Australia. New York had been the top fashion city for five years, but Milan took the title in 2009. The survey was made by the Global Language Monitor, a US based organization. It tracks the frequency of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blog. With the US economy recovering, New York once again took the top title. Hong Kong took second place. It was followed by London, Paris and Los Angeles. The other top 10 cities were Milan, Sydney, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.
"Because of the new economic situation, the global fashion centers have also changed a lot, "said Bekka Payack. the Manhattan-based fashion reporter for the Global Language Monitor. "The new list shows that global fashion centers will change now and then. Compared with the traditional fashion cities, some new ones are performing better and better. "She said that perhaps this is new trend, and it is the first sign that the traditional top five fashion cities----New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Rome----do not control global fashion any more.
The biggest changes in the list are Hong Kong, Madrid and Melbourne. The Group said that the top newcomers to the list include Amsterdam at number 17, Cape Town at 23, Johannesburg at 25 and Vienna at 27.
The following are the 10 top fashion cities of 2010 and the changes from 2009.
1. New York(up 1) 2. Hong Kong(up 5)
3. London(up 2) 4. Paris(down 1)
5. Los Angeles(up 1) 6. Milan(down 5)
7. Sydney(up 2) 8. Miami(up 5)
9. Barcelona(up 5) 10. Madrid(up 11) | high15604.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "practise reading it aloud"
},
"options": [
"discuss it with others",
"analyze it by oneself",
"copy it down in a notebook",
"practise reading it aloud"
],
"question": "To have a better understanding of a poem, o... | No poem should ever be discussed or "analyzed", until it has been read aloud by someone, teacher or student. Better still, perhaps, is the practice of reading it twice, once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end, so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it.
All discussions of poetry are, in fact, preparations for reading it aloud, and the reading of the poem is, finally, the most telling "interpretation" of it, suggesting tone, rhythm, and meaning all at once. Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice, on records or on film, is obviously a special reward. But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and teacher reading it or, best of all, reciting it.
I have come to think, in fact, that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than "analyzing" it, if there isn't time for both. I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry. Poetry is " a criticism of life", and " a heightening of life". It is "an approach to the truth of feeling", and it "can save your life". It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies.
I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry. Those who don't like it should not be forced to put that dislike on anyone else. But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential nature, about its sound as well as its sense, and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it. | high7343.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "join the army"
},
"options": [
"write stories",
"make a living",
"join the army",
"work as a printer"
],
"question": "Mark Twain left school at 12 to _",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"an... | Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education but had to live. He made millions of dollars by writing whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents.
After his father's death in 1847, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full-time writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died and then three of their children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.(260 words) | high13261.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "exercise more than men in their country"
},
"options": [
"have little time to exercise",
"hate to get regular exercise",
"take more exercise to lose weight",
"exercise more than men in their country"
],
"questio... | Recently a study, led by Pedro Hallal of the Federal University, suggests that nearly a third of adults, 31%, are not getting enough exercise. That rates of exercise have declined is hardly a new discovery. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, technology and economic growth have helped to create a world in which taking exercise is more and more an option rather than a necessity. But only recently have enough good data been collected from enough places to carry out the sort of analysis Dr Hallal and his colleagues have engaged in.
There are common themes in different places. Unsurprisingly, people in rich countries are less active than those in poor ones, and old people are less active than young ones. Less obviously, women tend to exercise less than men--34% are inactive, compared with 28% of men. But there are exceptions. The women of Croatia, Finland, Iraq and Luxembourg, for example, move more than their male countrymen.
Malta wins the race for most _ country, with 72% of adults getting too little exercise, and Swaziland and Saudi Arabia are in close behind, with 69%. In Bangladesh, just 5% of adults fail to exercise enough. Surprisingly, six Americans in ten are active enough according to Dr Hallal's study, compared with fewer than four in ten British.
These high rates of inactivity are worrying. Human beings seem to have evolved to benefit from exercise while deliberately avoiding it whenever they can. In a state of nature it would be impossible to live a life that did not provide enough of it. But that is no longer the case. Actually lack of enough activity these days has nearly the same effect on life span as smoking. | high6049.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "didn't expect anyone to give him a house for a paper clip"
},
"options": [
"hoped that someone would give him a house for his paper clip",
"didn't expect anyone to give him a house for a paper clip",
"didn't know if anyone wo... | Do you dream of owning your own house? Canadian Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old from Vancouver who is a resident in Montreal, has just achieved it. MacDonald, who has spent much of his time since graduating from college backpacking round Europe and Asia and whose main income appears to come from working as a pizza-delivery man, decided last year that he wanted to settle down. However, when he checked the real estate market, he quickly realized that he had no chance of raising the depositon a home of his own.
So he came up with an inventive solution. Using the power of the Internet, he decided to try to barter his way to a house. His starting offer One red paper clip . Of course, he didn't expect someone to offer him a house for the paper clip, he simply wanted to trade it for something that was more valuable. 14 trades later, he is now the owner of a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
His first trade took place when two women from his hometown offered him a pen in the shape of a fish. MacDonald then traded the fish-pen for a doorknob, then the doorknob for a stove. Further _ brought him an electricity generator and a ski-bob, a small vehicle on tracks that people use to ride across snow and ice. After nine trades, he had a recording contract at a music studio in Toronto.
But Kyle pressed on, still convinced that he would eventually get a house. After trades which brought him the opportunity to spend a day with rock star Alice Cooper and to have a small part in a Hollywood movie, he struck gold.
When words of Kyle's astonishing barter journey reached the people of Kipling, they decided to make their move. The population of the town is a little more than l,000, and falling fast. By offering the keys to an empty house on Main Street, Kipling hoped to bring much needed publicity--and residents--to the fading town. And they seem to have succeeded! | high8064.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "kind"
},
"options": [
"generous",
"kind",
"happy",
"mean"
],
"question": "According to the passage, the interviewer, Bruce, was very _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a big company, I told him honestly that the _ reason that I was interviewing with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife had recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some pain for my 16-year-old daughter and me. It was important to me to keep her present high school.
Bruce, the interviewer, was politely kind, but he didn't search any further. He acknowledged my loss and, with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of interviews, Bruce took me to lunch with another manager. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had 3 children. I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had and it was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a loved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, should I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help.
From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea if we could ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of life's greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview process into an act of caring and supporting for another person in a time of extreme need. | high3131.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Never cheat"
},
"options": [
"Never cheat",
"Copy from books",
"Look at others' answers",
"Ask others for answers"
],
"question": "What should top students do in an exam?",
"question_type": "factiod_question... | Huangshi will have new rules about behaviour standards for middle school students very soon. Middle Schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only have high marks. The new rules will be used first in No. 2 Middle School of Huangshi in September 2015. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth Have you ever cheated in an exam, for example, copying answers from a book or looking at other students' answers? Don't do it again! That's not something honest students should do.
Do more at school Good students don't only think of themselves, but they also care for other people and the surrounding. Look at the people around you; do they need help? Give a hand to whoever is in need. You are in a big family! Pay attention to the environment. Wherever possible, do something to protect the earth we live on.
Be open to new ideas Have you ever thought people may live on the moon or travel in space? Having new ideas means possible inventions and discoveries.
Protect yourself Has a thief ever broken into your classroom and taken your money from your schoolbag? Don't let it happen again. And if you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully The Internet can be very useful for your study. But some things on the Internet aren't good for kids, so try to look at the good Web pages, which you can use for fun or homework. | high18334.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A film director."
},
"options": [
"A film director.",
"A tour guide.",
"A journalist",
"A charity worker."
],
"question": "What could the author's job be?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
... | A while ago, when I was a young 25- year-old, I traveled across the United States on a journey to make a film.
During this trip, I ended up in Seattle where I met Laddie McCrea. Laddie was a hobo .
He was about 60-70 years old and looked 100. Laddie had shoulder length white hair covered with weeds from the previous night's bedding. His clothes were a living journal of evenings in the shrubs and days in the sun. Laddie stank of alcohol and garbage. www.ks5u.com
When I first met Laddie, he was standing on a busy downtown Seattle sidewalk. He greeted every passer-by with a smile, a pleasant greeting and an extended palm. Each day, society was rushing past Laddie - either unaware of his existence or avoiding him - a smelly, begging bum.
I found Laddie to be an excellent character for my movie, so I paid him to allow me to stand in the background and film him. I spent three days hidden among the crowd, filming Laddie. Most of the time he was unaware of my existence. Each day he stood in a busy section of town greeting the world with a smile and an extended palm - just earning enough change for the evening's night cap .
One special day, as I watched from a bench off in the distance, a young girl, around 6 or 7, with a pretty dress and her hair in a ponytail, approached Laddie from behind and tugged on his shirt. Laddie turned to the girl, who then reached up and handed him something. At that, Laddie showed his happiness and reached in his pocket, gave her something and the girl ran back to her parents excitedly showing them what she had received.
I was so curious about the exchange that I was dying to go immediately to Laddie and ask him what took place, but in order to get candid shots, I knew I couldn't make my presence known. Later that afternoon when I finished my shoot, I spent some time with Laddie and asked about the event.
Laddie replied: "The little girl came to me and gave me a quarter, so I gave her two quarters in return because I wanted to show her that when you are charitable, you will receive more than you give." | high17007.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "she is much older"
},
"options": [
"she works harder at her lessons",
"she is eager to graduate from college",
"she is much older",
"she is a country girl"
],
"question": "The difference between Lilian and her c... | Lilian Hanson, a college student, expects to graduate in about two years. What makes Mrs Hanson different from her classmates is her age -- 73 years. She has been studying at college, a few courses at a time, for 27 years.
When Lilian Hanson graduated from high school, she went to the bank to borrow money for further education. The banker gave her no encouragement. He didn't think that a country girl should borrow money to go to college. He thought she should be at home doing work in the house or around the farm. So Lilian Hanson went home and raised a family of nine children instead of going to college.
Mrs Hanson never forgot her dream of getting a higher education. When her children were grown, she tried again. She finds the hardest part of going back to school at her age is the sitting in class for long periods of time. Because she is not as flexible as she used to be, Mrs Hanson often gets up and walks around between classes to keep from getting stiff . At the beginning of a course in using the computer, the other students all stood and gave her a warm welcome when she introduced herself and explained why she was there and what her aims were. | high4886.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "robot-readers"
},
"options": [
"Hewlett contest",
"education reform in America",
"robot-readers",
"William and Flora Hewlett Foundation"
],
"question": "The text is written to introduce _ .",
"question_typ... | American high school students are terrible writers, and one education reform group thinks it has an answer: robots. Or, more accurately, robot-readers-computers programmed to scan student essays and _ a grade.
Mark Shermis, professor of the College of Education at the University of Akron, is helping to hold a contest, set up by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ( WFHF), which promises $ 100,000 in prize money to programmers who write the best automated grading software. "If you're a high school teacher and you give a writing task, you're walking home with 150 essays, " Shermis said, "You're going to need some help. "
Automated essay grading was first proposed in the 1960s, but computers back then were not up to the task. In the late 1990s, as technology improved, several textbook and testing companies jumped into the field. Today, computers are used to grade essays on South Dakota's student writing assessments and a handful of other exams, including the TOEFL test of English fluency, taken by foreign students.
The Hewlett contest aims to show that computers can grade as well as English teachers---- only much more quickly and without all that depressing red ink. Automated essay scoring is "objective," Shermis said, " And it can be done immediately. If students finish an essay at l0 pm, they get a result at 10 :00 pm . "
Take, for instance, the Intelligent Essay Assessor, a web-based tool marketed by Pearson Education, Inc. Within seconds it can analyze an essay for spelling, grammar, organization, and help students to make revisions. The program scans for key words and analyzes semantic patterns , and Pearson claims that it can understand the meaning of text much the same as a human reader. | high10768.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The temperature is lower than the outside."
},
"options": [
"The temperature is lower than the outside.",
"Both of the pots are made of clay.",
"It is covered with a wet cloth.",
"Drier air is moving outside the pots."
... | A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get too warm. But for many of the world's poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult. Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity.
Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they can not sell quickly.
