Datasets:

mou3az

/

Question-Answering-Generation-Choices

like 5

The year of 2014 saw smart people always busy inventing useful things, which have hepled to make the world better, smarter and a little for fun. Now, let's take a look at some of the inventions. Super banana Australian biogeneticist James Dale visited Uganda, a poor African country, in the early 2000s, where he found that 15-30 percent of children under 5 were at risk of going blind because they did not get enough Vitamin A. Dale also learned that people there love bananas. They eat three to 11 bananas a day. So he came up with the idea to plant bananas containing added nutrition in order to improve Ugandans' health. With the help of Bill Gates' foundation, Dale developed the "super banana". He added a gene to the fruit, making it rich in Vitamin A. Coaching basketball Basketball is popular worldwide, partly because you only need a hoop and a ball to play the game. But this simple game has experienced a technology makeover this year with the development of a smart-sensor basketball. The ball, called the 94Fifty Basketball, has nine sensors inside. They can tell you anything from how fast you are going to how accurate your shot angles are. With a Bluetooth chip inside, the basketball can connect to your smartphone and tell you in the voice of a coach to "snap your wrist ", or"go faster", depending on the data. The Hovercraft Thanks to the California-based company Hendo, flying past your friends on a floating board could soon become a reality. The Hovercraft has four small engines. These create a special magnetic field which produce enough force to lift the board off the ground. At the moment, the hoverboard can only float an inch off the ground for 15 minutes and must fly over a metal material. It's expensive too, at $10,000 (61,810 yuan), but the company hopes that one day the technology could be used. Wireless electricity Most of us could not bear to live without wireless Internet. We use it every day for everything from our phones to our cars. But one company wants to go a step further, by combining wireless technology with electricity. That's right, no more tangled wires and no more having to sit and hold your cell phone near a power socket in the corner of the room. WiTricity, a US company, has invented technology that can power objects up to 2.4 meters away. It uses a special plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field!

What is the biggest advantage of the 94Fifty Basketball?

It can help players to improve their shooting and ball handling skills.

['The sensors hidden inside can help players run faster in a game.', 'It allows players to connect to their smartphones while playing basketball.', 'The bluetooth chip inside allows its users to listen to music while playing basketball.']

Foulsham House is a fine, large house of the 1790s.It stands high above the River Byer, in twenty--five hectares of the best farmland in the southwest. The house was built by Smithson, and the story that George, the son of King of Whales, who fell in love with the beautiful Lady Kitty, at one of the first Foulsham's wild woods parties.Many years ago many great men rode on the hills about Foulsham. House, and many fine girls took tea in the Green Room. The house has eight bedrooms, three bathrooms , two living--rooms, and a dining--room with a real Adam fireplace.Its library has a good view over the park and the river.All rooms are light and airy, with good, high windows, and wood floors. At the back of the house there is room for four cars.The third Foulsham once kept there.In many other ways, this house of the 1790s meets the needs of the 1990s. If you wish to know more about Foulsham House, write to: Harvey.Platt, Longford &Son 6, Castle Green, Gilham, Byreside.

People say that _

Prince George fell in love with KItty Wake at Foulsham House

["Smithson built the house for Lord Foulsham's wild parties", 'Prince George and KItty Wake fell in love with the Green House', 'Lord Foulsham fell in love with a lady wales']

Beware of buying from unauthorized dealers or fake Authorized dealers ! Beware of sellers who do not have dealer logos . You may be buying clones and manufacturer will not honor the warranty when buying from unauthorized dealers or fake dealers .

Why might a seller not honor a warranty ?

Because they are unauthorized sellers .

['Because the warranty is out of date .', 'Because the seller went out of business .', 'Because the warranty was voided .']

Paper is a cheap and accessible medium that can produce beautiful results. To most people, making a paper plane could be one of the simplest things to do. It's the simplest and easiest form of paper art. And paper art can be dated back to Japan, where it originated over a thousand years ago. However, there's a special minority who takes paper art to the next level, magically turning the plain white or colored paper into some of the most amazing artworks. Check out the following artists and their works! The Danish artist Peter Callesen is famous for his talent in combining the minimalism of a white sheet of paper with the complexity of carefully cut and folded paper and uses the two to build out some pleasing works. The British artist Su Blackwell often goes to secondhand bookstores -- to look for materials with which she can carve out delicate sculptures. The models look as if they "grow" naturally from the pages of the books. The artist finds inspiration from the book title or a paragraph or picture inside and then spends months carefully making each one into an eye-catching paper model. Her old book sculptures sell for up toPS5,000 each. By carefully folding simple pieces of paper, German artist Simon Schubert creates amazing masterpieces. He turns paper into architectural masterpieces by folding a simple piece of paper to shape the creases , then unfolding it to show the fascinating artwork. Another master of paper-folding is Jen Stark. Her artwork is often in the form of colorful caves and land maps. Using her imagination and a special knife, she is a modern day magician who turns _ materials like construction paper and glue into fantastic, complicated sculptures that puzzle the eyes. Her work draws inspiration from nature.

According to the passage, Jen Stark _ .

uses paper to build complicated shapes

['is from Germany', 'creates things too puzzling to understand', 'works also as a magician']

Here is the next episode of the weekly e - Learning Lingo Podcast Series where we explore the jargon used by e - Learning professionals and training managers . This week 's word is about a theory used in e - Learning : Metadata . We want you to join the discussion .

What is the intended goal of this audio ?

To educate .

['None of the above choices .', 'To play music .', 'To manage music .']

I have been the brunt of cruelty from a doctor a number of times but I will relate one that has always stayed with me since I was a child. I was approximately 8 years and it happened to be summer. Baseball was a true love and my brothers and friends played daily. In the summer, all we wore were cut off jeans and nothing else. I had stepped on a rusty nail and it became infected. Time for a Tetanus shot! This was a typical occurrence for us during the summer. There was only one doctor within a one hundred square mile area and his name was Doctor Brandenbury. He was a very unpleasant, elderly man that my brothers and I did not care for since he was just a mean, old bastard. So I am shuffled off to his office and of course after hearing what had a occurred and examining my foot agreed I needed the Tetanus shot. I make a very innocent request as he is about to give me the shot. Since I knew the shot would stiffen my arm and essentially cause pain I would take it in my left arm so my throwing arm would not be affected. I tried to request this from the doctor but he did not wish to hear anything from me. He said "I don't give a fuck what arm you get it in." He grabbed me roughly by the right arm and used the needle like a dart and just slammed it into my arm. I had never had a problem with shots before but that REALLY hurt. I started crying. He instructed my mother "To get me the Hell out of his office." Needless to say my mother never took any of us to see this old, miserable bastard again. She found another doctor that actually treated us like we were human.

what happened while the boy was playing baseball?

he stepped on a rusty nail

['he hit a home run', 'nothing', 'not enough information']

The Ministry of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young,as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day. More than 15 percent of the Chinese youth have been found with mental problems,and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression,the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported. The World Health Organization estimated that before 2020,the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent,and mental problems will become a major factor behind death and illness in the young worldwide. Deng Xiaohong,the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau,said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems. If these mental diseases are not _ on time,occurrence of crime,drugtaking and other dangerous behavior are expected to rise. Experts said mental disease could be caused by many factors,such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well,unstable emotions and pressure from the overload of study. A number of experts have also said the one-child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young. Children were said to be too "spoiled" and "selfish" in one-child families. Schools in many cities were reported to roll out measures to help students maintain their mental well-being. Yin Jingmiao,a teacher of the Beijing No. 105 Middle School,told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling to students three times a month. "Students can be arranged to have 40-minute counseling sessions," Yin said. The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams,to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests.

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

Many schools have realized the problem and taken measures.

['By 2020,about 50 percent of the students in China will have mental problems.', 'Mental problems mainly appear among the youth while they are seldom seen among adults.', 'China has the largest number of youngsters with psychological problems.']

Taking photographs at a birthday or a wedding has become as natural as blowing out candles or cutting the cake. But our obsession with recording every detail of our happiest moments could be damaging our ability to remember _ , according to new research. A study has shown that taking pictures rather than concentrating fully on the events in front of us prevents memories taking hold. Dr. Linda Henkel, from Fairfield University, Connecticut, described it as the "photo-taking impairment effect". She said: "People so often pull out their cameras almost mindlessly to capture a moment, to the point where they are missing what is happening right in front of them. When people rely on technology to remember for them--counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves--it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences." Dr Henkel and her team carried out an experiment in a museum, to learn if taking pictures of the exhibits was hindering the ability of visitors to remember what they had seen. A group of university students were led on a tour at the Bellarmine Museum of Art at Fairfield University and were asked to either photograph or try and remember objects on display. The next day their memory was tested. The results showed that people were less accurate in recognizing the objects they had photographed than those they had only looked at. It was found that their memory for the details of the objects they had photographed was poorer. Henkel's lab is currently investigating whether the content of a photo, such as whether you are in it, affects later memory. She is also researching whether actively choosing what to photograph might influence what we remember. Previous research suggests that reviewing photos we have taken does help us remember the objects, but only if we take the time. "Research has suggested that the sheer volume and lack of organization of digital photos for personal memories discourages many people from accessing and recalling them. In order to remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just collect them," said Dr Henkel.

What is the "photo-taking impairment effect"?

Taking photographs of objects ruins one's memory of them.

['Some unhappy events may impair the effects of photos.', 'The effects of photos are strongly affected by bad cameras.', 'Memories last forever when people take the photos they like most.']

I'm know 21 so I'm going to count that still as a kid because the world is still new to me. I work know security and one night at around 2am I walked in the bathroom because a customer complained about a man yelling in the bathroom. I told my partner I would go check it out by myself so he could stay and keep quality control of who comes in the venue. I walk in and in the first cubicle I could see lots and lots of blood on the floor and a pair of feet placed as if he was sitting down. I quickly go to the next cubicle asking at the same time if the person was OK obviously with no response. I look over and it was a horrible bloody mess. I quickly get on the radio and tell my partner to call police and ambulance and to put the place on lock down. I walk around to the from of the cubicle and kick open the door. The man had grabbed a straight razor and cut his arms extremely deep from the wrist downwards all the way to his elbow palms up. On both arms mind you. A good example of what it would look like would be the scene from the terminator 2 where Arnold cuts the skin off from his arm. The ambulance came and had to call another team to collect the body. The building was closed for around a day and a half they had to repaint and do all sorts of things because of so much blood. Ill say they do not train you for seeing such horrible things or even mention that it can happen I'm lucky enough to have a strong head and can handle seeing such horror. Of course Im not 100% OK from it and now keep a close eye on the bathrooms. But I'm OK enough to continue working and only saw a psychologist twice about it. So yea that's the worst thing I have seen In my life.