But in 1995, a teacher in northernprefix = st1 /Nigerianamed Mohammed Bath Abba found a solution. He developed the "Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System". It uses two round containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one.
The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A piece of wet cloth covers the whole cooling system.
Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation process. Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving.
The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks.
People throughoutNigeriabegan using the invention. And it became popular with farmers in other African countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby.
In 2000, the Rolex Watch Company ofSwitzerlandhonored him with the Rolex Award forEnterprise. This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being.
A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history. Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects.
The award is given every two years. The next one will be given in 2008. | high19994.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He is grateful for what volunteers once did for him."
},
"options": [
"He has a lot of free time.",
"He is lonely and wants to be with others.",
"He wants others to know he is a good man.",
"He is grateful for what volu... | Why do I volunteer with Big brothers / Big sisters of America? I have many reasons. Perhaps the biggest reason is that people once volunteered to help me.
Years ago, I was on the other side of the table. I was lonely and I felt lost. It's a little embarrassing to talk about it now, but whatever the right direction in life was, I was going the opposite way. More than once, I found myself on the wrong path. If someone hadn't stepped in when he did, I probably wouldn't even be here now. I'd rather be in a prison or somewhere a lot smaller and deeper.
I've seen the work that big brothers / sisters have been doing all over the country and I'm pleased to be part of it. I've never done anything that made me prouder than my volunteer work. Big brothers and sisters helped me get over sadness and depression as soon as possible. Then, if I can help anyone like they helped me, I am willing to serve for as long as they will have me serve them. There are no words to describe the joy I get from helping somebody turn their life around. Every time I think that that's me now, I'm proud and happy.
Volunteering is how I want to leave my mark on the world. I recommend volunteering work to everybody, especially to somebody who isn't sure where they are going in life. Helping someone find their path is often the best way to find yours. Be a volunteer, and you will find your purpose in life. | high2549.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "She had to wait for a long time."
},
"options": [
"The worker there was impatient.",
"She failed to post her letter.",
"Some people cut in line.",
"She had to wait for a long time."
],
"question": "Why did the w... | I was at the post office early that morning, hoping to post a letter at the start of a busy day. Instead, , I found myself standing in a queue that went all the way into the hallway.I had never seen so many people there on a weekday. The queue moved very slowly.My patience ran out and I got angry. When I got to the counter finally, I finished my business quickly and briefly, and then walked past the queue that was now extending past the front door.
Thinking I was going to be late for my dentist appointment, I was scowling as I headed into the parking lot.
A woman was coming across the lot in my direction.She was walking with determination, and each step sounded very heavy.I noticed that she had a scowling on her face. Her body language said that she was having a really terrible day.My anger disappeared.I wished I could wrap her in a hug but I was a stranger. So I did what I could in a minute before she hurried past me-I smiled.In a second everything changed.She was surprised. Then her face softened and her shoulders relaxed.I saw her take a deep breath.Her pace slowed and she smiled back at me as we passed each other.
I continued to smile all the way to my car. Wow, it's amazing what a simple smile can do.From then on, I became aware of people's expressions and my own, the way we show our feelings.Now I use that awareness in my everyday life to let it remind me that when facing the world, I can try a smile. | high18452.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "He had nowhere to go and wandered aimlessly in the street."
},
"options": [
"Though lost in the city, he didn't feel worried or lonely.",
"He had nowhere to go and wandered aimlessly in the street.",
"He avoided the police fo... | Once again, I had run away and really did not know why. I walked out of the gate to go to school and then kept walking, and walking, and walking. I was 11years old. It was almost dark; I was tired, cold, and all alone. I had not eaten all day and was afraid to turn myself over the police. I knew I would receive another beating once I returned to the Children's Home Society. There was nothing for me to do, except keep on walking.
As darkness fell, I entered the darkened area in a city park sat down on a wooden bench hoping to avoid the police cars. It was cold and I began to tremble uncontrollably. All was quiet except for the passing cars in the distance.
"Well, hello young man." A voice came from behind me. I jumped, almost falling off the park bench. My heart was beating ninety miles per hour. I gasped and I could hardly catch my breath. I looked up and saw a woman standing behind me in the shadows.
"You look cold and hungry," she said. She took off her scarf, wrapped it around my shoulders and asked me to follow her. We walked about twenty feet, and then stopped under one of the park streetlights.
She held out her hand and said, "Here, you take this letter." Seeing nothing in her hand., I stood still.
"Reach out and take the letter from my hand," she insisted. Slowly I reached out, acting as though I was taking something from her hand. "Now hold the paper tightly and take it to any store owner," she instructed.
I closed my thumb and finger as though I were grasping the letter and began walking toward Five Points. Several blocks down the road, I came to a store with a woman sitting behind a counter. I opened the door, walked in, and stopped directly in front of her. Very slowly I held out my hand toward her. I watched her face to see if she might think I was crazy or something.
She reached out and as her hand touched mine, I opened my tightly closed fingers and stood there waiting. She pulled back, smiled, and looked down at her hands.
She immediately turned and walked to the back of the store. After a while, the woman returned holding a paper plate.
"Here is something for you to eat." She smiled and signaled to me to eat. Within two or three minutes, I downed the entire plate of food and several Coca Colas.
Before I left, she held out her hand and asked me to take the letter. Again seeing nothing, I held out my hand and closed my thumb and finger as though I were taking something from her. Tightly grasping nothing more than air, I walked out into the street and headed back to the park. The old woman was still there.
"It is really magic. Can I have the letter so I can be magic too?" I asked her.
She reached out, took my hand, and opened my tightly closed fingers. Whatever was being held between my fingers, she took and placed into her apron pocket. "Would you help someone if they were hungry?" she asked me.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Would you help someone if they were hurt, cold or scared?"
"Yes Ma'am. I would be their friend."
"You are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the magic letter," she responded. | high5226.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Allie is anxious about talking about leaving."
},
"options": [
"Allie is tired of the author's suggestions.",
"The author is angry with Allie's rudeness.",
"Allie is anxious about talking about leaving.",
"The author is... | My daughter Allie is leaving for college in a week. Her room is piled with shopping bags filled with blankets, towels, jeans, sweaters. She won't talk about going.
I say, "I'm going to miss you," and she gives me one of her looks and leaves the room. Another time I say, in a voice so friendly it surprises even me: "Do you think you'll take your posters and pictures with you, or will you get new ones at college?"
She answers, her voice filled with annoyance, "How should I know?"
My daughter is off with friends most of the time. Yesterday was the last day she'd have until Christmas with her friend Katharine, whom she's known since kindergarten. Soon, it will be her last day with Sarah, Claire, Heather... and then it will be her last day with me.
My friend Karen told me, "The August before I left for college, I screamed at my mother the whole month. Be prepared."
I stand in the kitchen, watching Allie make a glass of iced tea. Her face, once so open and trusting, is closed to me. I struggle to think of something to say to her, something meaningful and warm. I want her to know I'm excited about the college she has chosen, that I know the adventure of her life is just starting and that I am proud of her. But the look on her face is so mad that I think she might hit me if I open my mouth.
One night -- after a long period of silence between us -- I asked what I might have done or said to make her angry with me. She sighed and said, "Mom, you haven't done anything. It's fine." It is fine -- just distant.
Somehow in the past we had always found some way to connect. When Allie was a baby, I would go to the day-care center after work. I'd find a quiet spot and she would nurse -- our eyes locked together, reconnecting with each other.
In middle school, when other mothers were already regretting the distant relationship they felt with their adolescent daughters, I hit upon a solution: rescue measures. I would show up occasionally at school, sign her out of class and take her somewhere -- out to lunch, to the movies, once for a long walk on the beach. It may sound irresponsible, but it kept us close when other mothers and daughters were quarrelling. We talked about everything on those outings -- outings we kept secret from family and friends.
When she started high school, I'd get up with her in the morning to make her a sandwich for lunch, and we'd silently drink a cup of tea together before the 6:40 bus came.
A couple of times during her senior year I went into her room at night, the light off, but before she went to sleep. I'd sit on the edge of her bed, and she'd tell me about problems: a teacher who lowered her grade because she was too shy to talk in class, a boy who teased her, a friend who had started smoking. Her voice, coming out of the darkness, was young and questioning.
A few days later I'd hear her on the phone, repeating some of the things I had said, things she had adopted for her own.
But now we are having two kinds of partings. I want to say good-bye in a romantic way. For example, we can go to lunch and lean across the table and say how much we will miss each other. I want smiles through tears, bittersweet moments of memory and the chance to offer some last bits of wisdom.
But as she prepares to depart, Allie has hidden her feelings. When I reach to touch her arm, she pulls away. She turns down every invitation I extend. She lies on her bed, reading Emily Dickinson until I say I have always loved Emily Dickinson, and then she closes the book.
Some say the tighter your bond with your child, the greater her need to break away, to establish her own identity in the world. The more it will hurt, they say. A friend of mine who went through a difficult time with her daughter but now has become close to her again, tells me, "Your daughter will be back to you." ks5u
"I don't know," I say. I sometimes feel so angry that I want to go over and shake Allie. I want to say, "Talk to me -- or you're grounded!" I feel myself wanting to say that most horrible of all mother phrases: "Think of everything I've done for you."
Late one night, as I'm getting ready for bed she comes to the bathroom door and watches me brush my teeth. For a moment, I think I must be brushing my teeth in a way she doesn't approve of. But then she says, "I want to read you something." It's a brochure from her college. "These are tips for parents."
I watch her face as she reads the advice aloud: " 'Don't ask your child if she is homesick,' it says. 'She might feel bad the first few weeks, but don't let it worry you. This is a natural time of transition. Write her letters and call her a lot. Send a package of candies...' "
Her voice breaks, and she comes over to me and buries her head in my shoulder. I stroke her hair, lightly, afraid she'll run if I say a word. We stand there together for long moments, swaying. Reconnecting.
I know it will be hard again. It's likely there will be a fight about something. But I am grateful to be standing in here at midnight, both of us tired and sad, toothpaste spread on my chin, holding tight to--while also letting go of--my daughter who is trying to say good-bye. | high17761.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "The advantages of school uniforms."
},
"options": [
"How to dress properly.",
"The history of school uniforms.",
"The advantages of school uniforms.",
"How to deal with pressure in school."
],
"question": "What ... | There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effective coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them.
Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentleman. And they can focus their attention on academics rather than style.
Purchasing school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation and consideration. No matter what the school' s policy is, there are only specific essential pieces to the wardrobe that are necessary, so _ . A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day.
Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmates are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore when students are limited in their choices, so there shouldn't be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lack of individuality with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles.
Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students. | high4138.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "events before they happen"
},
"options": [
"their dream",
"events after they happen",
"events before they happen",
"heart illness"
],
"question": "ESP lets people know about _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_... | Have you ever suddenly felt that someone you know was in trouble -- and he was? Have you ever dreamed something that came true later? Maybe you have ESP.
ESP stands for Extra Sensory Perception. It may be called a sixth sense. It seems to let people know about events before they happen, or events that are happening some distance away.
Here is an example: A woman was doing washing. Suddenly she shouted, "My father is dead! I saw him sitting in the chair!" Just then, a telephone came. The woman's father had died of a heart illness. He died sitting in a chair.
There are thousands of stories like this on record. Scientists are studying them to find out what is behind these strange mental messages. Here's another example ---- one of hundreds of dreams that have come true.
A man dreamed he was walking along a road when a horse and carriage came by. The driver said, "There's room for one more." The man felt the driver was Death, so he ran away. The next day the man was getting on a crowded bus. The bus driver said, "There's room for one more". Then the man saw the driver's face was the same face he had seen in the dream. He wouldn't get on the bus. As the bus drove off, it crashed and burst into fires. Everyone was killed!
Some people say stories like these are lies or coincidences. Others say that are ESP in true, from studies of ESP, we may some day learn more about the human mind. | high3657.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Tofu"
},
"options": [
"Bean curd",
"Tofu",
"Name card",
"Net bar"
],
"question": "Which of the following expressions is more native?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
... | I've been living in China for a while -- long enough to observe the long-term deterioration of my own native language abilities, as well as those of my fellow English speakers. This deterioration can take different forms, one of which is the non-standard usage of the words. Its source is, specifically, Chinese culture, and its target is native English speakers. Below I give some of the common ways that the Chinese environment strikes down the native speaker's linguistic competence .
Net bar: In Chinese, they're called "", This is fine. We generally call them "Internet cafe" in English. The Chinese seem to think that "" should be translated as "net bar" in English, and many careless foreigners have even been misled by this idea.
Name card: In the English-speaking world, business people have lots of business meetings to discuss business. On these occasions, business people exchange specially printed pieces of paper known as business cards. In China everyone calls them "name cards", because in Chinese they are called "" and "name card" is a more direct translation .
Bean curd. It's called "tofu," OK! This English word comes from Chinese. I know all dictionaries sold in China will tell you "" is "bean curd" in English and that may represent the two characters nicely, but "bean curd" is more a definition than a comfortable translation. And yet some foreigners start saying "bean curd" rather than tofu. Deplorable !
I think you see the pattern. The normal native way of saying something is replaced by a more unnatural way of saying it using other English words.
If you've been living in China for a while and find yourself using all of these, you might be on dangerous ground. You're going to start making a fool of yourself back home. Look out! Resist Chinglish attempts at destroying your own command of your mother tongue! | high12619.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "To pay for his schooling"
},
"options": [
"To gain some experience",
"To save for his future",
"To support his family",
"To pay for his schooling"
],
"question": "Why did the writer have to take many jobs at tha... | In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as terrible as my job in an apple plant . The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.
First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time--two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy were the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again. | high8702.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Driving Course."
},
"options": [
"Driving Classes.",
"Driving Learning.",
"Driving Course.",
"Driving Experience."
],
"question": "Which of the following is the best title for this passage?",
"question_type"... | In America, drivers' education is part of the regular high school curriculum. Every student in his or her second year of high school is required to take a class in driver's education. However, unlike other courses, it is not given during the regular school year. Instead it is a summer course.
The course is divided up into two parts: class time for learning laws and regulations and driving time to practice driving. Class time is not unlike any other class. The students have a text from which they study the basic laws they must know to pass the written driving test that is given to anyone wanting to get a driver's license.
Driving time is a chance for the students to get behind the wheel (steering wheel) and practice starting steering, backing up, parking, switching lanes, turning corners, and all the other maneuvers required to drive a car. Each student is required to drive a total of six hours. The students are divided up into groups of four. The students and the instructor go out driving for two hour blocks of time. Thus, each student gets half an hour driving time per outing. The instructor and "driver" sit in the front seats and the other three students sit in the back.
Drivers Ed cars are unlike other cars in which they have two sets of brakes, one on the driver's side and one on the other side where the instructor sits. Thus, if the student driver should run into difficulties the instructor can take over. The car also has another special feature. On the top of the car is a sign that reads: STUDENT DRIVER. That lets nearby drivers know that they should use extra caution because the student driver is a beginning driver, not very experienced and prone to driving slowly.
After the student has passed the driver's education course and reached the appropriate age to drive (this age differs in every state but in most cases the person must be 16 years old), they can go to a designated state office to take their driver's test, which is made up of an eye examination, a written test, and a road test. The person must pass all three tests in order to be given a driver's license. If the person did well in his or her driver's education class, he or she will pass the test with flying colors and get a driver's license. | high15176.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "The first face transplant"
},
"options": [
"The first face transplant",
"A successful face operation",
"The most severe damaged face",
"The breakthrough of surgery"
],
"question": "What would be the best title o... | Can you imagine being savagely attacked by a dog? What if the attack was so severe that your nose, lips and chin were completely destroyed? How would you feel about yourself? Would you be able to look at yourself in the mirror? And how do you think other people would treat you?
Isabelle Dinoire is someone who can answer all of these questions honestly and openly.
Last November Isabelle was attacked and mauled by her own dog. The attack was so severe that her lower face was damaged; it seemed, almost beyond repair. She was rushed to hospital and became the first person ever to have a face transplant.
With such severe injuries doctors offered Isabelle little hope that they would be able to repair the damage to her face using conventional surgery.
Shortly after being admitted, she came to the attention of Dr Bernard Devauchelle who, unlike other surgeons, believed there was an alternative: "We found ourselves saying, yes, it's clear this woman needs a transplant," he said.
Two days after the operation she saw her face in the mirror for the first time. She said "I was scared to look at myself, but when I did it was already marvelous and I couldn't believe it. I thought it would be blue and swollen but it was already beautiful."
Now, less than a year after her 15 hour operation, she's trying to rebuild her life and there is no doubt how she feels about her new face: "I have been saved. Lots of people write saying that I need to go on, that it's wonderful. It's a miracle somehow."
Although there were ethical questions raised about their decision to carry out the procedure, the doctors who operated on Isabelle are quick to defend their decision.
One of them said "Was it possible for her to live without a face? It's easy to say we shouldn't have done the operation, but her life has changed, she goes shopping, goes on holiday, she lives again." | high7431.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Canada and North America."
},
"options": [
"France and North America.",
"Canada and North America.",
"Austria and Canada.",
"Belgium and Canada."
],
"question": "In which countries does Halloween have its highes... | As one of the world's oldest holidays, Halloween is still celebrated today in several countries around the globe, but it is in North America and Canada that it maintains its highest level of popularity. Every year, 65% of Americans decorate their homes and offices for Halloween. Halloween is the holiday when the most candy is sold and is second only to Christians in terms of total sales.
Austria
In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. The reason for this is that it was once believed such items would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night which for the Austrians was considered to be brimming with strong cosmic energies.
Belgium
The Belgians believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross one's path and also unlucky if it should enter a home or travel on a ship. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives.
Canada
Modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began with the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Jack- O- Lantern is carved and the festivities include parties, trick-or-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks.
France
Unlike most nation of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in order to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is regarded as an "American" holiday in France and was unknown in the country until around 1996. | high14268.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "raise production of a key blood cell"
},
"options": [
"raise production of a key blood cell",
"make people joyful",
"aid digestion",
"make break-away from the bad habits"
],
"question": "Playing bridge can help ... | New findings suggest that brainy card games such as contract bridge may temporarily raise production of a key blood cell including in fighting off illness. After 90 minutes of play, bridge players had increased level of immune cell, according to research reported last week.
A researcher, Diamond, studies bridge players from a woman's bridge club. She chose bridge players because the game includes skills stimulating a part of the brain called the dorsolateral cortex. Earlier animal research suggests that this part of the brain may play a role in the immune system.
The findings are based on blood samples drawn from 12 women players. Their blood samples showed a rise in levels of white blood cells called T cells after they played bridge for 90 minutes. T cells are produced by the thymus gland and used by the immune system against diseases.
The T cells count jumped significantly in eight of the bridge players, and slightly in the other four.
The findings contribute to the field of neuroimmunology , whose name reflects the fact that the nervous system and the immune system are not considered separate and isolated systems. What isn't clear is whether the help to the immune system from an activity like contract bridge is lasting or temporary. It's also not clear whether the increase in T cells could finally be targeted against special illness. | high22902.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "his parents did not have enough money for him"
},
"options": [
"his father graduated from the university",
"his mother did not thinks it a great university",
"his parents needed him to help support the family",
"his par... | In early autumn I applied for admission to college. I wanted to go nowhere but to Cornell University, but my mother fought strongly against it. When she saw me studying a photograph of my father on the sports ground of Cornell, she tore it up.
"You can't say it's not a great university, just because Papa went there."
"That's not it at all. And it is a top university." She was still holding the pieces in her hand. "But we can't afford to send you to college."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you for money. Do you want me to get a job to help support you and Papa? Things aren't that bad, are they?"
"No," she said. "I don't expect you to help support us."
Father borrowed money form his rich cousins to start a small jewellery shop, His chief customers were his old college friends. To get new customers, my mother had to help. She picked up a long-forgotten membership in the local league of women, so that she could get to know more people. Whether those people would turn into customers was another question. I knew that my Parents had to wait for quite a long time before their small investment could show returns. What's more, they had not wanted enough to be rich and successful ;Otherwise they could not possibly have managed their lives so badly.
I was torn between the desire to help them and change their lives, and the determination not to repeat their mistakes. I had a strong belief in my power to go what I wanted. After months of hard study I won a full college scholarship .My father could hardly contain his pride in me, and my mother eventually gave in before my success. | high1040.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "They are culture-related ."
},
"options": [
"They are culture-related .",
"They affect people's health",
"They change with the seasons.",
"They vary from person to person."
],
"question": "What does the author s... | Everybody sleeps, but what people stay up late to catch--or wake up early in order not to miss--varies by culture. From data collected, it seems the things that cause us to lose the most sleep, on average, are sporting events, time changes, and holidays.
Around the world, people changed sleep patterns thanks to the start or end of daylight savings time. Russians, for example, began to wake up about a half-hour later each day after President Vladimir Putin shifted the country permanently to "winter time"starting on October 36.
Russia's other late nights and early mornings generally correspond to public holidays. On New Year's Eve, Russians have the world's latest bedtime, hitting the hay at around 3:30 am.
Russians also get up an hour later on International Women's Day, the day for treating and celebrating female relatives.
Similarly, Americans' late nights late mornings, and longest sleeps fall on three-day weekends.
Canada got the least sleep of the year the night it beat Sweden in the Olympic hockey final.
The World Cup is also chiefly responsible for sleep deprivation , The worst night for sleep in the U.K. was the night of the England-Italy match on June 15. Brits stayed up a half-hour later to watch it, and then they woke up earlier than usual the next morning thanks to summer nights, the phenomenon in which the sun barely sets in northern countries in the summertime. That was nothing, though, compared to Germans, Italians, and the French, who stayed up around an hour and a half later on various days throughout the summer to watch the Cup.
It should be made clear that not everyone has a device to record their sleep patterns, in some of these nations, it's likely that only the richest people do. And people who elect to track their sleep may try to get more sleep than the average person. Even if that's the case, though, the above findings are still striking, If the most health-conscious among us have such deep swings in our shut-eye levels throughout the year, how much sleep are the rest of us losing? | high13507.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "A clever dog."
},
"options": [
"A clever dog.",
"A curious butcher.",
"A cruel owner.",
"A second lost key."
],
"question": "Which may be the best title of the passage?",
"question_type": null
},
{
"... | A butcher watching over his shop was really surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He went over to the dog and noticed it had a note in its mouth. He took the note and it read "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well."
The butcher looked carefully and was surprised to find that there was really a ten-dollar note there. So he took the money and put the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher was so impressed, and since it was about closing time, he decided to shut up shop and follow the dog.
So off he went. He followed the dog to a bus stop. The dog stopped and started looking at the timetable. The dog checked out the time, and then sat on one of the seats provided. Along came a bus. The dog walked around to the front, looked at the number, and went back to its seat. Another bus came. Again the dog went around to the front, looked at the number and climbed on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, followed it onto the bus.
The bus traveled through the town and out into the suburbs. Eventually the dog got up, and moved to the front of the bus. It stood on two back paws and pushed the button to stop the bus. Then it got off with groceries still in its mouth.
Well, the dog and the butcher were walking along the road, and then the dog turned into a house. It walked up the path, and dropped the groceries on the step. Then it walked back down the path, took a big run, and threw itself against the door. Then again, it threw himself against it. There's no answer at the house. so the dog waited at the door.
The butcher watched as a big guy opened the door, and started shouting at it. The butcher ran up, and stopped the guy. "Why do you shout at the dog? It is really a genius." The guy responded, "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten its key." | high2561.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "has been known for hundreds of years"
},
"options": [
"is the one most commonly used today",
"was invented by the American Indians",
"has been known for hundreds of years",
"tends to be unhealthy"
],
"question":... | Centuries ago, man discovered that removing moisture from food helps to store it, and that the easiest way to do this is to expose the food to sun and wind. In this way the North American Indians produce pemmican(dried meat ground into powder and made into cakes), the Scandinavians make stockfish and the Arabs dried dates.