What was the writer wearing?

not enough information

['casual clothes', 'a uniform', 'a suit']

When it comes to social behaviour,mammals are in a league of their own.Some birds may form pairs,or even cooperate to hunt,but the complexity of their relationships can hardly compare to those within a school of dolphins,a herd of elephants or a group of humans.What makes mammalian social groups different from a flock of starlings or a shoal of fish,is that in many cases the individuals could recognize each other.Although we may think that all elephants look pretty much the same,we can easily tell individuals of our own species apart and it has become clear through studies that the same is true of other species.Dolphins have their own signature whistles that act like "names",and elephants can recognize and greet other individuals they have known but not seen for many years.This is something that only a few species of birds appear to be able to do. Mammals in complex social groups not only recognize each other as individuals,but also they remember a lot of information about that individual.Social groups often rely on this memory--such as knowing who is dominant to whom,who is related to whom,and who has done what to whom in the past.It's like remembering who you have lent money to or done a favour for,and who hasn't repaid that money or has talked about you behind your back.You have to learn who to trust,who your friends are,and who to watch out for. All this remembering goes on in a particular part of the brain called the neocortex .If you compare the size of a mammal's social group with the size of this part of the brain,you will find they are remarkably closely related.This area seems to take a long time to develop fully and animals in which it is very large take a very long time to grow up to adulthood.During this time,the youngster has to learn all the rules of social behaviour in their group and to piece together all the relationships between the group members:Knowledge that will be needed to avoid getting into trouble.

Animals whose area of the neocortex is large _ .

will have a long period of time before they become adults

['will spend a shorter time learning the necessary knowledge', 'will learn the necessary knowledge much more easily', 'will have more difficulty in growing up as adults']

I was not too keen about putting my foot or other body part close to him to give you an appreciation of his size , but his shell was 14 - 16 " in diameter . The look he gave us when he saw us was priceless . I am sure his thoughts were , " What the he ! ! !

What kind of animal am I describing ?

A turtle

['A cat', 'None of the above choices .', 'A dog']

U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum has met criticism from his Republican allies in Congress, many of whom worry the measures could trigger a trade war that damages U.S. businesses. But the president does have supporters among some Senate Democrats from states where voters are concerned about the long-term loss of American manufacturing jobs. “This welcome action is long overdue for shuttered steel plants across Ohio and steelworkers who live in fear that their jobs will be the next victims of Chinese cheating,” Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, said in a statement released after the plan was announced. “If we fail to stand up for steel jobs today, China will come after other jobs up and down the supply chain tomorrow.” American labor unions have also broadly favored Trump’s proposed tariffs, saying they have been complaining for years that foreign countries frequently subsidize their own steel industries, putting American competitors at a disadvantage. Economists have been mostly critical of the plan, saying that overall it will hurt American manufacturers, some of whom may be targeted by trading partners for retaliatory sanction. They argue that the benefits to steel and aluminum workers are outweighed by job losses among Americans in other industries. A test of how much the issue is resonating with American voters comes next week, when voters in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district, vote in a special election to fill a vacated seat. Many voters are looking to the president to fulfill his campaign promise of protecting manufacturing jobs in America’s heartland. The race for the seat left vacant by Rep. Tim Murphy’s sex scandal is coming down to the wire between Republican candidate Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb. Saccone’s campaign endorsed Trump’s tariff plan in a statement, saying “If other countries aren’t playing by the rules and tariffs are needed to protect steel and aluminum jobs in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Rick would support those measures.”Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senator Bob Casey also voiced his support for the president’s plan in a Facebook statement Thursday.

When was Trump's plan criticized?

After he made his imposing tariffs plans on steel known

['Before Sherrod Brown released his statement', 'After the Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district voting was conducted', 'not enough information']

This week I shot my Interview with Claire Bridge. Myself and Riah travelled, I would say all the way out too Wheelers Hill, but it’s really not that far away, unless you live on the North side, which we both do. Riah and I carried our gear on two trains and 1 bus to get to Claire’s studio out in Wheelers Hill. I can see why Claire lives here as it’s a pretty beautiful place, it’s still suburban but there are trills, hills and birds everywhere, and for someone that’s passionate about the environment I can see why she lives here. Meeting Claire was awesome, after having spoken via phone or email for so long, it was nice to speak to her in person. The filming of the interview went extremely smoothly, I’d put this down to having planned out everything, such as all the questions I was going to ask prior to the interview. By this stage I had helped Riah film as well as Elise and it was noticeable how much smoother Riah’s interview went because she had pre-planned her questions. Rather than spending an hour asking various questions that you might not use anyway, it’s much more efficient to spend 20 minutes covering exactly what you want to cover. By this stage I’d also had practise setting up lights, doing sound and getting camera shots for people’s portraits so I already knew everything I wanted to shoot. Our setup was pretty simple, two large lights, one on Claire’s front right and one on Claire’s front left, two Canon EOS 60D DSLR’s at different positions (one straight on, one to the side), a Sony H2N handy recorder and a lapel mic. Everything ran super smoothly, we did the interview first then myself and Riah shot various things in Claire’s studio. Whilst shooting various things in Claire’s studio we also got a chance to both speak to her which was nice, discussing what it is like to be a woman in Melbourne’s art scene and finding out who some of her favourite artists were. Overall the experience was also, I have a lot of friends who are artists so I hope to do more artist portraits in the future.

What field was Claire a part of?

something involving Melbourne's art scene

['not enough information', 'something involving interviews', 'something involving lighting']

Australia's worst pests are the rabbits, introduced by a settler who released 24 into the wild for sport hunting. In less than 100 years, the rabbits grow into the millions of ones, leaving large areas of land looking like the surface of the moon due to thousands of rabbit caves. The spread of the rabbits in Australia was the fastest of all animals in the world. The spread of the rabbits' disease in 1950 cut the number, but it was not until 1997 when the spread of another disease targeted the pests that the number was finally brought under control. Farm losses due to rabbits today still remain a surprising total A $200 million (US$112 million) a year. The European red foxes, also released for sport hunting, are growing and eating sheep flocks, costing farmers A$40 million (US $22.4 million) a year. The State of Victoria offers a A$10 (US$5.6) prize for each fox tail and has gathered 25,000 in a few months. Foxes are one of the biggest threats to wildlife in Australia. Foxes kill thousands of lambs , birds and native wildlife. Australia lost its long battle against wild pests.

Which of the following is Not mentioned?

A great many rabbits eat too much trees.

['Rabbits make too much caves.', 'The surface is destroyed a lot by rabbits.', 'The birth rate of the rabbits is high.']

Not really that huge a deal, but we laughed about it for a while. My friends and I went to see the Gin Blossoms in 1993 at a small venue in Chicago. We were having some beers and enjoying the opening band (they were okay, but not memorable) when this guy came and stood right in front of my roommate. I mean, the floor was filling up, sure, but we’d landed a decent spot right in the middle and he came and stood right in front of her when there was plenty of room off to the side a bit. My roommate and our friend and I looked at each other and were like, “How rude!” Frankly, I was surprised my roommate didn’t do or say anything - holding her tongue wasn’t her forte. I half expected her to spank his bottom - I’d seen her do it before to get some guy’s attention, and this guy was pretty cute. But when that same song came to an end, the guy turned around and actually apologized to all of us. He held up his camera and said he wanted a really good shot of the band as they were friends of his. He actually went and bought each of us a beer, so it totally worked out well. We thanked him and he took off. The only excuse I have for us is that we were in college and not glued to MTV or entertainment magazines, and really, only Hey Jealousy had hit the airwaves when we went to the concert. But sure enough, when the Gin Blossoms took the stage, Robin Wilson gave a shout out to those three girls he’d blocked the stage for earlier and hoped we’d enjoyed our beers. Like I said, it’s pretty tame, but I thought he handled it with class, so it’s always made me remember their music fondly.

What happened immediately after the man stood accidentally in the way of the roommates?

One of the roommates complained about not having their view blocked.

['One of the roommates asked the man would he buy them beers.', 'not enough information', 'One of the roommates asked the man was he apart of Gin Blossoms.']

Around twenty years ago I was going through hard times. I could not find a satisfying job. To my shame, I had to drive a school bus to make ends meet and lived in a friend's house. One afternoon, while driving through a quiet suburban neighborhood I was so sad that I kept asking myself "Why has my life become so hard?" "What's wrong with the world?" Then I pulled over the bus to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me a pretty earring, saying she found it on the floor of the bus and I should keep it in case the owner came to look for it. In the evening, the owner did come to look for her earring. When I handed it to her, she got very excited and continued saying "Thanks, you're a real gentleman." I told her that she should thank the little girl who had found it. She said, "Yes, and you are a good driver, too. What a lovely world it is!" Then she left with satisfaction. I was touched by her last words. I had thought something was wrong with the world just because of my poor condition. In fact, nothing was wrong with the world. I should change my attitude towards life. I should be positive about life. At first it was hard, and then it got easier. Every day I could find things to make me happy. Then one night there was a phone call for me at my friend's house from a lady who was a manager in a large hospital. She said she had read my application form and asked me if I would like to work in the hospital. I said yes and got the job. Looking back at the experience I know the most important is to have a positive attitude towards life.

Who was the owner of the earring lost on the bus according go the passage?

Not mentioned

["One of the author's friends.", 'A real gentleman', 'A manager in a hospital']

It was a dream, then a place, then a memory. My father built it near the Suwannee River. I like to think it was in the heart of Florida, because it was, and is, in my heart. Its name was Dogland. Some people say you can know others if you know the central incidents that shaped their lives. But an incident is an island in time, and to know the effect of the island on those who land there, you must know something about the river they have traveled. And I must warn you before we begin, I don't know that river well. I visit that time and place like a ghost with poor vision and little memory. I look up the river and see fog rolling in. I look down the river, and the brightness of the approaching day blinds me. I see shapes moving behind me and beyond me, but who they are and what they do, I cannot say. I will tell what I know is true, and I will invent what I believe is true, and that, I think, is all you can ask any storyteller to do. I learned the Nix family history from the stories Pa told. Even at the age of four, I suspected that Pa's stories might not be perfectly true. When Pa said we Nixes came to North America as indentured servants working our way out of debtor's prison, Grandma Bette would make a face and say he couldn't know that. When he said we Nixes had Lakota and Ojibwe blood in our veins, Grandma Bette would say she wasn't prejudiced, but it simply wasn't so: she and Pa and his brothers and sisters were dark because her people were Black Dutch, from a part of Holland where everyone had black hair and black eyes. And then Grandma Bette wouldn't say a word for half an hour or more, a very long time for Grandma Bette to be quiet.