All foods include water--cabbage and other leaf vegetables contains as much as 93% water, potatoes and other root vegetables 80%, lean meat 75% and fish, anything from 80% to 60%, depending on how fatty it is. If this water is removed, the activity of the bacteria which cause food to go bad is checked.
Fruit is sun-dried in Asia Minor, Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries, and also in California, South Africa and Australia. Various methods are used, but in general, the fruit is spread out on trays in drying yards in the hot sun.
Nowadays most foods are dried mechanically. The method of such dehydration is to put food in chambers through which hot air is blown at temperatures of about 110degC at entry to about 43degC at exit. This is the usual method for drying such things as vegetables, minced meat, and fish.
Dried foods take up less room and weigh less than the same food packed in cans or frozen, and they do not need to be stored in special conditions. For these reasons they are invaluable to the climbers, explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little storage space. They are also popular with housewives because it takes so little time to cook them. Usually it is just a case of replacing the dried-out moisture with boiling water. | high10026.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "it expressed her desire for peace against terrorism"
},
"options": [
"it was being written when the attacks happened",
"it expressed her desire for peace against terrorism",
"they both involved fighting in the air",
"th... | A 13-year-old Chinese girl, Fan Yi (Nancy), who had her primary education in US, recently published her first fairy tale, Swordbird. The English fairy tale was listed as the bestseller of children's fiction in theprefix = st1 /US, theShanghai Evening Postreported.
Fan Yi was greatly interested in observing birds ever since she was a little girl. In Hanmilton,New York, where she lives, she often watches kingfishers and woodpeckers flying over her house from the small woods nearby. And the inspiration for writing the bookSwordbirdactually came from one of her dreams. At that time, she was studying American history in school and happened to read many articles in magazines about the 9*11 terrorist attacks. One day, she had a dream in which some _ and _ were controlled by some black birds and began to fight with each other. When she woke up, she decided to turn her dream into a story and to convey her message for peace to the public.
In order to get her book published in China, Fan translated the entire English version into Chinese.
"It is a learning process. Since I didn't know many Chinese idioms, I had to get help from my mom and dad from time to time. For another thing, a lot of poems in the original story are written in rhyme. So when I translated them into Chinese, I wanted to make sure that they were in rhyme, too," she said.
Fan Yi was born in Beijingin 1993. She stayed inBeijinguntil she finished her first grade of primary school. Then she moved with her parents to theUnited Stateswhen she was seven. Two years later, she started to write her English story.
In March, this year, the book was published by Harper Collins Publishers. It was selected as the week's bestseller of children's fiction by the New York Timessoon after it was published.
In future, Fan Yi might write more series for her book. It is expected that her Swordbird Prelude might come off the press next year. | high17749.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "sports"
},
"options": [
"maths",
"history",
"sports",
"physics"
],
"question": "Before 1896 French schools didn't teach_.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1... | Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a Frenchman. At his time sports were not taught in French schools. De Coubertin believed that sports should go hand in hand with studies. He had an idea. His idea was to begin the Olympics all over again.
Sports teachers of other countries liked de Coubertion's ideas. So in 1896, the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens , Greece. Since then the Olympics have been held once every four years, except three times, when there were wars.
Before the start of the Olympic Games, runners carry lighted torch through many nations towards the stadium where the games will be held. These sportsmen are from different countries. Yet they work together to carry the Olympic torch. It is passed from runner to runner. When the last runner enters the stadium, he or she places the torch in a special basin filled with oil. It catches fire. It is then, only then, that the Olympic Games can begin.
The Olympic flame burns throughout the games. It is the flame of peace. | high19764.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Xi Jinping's visit to Russian is a great success."
},
"options": [
"Xi Jinping's visit to Russian is a great success.",
"Xi Jingping visited four countries during Mar.22-30",
"Russia is the biggest friend of China.",
"C... | BEIJING - President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia has enhanced bilateral strategic mutual trust and support, and expanded practical cooperation between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told media on Sunday.
Wang made the remarks while introducing to reporters travelling with the Chinese official delegation the fruits of Xi's first foreign trip as China's new head of state, which had taken him to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, and the Republic of the Congo.
In Russia, Xi and the Russian president Putin had spent eight hours together in meetings and exchanges that could be characterized as frank, practical and congenial, Wang said, adding the two leaders reached important _ on strategic coordination and set the direction and outlined key sectors for future cooperation.
The two countries have made it clear that they will support each other in promoting their respective development and national renewal, safeguarding core interests, and independently choosing their own development paths and social and political systems, the foreign minister said.
The two sides agreed that they will closely coordinate in international and regional affairs, uphold the principles of the UN Charter, and jointly promote democracy in international relations, he said.
China and Russia, during the visit, also promoted their practical cooperation.
During the visit,32 cooperation agreements signed by the two sides are dubbed(...,...)as the "contracts of the century" because they are enormous in value and cover a long period of time, he said.
"The energy cooperation covers such areas as petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power, electricity, coal and new sources of energy, and runs through the industry both of its up and down streams," he added. | high4110.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "a teacher"
},
"options": [
"an artist",
"a teacher",
"a policewoman",
"a scientist"
],
"question": "Crystal Collins may most probably be _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | The Five Rules for Keeping Fit
Hi,there! I'm Crystal Collins and I'm very happy to share some time with you.So,you want to keep fit,huh? Well,you surely came to the right place.Together we can keep fit and healthy and succeed in doing that.It's easy.Everybody can do it,you hear? Just remember the five golden rules.
Number one:Always wear comfortable clothes when you are exercising.You need to feel comfortable and relaxed .
Number two:You should always do some warming--up exercise first,to get your body ready for the real thing.
Number three:Never try to do too much exercise too soon.Take it nice and easy now,you hear ?There's no rush about this.
Number four:Don't forget to relax for about five minutes when you've finished your exercise.You need to rest a little bit after you've been exercising. 1
And here is the golden rule number five.Stop at once if you feel any pain in your neck,head or any part of your body. | high17991.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Don't be a dog in a manger"
},
"options": [
"You cannot get blood out of a stone",
"Don't be a dog in a manger",
"The early bird gets the worm",
"Don't be a horse in the manger"
],
"question": "Peter had a bicyc... | Proverbs are quite common in spoken English. We do not normally put them in a composition or letter. Sometimes it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean. Here are a few examples:
Once bitten, twice shy. If a dog bites me, I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it. This proverb is also used to apply to many things and not only to dogs. If you have been cheated at a shop, you will not go to the same shop again.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If I am a hunter, trying to catch birds, it is better to catch one bird than to see two birds in a bush but not be able to catch them. Thus this means that what you have already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in the future.
Too many cooks spoil the broth(soup). When too many people do something together, they get in each other's way and cannot do a good job.
To pour oil on troubled waters Is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in trouble at sea, another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people. However, it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.
Don't be a dog in a manger . Means " Don't be selfish." In a stable , the manger is the place where the horse's food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bard when a horse comes to get its food. The dog does not want to eat the hay in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.
He's sitting on the fence. Means that somebody will not say whether he is in favour of a plan or against it. He is sitting on a fence between two opposing sides, perhaps waiting to see which side will win.
He who pays the piper calls the tune. A piper is a musician . The man who employs or pays a musician can say what tunes the man will play. Thus this means that if a man provides the money for a plan, he can say how it will be carried out.
You can't get blood out of a stone means that you can't get something out of a person who has not got any of the things you want. For example, you cannot get a million dollars from a poor man. | high11338.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "a huge explosion will happen"
},
"options": [
"there is no fuel left in it",
"its outer layer goes into space first",
"a huge explosion will happen",
"it doesn't give off light any longer"
],
"question": "When t... | A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.
The death of a star is not a quiet event. First there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.
After the explosion gravity pulls in what's left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so dense that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.
The more the star shrinks, the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can go out. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!
That's what we know about black holes. What we don't know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.
But if the black hole doesn't keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words a black hole in our universe could turn into a "white hole" in a different universe. As the black hole swallows light, the white hole shines brightly--somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time -- many years in the past or future.
Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed. So far the time being, black hole must remain a mystery.
Black holes are a mystery--but that hasn't stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make use of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth's energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could some day be used to swallow earthly waste--a sort of huge waste disposal in the sky! | high7419.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "students"
},
"options": [
"teachers",
"advisers",
"students",
"parents"
],
"question": "The passage is written for _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,... | Sure,it's good to get along well with your teacher because it makes the time you spend in the classroom more pleasant.
And yes,it's good to get along well with your teacher because,in general,it's smart to learn how to get along well with the different types of people you'll meet throughout your life.
In fact,kids who get along well with their teachers not only learn more,but they're more comfortable about asking questions and getting extra help.This makes it easier for them to understand new materials and do their best on tests.When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher,he or she can be someone to turn to with problems,such as problems with learning or school issues.
Here is a question:what if you don't get along well with your teachers? In fact,teachers want to get along well with you and enjoy seeing you learn.But teachers and students sometimes have personality clashes ,which can happen between any two people.If you show your teacher that you want to make the situation better,he or she will probably do everything possible to make _ happen.By dealing with a problem like this,you learn something about how to get along with people who are different from you.
However,if a certain teacher isn't your favorite,you can still have a successful relationship with him or her,especially _ .Here are some of those responsibilities:
Attend class ready to learn.
Be prepared for class with the right pencils,books,and completed assignments.
Listen when your teacher is talking.
Do your best,whether it's a classroom assignment,homework,or a test. | high6707.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Four adults book two day tours."
},
"options": [
"Four adults book one day tour.",
"Three adults book on the same tour.",
"Four adults book two day tours.",
"Three adults book at least two day tours."
],
"questi... | Let us show you Scotland's unique and beautiful landscape. Leave Edinburgh behind, and escape into another world. Our highly trained local guides are passionate about Scotland, enabling them to offer you an unforgettable insight into the real Scotland.
Choose from our range of great value Scottish Highland Tours to Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, Isle of Skye, Whisky Tasting, Highland Games and the unforgettable Edinburgh Tattoo.EUR
Fantastic day and extended SMALL GROUP tours from Edinburgh.
Book & Go Guarantee. We NEVER cancel, no minimum numbers requires.[:]
Passionate expert local SCOTTISH guides.
Mini Groups -- Save 10% when 4 or more adults book on the same tour.
Multi-Tour Offer -- Save 10% to book 2 or more day tours!
Environmental Charity Offering Scheme (ECO Scheme)
We are committed to sustainable tourism and to preserving Scotland's natural wildlife, environment and unique cultures for future generations to enjoy. You can make an optional donation to leading Scottish environmental charities The John Muir Trust and Trees For Life. EVERY pound you donate will be matched by Highland Explorer Tours. | high9434.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Comedy films."
},
"options": [
"Action films.",
"Cartoon films.",
"Comedy films.",
"Detective."
],
"question": "What kind of film will you probably watch if you like Hugh Grant?",
"question_type": "factiod_q... | Films provide more than just entertainment.For many people,watching English films is a way to develop language skills.While watching a film,you are immersed in the language and can pick up new expressions that you might not find in a textbook.Some difficulties can arise when watching English films--for example,unfamiliar colloquial language or strong regional accents.With this in mind,here are my tips to help you make progress in English learning while enjoying the films.
Choose a film genre that you enjoy.
If you like action films,watch an action film--for example Indiana Jones.If you prefer comedies,watch a comedy--anything with Hugh Grant in always provides a laugh!It's simple enough,but if you choose something you enjoy watching in your native language,you're more likely to enjoy it in English.
Choose something that you are familiar with.
It's best to start off with something simple because in this way you have a higher chance of understanding the film.Disney films such asThe Lion King,or the more recently releasedTangled,are classic examples.Other cartoons such as Up and The Lego Movieare also worth a watch.
Ask friends for advice
Perhaps you have friends who have already seen English film? If so, they may be able to recommend one.
If you need to,use the English _
Subtitles are very helpful for beginners.Using subtitles in your own language is the easiest choice,but for more advanced learners why not consider using English subtitles? This way,you can match the written subtitles to the words spoken on screen.It helps you to develop your language further. | high14240.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "rate one's attractiveness by photos before and after knowing her or his personality"
},
"options": [
"try to make friends with each other",
"try to prove positive characters make people more attractive",
"exhibit negative cha... | If you exhibit positive characteristics such as honesty and helpfulness, the chances are that you will be thought as a good-looking person, for a new study has found that the perception of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person's personality.