Where is the Suwannee River?

not enough information

['In Holland', 'In England', 'In Florida']

North Korea’s release of three U.S. citizens may help pave the way for talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, but questions remain as to whether those talks will succeed. At the White House on Wednesday, Trump continued to speak cautiously about the coming summit, even while praising the North Korean leader for the prisoner release. “Everything can be scuttled,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of things can happen — a lot of good things can happen, [and] a lot of bad things can happen.” North Korea on Wednesday granted amnesty to three Americans of Korean descent. They had been accused of espionage or trying to overthrow the government, charges widely seen as bogus. Pyongyang has detained at least 16 Americans over the past two decades, often attempting to use them as bargaining chips. All were eventually released, although Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old college student, died shortly after returning to the United States last year. A White House statement Wednesday praised North Korea’s latest prisoner release as a “positive gesture of goodwill” ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, which is expected to take place as soon as next month. South Korea’s presidential office said Pyongyang’s decision was a “very positive” sign for a successful North Korea-U.S. meeting. The freeing of the prisoners coincided with a visit to Pyongyang by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who declined to say whether the release was a U.S. precondition for holding talks with the North. “I don’t know the answer to that,” Pompeo told reporters on the flight home. “It would have been more difficult [had the prisoners not been released]. ... I’m glad that we don’t have to confront that.” It’s not clear what, if anything, the U.S. gave up in exchange for the prisoners. It’s not even clear a concession was needed, since North Korea has for decades sought the presumed legitimacy provided by a summit with a sitting U.S. president.

What might have happened if North Korea had not released the three prisoners during Pompeo's visit?

The US might have called off the upcoming summit

['President Trump might have insisted that the summit happen much sooner than planned', 'Mike Pompeo might have praised North Korea for their strong negotiation skills', 'not enough information']

One fine day, an old couple around the age of 70, walked into a lawyer's office. Obviously, they were there to file a divorce. Lawyer was very puzzled, after having a chat with them, he got their story. This couple had been quarreling all their 40 over years of marriage nothing ever seemed to go right. They hang on because of their children, afraid that it might affect their up-bringing. Now, all their children have already grown up, have their own family, there's nothing else the old couple have to worry about, all they want is to lead their own life free from all these years of unhappiness from their marriage, so both agree on a divorce. While they were signing the papers, the wife told the husband. " really love you, but I really can't carry on anymore, I'm sorry." "It's OK, I understand." said the husband. Looking at this, the lawyer suggested a dinner together, just three of them, wife thought, why not, since they are still going to be friends. At the dining table, there was a silence of awkwardness . The first dish was roasted chicken, immediately, the old man took the drumstick for the old lady. "Take this, it's your favorite." Looking at this, the lawyer thought maybe there's still a chance, but the wife was frowning when she answered. "This is always the problem, you always think so highly of yourself, never thought about how I feel, don't you know that I hate drumsticks?" Little did she know that, over the years, the husband had been trying all ways to please her, little did she know that drumsticks were the husband's favorite. Little did he know that she never thought he understood her at all, little did he know that she hated drumsticks even though all he wanted was the best for her. That night, both of them couldn't sleep, toss and turn , toss and turn. After hours, the old man couldn't take it anymore, he knows that he still loves her, and he can't carry on life without her, he wants her back, he wants to tell her, he is sorry, he wants to tell her, "I love you." He picks up the phone, started dialing her number. Ringing never stops. He never stop dialing. Little did she remember, he had heart problems. The next day, she received news that he had passed away. She rushed down to his apartment, saw his body, lying on the couch still holding on to the phone. He had a heart attack when he was still trying to get through her phone line. As sad as she could be, She would have to clear his belongings and she saw this insurance policy, dated from the day they got married, beneficiary is her. Together in that file there's this note: "To my dearest wife, by the time you are reading this, I'm sure I'm no longer around, I bought this policy for you, though the amount is only $1,000,000 I hope it will be able to help me continue my promise that I have made when we got married, I might not be around anymore, I want this amount of money to continue taking care of you, just like the way I will if I could have lived longer. I want you to know I will always be around, by your side. I love you."

The old couple went into a lawyer's office to_.

ask for help

['have a chat with him', 'make an appointment for dinner', 'tell him their story']

Now that military dogs are taking on a larger role in fight, they' re also taking on more of the risks that come with going to war, including developing post-traumatic stress disorder.The New York Times reports that more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 deployed military dogs are developing some form of canine PTSD . "It really is difficult, because cace the dog experiences these traumatic explosions, it's the same as the troops," Army Lt.Col. Richard A Vargus, chief of the law enforcement branch at CENTCOM told the Military Times in September."Some dogs move right through it and it doesn't affect them.Some dogs, it takes some retraining, and some dogs just refuse to work." Like humans, military dogs exhibit a range of changes in temperaments when they develop PTSD.Some become aggressive, others retreat.But because dogs can't express what the problem is, soldiers can be put at risk if their partner simply stops doing his job without warning. "If the dog is trained to find improvised explosives and it looks like it's working, but isn't, it' s not just the dog that' s at risk," Dr.Walter F.Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E.Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base, told the Times."This is a human health issue as well." And searching for such devices has become a key responsibility for military dogs.Even after spending six years and nearly $ 19 billion on experimenting with innovative ways to detect bombs, the Pentagon admitted in 2010 that its most sophisticated technology was no match for a dog' s nose. "Electronic equipment is great in the laboratory, but out on the battlefield, you can't beat the dogs," Bill Childress, manager of the Marine Corps working dog program told the Los Angeles Times. Just as physicians have yet to find a safe way to treat PTSD among humans, so too are veterinarians weighing a wide range of options when it comes to helping their canine patients But offering dogs the same innovative treatments that their human counterparts get, doesn't guarantee a full recovery.It's a fact that fears once learned are never unlearned.

When military dogs develop PCSD, they will _ .

attack soldiers without warning

['express yhat9 s wrong with them', 'change their body temperature', 'stop their partner in a strange way']

If I do n't get anything in the mail from her by Monday , I ' m calling her again because I do n't want to get swindled out of my money . Moving on . I 've been looking into what school I should go to . I checked out Cal State Fullerton , but there are 40something units I 'd need to get my BA AND they are n't as conducive to students with fulltime careers .

What is the next step for this person in their academic pursuit ?

The next step is to find a college that works for someone in the midst of a career .

['The next step is to find a college good for math .', 'None of the above choices .', 'The next step is to find a college good for athletics .']

We both have this " lighter " feeling about our home and ourselves . It makes me feel good in preparation for a new family member . Our home is n't the only thing rolling along . The clocks rolled ahead , as did my age and the baby is rolling along , literally , it seems .

What does it mean that we are preparing for a " new family " ?

We are expecting a new child soon .

['We are moving from where we live to where other family lives .', 'We are giving up our old family for a new one .', 'None of the above choices .']

Sam, a dog, was left behind in Colorado while his owners, Mr. And Mrs. Green moved to Southern California. They did not give the dog up. They found him a very nice home before they moved. They would have let Sam accompany them, but they were afraid the dog's presence would make it difficult for them to rent a house when they reached their _ . The Green family lived in Colorado for less than a year. Before that, they had lived in the same neighborhood in California to which they returned. So Sam had been there before, but only for a short time when he was young. Several months after the Greens left Colorado, after they were comfortably settled back in California, they heard a scratch at the door. They couldn't imagine who might be there. It never occurred to them that it might be Sam, because they were sure he was happily set up with his new family back in Colorado. When they opened the door, the Greens saw a dirty, tired dog with very hurting feet. The animal looked a little bit like Sam, but no one could believe that Sam could have walked 840 miles on his own. The tired dog spent the night under the family car. The next day, when he was more rested, he performed some of his old tricks. The Greens knew they had their own dog back.

The Greens knew the dog was Sam _ .

after he did some tricks

['because of his hurting feet', 'from the color and the markings', 'by the way he walked']

Dara and Jody sat on the sun-scorched concrete with their backs against the bus shelter. They were sharing an apple, one of those tart green ones, and as Dara took her turn gnashing into it, Jody gagged and vomited up some peel. 'Shit, are you okay?' Dara asked, rubbing Jody's back. 'Um, yeah,' Jody croaked, and started to laugh. 'Just dying of apple peel.' Dara began to laugh too. Looking at the little pile of fruit skin and foam brought on more laughter, and they were both suddenly breathless but unable to cease the spasms of laughter hiccupping up from their stomachs. They had to lean on each other to save falling over, and even the tut-tut tongue-clicking of the old Italian lady having to divert around them on the footpath could barely stop the infinite but elusive humour. The bus droning into the stop enabled them some composure, but once on board just looking at each other was enough to start it up again. This was the coolest day Dara had had in forever. Jody and her had decided to wag school just that morning before rollcall, and despite her anxiety -- this was actually the first time Dara had ever wagged -- she was so, so glad she did. They were both in Year 11, and had only become friends three months earlier. They were from totally different scenes at school, but one maths lesson had changed all that. Jody had borrowed someone's correction fluid -- in fact it was Mr Dickinson, the teacher's correction fluid -- but it was borrowed from someone who'd borrowed it from him. At the end of the lesson Jody was packing her stuff up and didn't know what to do with the bottle of white-out, so she tossed it out the window of the classroom. Dara had seen her do it, and thought it was just so cool. Jody had done it not in the hope of getting attention, because no one was paying attention, they were all packing up their own crap as fast as possible; she'd just done it.

Dara and Jody became friends during a math lesson:

Before they were in grade eleven

['not enough information', 'After they were in grade 12', 'During the middle school']

A house of cards? Sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? Not if the architect is 31-year-old Bryan Berg. He's made a career out of building fantastic card houses, stadiums, capitols, castles -- and the world's tallest card tower. How does he do it? Bryan's structures are amazing because they are made entirely of perfectly balanced, freestanding playing cards. He never uses glue, tape, or anything else to hold the cards together. Nor does he fold the cards. He's discovered another way to make a strong house of cards, using a trick from nature. To make plants strong, nature builds them with cells that have tough walls. Rows and rows of these cells form a grid that helps leaves and stems keep their shape. Bees use the same kind of repeating pattern to create strong honeycombs, where they live and store honey. Bryan designs similar grids, using cards to create a repeating pattern of cells. He begins with a single cell made by balancing four cards against one another to form a box. Then he repeats the cell over and over, expanding outward to form the grid, which makes a good foundation for a strong card structure. The larger the grid, the more weight it can carry. Sometimes Bryan uses several cards, instead of just one, to construct the cell walls, making the grid even stronger. The trick, he tells kids when he speaks in classrooms, is to place your cards as tightly together as possible when laying out your grid, making sure the cards are not leaning at all. After building this solid base, Bryan lays cards across the top to make the floor for the next "story" of the building. He may add towers, columns, steeples, or domes. Using the principle of repeating cells, Bryan builds structures of amazing strength. In the Cards Not surprisingly, Bryan has always been interested in building things. Growing up on a "big, old farm" in rural Iowa, he had plenty of room to play. "We were in the middle of nowhere," Bryan remembers, "with lots of space to do whatever we wanted. I was always making something, using things like sticks or bales of hay." Bryan's grandfather taught him how to stack cards. Bryan's two interests -- building and card stacking -- soon combined. But stacking in his family's farmhouse was challenging. "Our old house had wood floors that weren't all level," he reports. "And they weren't very firm. When people walked around, it was like 'earthquake action.' It was a challenge to build something that wouldn't fall down immediately." Bryan constructed tower after tower; he went through a lot of trial and error before he built anything taller than himself. When he placed a few decks of cards on top of his grid, he discovered how strong it was. Bryan's towers began to grow taller. How Tall Is Too Tall? Bryan's first Guinness World Record for the world's tallest card tower came in the spring of 1992, when he was in high school. Learning that the world record was 12 feet 10 inches, Bryan built a slim tower that topped out at 14 feet 6 inches. Done as a project for his geometry class, it took him 40 hours and 208 decks of cards. Since then he's gone on to win world records for even taller buildings. His latest winner measured 25 feet 3.5 inches and used about 2,400 decks of cards. _ Why don't these towers fall down? The key is in a good solid base, a repeating pattern of stories, and a tapering top. Bryan likes to point out how card buildings resemble real ones. They are built cell by cell, story by story. The separate parts make one strong whole. The heavier the building, the stronger and more stable it is. But the weight can't all be at the top. After spending so much time building something so cool, Bryan admits it's sometimes painful to see his structures destroyed. But he compares his work to the building of a sandcastle or an ice sculpture. "They wouldn't be as special if they were permanent," he points out. "My buildings are like snowdrifts, or clouds in the sky. They can't last forever.

What was Bryan's first world record?

The tallest card tower.

['The widest card dome.', 'The heaviest card house.', 'The sturdiest card structure.']

I have never been one for narcotics , and I even remember asking Dr. Clark specifically for something that was non - narcotic at the beginning of all this , but I have to be thankful now that I have the oxy . There truly is a divine moment when I am sitting or laying there and the oxycodone kicks in and I can literally feel the pain going away . It almost feels as if a sheath is being removed from my legs .

What may be true about me ?

I am dealing with pain .

['I hate oxycodone .', 'I am a fan of narcotics .', 'None of the above choices .']

I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened. Looking down, I immediately recognized that something was wrong, and ran down to the edge of the near bank. There I saw Ma Shwe with her three-month-old calf struggling in the fast-rising water, and it was a life-and-death struggle. Her calf was floating and screaming with fear. Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get, holding her whole body against the rushing water, and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body. Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away. There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother's body and was gone. Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk against the rocky bank. Then with a huge effort, she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock. Just at this moment, she felt back into the river. If she were carried down, it would be certain death. I knew, as well as she did, that there was one spot where she could get up the bank, but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf. While I was wondering what I could do next,I heard the sound of a mother's love.Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could,roaring all the time,but to her calf it was music.

The moment the author got down to the river bank he saw _ .

Ma Shwe was holding the calf against the rushing water

['the calf was about to fall into the river', 'Ma Shwe was placing the calf on the rock', 'the calf was washed away by the rising water']

Friday morning , which is my Monday , and all is cool . I think my day is open , or maybe I just have a number of tentative plans . Had a date last night , but they flaked , so I had a couple beers and some fries at CC . Admired the Scottish Rite temple thing and stopped in at Sebastian Joe 's to see if Bill was working ( he was n't ) .

Why did their date flake on them ?

Their date was an unreliable person .

['None of the above choices .', 'Their date had found someone else to see .', 'Their date wanted to make them feel bad .']

BHD has been neglected for so long it 's almost embarrassing and it 's not as if I actively pursue freelance design work anymore . If something falls into my lap , sure , I 'll probably do it if the project interests me and the price is right , but for the most part I ' m done with that . When it comes to web design , anything more than tweaking a Wordpress theme just does n't appeal to me at all , and I ' m just not plugged in enough to pick up the print or identity work that I enjoy more . Assuming my weight continues to come down and I get to the point where I ' m in relatively better shape , it 's highly possible that I might start soliciting wedding photography work .

What might be a fact about this person 's occupation ?

They do work as a freelancer .

['They do freelance work as a photographer .', 'None of the above choices .', 'They get paid well for their work .']

With the average home in the capital selling for 19,548 yuan a square meter in November, a tiny mobile home built by a 24-year-old office worker is creating a stir online. Dai Haifei built the 6-square-meter pad because he could not afford to buy or rent in the capital. Dai's new home costs him 6,400 yuan and he has been living in it for nearly two months in a courtyard at Chengfu Road, Haidian district. Dai, who is one of the millions of migrants who moved to the capital from other parts of China seeking a better life and better job, said he realized his financial burden had become too great. The Hunan native said he simply could not make ends meet when he became an intern at a Beijing-based construction design company in 2009. "I rented a home at the very beginning--a small room in an apartment that cost me about 900 yuan per month," said Dai in an interview with local media. "It was too expensive for me." Dai's father works on a construction site in his hometown and his mother is a cleaner. Dai, who ended up becoming a formal employee of the company, figured out his own way to solve the problem---with inspiration from a housing design project at his company's exhibition early this year. The project, named "An egg given birth to by the city", included a series of egg-like movable houses, with a karaoke house, chair house and trader's house in it. Dai, who borrowed 6,400 yuan from an older cousin and who got additional help from several friends, decided to make one of his own. He spent nearly two months building his "egg house" in his hometown, a village in southeast Hunan that is around 1, 700 kilometers from Beijing.

Why did he build the pad?

Because he doesn't have enough money to buy or rent a house.

['Because he will sell it for money.', 'Because he has no house to get married in.', 'Because he wants to get help from the society.']

All of my jeans have holes in ... well , the holes are n't in very good places . The soles of my sneakers are also peeling off , so I think it 's time they were replaced . Jeans and shoes are the only pieces of clothing I ca n't afford on my own , so at least I can stock up now . I shall have to go scour the little girls ' department at Old Navy -- um , Chris Hansen , do n't take that the wrong way .

What may be the reason for them stocking up on pants and shoes at Old Navy ?

None of the above choices .

['They like the style Old Navy offers .', 'They have coupons .', 'They are the only store that has their size .']

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually and the first woman to win this prize was Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner in 1905. In fact, her work inspired the creation of the Prize. The first American woman to win this prize was Jane Addams, in 1931. However, Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House. Jane Addams was born in I860, into a wealthy family. She was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her dedication to improving the lives of those around her led her to work for social reform and world peace. In the 1880s Jane Addams travelled to Europe. While she was in London, she visited a "settlement house" called Toynbee Hall. Inspired by Toynbee Hall, Addams and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, opened Hull House in a neighborhood of slums in Chicago in 1899. Hull House provided a day care center for children of working mothers, a community kitchen, and visiting nurses. Addams and her staff gave classes in English literacy, art, and other subjects. Hull House also became a meeting place for clubs and labor unions. Most of the people who worked with Addams in Hull House were well educated, middle-class women. Hull House gave them an opportunity to use their education and it provided a training ground for careers in social work. Before World War I, Addams was probably the most beloved woman in America. In a newspaper poll that asked, "Who among our contemporaries are of the most value to the community?",Jane Addams was rated second, after Thomas Edison. When she opposed America's involvement in World War I, however, newspaper editors called .her a traitor and a fool, but she never changed her mind. Jane Addams was a strong champion of several other causes. Until 1920, American women could not vote. Addams joined in the movement for women's suffrage and was a vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Her reputation was gradually restored during the last years of her life. She died of cancer in 1935.

With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?

Jane Addams' work for social reform and world peace.

['The early development of social work in America.', 'Contributions of educated women to American society.', 'The establishment of the Nobel Peace Prize.']

What's life like on a deserted island? Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona decided to find out. The adventurous senator took a vacation from Capitol Hill and went on a four-day Robinson Crusoe style holiday with his two teenage sons to a remote, uninhabited island in the North Pacific Ocean. The senator and his sons, 15-year-old Tanner and 13-year-old Dallin, traveled 5,200 miles from Phoenix, Arizona to the island of Biggarenn. They didn't carry any food or water. The island is part of the Marshall Islands. It offered no basic facilities, so the Flakes had to catch and cook their own food and purify their water. Their diet was made up of coconuts, crab and fish. They captured the crab and fish themselves and cooked the food over an open fire started with a magnifying glass . The Flakes brought along a lobster trap in hopes of having some delicious treats, but lost it within the first few hours after it was attacked by a shark. They also carried two pumps to remove salt from ocean water. It took them hours each night pumping for just a few gallons of fresh water. One of the most memorable moments of the trip, the father said, was when he and his 15-year-old son were chased by sharks after spearing a fish in the ocean. Still, it was quite an enjoyable holiday for the senator. "For a dad it was a wonderful thing. No video games around, no television, no distractions, no texting," Flake recalled.

What kind of water did they drink?

The purified sea water.

['Water from the river.', 'The running water nearby.', 'Water they brought from home.']