The study, which was led by Gary W.Lewandowski, has found that people who exhibit negative characteristics, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers.In the study, the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information about their personalities.
After personality information was received, participants also rated the probability of each individual' s becoming a friend and a dating partner.Information on personality was found to significantly change the probability, showing that cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness.
"Thinking a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind," said Lewandowski.
The findings show that a positive personality leads to greater expectation of becoming friends, which leads to greater expectation of becoming romantic partners and, finally, to being viewed as more physically attractive.The findings remained consistent regardless of how "attractive" the individual was formerly thought to be or of the participants' current relationship status.
"This research provides a positive outcome by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people's impressions of how good-looking you are," said Lewandowski. | high1068.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "they don't have anything to protect them"
},
"options": [
"they are not afraid of humans",
"they usually hide behind big rocks",
"they don't have anything to protect them",
"they pay no attention to their surroundings"
... | There are plenty of reasons that have put sea turtles in danger. Here are some.
The sea turtles tend to live in water, but the females come over to lands for nesting. This is the time when they are in the most vulnerable position. Their nesting areas have been taken over by human settlements and recreation development. This has forced them to search for areas that are less suitable for nesting.
The egg is the first step for a sea turtle to have a chance of life. And this first step of life has become vulnerable in many countries. The sea turtles have no way to protect their eggs. As a result, the poachers have an opportunity to steal their eggs.
The sea turtles are caught in shrimping vessels that use nets. The nets can drown these poor creatures. They die, as the nets are not pulled out fast. Gill nets and drilling for oil also _ habitat destruction and injury to the animal.
One female sea turtle can lay hundreds of eggs in one nesting season. These eggs are preyed on by crabs , foxes, birds, and humans, as they make their run towards the sea. By the time they reach the shallow water, half of them have been removed by their predators on land and some are eaten up by fish in water. Only a few lucky ones win the battle of survival and live past their 1st birthday!
The sea turtles take more than a decade to reach maturity. Then they start breeding and adult turtles have to live for many years to maintain the balance of population. However, as mentioned above, the adults face a lot of hardships for surviving. Pollution, long lines of fishing fleets, high seas, and even tumors, etc., all cause death of these massive, beautiful species. | high13249.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Global warming makes fish smaller."
},
"options": [
"Global warming makes fish smaller.",
"Global warming makes fish decrease in numbers.",
"Global warming affects the fish distribution.",
"Global warming affects the ab... | Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists.
The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions will have a greater effect on marine ecosystems than previously thought. Previous research has suggested that changing ocean temperatures would affect both the distribution and the reproductive abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish size would also be heavily affected.
The researchers built a model to see how fish would react to lower levels of oxygen in the water. As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish. But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University of British Columbia, the lower level of oxygen in the water is key. Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and greatly reduce fish body weight. On the other hand, rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate of the fish's body function. This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller body size.
The research team also used its model to predict fish movements as a result of warming waters. The group believes that most fish populations will move towards the Earth's poles at a rate of up to 35km per decade. "So in, say, the North Sea," says Dr Cheung," one would expect to see more smaller-body fish from tropical waters in the future."
Taking these factors into consideration, the research team concludes that fish body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems to _ what's actually happening in the seas. The researchers looked at two case studies involving North Atlantic cod and haddock. They found that recorded data on these fish showed greater decreases in body size than the models had predicted.
Dr Alan Baudron, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, believes smaller-sized fish could seriously affect the ability of fish to reproduce. "Smaller fish produce fewer and smaller eggs which could affect the reproductive potential of fish stocks," he said. | high6061.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Doubtful."
},
"options": [
"Doubtful.",
"Concerned.",
"Enthusiastic.",
"Supportive."
],
"question": "What was older people's attitude towards personal computers at first?",
"question_type": null
}
] | One form of social prejudice against older people is the belief that they cannot understand or use modern technology. Activities like playing computer games, going on the Net and downloading MP3s are only for the youngsters. Isn't it unfair that older people enjoying a computer game should be frowned upon by their children and grandchildren?
Nowadays older people have more control over their lives and they play a full part in society. Moreover, better health care has left more people in their sixties and seventies feeling fit and active after retirement. Mental activity, as well as physical exercise, can contribute to better health. Playing computer games is a very effective way of exercising the brain.
When personal computers were first introduced, most older people didn't believe they would ever familiarize themselves with it. Now computers have been around for a few generations and retired people have gradually become more relaxed about using them for fun. Gamers over 65 prefer playing puzzle games and card games. Kate Stevens, aged 72, says: "I find it very relaxing. It's not very demanding, but you still need to concentrate."
Another development that has favored "grey games" is a change in the type of videogames available on the market. There's a greater variety of games to choose from, including more intellectual and complex strategy and simulation games. Internet Chess and Train Simulator are among the most popular of these. Train Simulator is based on real-world rail activities. Players can choose from a variety of challenges, such as keeping to a strict-timetable and using helper engines during a winter storm.
Some people argue that "grey gamers" simply don't have the skills required for computer games, and that teenagers are better. _ . Most computer games require the kind of analytical thinking that improves with practice, which means that the "grey gamers" may well be far better than gamers half a century younger than them. In games where speed is the main consideration, older people would be at a disadvantage because they may have slower reaction times. On the other hand, "grey gamers" have a preference for slower paced, mind challenging games. | high14526.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Go home alone late at night."
},
"options": [
"Go home alone late at night.",
"Make sure where the public phones are.",
"Don't get to the bus stop too early.",
"Always notice the environment around you."
],
"que... | Being safe in your everyday life needs knowledge . If you remember the following information, your life will be much safer.
l Always notice the environment around you. You shouldn't walk alone outside. Make sure where the public phones are. If anything dangerous happens, you can find them easily.
l Your bag should be carried towards the front of your body instead of putting it on your back. When a bus is full of people, it is easy enough for a thief to take away the things in the bag on your back.
l If you are followed by someone you don't know, cross the street and go to the other way, let the person understand that you know he or she is after you. Next, don't go home at once. You are safer in the street than you are alone in your home or in a lift .
l If you have to take a bus to a place far away, try to get to the stop a few minutes earlier before the bus leaves. This stops other people from studying you. On the bus, don't sit alone. Sit behind the driver or with other people. Don't sleep. | high22094.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "he missed his friend very much"
},
"options": [
"he wasn't happy in his new home",
"he couldn't adapt to his new environment",
"he missed his friend very much",
"he left guilty about leaving his friend behind"
],
... | Amy and Mark Blaubach were very excited about adopting a child from an orphanage . They thought they would adopt a baby girl. After waiting one and a half years, the social worker asked them to consider adopting a six-year-old boy named Jerry.
After the adoption papers were signed, Amy asked if Jerry had a good friend at the orphanage. Jerry said his best friend was Zack. That was the first time that Amy heard about Zack.
Then Jerry went to his new home with Amy and Mark, where he lived happily and adjusted very well. However, Jerry kept talking about his best friend that he had left behind at the orphanage. So Amy became determined to try and find out more about Zack.
She came across a database specifically for families who had adopted children from the orphanage where she met Jerry. The database allowed parents to enter their child's name and his or her adoption information. As Amy looked through the database, she found what appeared to be a possible match of her son's best friend. After sending a new e-mails back and forth, Amy was sure to have the right Zack. He had adopted by Rae and Bruce Hostetler two weeks before. To her surprise, the two families were living in the same city. Then she decided to give these two friends a special reunion
On a sunny Sunday, the two boys finally met each other again. When Jerry asked Zack, "Do you remember me?" Zack quickly answered, "Yes! Let's go and play!" That led to hours of laughter and play. Rae and Amy were excited to see how well their sons got along, and what an amazing bond they had. Thanks to both families, that special bond between Zack and Jerry can continue for the rest of their lives. | high15638.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "represent different kinds of diseases"
},
"options": [
"are decorated with colorful jewels",
"represent different kinds of diseases",
"are very popular all over the world",
"add up to more than 30,000"
],
"quest... | Raeann Sleith began making bracelets when she was six. Family and friends loved her designs and asked for more. When admirers suggested that Raeann sell her bracelets, she realized she wanted to do just that -- and donate the money to help kids with special needs, like her brother Derek.
Raeann's older brother, Derek, has cri du chat syndrome. Children with cri du chat usually have problems understanding ideas and might have a hard time learning to talk. Many also have weak muscles that can cause problems with walking or using their fingers to pick things up. The term cri du chat means "cry of the cat" in French. Babies with cri du chat often have a high-pitched cry that sounds like that of a little cat.
Over the years, Derek's teachers helped him learn sign language and gestures. They also taught him skills such as recognizing letters, cutting with scissors, and understanding basic math. Raeann wanted to donate money to Derek's school. "I just wanted to help my brother," she says, "and the people who help him."
At first, Raeann focused on creating jewelry that would raise awareness for cri du chat. But people started requesting bracelets to wear as a symbol of support and awareness for a variety of other diseases and disorders. To create those symbols, Raeann researched the color most often associated with raising awareness for the disease or disorder, such as pink for breast cancer or orange for leukemia.
In the end, it turned out to be a great idea. In only a few years, Raeann has donated more than $30,000 to local charities. Raeann's mom says that working on the bracelets has developed the generosity and kindness that already existed in her daughter. Raeann plans to keep making bracelets and raising dollars for charities. "I just want to keep going on with it," she says, "to help my brother more." | high12157.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "People kill sharks because they often attack swimmers."
},
"options": [
"People kill sharks for food.",
"People kill sharks for sport.",
"People kill sharks out of fear.",
"People kill sharks because they often attack s... | Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 species of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.
Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong restaurants. Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because it takes most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring .
Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.
If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by an unprovoked attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.
Sharks help save human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to fight cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system allows wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.
Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost never get cancer and eye cataracts . Understanding why can help us improve human health. Chemicals taken from shark cartilage have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals, research that someday could help _ your life.
Sharks are needed in the world's ocean ecosystems. Although they don't need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks. | high3119.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "Because he wanted to know whether his son was as patient as he used to be."
},
"options": [
"Because he developed a kind of disease.",
"Because he was so boring that he wanted to play a joke with his son.",
"Because he wanted... | An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow perched on their window.
The father asked his son, "What is this?"
The son replied, "It is a crow."
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2
time, "What is this?"
The son said, "Father, I have just now told you 'It's a crow'."
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3
time, "What is this?"
At this time some expression of
was felt in the son's tone when he said to his father. "It's a crow, a crow, a crow."
A little after, the father again asked his son the 4
time, "What is this?"
This time the son shouted at his father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated, I rather felt affection for my innocent child." | high16331.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "resulted from an anxiety attack"
},
"options": [
"as serious as an anxiety attack",
"not so serious as an anxiety attack",
"resulted from an anxiety attack",
"resulted in an anxiety attack"
],
"question": "Accor... | Have you ever been in a situation, where you felt uneasy because of something you think you may have forgotten to do or perhaps a feeling that you annoyed someone whom you wanted to get along with really well. If you have experienced such feelings and worse on a regular basis, then you most probably are a victim of anxiety attacks.
All of us, to some extent, have experienced anxiety at different levels. There are somethings you may know about anxiety, and some things that you may not be familiar with. So in order to be prepared for your unexpected feeling of anxiety, you need to get to know what anxiety is before it _ into a panic attack.
Anxiety is simply the feeling of discomfort, uneasiness or fear of what may eventually happen resulting from an imagined, or a real threatening condition. On the extreme end panic attacks can occur due to heightened feelings of anxiety.
There are two main symptoms during an anxiety / panic attack and these are physical and emotional symptoms. Physical symptoms include difficulty in breathing, shaking, direct feeling of heat, rapid heartbeat and tiredness while emotional symptoms deal with worrying, depression, fear, and lack of focus.