Green living has become more important than ever and as time goes by, it will only become a more important issue. While it used to be a matter of making an extra effort to save energy and reduce waste in our homes, this has extended to the professional side of things since. Public buildings, such as schools, hospitals and offices, are under an increasing amount of pressure to make the change and go green, even if it's just a step-by-step process that takes a few years to implement completely. There are plenty of reasons for offices to go green and these reasons go beyond the concept that it should be done just for the sake of the environment. While the environment is incredibly important and vital to our survival and quality of life, sustainable office design can also have positive impacts upon employees and people using the building. For example, a report carried out last September revealed that the way an office is designed can significantly impact on the health of the staff there. It was also found to have an effect on productivity and could be a contributory factor to the amount of sick leave and staff turnaround within the business. It's fascinating to think that people can be so sensitive to their environments but it also makes a lot of sense. Even the choice of colour in your office can negatively or positively affect the people working there. Based on this study, it is clear that companies should be making more efforts to improve on the office design while making sure the environment is sustainable and green. There are various little changes that can be made to lead to something bigger, from making sure the lights are turned off at night to recycling the paper your company gets through on a weekly basis. Once these changes are in place, you can start looking at the bigger picture and begin implementing changes to design and construction, like having wood fibre insulation fitted. Along with other sustainable features, insulation can be beneficial in various ways. Not only will an insulated office space be environmentally sound by helping you to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, reducing the reliance on the thermostat and central heating and saving money, but it can also be an effective form of sound absorption. The study revealed that noise is a contributory factor to productivity problems, and if you work in a particularly busy area, then noise can become a real issue. The aim is to create an environment that is comfortable and calm enough for people to concentrate and work productively. Soundproof walls are an effective and environmentally friendly solution.

The author mentioned the report carried out last year for the purpose of .

proving the benefits of green office design

['showing us how to design an office', 'telling us the side effects of green living', 'improving the productivity of office workers']

Paris is an ancient city, the center of prefix = st1 /Franceand probably the most cultured city in Europe. For the modern traveler it's very easy to reach the famous city on the river Seine. You can fly there in less time than it takes to travel by train from Beijing toShanghai. Once you reachParisyou are surprised by a city that is the perfect combination of modern life and history. The best time to arrive is the spring. Winter is cold and wet, the summer humid and autumn windy. In the spring the flowers are blossoming, the sun shines and the birds sing. The people ofParisare most pleased with spring in their city. They play in the parks, visit the beautiful monuments and enjoy "joie de vivre" . If you arrive in Parisin the springtime, you will enjoy the life of lazy walks down the boulevards too, sitting in the cafes and visiting the most famous museums in the world. There are many places for you to visit, Notre Dame de Paris, the nearby palace of Versaille, the arch of Triumph and of course the Eiffel Tower. You'll notice that in Paris the people in the cafes all look out at the people on the street. They like to see and be seen. Some monuments are not French, but fromEgypt, orGreece, or maybe Chinese! There are many, many dogs, especially the famous French poodie with his well-tailored looks. This is the city where the French impressionists painted their works, where arts, culture and literature are the main passions of life. Apart of course, from the food! All Frenchmen like to eat and drink wine - they are never happier than when they are having a picnic on the banks of the river Seine in the springtime.

Why do you think the writer writes this passage?

To encourage people to make a trip toParis.

['To praise the city ofParis', 'To let you knowParisis an ancient city.', 'To tell us thatParishas monuments from all over the world.']

These are something everyone gets in the mail at one point or another and wonders what to do with them . We feel bad throwing them away but we do n't really want to store them because we may never need them . So now you have a use for packing peanuts .

What would happen if we keep them ?

It would pile up over time .

['We would give them to our next generation .', 'None of the above choices .', 'We would sell them .']

Deception is something that people do all the time ,and it plays an important role in military strategy. Now some researchers are trying to figure out how to get robots to do it, by looking at the behavior of squirrels and birds. At Georgia Tech, a team led by Ronald Arkin , a professor at the School of interactive Computing, studied the literature on squirrels hiding their acorns .Squirrels will hide their food m a certain place, but when they see other squirrels trying to steal from them, they attempt to fool the thieves by running to a fake location. Ronald Arkin and his Ph. D. student Jaeeun Shim used that as a model for robot behavior. They programmed the robot into tricking a "predator " machine by doing what ei squirrel does: showing the enemy a false location for an important resource. The team also looked at how other animals in this case,a species of bird called Arabian babbler~ drive off predators. A babbler will make an alarm call when they see a predator and other babblers will join the bird and make more calls. They then surround the predator, all the while flapping wings and making noises. The babblers don't ever actually fight the animal they want to drive off; they just make enough noises and flaps around enough so that it seems that attacking a babbler isn't worth it They found that the deception works when the group reaches a certain size--essentially, when enough birds arrive to convince the enemy that it's best to back off . Davis modeled that behavior in software using a military scene and found that it worked even if the group didn't have the firepower to confront the enemy directly. The military is interested in this because a robot that can fool an opponent is a valuable tool. It could lead an enemy down a fake trail or make itself look more dangerous than it actually is.

Which of the following is NOT the way Arabian babblers drive off predators?

They fight the enemy bravely face to face.

['One bird makes an alarm call and other birds will join it', 'They make noises and flaps around the predator.', "They force the predator aware that it isn't worthwhile to attack."]

When we walk through the city, we all experience a kind of information overload but we pay attention only to those that are important to us. We don't stop, we keep our faces expressionless and eyes straight ahead, and in doing so, we are not just protecting ourselves but are avoiding overloading other people as well. We make use of stereotypes as convenient ways to make quick judgments about situations and people around us. They may not always be accurate, and they can often be dangerously wrong, but they are used regularly. The problem with the stereotypes is that they restrict experience. By using limited clues to provide us with a rapid opinion of other people or places we may choose to limit our communication. We may decide not to go to certain places because we believe they will not offer something we enjoy. In the city, styles of dress are particularly important with regard to self-presentation. Different groups often use clearly identifiable styles of clothes so that they can be easily recognized. It is becoming increasingly common for brand names to be placed on the outside of clothes, and this labeling makes it easy to send out information about fashion and price instantly, and lets other tell at a distance whether an individual has similar tastes and is a suitable person to associate with. In England, where social grouping or class continues to make social distinctions, clothes, hairstyles, people's pronunciation and the manner of speaking are all clues to our social group. Class distinctions tend to be relatively fixed, although in the city where greater variety is permitted, they are more likely to be secondary determining factors of friendship and association.

People walking in cities ignore the surroundings because _ .

there is too much information to get

['they do not wish to talk to other people', 'everyone else is expressionless', 'the environment is already familiar to them']

( Card # 1 - Fashion Show ) I had told her we were going to have a really nice dinner that night , so I convinced her to bring a change of clothes , so she could look her best . We grabbed our Starbucks and hopped on the train to go into the city . After a full walkabout tour of Boston , we ended up at Jin 's ( my sister 's boyfriend ) place to get changed and wash up a little .

What state may i be current in ?

Massachusetts

['Vermont', 'None of the above choices .', 'Maine']

In 1981, when I was nine years old, my father took me to see Raiders of the Lost Ark. Although I had to squint my eyes during some of the scary scenes, I loved it – in particular because I was fairly sure that Harrison Ford’s character was based on my dad. My father was a palaeontologist at the University of Chicago, and I’d gone on several field trips with him to the Rocky Mountains, where he seemed to transform into a rock-hammer-wielding superhero. That illusion was shattered some years later when I figured out what he actually did: far from spending his time climbing dangerous cliffs and digging up dinosaurs, Jack Sepkoski spent most of his career in front of a computer, building what would become the first comprehensive database on the fossil record of life. The analysis that he and his colleagues performed revealed new understandings of phenomena such as diversification and extinction, and changed the way that palaeontologists work. But he was about as different from Indiana Jones as you can get. The intertwining tales of my father and his discipline contain lessons for the current era of algorithmic analysis and artificial intelligence (AI), and points to the value-laden way in which we “see” data. My dad was part of a group of innovators in palaeontology who identified as “palaeobiologists” – meaning that they approached their science not as a branch of geology, but rather as the study of the biology and evolution of past life. Since Charles Darwin’s time, palaeontology – especially the study of the marine invertebrates that make up most of the record – involved descriptive tasks such as classifying or correlating fossils with layers of the Earth (known as stratigraphy). Some invertebrate palaeontologists studied evolution, too, but often these studies were regarded by evolutionary biologists and geneticists as little more than “stamp collecting”.

How was University of Chicago associated with Jack?

not enough information

['It employed him part-time.', 'It employed him for a part of the year', 'It employed him for some time.']

So everyone , in mid run , turns to the side and kind of ninja runs in the circle . I am good at this - it is n't hard , but I noticed some people keeping their feet closer to the mat than I , and so I kept my step low to follow suit . I failed . I tripped over my own foot and stumble for a good five or ten seconds to regain my balance since I was bent over running with my arms flailing .

What kind of injuries would be sustained ?

Scrapes

['Fractured rib', 'None of the above choices .', 'Punctured lung']

Your body works 24 hours a day. It's always building and repairing, feeding and cleansing itself. Its goal is to be ready for your every movement, breath, and thought. The quality of your life depends on how well your body works. And how well your body works depends on how much energy it gets. Energy comes from the food you eat. Food contains nutrients that your body needs for growth and energy. By eating a balanced diet, your body gets the six important nutrients it needs.Minerals are nutrients that build bones and teeth. Minerals also form red blood cells and other substances.Wateraids digestion and waste removal.Carbohydrates give your body its main source of energy. Two carbohydrates are sugars from foods such as fruits and vegetables and starches found in rice, potatoes, and bread.Fatshelp build cell membranes .Proteinsrepair and grow body tissues . Finally,vitaminshelp your body use carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) has created a nutritional food pyramid . It shows the daily number of servings you should eat from five food groups. The food pyramid has four levels. The base of the pyramid is the largest level. It contains the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group from which you need six to eleven servings. The next level has two food groups: vegetables and fruits. The USDA recommends three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit. The third level also has two groups: the milk, yogurt, and cheese group and the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group. You need two to three servings from each of these groups. The top of the pyramid is the smallest level. It contains fats, oils, and sweets. These foods have few nutrients, so eat them sparingly .

To help the reader understand the six nutrients needed by the body, the author _ .

writes the details of each nutrient.

['describes the five basic food groups.', 'explains what a balanced diet is.', 'tells the number of daily servings needed from each food group.']

Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert system using text messages delivered to cell phones. Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry's trade association, CTIA, estimates more than 48 billions text messages are sent each month. The plan comes from the Warning alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation's emergency alter system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies. "The ability to deliver accurate and timely warning and alert alters through cell phone and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan. Participation in the alert system by carriers -- telecommunication companies -- is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry. The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts. There would be three types of messages, according to the rules. The first would be a national alter from the president, likely involving a terrorists attack or natural disaster. The second would involve "approaching threats," which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts. The service could be in place by 2010.

The carriers' participation in the system is determined by _ .

the carriers themselves

['the US federal government', 'mobile phone users', 'the law of the United States']

With the accommodation sorted we proceeded to have a lovely tea party in the back yard & amp ; the kids played croquet & amp ; soccer on the lawn . Then Tom and Peter did a bit of bike riding with Rachel on roller skates around a nearby school yard . Later they played Monopoly with Peter using a German board which was a challenge for them but fun .

Why was it tough for the crew to play Monopoly ?

The crew could n't read German .

["The crew could n't keep track .", "The crew could n't do math .", 'None of the above choices .']

WTF IS WRONG WITH ME ? ! ? ! ? I loved Nsync back in the days but I never had dreams about them . And then the next week came and I had another . It was Nino this time . I was confused as hell in my dream too .

Why is the narrator doubting themselves so much ?

The narrator is having irrational dreams .

['None of the above choices .', 'The narrator is not ready for a work task .', 'The narrator is unprepared for a test .']

I was seated in 15D ( aisle ) and could use half of the seat next to me ( since I had to share it with the passanger at 15F ) for sleeping as comfortably as possible . We got dinner and breakfast , everything was decent . On this plane there is no entertainment at all ( no audio , video or games ) . Only crying babies brought a bit of excitement .

What may be a plausible fact about my trip ?

I was travelling by air .

['None of the above choices .', 'I was travelling by sea .', 'I was travelling by land .']

After suffering through many months of unemployment . my wife and I moved this week from Colorado to Ohio. where she was starting a new job. Not knowing anybody there. we were pretty concerned about how we'd get our entire home unloaded without killing ourselves. We made a phone call to hire a couple of college students to help with all the heavy lifting once we got there. But one neighbor after another stopped by to help us. _ Unloading actually became fun and joy because there were so many wonderful new friends to help when we worked. The more people helped. the easier the work became. We were afraid the job might take days for the two of us alone. but it was finished in a few hours. Many total strangers would either walk by the sidewalk or drive by to ask us if we were moving in. Many were happy that this old house that had sat empty for so long was coming to life again. We were invited to an outdoor meal yesterday by neighbors on the same street. All the time. my brain was resting on this new sense of hope that people can be so friendly to strangers. Among all the conversation were lots of offers to help each other in all kinds of ways. It's wonderful to live in such a kind little town. I feel so grateful to be here. and wish the rest of the world could see how an entire community can model what it's like to help each other.

According to the passage , which of the following is TRUE?

The author is very satisfied with his new home and new neighbors.

['The author has many old friends in Ohio.', 'It took the author and his wife days to get home unloaded.', 'The author and his wife invited the neighbors to a dinner.']

Trees and branches down everywhere , whole front yards just piles of broken trees . Most businesses ( that is , almost every business of every type ) were closed , it took me a few hours to run an errand that normally takes 25 mins . Some traffic lights were working , but most were not . In terms of total damage and disruption , this is one of the worst storms in my lifetime for this area .

Why is a lot of cleanup on the way for the narrator ?

They have been pummeled by wind .

['They have been pummeled by an earthquake .', 'They have been pummeled by snow .', 'None of the above choices .']

Google works miracles Google is a daily miracle to millions of people. You can type almost anything into the space provided, and soon it wil come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of references . It is said that you can get into billions of websites through Google. Yahoo becomes giant Yahoo was the first wonder of the Web, and in many parts, it still is. It started in January 1994 when two Californian graduate students, Jerry Yang and David Filo, started building a database of links , mainly for their personal use. Well before the end of the year, it had become known as the Yahoo we know today. Ebay enables everyone to buy and sell Ebay, which carries out online auctions , is one of the most important Internet companies. It has, for example, opened up a global marketplace in which people from Beigjing, San Francisco, Moscow or Buenos Aires can bid against each other for products (new or old )put up auction by someone in London. Amazon makes buying a new experience For regular users, amazon has made itself the shortest possible path between wanting and buying. With amazon you can get something more cheaply and perhaps more quickly. The search engine and one-click ordering system let you find and order something in seconds.But this is not the whole story. Amazon also uses technology very cleverly to keep you on the site, and to make you buy more.

Which of the following is NOT true about amazon?

You can't stay in the website for long because it's busy.

['You can buy something quickly through it.', 'You can buy something cheaply through it .', 'It is a website which sells many kinds of things.']

Printing images is easy. Just select an image of a purple robot on your PC, for example, and press print. Your home printer exactly shoots drops of ink onto a flat piece of paper, creating the robot's 2-D image. "Printing" 3-D objects is different. Take the purple robot. First select a file of the 3-D printer. Immediately, the printer begins making noise, and a nozzle releases plastic material in thin layers. In two or three hours, a 3-D purple robot is standing before you. 3-D printing has developed to the point where printers can now create high-quality objects using a variety of materials, including metals. That means 3-D printers can now make final products that meet high industrial standards. 3-D printers are already being used to make parts for racecars and jets as well as man-made limbs and hearing aids. So far, few homes have 3-D printers. That's because 3-D printing is not only new to most people but also quite expensive. To bring 3-D printing to the masses, some retail stores plan to offer the service. For example, the Staples chain of office supply stores has announced that it will offer 3-D printing in Europe beginning in 2013. Customers will be able to submit their own 3-D designs to Staples website for printing. After the job is done, they'll pick up their item at a nearby Staples store or have it mailed to their homes. This service is sure to encourage many more people to try out 3-D printing.

What do we learn about the 3-D purple robot?

How it gradually takes shape

['How long it can usually last', 'How it can darken its own color', 'How much it costs to produce']

" I want a man who I can put on a pedestal , and devote myself to . " Whoa , way too much pressure , was my reaction . I actually read this recently on an online profile .

Where would this have likely to occur ?

Tinder

['None of the above choices .', 'IGN', 'Tumblr']

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, "city of the sun", and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia. It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians' idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn't get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix! Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in _ . Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.

The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _ .

they may get rid of the mites

['the phoenix used to do so', 'they want to burn their feather', 'they can heat themselves']

We had had an accident and dumped cough syrup down the fridge at one point , so I figure they actually crawled UP the dispenser in search of cough syrup . After emptying the ice bucket and doing a thorough cloroxing , I thought we were ok . Then today I made waffles . Gave Justin his waffle first because I did n't want it to get cold . He ate it , and then I brought mine in to dump syrup over .

Did I intentionally spill the cough syrup in the fridge ?

None of the above choices .

['Yes , we had enough already', 'Yes , I was setting a trap', 'Yes , I was trying to throw them off']

I picked up this Sporf in Amsterdam Schipol airport. A spork I'd seen before, but the addition of a simple serration on the side of the fork end makes this a genuine "three-in-one" implement for eating one's full three-course takeaway meal on the plane. The sporf is no innovation; back in 1940 the "sporf" was born. It took me until 2015 to notice this one thanks to its rather pleasant design. The sporf is a little like most strategy documents that I come across. It is one implement designed to serve a multitude of goals, but with one fatal flaw: you can only ever use one part of the sporf / strategy at any one time. With the sporf, things would get messy trying to use the spoon and knife and the same time. The knife and fork work quite well in sequence but physics prevents me using both at the same time as I can with the older technologies of knife and fork. In strategy formation, we can develop a multitude of potential purposes within one document, killer vision statement or mission. But it's important to recognise that the teams around us will only ever be able to do one thing really well at any one time. This is a lesson oft ignored by schools, in particular, as they attempt to ask educators to create an ever-more creative curriculum without having first tackled attitudes towards summative assessments throughout the year. It is also a challenge in some of the world's most successful, but now stagnating, big businesses: they've spent decades or centuries building a reputation across a large array of devices, technologies, components or clothing, but the real strategy is working out which of the current array needs killed off to enable teams in their quest to develop something totally new, properly innovative.

Who had the issue with the sporf?

author

['big bussiness', 'Amsterdam Schipol airport', 'not enough information']

A Southampton University team found that people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with a higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was connected to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8,179 people was reported in theBritishMedicalJournal. Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarians -- although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken. Men who were vegetarians had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians. There was no difference in the IQ scores, between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken. Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors. Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians. Lead researcher Catharine Gale said, "The findings that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarians as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why a higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life. But Dr Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association said," _ Do people become vegetarians because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they are clever enough to be more aware of health issues?"

What' s the best title for the text?

A high IQ is linked to being a vegetarian

['Get more IQ points!', 'Be a vegetarian, please!', 'Vegetarian diet cuts heart risk']

My fraternal twins were born 2 months early. The staff had already stopped premature labor at six months gestation but it proceeded too quickly this time. Total labor 2.5 hours. Needless to say, they were tiny - female 2 lbs. 3 oz, male 3 lbs. 10 oz. Female was born dark blue - luckily, I was at the finest maternity hospital in this half of the State (McGee Women’s). They brought the female around to breathing, while I cried, thinking that she was dead. The twins were rushed to the NICU, too tiny to breast feed except with pumped milk through a feeding tube. Both were watched closely by doctors and nurses as they were not passing waste properly. The day it was decided that the male needed surgery, the female was discharged to home. The male was transferred to another very good hospital for surgery for a temporary colostomy. He was discharged to home after a week. What broke my heart was that I was allowed to visit him in the hospital but his older brother and twin sister were not allowed. Prior to his discharge, the staff instructed me in changing and maintaining his colostomy bag on a daily basis. He kept the colostomy bag until he was about 5 months old; back into the hospital for the colostomy reversal. The sign that I hung above their shared playpen said “Whatever doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger”. How did I cope with it? Mostly alone. The hospital offered group sessions for parents of severely premature infants. During the very first session, I had a zen realization that, once I realized that the circumstances were out of my control, I GAINED control of myself and my life. A bit like the Serenity Prayer. I shared that epiphany with the group and they looked at me like I had two heads. I had never heard of the Serenity Prayer and I’d been an atheist since age 13, so religion was not my go-to then, nor is it now. That realization helped. The twins are 37 now.