In spite of the negative impression we have for anxiety, it is not dangerous in any way whatever. The feeling of anxiety is not bad, in fact it's more of a defensive feeling which protects us from possible danger by engaging a response within us in fight or fight situations. So it's not the "bad guy", you just have to learn how to control it. Panic attacks, however, are far more dangerous and should be a concern to your health. Panic can sometimes result in blurred vision, difficulty in breathing due to a tight chest. The best way to different anxiety from any serious illness is to ask a medical expert for advice on a regular basis. | high10998.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "we cannot merely rely on robots to explore the moon"
},
"options": [
"we have had a full understanding of the moon",
"going back to the moon is a short-term investment",
"we cannot merely rely on robots to explore the moon",
... | This year marks 46 years since Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon . In all , 12 American astronauts have walked on the moon , the last - Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt - doing so in 1972 .
Enthusiasm for space travel has always decreased and increased . In 2010 , President Barack Obama cut funds for a NASA mission that would have put humans back on the moon by 2020 . " I understand that some believe that we should attempt a return to the surface of the moon first , as previously planned . But I just have to say here : We've been there before , " Obama said . NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has also thrown cold water on the idea of a return mission to the moon .
But others believe there are benefits to going back to the moon . " It's the closest body to us , making it the least challenging to explore of all the planets , moons and asteroids in our solar system , " wrote Gene R. Grush , from NASA Johnson Space Center . " It's an opportunity to establish a permanent presence off Earth - a moon base for scientists or a colony for all of humanity . "
" There is a lot of good science on the moon that we've only scratched the surface on , " said former astronaut Tom Jones . Richard Vondrak , from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , agrees , saying , " Astronauts can accomplish scientific exploration that is beyond the capability of robotic explorers . "
And then there's the private business . In the last few years , several private companies - including Elon Musk's SpaceX - have launched rockets of their own , ending the national control over space flight . NASA is even considering a partnership with SpaceX , and Musk has said that if demand to go to the moon exists , his company will help fill it .
Meanwhile , Buzz Aldrin , the second person to walk on the moon , believes that there's a much better target for exploration : Mars . " We've done the moon - we understand it better than anything else , " Aldrin said . " We've got to start thinking of long-term investments . " | high19002.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit"
},
"options": [
"we'd better be cautious about raw and whole foods",
"foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit",
"it is important for people to protect their vital organ... | Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods ? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.
Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is overweight. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive system, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.
Processed foods contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we've had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body's cells. The body's metabolism becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.
The accumulation of acid in the digestive system makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.
To stop this vicious circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It's also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach. One effective way is to choose raw and whole foods appropriately according to your health conditions and personal preferences. | high4676.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Quickly increasing cars and slowly increasing new road miles"
},
"options": [
"Stress,anxiety and short tempers.",
"People working together in a big city.",
"More cars stopping in the same amount of space",
"Quickly inc... | If you haven't seen or heard anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you've probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive dnriving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.
While drunk driving remains a critical problem,the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance,according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year.of those deaths,the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago?Experts have certain theories,and all are probably partially correct.One suggestion is over crowding.In the last decade,the number of the cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent,and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent.However,the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent.That means more cars in the same amount of space;and the problem is even serious in urban areas.Also,people have less time and more things to do.With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day,street levels have never been higher.Stress creates anxiety,which leads to short tempers.These factors,when combined in certain situations,Can _ Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively,but you might be surprised.For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver,sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing?If you recognize yourself in any of these situations,watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers,or another driver is visibly upset with you,there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict.If you are easily influenced to Road Rage,the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way.If You are the target of another driver's rage,do everything possible to get away from me other drive safely,including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way. www.sdzxlm.com | high5568.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "She chatted with her neighbors."
},
"options": [
"She chatted with her neighbors.",
"She quarreled with a stranger.",
"She went door to door,talking.",
"She talked to patients in hospital."
],
"question": "How d... | In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.
Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litterawareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter--and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all--picking up litter around their homes."I thought,that's all it took--for me to open my mouth?" she says."So I decided to knock on more doors."
And she didn't stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,"I hope you don't think I'm crazy,but..." Yet she was _ by the positive response--so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.
Through a local Mac's Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac's stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people's eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that. | high2207.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "neither the children nor the parents could speak English"
},
"options": [
"neither the children nor the parents could speak English",
"the parents liked communicating with the teachers",
"the parents could help their children... | About 18,000 refugees from Burma have come to the United States each year since 2007. Some have settled in Howard County, Maryland between Baltimore and Washington. A local school began teaching English to the children of the refugees. But while the children learned the language, their parents did not. That made communication with teachers _ .
At present, almost fifty children from Burma attend Bollman Bridge Elementary School. Laurel Conran is a teacher there. She said, "The main idea is the global idea." She teaches English to speakers of other languages. One of her students is Tha Neih Ciang. Another student is Tha Neih's mother, Tin Iang. Ms. Conran practices English with Tin Iang at the mother's workplace. Many refugees from Burma work at Coastal Sunbelt Produce, a supplier of fruits and vegetables to restaurants and other businesses.
Laurel Conran started classes at the company to help refugees from Burma learn English. Laurel Conran said, "The program is a six-week session. It's once a week, on every Wednesday, from twelve to one o'clock. So every Wednesday I go to Coastal Sunbelt." As the workers eat lunch, they also practice their new language skills.
Lisa Chertok has a child at Bollman Bridge. She is also a manager at Coastal Sunbelt. She helped Ms. Conran develop the lessons, which she says have really helped. Lisa Chertok said, "Well, when the Burmese employees got here, they were very, very shy. Now I find that they are more outspoken than before. They're more communicative. As parents, they are also more involved in their children's school."
Jonathan Davis is the headmaster of Bollman Bridge Elementary School. Mr. Davis hopes the lessons will help these parents feel better about communicating with the school. He said, "Even as simple as making a phone call to say that their son or daughter is sick, even if that's the amount of English that they have got from the program, that truly will help us." | high10740.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Animals brains are too simple to make choices."
},
"options": [
"people meet with animals often.",
"Animals brains are too simple to make choices.",
"We should change our old views about animals.",
"Animals stories have... | Are animal brains too simple for thoughts and choices? Stories about animal kindness have really changed my point of view. In fact, some stories are amazing, especially when animals are meeting with people. Here are two stories that interest me.
James, a wildlife writer, told a story that an African woman had placed her baby in the shade of a tree while she was working. An elephant group walked by and saw the baby. Several elephants pulled leafy branches from the tree covered the sleeping baby. Flies can be a problem in Africa and the branches protected the baby from the flies. The elephants were so gentle and quiet that they did not even wake up the baby. Then the elephants walked away.
An English magazine offers another story. Bill, a cat, stayed at home while its master was away on a trip, but the man was injured in a railway accident and died a few days later in a hospital. At the funeral, the Man's brother was surprised to see that Bill was there. The faithful cat had traveled a long way to the hospital, looked at the coffin , and then sadly returned home.
Humans are only one part of the earth. The beautiful flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horses and the great eagles, these are our brothers. The sky and mountains, the cows and men, all belong to the same family. These stories, I hope, will inspire more people to treat animals as our friends rather than pets or our next meal. | high21589.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "windows"
},
"options": [
"trees",
"tunnel fans",
"windows",
"poles"
],
"question": "The farms on the Delmarva Peninsula used to use _ in chicken houses to provide fresh air.",
"question_type": "cloze_q... | Planting trees around poultry farms can improve air and water quality -- and relations with neighbors. Research has shown that just three rows of trees near poultry houses can reduce the release of dust and ammonia . They can also reduce the strong smell of ammonia gas.
The trees take dust, ammonia and odors in their leaves. They also provide shade from the sun, so they reduce cooling costs in summer. And they act as a windbreak, so they reduce heating costs in winter. Trees can also improve water quality around farms by removing pollutions from soil and groundwater.
Several years ago, people were objecting to the odor of poultry farms on the Delmarva Peninsula in the eastern United State s. Delmarva is where the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia come together. Two thousand farms there can each house an average of seventy-five thousand chickens.
Traditionally the farms used windows to provide fresh air in the chicken houses. Farmers rarely planted trees or tall crops around the buildings, so there would be no barrier to the airflow. But then farms began to use new ventilation systems. Instead of windows, the new systems used tunnel fans to circulate air. The fans directed airflow from the poultry houses toward the homes of neighbors.
Researchers began dealing with the problem in two thousand. They found that over a period of six years, planting three rows of trees reduced total dust and ammonia by more than half. And they found that smells were reduced by eighteen percent.
Farmers may think trees will take too long to grow and be effective. But some trees can grow quickly. At least one-third of the Delmarva farms have planted trees, technically known as vegetative environmental buffers. The idea offers a way to cut pollution, save money and energy, and make the neighbors happy. | high16325.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "in Beijing"
},
"options": [
"in Hong Kong",
"in Europe",
"in Beijing",
"in Zurich"
],
"question": "The press briefing must have been held _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
... | HK's family affair
The 32nd Hong Kong Art Festival, to be held early next year, will be based on the theme of "family".
The art festival, considered to be Asia's best, was launched in 1973.
"We hope that people from Beijing and from all over the world will go to Hong Kong to enjoy the multiple performances in our art festival," Douglas Gautier, the festival's management director, told a press briefing in the capital.
In the 34 days of the festival, which runs from February 8 to March 7, 2004, the audience can choose from 111 performances of 51 programmes staged by 700 foreign performers, 450 local artists and 160 actors from the mainland.
Programmes vary from classical music, jazz, world music, Western and Peking opera, drama and dance to outdoor spectaculars.
The programmes include Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Juliet, the ballet Mozartina and African dances, to name just a few.
The lineup includes the English Touring Theatre, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Ballet, the Spanish National Dance Troupe, as well as Europe Galante, the Petersen Quartet, pianists Angela Hewitt, and arc-Andre Hamelin, and saxophonist Jan Garbarek.
In an effort to increase attention, hotels and airlines are offering discount packages along with art festival ticket sales.
For more information, please check _ | high4662.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "To test and play with his new sledge."
},
"options": [
"To test and play with his new sledge.",
"To make a new icy slope by himself.",
"To skate with his father in the nearby park.",
"To ride in his father's car on a sn... | It was Saturday, so Mr. Smith did not have to go to work. It had snowed heavily the night before, and Mr. Smith's son Bobby had a new sledge , which he had been very eager to try out for a long while. There was a good slope in a park not far away from the Smiths' house -- a slope which children often used for their sledges, so Mr. Smith agreed to take Bobby there in the car. They put the sledge in and went off.
When they reached the park, they found that there were already a lot of boys there, each boy with a sledge of his own. They were sliding down the slope at great speed, and then pulling their sledges up again for another go.
Mr. Smith stood by, watching them with a smile. It was obvious that each and every one of them had much fun. After a few moments, Mr. Smith suddenly saw among the boys a kid who was small and poorly-dressed, and did not have a sledge. This boy had flattened out one old cardboard box, and was sliding down the slope on that. Mr. Smith felt very sorry for this poor boy, and determined to tell his son Bobby to share his new sledge with the boy.
But before he could catch Bobby to speak to him, he was somewhat surprised -- and much more delighted -- to notice that several of the older boys in the park were already offering the poor boy their nice sledges. Mr. Smith watched them with greater interest -- and suddenly realized that the bigger boys were not doing this because they felt sorry for the poor boy, but because they enjoyed riding on his cardboard box more than on their own sledges. They were actually waiting eagerly and impatiently for a turn on the flattened cardboard box! | high19016.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "100"
},
"options": [
"100",
"200",
"300",
"400"
],
"question": "Centenarians refer to people who are _ years old.",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
},
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
... | The Italian island of Sardinia recently lost its oldest citizen. Family members say Antonio Todde died in his sleep early this month. Mr. Todde was 112 years old. It was less than three weeks away from his 113thbirthday. Record-keeping experts say he was the world's oldest man.
His long life and that of other very old Sardinians are the subjects of a scientific project called Akea. Luca Deiana of Sassari University is directing the study. He says the name Akea comes from a traditional greeting on Sardinia. It means"health and life for 100 years". Professor Deiana and his team started to collect information for the study in 1997. They identified more than 220 Sardinians who were centenarians--100years old or older. His team required three documents to confirm a person's age. They were a government birth record, a church record and a statement by a close family member.