Why did the babies have to go to the NICU?

because they were born 2 months early

['because the labor was too long', 'not enough information', 'because they were in a small town']

We all know that it is possible for ordinary people to make their homes on the equator ( ), although often they may feel uncomfortably hot there. Millions do it. But as for the North Pole ---- we know that it is not only a dangerously cold place, but that people like you and we would find it quite impossible to live there. At the present time only the scientists and explorers can do so, and they use special equipment. Men had been traveling across and around the equator on wheels, on their feet or in ships for thousands of years; but only a few men, with great difficulty and in very recent time, have ever crossed the ice to the North Pole. So it may surprise you to learn that, when traveling by air, it is really safer to fly over the North Pole than over the equator. Of course, this is not true about landings in the polar region (which passenger aeroplanes do not make). But the weather, if we are flying at a height of 5,000 meters above the Pole , is a delight. At 4,000 meters and more above the earth you can always be sure that you will not see a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can reach. In the tropics , on the other hand, you are not certain to keep clear of ( ) bad weather even at such heights as 18,000 or 20,000 meters . Aeroplanes can't climb as high or as quickly in cold air as in warm. Nor can clouds. In practice, this is an advantage to the aeroplane, which is already at a good height when it reaches the polar region and so it does not need to climb, while at the same time cold air keeps the clouds down low.

The polar region is _ .

a good place to fly over

['a good place to land at by aeroplane', 'difficult place to fly over', 'a good place to live in']

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts. The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, "Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love." To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change. And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, "That new yellow sweater looks great on you." "Oh, Tom, you noticed", she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me." We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites. So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression. "What's the matter?" I asked her. "Tom," she said in a voice filled with distress, "I don't?" "What do you mean?" "Well...that checkup I had several weeks ago...our doctor...did he tell you something about me? Tom, you've been so good to me...am I dying?" It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing. "No, honey," I said, wrapping her in my arms. "You're not dying; I'm just starting to live."

The author says, "There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment." What does "one thing" refer to?

He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

['He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.', 'She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.', "He knew something about her illness but didn't tell her."]

I was not quite seventeen when I decided to join the US Marine Corps.My mother tried her best to talk me out of my dream, and then finally signed the papers that would permit me to enter the service. One day, nearly two years after the Philippines became my home, I was summoned to the office of Lieutenant Colonel Boyd.He seemed to be a kind man, but I was pretty sure that he hadn't called me in to pass the time of day. Standing before his desk, I waited nervously as he read through some paperwork.Then he looked up."Why, Private, haven't you written to your mother for more than six months?" I felt weak in my knees.Has it been that long? I thought. "I didn't have anything to say, Sir." Lieutenant Colonel Boyd told me that my mother had contacted the American Red Cross, which in turn communicated with my commanding officer about my failure to write. Then he asked, "Do you see that desk, Private?" "Yes, Sir." "Open the top drawer and you'll find some paper and a pen.Sit down right this minute and find something to say to your mother." "Yes, Sir." When I finished a brief letter, I stood before him again. "Private, I'm ordering you to find something to say to your mother at least once a week.Do you understand?" I did. Some 35 years later, my aged mother's mental condition was deteriorating, and I was forced to place her in a convalescent home .As I went through her belongings, I began inspecting the contents of an old cedar chest.At the bottom, tied with a bright red ribbon, I found a bundle of letters. They were the letters I had been ordered to write from the Philippines.I sat on the floor of her apartment that afternoon reading each one, tears streaming down my cheeks.I now realized how deeply, as a young man, had upset her by my lack of consideration. The lesson I learned may have been too late to help my mother, but it's still done me good.These days I don't need a commanding officer standing over me to write to my loved ones on a regular basis.

Why did Lieutenant Colonel Boyd order the writer to write to his mother?

Because the Cross informed him about the author's failure to write.

['Because he was always strict with his soldiers.', 'Because he got a letter of complain from the mother.', 'Because soldiers must write to their parents at least once a week.']

We are legitimate and reputable company from Uk , London we have all brands of Mobile Phones , Apple Iphones , Ipods , xbox 360 , Sidekicks , Nextels phone , Laptops for sell at cheap and affordable prices . ORDER INFORMATION : Minimum Order : 1 - 5 units Payment Method : Western Union and Money Gram Shipping Method : FedEx and UPS . Delivery Time : 48 Hours Delivery To Your Door Step .

What type of products does this company sell ?

None of the above choices .

['This company sells cleaning devices .', 'This company sells cooking devices .', 'This company sells medical devices .']

Amy Chua, a professor of law in Yale, nicknamed as Tiger Mother, has started a debate over Chinese-style parenting. Amy sets "10 Rules" for her two daughters. For instance, they've to get As in all subjects and play the piano or violin and practice hours every day. There has been wide criticism across the US. "It's kind of extreme," said Jeffrey Seinfeld, a professor at New York University. "Children need parents who can guide them, not force them..." Lawrence Solomon, a famous journalist for Canada's Globe and Mail, has quoted statistics to show the failure of Chinese parenting. He writes that only 10 Chinese scientists outside the Chinese mainland have won the Nobel Prize in the past century. In contrast, American scientists have won more than 300 Nobel prizes, and Jews , who take up only 1% of the world's population, have got at least 180 (or almost one-fourth) of the prizes. However, Amy's strict rules help her daughters shine in their studies. The elder sister is known for her piano presentation at the Carnegie Hall, and the younger boasts an excellent academic record. Besides, US statistics show that Chinese-Americans take up only 5% of the US population but 20% of the students in Ivy League schools . Likewise, Chinese-Canadians take up more than one-third of the students in Canada's two most famous universities, Toronto University and the University of British Columbia. Influenced by Confucius' teachings, students from Korea and Japan are also excelling in academic fields. Therefore, the Nobel Prize should not be taken as the _ of a country's education. No culture or tradition, whether Eastern or Western, is better or worse. The same applies to Eastern and Western education systems. Both sides should stop using their concepts and criteria to judge the other. They should learn the good aspects of each other's systems and clear the misunderstandings.

How does this passage develop?

By comparing.

['By inferring.', 'By reasoning.', 'By explaining.']

If you like thrillers , Tell No One is a pretty solid one . Eight years after Dr. Alex Beck 's wife is murdered , two bodies are found in the same area - and Dr. Beck receives a mysterious email .

Who might the mysterious email come from ?

Someone with knowledge of the murders .

['One of the bodies .', 'None of the above choices .', 'From the police .']

I was up till 1:30 in the morning and Josh was up till 3 finishing . We did n't go to church on Sunday because no one could get out of bed ! The downstairs bathroom is strawberry red ( It 's BRIGHT ! )

Why did the family not go to church ?

They wanted to sleep .

['None of the above choices .', 'Josh is agnostic .', 'They are atheist .']

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby' s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed , knowing that his life was to be unfortunate. He cried to his mum "A boy, a big boy... called me a freak ." He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. "But you might communicate with other young people," his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart. Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You' re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it' s a secret." The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared. Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, "Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her." "I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet." The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother' s casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears. "Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," his father whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?"

We can infer that the person who donate the ears is _ .

His mother.

['A doctor.', 'His father.', 'A stranger.']

Kurt Vonnegut, writer and famous speech giver at US university graduation ceremonies, made this point to one group of soon-to-be-non-students: If this isn't nice, I don't know what is. It is the end of a story about his grandpa who, on a summer's afternoon, would find the shade of a tree under which he could rest with a glass of homemade lemonade. The family didn't have a lot of cash, the grandpa worked hard every day of his life, but no matter how relentless the day-to-day was, he would always repeat this phrase as a reminder to those around him that, at the end of the day, this is all still amazing to be part of. This kind of optimism, as you might call it, can often disappear in a flash in the busy-ness of business or school. Things become impossible, hardgoing, relentless(ly difficult). And the reasons we give for that busyness nearly always involve someone or something else - the system, the job, the weather... For many years, people would ask the salutary "how are you?" and my answer was a stock one: "I'm tired." It was my wife who pointed it out to me, presumably because everyone else was too polite to express their boredom with my reply. The fact is, most people feel tired most of the time, until they make a switch in their life. That switch is deciding that the only person who can turn that frown upside down, who can make crazy stuff happen (or attempt to, and enjoy the process), is you. And in Vonnegut's case, that switch came from saying out loud the one phrase that brings us back to the good elements in what we or our team or our family is doing at any given moment: If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.

What did Kurt Vonnegut probably think of his grandpa?

he probably emulated him

['not enough information', 'he probably disliked him', 'he probably like him a little bit']

At first, the earth's surface layer was made up of huge blocks of hard, solid rocks. Then slowly, the rocks broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. Finally stones, pebbles and grains of sand were formed. Many sorts of plants and animals lived and died on the surface of the earth. Their remains mixed up with the stones, pebbles and formed soil. The outmost layer of the earth is soil. There are many ways in which large pieces of rock break into smaller ones. Wind, water, heat and cold help to break up rocks. When winds blow grains of sand against a large rock for a long time, the softer layers of the rock are slowly worn away. These leave holes and cracks in the rock, which become bigger and finally the rock breaks up into smaller pieces. The moving water of streams and rivers also helps to break up rocks. As the water moves along, it carries with it small pieces of rock. These rub the larger ones. Thus, the larger rocks are worn down to smaller pieces. The heat of the sun is also helpful to breaking up rocks. When the sun shines, the rocks become very hot. If these rocks are suddenly cooled, they may crack. Ice also plays a part in making soil. Water in the cracks can turn into ice in cold weather. As this happens, it becomes bigger and the cracks become wider, and finally break into smaller pieces.

How many factors are mentioned in helping break up rocks?

Four.

['Three.', 'Five.', 'More than five.']

The following is the information about plays which will be on these days. Big and Little It is a play written by Botho Strauss and directed by Laurence Strangio, featuring (......) second-year Performing Arts students. It is about a lonely woman living in a big city. From the play, we can learn how to get along well with our friends, our family, our lovers, ... and with ourselves. A dreamlike journey in search of identity ... When:15-17 March, 7:30 pm Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions $5 You can get the tickets at the door. Love Play It is written by Moira Buffini and directed by Trent Baker, featuring Performing Arts students. First-year Performing Arts students present Love Play. It follows a series of unexpected meetings that have taken place in the same place in London across 2,000 years, through the centuries from the Romans to the Elizabethans to the present day. Love Play is a comedy that challenges the reasons and ways we want love. When:17-19 April, 8 pm Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions $5 You can get the tickets at the door. Smashed It is a play written by Lally Katz and directed by Suzanne Chaundy, featuring second-year Performing Arts students. Smashed is about friendship, time travel and death. Writing for TheAge, Helen Thomson calls the play "a wonderful memory of childhood on the edge of adulthood."Smashedp raises invention, imagination and girl power. When: 24-26 April, 8 pm Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions $5 You can get the tickets at the door.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

Love Play is a comedy which has a different idea about love.