The Akea study has produced two major findings. The first is Sardinia's extremely high number of centenarians. The island had about 135 centenarians for every one million people. In other Western countries, the average is about seventy five centenarians for every one million people. The second major finding is an unusual rate of female to male centenarians. Sardinia has two women centenarians for every male centenarian. In central Sardinia there are equal numbers of female and male centenarians.
Studies in other parts of the world have shown a much higher percentage of female centenarians. The Akea study collected information about the health and diet of about 140 of the centenarians. About ninety percent of those in the study agreed to provide blood for scientific testing. The study team hope to identify genetic material in the blood that can be linked to successful aging. Study leaders say there is no single reason why people on Sardinia live so long. They believe the answer is a combination of genetic and environmental conditions. | high20697.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "In the British Library Shop."
},
"options": [
"At the Friends Desk in the Entrance Hall.",
"In the British Library Shop.",
"On the main British Library website.",
"In the Friends Room."
],
"question": "Where can... | Below is a brochure about the British Library.
Events
The Taking Liberties events programme explores themes raised by the thought that has brought about this exhibition. A wide range of discussions, talks, comedy events and live music provide further understanding of the personal stories of those who have struggled for freedom and show how the debate continues today.
Free group tours, gallery talks, local events and learning classrooms are also available.
For more information please visit www.bl.uk/takingliberties.
Adopt a Book
Please support the British Library with a "novel" gift. For as little as PS25, you can help the Library preserve the nation's treasures for generations to come. There are hundreds of titles to choose from including many first edition classics.
For a full list books available and details on how to Adopt a Book, please visit www.bl.uk/adoptabook.
Friends
The Friends of the British Library is a charity to helping the Library develop its holdings and its facilities. Members enjoy a lot of tours of the exhibitions: visit to specialized departments and to other important libraries, access to the Friends Room and discounts in the shop and restaurant.
For more information you can talk to a representative at the Friends Desk in the Entrance Hall or visit www.bl.uk/friends.
Shop
The British Library Shop has a wide selection of Taking Liberties-related books, including the official exhibition book Taking Liberties: The Struggle for Britain's Freedom and Rights by Mike Ashley and Taking Stock of taking Liberties: A Personal View by Linda Colley, plus a large range of goods, including postcards, stationery, bags and souvenirs.
www.bl.uk/shop.
British Library Web Pages
Searches 10,000 web pages from the main British Library website. You can also browse the pages using the links on our home page or the site map.
Online Gallery: Searches 30,000 images from Online Gallery.
Catalogue records: Searches the British Library Catalogue, which contains records for 14 million items, including books, series, printed music and maps.
Journal articles: Searches records of over 9 million articles published, during the last five years, in the 20,000 most heavily requested journals at the British Library.
Many of our specialist catalogues are not yet included in the home page search. Searching these will give you a more complete picture of what we have available. | high18308.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "China will set up a base on the moon in 2010"
},
"options": [
"China has founded a base on the moon",
"China has founded one base on the North and South Poles",
"China will set up a base on the moon in 2010",
"China has... | "China is expected to complete its first exploration of the moon in 2010 and will found a moon base just as we did on the North and South Poles," Ouyang Ziyuan, head of China's moon exploration program, promised during national science and technology week.
After its first man in space, China plans a space laboratory, a lunar orbiter to look for valuable elements and minerals, robot landings on the moon and then the human touchdown.
The price of space exploration is enormous. Russia and the US, the only two countries to have achieved manned flight, are struggling to keep their new investment, the international space station.
But China, which has a long tradition in physics, mathematics and engineering, finds its doctoral graduates welcomed in the US and Europe for decades. And it has been able to learn from 40 years of pioneering successes and mistakes by the USSR and the USA.
Space flight is a gamble and the stakes are high. If successful, China could become a member of the world's most exclusive club, set up a second home on the moon and get a powerful hand at the strategic bargaining table.
Two designers from the Shenzhou III project said that 12 astronauts now are undergoing intensive training. One more unmanned space flight is planned before the first manned launch.
Experts say that the Shenzhou spacecraft already provides China with a space vehicle capable of mounting a lunar program. Chinese scientists have also predicted that Mars will be the next target after the moon. | high2213.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Win the election if they can raise enough funds ."
},
"options": [
"Use data analysis to predict the election result .",
"Win the election if they can raise enough funds .",
"Manipulate public opinion with favorable data .",
... | How to describe the rising philosophy of the day ? I'd say it is data-ism . We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data . This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions--that everything that can be measured should be measured ; that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism and ideology ; that data will help us do remarkable things--like foretell the future . At the outset let me celebrate two things data does really well .
First , it's really good at exposing when our intuitive view of reality is wrong . For example , nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence their odds of winning the election if they can just raise and spend more money . But this is largely wrong .
After the 2006 election , Sean Trende constructed a graph comparing the incumbent campaign spending advantages with their eventual victory . There was barely any relationship between more spending and a bigger victory .
Likewise , many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles : some are verbal and some are visual , some focus on details and some on whole . Teachers imagine they will improve outcomes if they tailor their presentations to each student . But there's no evidence to support this either .
Second , data can clarify patterns of behavior we haven't yet noticed . For example , I've always assumed people who frequently use words like " I , " " me , " and " mine " are probably more self-centered than people who don't . But as James Pennebaker of the University of Texas notes in his book , The Secret Life of Pronouns , when people are feeling confident , they are focused on the task at hand , not on themselves . High-status , confident people use fewer " I " words , not more .
In sum , the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past . Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future ? We'll see . | high10754.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "Legoland in Windsor"
},
"options": [
"Alton Towers.",
"Legoland in Windsor",
"Drayton Manor Theme Park.",
"The Making of Harry Potter."
],
"question": "Which of the following theme parks can save you most on Eas... | Keeping the kids busy over the school holidays can be discouraging and cost parents a lot. But we've found some cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy family time this Easter from free days out to fun-filled theme parks which won't cost us much. We've done the homework so you can get started on having a great time.
Theme Parks
Save from 10% to 25% off the price of tickets for Legoland in Windor by booking in advance online. A family of four can save up to L45.90 on a one-day ticket, paying L137.70.
Book seven days in advance and save L43 off the price of a family of four tickets for Drayton Manor Theme Park. Call 0844-472-1950 or book online and you'll pay L65 on the day.
You can pick up a family of four ticket for a day at Alton Towers in Staffordshire for L43.80 off the day price.
Save L16 off the price for a family trip to The Making of Harry Potter by buying a family ticket (two adults and two children) online. Family of four L101, compared to L117.
Activities
Students looking for a cut-price trip to see the animals can save 15% off the ticket price at Bristol Zoo and pay L12.71 rather than the full adult price L14.53. Teens should show their identity as students.
Freebies
Let your kids discover what it's like to be an animal on the African Plain in the ocean. Or, they can learn to love leaf beetles or become a scientist for the day at the Natural History Museum in London. | high14532.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "food"
},
"options": [
"locatin",
"cost",
"food",
"distance"
],
"question": "A visitor can get the following information about the activities in the passage EXCEPT _ .",
"question_type": "cloze_questions"
... | Have you got teenage children between 12 and 17?Will they jump at the idea to go to South Africa too? Well, let me help you here. I will give you some great ideas about what teenagers can do in Cape Town and give you reasons why a stay in Cape Town will be cool for them too.
You will read where to find really interesting activities and how much money you will have to pay for them and also how your children can gain as many great experiences as possible when holidaying or even living in Cape Town.
*Mad about Football -- not only for Soccer Fans
Where: Cape Town Stadium ,15 min from Cape Town's central business district (CBD). The new visitor center offers several tours. How much does it cost? R45.6 for adults or kids over 12, R17.1 for kids up to 12 and R11.4 per student for school groups. The Biodiversity Garden next to the stadium is interesting as well and can be added into tour at an additional cost.
*Theme Park with more than 23 rides and roller coasters
Where: Ratanga Junction, Century City, 20 min north of Cape Town CBD. Costs: R75 for kids under 1.3m and R152 for kids over 1.3m or adults, open only on school holidays and public holidays.
*Sandboarding anyone
Where: Atlantis, 45 min north of Cape Town CBD. Costs: R595 for a half day of fun in the sand.
*Ice skating
Where: Grand West Casino Complex, Goodwood, 20 min east of Cape Town CBD Costs:R35 (including skates)
*Enjoy mini golf
Where: Several places around Cape Town CBD. Muizenberg Beach Promenade, Green Point Promenade, Durbanville Vodacom Golf Driving Range or try Cave Golf at the V&A Waterfront next to Scratch Patch. Costs:R8.
*Go bowling
Where: Several places aroun Cape Town CBD. Costs: R25.
*How about climbing walls
Where:Observatory, 20 min south of Cape Towm CBD. Costs: R50. | high9346.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "packaging does great harm to the environment"
},
"options": [
"larger quantities of food are wasted in developed countries",
"WRAP is the first authority to study food waste in UK",
"packaging does great harm to the environme... | For a long time the packaging industry has been attacked for using what is thought as large amounts of packaging, choosing materials which are felt to have high impacts on the environment, and for being responsible for littering and overflowing land fills. In a study performed by WRAP, one of the first to study food waste in the UK in 2012, the most frequent responses when consumers were asked about packaging were "uses too much material" and "bad for the environment". The conclusions of these reports highlighted that the degree of the problem has been largely underestimated:at least 30% of food produced in the world is wasted. These figures are similar no matter if you are in the developed or developing world.
However, two publications from cross--industry work groups were published recently, and have managed to reset the discussion to take into account the benefits of packaging for sustainability .The first publication, "The Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability", describes an agreed common approach towards measuring packaging sustainability metrics , so that the industry is not competing based on the definition of a metric, but rather competing based on performance. The second was, "'Packaging in the Sustainability Agenda, A Guide for Corporate Decision Makers", which highlighted the contributions of packaging to the three aspects of sustainability: packaging protects products and prevents waste(environmental aspect); packaging enables efficient business conduct(economic aspect); and packaging provides consumers with the benefits of the products it contains(social aspect).
Packaging performs indeed a wide variety of functions throughout the value chain and contributes to reducing food waste by protecting ingredients and products during transportation and by delivering family--sized packages. Food waste could be avoided for single households if they are provided with the choice of pack sizes meeting their consumption patterns and are not forced to buy larger packs that they may not be able to finish before the use--by date. Despite the fact that smaller sized packs use more packaging, the fact that food waste is reduced would nevertheless decrease overall environmental impacts of the packed product. | high8058.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Approximately a quarter."
},
"options": [
"Approximately a quarter.",
"7%.",
"More than one fourth.",
"92%."
],
"question": "How many Britons suffer from seasonal affective disorder?",
"question_type": "fact... | As the nights get lounger, those who suffer from the winter blues will be planning ways to escape to the sunshine.
But there may be a much simpler way of cheering yourself up... simply shining a bright light into your ear canal.
Up to one in four Britons suffer from seasonal affective disorder, with seven per cent of the population having full-blown SAD.
It is caused by the brain not receiving enough daylight which is needed to trigger serotonin , a hormone that regulates mood. Symptoms range from mild lethargy to depression and insomnia, but a cure might be in sight.
Two clinical trials, run by Valkee - who make a device that can shine light into your ear - and the University of Oulu in Finland, have found that carefully targeted light can help prevent the condition.
Juuso Nissila, Valkee's co-founder and chief scientist said: "We presented earlier that the human brain is sensitive to light".
"These two clinical trials demonstrate that channeling bright light via ear canal into brain's photosensitive areas effectively prevents and treats seasonal affective disorder."
The University of Oulu reported that in their first study, 92 per cent of the patients with seasonal affective disorder achieved full remission after a month of daily eight-to-12 minute doses of light from the Valkee.
Time Takala, chief physician at the Oulu Deaconess Institute said: "These two trials show that bright light channeled into the brain via ear canal is an important future method to treat seasonal affective disorder."
Valkee launched its bright light headset in August 2010. It is classed as a medical device under EU regulations.
The device channels bright light direct to the brain via the ear canal to prevent and cure depression, mood swings and even circadian-rhythm disorders such as jet lag.
It costs PS185 and looks like an iPod - only the earphones emit light rather than sound. | high22080.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "Though not understanding all Rahmun's jokes, Mini liked hanging out with him."
},
"options": [
"They felt close to each other at first sight.",
"The author didn't like Mini making friends with Rahmun.",
"Rahmun liked Mini mor... | ONE day my 5-year-old daughter, Mini, ran to the window crying: "A Cabuliwallah ! A Cabuliwallah!" In the street below was a Cabuliwallah, passing slowly along. Mini called him loudly but when he looked at her she ran away scared. Shortly after this, the two became friends.
They started to hang out together, laughing and talking. Mini's new friend would give her raisins and almonds , spending the little money he had on her.
The two of them enjoyed joking together. The Cabuliwallah, who was called Rahmun, would say: "Well, little one, when are you going to the father-in-law's house?" Mini did not understand this and was puzzled.
One morning, I heard uproar in the street, and saw Rahmun being led away by the police. There were bloodstains on his clothes. I gathered that a neighbor had owed Rahmun money for a shawl but had falsely denied having bought it, and that in the course of the quarrel Rahmun had struck him. On a charge of murderous assault , Rahmun was sentenced to jail.
Time passed, and he was not remembered. Mini grew up and we were making arrangements for her wedding. I was sitting in my study when someone entered. It was Rahmun, the Cabuliwallah, released from prison.
Barely recognizable now, he asked to see Mini and said that all those years ago she had reminded him of his own daughter in Kabul. It was his belief that Mini was still the same. He had pictured her running to him calling "Cabuliwallah!". He had imagined that they would laugh and talk together. In fact, he had brought her, wrapped up in paper, a few almonds and grapes.
The two were reunited but Mini had grown up. She now understood the meaning of the word "father-in-law," and when he made this joke once more she flushed up at the question. He could not revive their old friendship.
When Rahmun left, I gave him a bank note, saying: "Go back to your own daughter, and may the happiness of your meeting bring good fortune to my child!"
Having made this present, I had to give up the electric lights and the military band I had intended for the wedding and the ladies in the house were disappointed. But to me the wedding feast was all the brighter for the thought that in a distant land a long-lost father met again with his child.
Adapted from Tagore's short novel The Cabuliwallah | high12625.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the dead are said to return to their homes and are welcomed by the living"
},
"options": [
"people specially make some lanterns",
"all night long, people dance and sing",
"people make much delicious food",
"the dead are... | A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. Speciallymade lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. All night long, people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world. This is a moving spectacle(,), for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more. | high6713.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "look for medical help"
},
"options": [
"look for harmful information",
"look on it",
"use it to break the poison",
"look for medical help"
],
"question": "Save the container of whatever caused the poisoning to ... | Doctors in hospital emergency rooms often see accidental poisonings . A frightened parent arrives with a child who swallowed a cleaning liquid. Or perhaps the harmful substance is a medicine. Or it might be a chemical product meant to kill insects. These are common causes of accidental poisoning.
In cases like this, look for medical help as soon as possible. Save the container of whatever caused the poisoning. And look on the container for information about anything that stops the effects of the poison. Save anything expelled from the mouth of the victim. That way, doctors can examine it.
In the past, some people forced poisoning victims to empty the stomach. They used a liquid syrup of ipecac to do this. But an organization of children's doctors no longer advises parents to keep syrup of ipecac. The American Academy of Pediatrics says some poisons can cause additional damage when they come back up the throat.
Millions of people know a way to save a person who is choking on something trapped in the throat. The method is commonly known as the Heimlich Maneuver or abdominal thrusts. The American Red Cross says a rescuer should first hit the person on the back five times between the shoulder bones. These back blows may ease the choking. If the airway is still blocked, the Red Cross suggests pushing hard five times along the victim's abdomen. The abdomen is the area between the chest and the hip bones. | high14254.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "he had to live in a dark and silent world"
},
"options": [
"a terrible electrical accident happened to him",
"nobody in the world cared about him",
"he was struck by the lightning once more",
"he had to live in a dark a... | Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf,James Francos world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and a muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a _ answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock. | high9420.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "He can drink one in a cafe that has prepaid coffees."
},
"options": [
"He can ask for one in any cafe.",
"He can apply for one on websites.",
"He can buy one in a cafe offering the service.",
"He can drink one in a cafe... | There's a great article in the New York Times this week about the tradition of buying a coffee for a stranger at the same time that you buy your own. They call it _ , the name for "suspended coffee" in its birthplace. In some cafes, folks in need may claim a suspended coffee and drink it without cost.
No doubt the free coffee will be welcomed by people who love coffee but for one reason or another don't have the money to buy one. But I also like the opportunity it offers customers to become philanthropists . Every time they order a coffee, they can give one to somebody in need.
This is a tradition that began some 100 years ago in Naples, Italy. In Naples, as reported by the Times, people love this kind of giving:
"To me, the philosophy of the suspended coffee is that you are happy today, and you give a coffee to the world, as a present." -- Luigi Solito
"It's a simple act of generosity: an act in which donors and recipients never meet each other. The donor doesn't show off and the recipient doesn't have to show gratitude." --Laura Cozzolino
"Coffee consumptions started earlier than the unification of Italy by more than 200 years, so the traditions around it are very ancient. In Naples, coffee is a world in itself, both culturally and socially." -- Andrea Illy
The practice of buying suspended coffees has grown in popularity -- with websites popping up and hundreds of cafes from Canada to Brazil to Hungary to the US offering the service. | high10032.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 1,
"answer_text": "was supposed to be unsafe for the U.S."
},
"options": [
"had no stable income",
"was supposed to be unsafe for the U.S.",
"had too wide interests",
"had got a full scholarship in the U.S."
],
"question": "Beijin... | The Chinese put up with a lot living in the world's most populous country: standing on over-crowded trains for 40 hours; sleeping outside hospitals to secure a doctor's appointment; waiting more than a year to earn a driver's license.
Add getting a U.S. entry visa to the list. Applicants here have waited as long as 60 days to secure an appointment at one of five U.S. consular locations in China that process visas. There, they're often greeted by long lines, followed by a face-to-face interview that can end badly in a matter of seconds.
Now there are only about 100 U.S. visa officers in China, facing considerable challenges during the summer when tourists and students travel the most. "It's not easy work," Charles Bennett, minister-counselor for Consular Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, said to his staff. "You're making, in some cases, life-changing decisions many times a day, and that can cause great tiredness."
To adapt, US consular services expanded their hours, took on about a dozen additional staff and hope to have another 20 officers by spring. More facilities are also being expanded.
Despite the shocking numbers, the embassy remains troubled by charges that it rejects applicants unreasonably and that the process is unfairly burdensome. "I'm fed up," said Wendy Liu, 24. The single woman from Beijing said she was recently refused a visa and told to re-apply when her personal life and finances were more stable. "I'll go anywhere but the U.S. now," she said. "I thought America was supposed to be a country of freedom."
To visit the US, Chinese nationals must prove that they have enough money and family or business ties that make it likely they'll return to China. The Department of Homeland Security said it did not keep records on how many Chinese overstay their visas.
Student visas can be refused on grounds of national security. Beijing native Tan Ge, 25, believes he was not accepted after he stated his interests in infrared technology and nanoelectronics on his application. He now studies in Canada after being forced to abandon a full scholarship to Arizona State University.
By its very nature, the on-the-spot process at the U.S. Embassy can feel unbearable to Chinese applicants, who are asked to take their bank statements, property deeds , marriage licenses and HUKOU, a Chinese household ID.
"It made me feel very uncomfortable," said Xu Yong, 28, a journalist who needed a business visa last month to cover a conference in New York. "They made me feel like someone from a Third World country up to no good."
After giving his fingerprints, Xu waited to be called for his interview, sitting in an area that was as quiet as a library. Each passing minute seemed to be as long as a century.
After an hour, Xu was called with three other people to a window for their interview. Two were rejected before his turn. Then the American officer, speaking fluent Chinese, reached for Xu's paperwork, asked some simple questions and said, "Congratulations."
"I was so nervous. The first thing I did when I got out was to call my mom and tell her I passed," Xu said. "She was the one who warned me it wasn't going to be easy." | high19770.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "You can't please everyone."
},
"options": [
"You can't please everyone.",
"The more you put in, the more you get out.",
"Human beings and animals are friends.",
"You should respect others' advice."
],
"question"... | A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?"
So the man put the boy on the donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy boy, he lets his father walk while he rides."
So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Isn't that lazy man ashamed of making his pool little son walk while he rides?"
The man didn't know what to do. At last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were laughing at. The men said: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey with you and your son?"
The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought again and again and then they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along surrounded by the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet were tied together,so it was drowned. | high17985.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 3,
"answer_text": "the barefoot librarians are important to village libraries"
},
"options": [
"the first church in Peru was set up by John Medcalf",
"car libraries used to be popular in Leonardo's village",
"teachers were interested in bringin... | Twelve-year-old Leonardo was born in a poor family in Bambamarca in Peru. He knew how to read but he had never seen a book in his life. So he asked the new priest in his village to give him one. But there was no electricity. So Leonardo borrowed candles from the church and sat up all night reading it. The next morning, he was at the door of the priest asking for another book to read.
John Medcalf, the priest,was moved. He also realised that people would love to read if given a chance. But he knew how difficult it was for Leonardo and those in his village to get books. And yet, no one can be taught to read and write without books. To make people in a poor, faraway area grow to love books,they have to be with them. So he thought the only way was to bring books to people.
But how could _ be done? Mobile libraries or car libraries would be too expensive and difficult to continue in the rocky, hilly land of Peru. So what other method could be used?
Medcalf got a new idea from the barefoot doctors of China. And that was how the barefoot librarians first appeared in the villages of northern Peru,almost thirty years ago.
The librarians began by going from village to village, lending books to villagers. They helped start The 12ura1 Library Network of Peru.
At first,they were teachers of the village schools which these faraway libraries belonged to. But the teachers were not very interested in the job because it meant a lot of hard work.
So, village leaders took on the job themselves.
Today, there are 600 village libraries across Peru. The barefoot librarians who walk up to 15 hours a day with bags of books are their lifeline. | high10742.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 2,
"answer_text": "To own a horse ranch."
},
"options": [
"To write a seven-page paper.",
"To learn to ride a horse.",
"To own a horse ranch.",
"To receive a better grade."
],
"question": "What was Monty Roberts' dream when he was... | Monty Roberts was the son of a poor family. He liked horses. He had a dream to own a horse ranch ever since he was a little child.
One day when he was at high school, he was asked to write a paper. It was about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up. He worked hard on it, and wrote a seven-page paper. In the paper he described his dream of owning a big horse ranch someday.
The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F(fail) with a note that read, "See me after class."
He went to see the teacher after class and asked, "Why did I receive an F?"
The teacher answered, "This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You come from a poor family. You have no money. Owning a horse ranch needs a lot of money. You have to buy the land. _ " Then he added, "Write this paper again. If you write it with a realistic plan, you may receive a better grade."
After sitting with it for a week, he turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He said to the teacher, "You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream."
Monty kept his dream and worked very hard. Today he owns a large horse ranch with a big house on it, and he keeps that school paper he wrote on the wall of his sitting room.
Last summer the same school teacher came to visit him. When the teacher was leaving, he said, "Look, Monty, when I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of children's dreams. It was lucky that you hadn't given up yours."
Don't let anyone steal your dream. Follow your dream, no matter what. | high20681.txt |
[
{
"answer": {
"answer_index": 0,
"answer_text": "Showing violence is thought to be entertaining."
},
"options": [
"Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.",
"Something has gone wrong with today's society",
"Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.",
"The... | Nowadays people are troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media. Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what's wrong with a society that presents videos of violence as entertainment.
Viewing large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals. The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality . Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: "At this time, well over 1,000 studies... point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children."
Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out "the most doubtful measures of aggression", only 28% supported a connection.
The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read "aggressive" or "non-aggressive" words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intention of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction.
Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society. | high16333.txt |
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