['All the plays begin at 8 pm on Clayton campus.', 'The tickets have different prices but all are sold at the door.', 'All the plays are performed by second-year Performing Arts students.']

In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become "twins" with a sister-city relationship. The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away. Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany. Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town! Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin towns in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan country! Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skill, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.

How many countries are mentioned in this passage?

4

['7', '6.', '5']

I was going to take a bus to Kew Gardens from my school but I did n't to -- since I ' m living in this area , I feel I should know it better . I decided to walk to Kew Gardens -- what an adventure . Its really incredible how different life is here than home . Even though its not a far distance , it has a different atmosphere .

Why am I living in London ?

I 'm an exchange student .

['I love walking in gardens .', 'I want to be close to nature .', 'None of the above choices .']

Many Christmas customs are based on the birth of Christ, such as giving presents because of the Wise Men, who brought presents to the baby Jesus Singing Christmas carols is based on the scene of the birth with figures of shepherds, the Wise Men and animals surrounding the baby Jesus. The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in the present-day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A. D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors were believed to steal his remains and removed them to Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe. His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cap, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre. In Greece, he was the patron saint of sailors; in France, he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium, the patron of children and travelers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and sometime around the 12th century an official holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated on December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity. After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas declined, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolass was eventually transformed to _ . Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the English name of Santa Claus appeared.

Why, as is believed, is Santa Claus so popular in Europe?

Because of the deed of the Italian sailors.

['Because of his reputation for generosity.', 'Because he died in Italy.', 'Because of his devotion to Italian children.']

I really struggle to feel bad for people who actively choose to be miserable and manipulative. I’m dorky and like to use little proverbs all the time. One of my favorites is this: “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” At the end of the day, if someone has a problem, they can never resolve it if they don’t truly wish to. You can give someone all the resources in the world, but you can’t force them to utilize them. When I was 16, I dated a horrible guy. He was abusive verbally, emotionally, and sexually. He was an incredibly troubled young man and refused to seek help for his severe mental health issues. I eventually came to understand that he reveled in his misery. It was his identity. He acted like he wanted a cure and I’d set him up with resources, but he refused every single one. He may have struggled with serious mental illnesses, but being miserable perversely made him happy and he loved to use his struggles to justify his inexcusable behavior. He wanted to drag as many people into his fiery pit of anguish as possible. I later suffered from severe depression myself, and I never once used it as an excuse to hurt other people. My ex wasn’t struggling with his mental health in terms of deliberating and carefully harming others. He was simply exhibiting a personality trait, one he chose to cultivate… and it wasn’t my problem. I ended up cutting him off completely in spite of all the threats. I will never feel bad for the awful plight he refuses to help himself out of. I have no patience for that type of person. Know what we call them? Toxic. Poison. A waste of time.

Who suffered from depression?

The author.

['She did.', 'not enough information', 'The story teller.']

His eyes were open and his head bobbed around at an impossible angle. He was sitting in about forty feet of water, stone dead, one arm pinned between the rocks. As best I could tell, he had been dead when he landed there. The mud and ooze around him were as serene and smooth as he was. The cop who was assisting me swam over and made a palms up gesture. I shrugged back at him and began to work the body loose. The corpse had only one leg, and as I worked I wondered what he had been doing in the lake. I got the arm free and kicked toward the quicksilver surface above me. The body turned bloated and heavy when I broke water with it, and it took three of us to load it into the police launch. I dried off and got a coke out of the cooler. It was getting to be another Texas scorcher, and the sunlight bouncing off the surface of the lake felt like it had needles in it. My mouth was dry from breathing canned air and the carbonation burned like fire. Winslow, from the sheriff's office, sat down next to me. 'I appreciate this, Dan,' he said. 'No problem.' Sam Winslow and I had grown up together about twenty miles outside Austin in a little town called Coupland. We'd fought a lot as kids, and there were still plenty of differences in our politics and educations. But being on the police and fire rescue squad had brought me closer to him again, and I was glad of it. A private detective needs all the friends he can get. 'What do you make of it?' I asked him. 'Accidental drowning, looks like.' I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. 'He's got a bump on the head that could have come off a rock. We'll see what the coroner says.' 'Any idea who he is?' Winslow shook his head. He'd gained weight in his face recently and his jowls vibrated with the gesture.

How far was he sitting in the water?

Forty feet

['not enough information', 'Fifty feet', 'Thirty feet']

The latest Chinese "god song"(an Internet term to describe pop songs that spread virally through the Internet is still making debates between those who view it as a milestone for Chinese pop music going global and those who regard it as a bad image of China. Last week,Little Apple, written and performed by the Chopsticks Brothers, won the AMA International Song Award and _ performed the song at the 2014 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Another Chinese pop singer, Zhang Jie, won the International Artist Award. But while fans of these singers are thinking highly of the awards and the performance by the Chopsticks Brothers at the AMA celebration, there are others who are less excited. They have questioned the value of the awards and what effect it will have on Chinese culture's "going abroad", saying it may leave foreign audiences with a poor impression of Chinese pop music, and even Chinese culture. The Little Applephenomenon, both home and abroad, can be more easily understood and judged if we look at it from a business view rather than a cultural view. The professional promoters behind the duo have developed a clear strategy to promote the duo and their works, not just this particular song.Little Applewas originally released to promote the duo's filmOld Boys: The Way of the Dragon. From the very beginning a marketing strategy was used to promote the song, which immediately went viral on the Internet due to its repetitive rhythm ,easy-to-remember lyrics , simple and funny dance and, most importantly, grass roots nature. The video accumulated more than 1 billion bits on China's major video websites. Although the song was generally disliked by music professionals who criticized it as "musical junk food",Little Apple's popularity nationally paved the way(...) for promoting the duo internationally.

The writer's attitude to the song ofLittle Appleis _ .

objective

['opposed', 'negative', 'critical']

(PARIS) ----An English tourist who was highly praised for rescuing a three-year-old boy in Paris said he didn't think twice before diving into the freezing river. Tuesday's news said 25-year-old John Smith from England was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday. He lifted the little boy out of the water after he fell off the bank. He handed the child to his father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him. "I didn't think at all," John told the News. "It happened very fast. I reacted very fast." John, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. Immediately, he took off his coat and jumped into the water. When he reached the child, he appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when he was out of the water, he opened his eyes. Anderson said his son slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for him, said John, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. John caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after. The rescue happened on the day before he left for England. John said he didn't realize his story had greatly moved Paris until he was leaving the city the next morning. "I don't really think I'm a hero," said John. "Anyone would do the same thing."

What is the probable reason why John was in Paris?

To spend his vacation.

['To meet his girlfriend.', 'To visit his parents.', 'To work as an engineer.']

Conventional wisdom says that hardship can make us old before our time. In fact, a new study suggests that violence not only leaves long-term scars on children's bodies, but also changes their DNA, causing changes that are equal to seven to ten years of premature aging . Scientists measured this by studying the ends of children's chromosomes , called telomeres, says Idan Shalev, lead author of a study published in Molecular Psychiatry. Telomeres are special DNA sequences which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from separating. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell cannot divide any more and dies. Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation and psychological stresses such as being treated badly when young and taking care of a chronically ill person. In this study, researchers examined whether exposure to violence could make children's telomeres shorten faster than normal. They interviewed the mothers of 236 children at ages 5, 7 and 10, asking whether the youngsters had been exposed to domestic violence between the mother and her partner, physical maltreatment by an adult or bullying. Researchers measured the children's telomeres--in cells obtained from the insides of their cheeks--at ages 5 and 10. Telomeres shortened faster in kids exposed to two or more types of violence, says Shalev. Unless that pattern changes, the study suggests, these kids could be expected to develop diseases of aging, such as heart attacks or memory loss, seven to 10 years earlier than their peers. Shalev says there is hope for these kids. His study found that, in rare cases, telomeres can lengthen. Better nutrition, exercise and stress reduction are three things that may be able to lengthen telomeres, he says. The study confirms a smallbutgrowing number of studies suggesting that early childhood hardship imprints itself in our chromosomes, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.

According to the text, telomeres _ .

can help prevent DNA from separating

['probably cause a cell to divide quickly', 'can make a cell die quickly', 'become shorter before they die']

I hate mosquitoes . Why must they love me ! ? D':I really want to watch coo ' sci - fi movies that are critically acclaimed but that I have shamefully never seen .

What kind of movies do they want to watch ?

None of the above choices .

['Romance', 'Action', 'Fantasy']

Also , she 's very shy . And she 's really mellow . And she 's in that stage where she 's still terrified and just wants to hide under my desk , but if I take her out and put her on my chest she 'll curl up and start purring .

What may be a plausible fact about me ?

I have a pet kitten .

['None of the above choices .', 'I have a pet peeve .', 'I have a pet dog .']

I should n't be able to reach you ... cut your phone off if you 're so poor . Me : ( still not sure if I should laugh or curse him out ) This has to be a prank because you 're extremely unprofessional ... RCG : Unprofessional ? ? ? I ' m at WORK .

Where is the narrator at which would cause them to be so angry ?

They are at work .

['They are at the courthouse .', 'They are at the gym .', 'They are at the mall .']

Cooking programs and classes for children seem to positively influence children's food preferences and behaviors, according to a recent review. And, although the review didn't look at long-term effects of such programs, the findings suggest that such programs might help children develop long-lasting healthy habits. This research comes at a time when childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly. More than one-third of adolescents in the United States were obese in 2012, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend has been caused, at least in part, by a significant decrease in the amount of meals that people consume at home since the 1980s, according to background information in the study. Cooking education programs, such as Food Explorers, teach children about new healthy foods and how to prepare them. They also stress the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables every day. A volunteer parent explains a new food to the group, and the kids make something based on the lesson, such as fruit or vegetable salad. Depending on the program, kids may be sent home with information about healthy foods to bring to their parents, the review explained. The study team reviewed eight other studies that tested different types of cooking education programs. Children in these classes were between 5 and 12 years old, according to the review. The goal of the study team was to learn more about developing an efficient program to encourage healthy food choices that last a lifetime. The study found that it is particularly important to expose kids to healthy foods on a number of occasions. This makes them feel comfortable with the new foods, which helps them build healthy habits. The study stressed the importance of getting parents involved in their children's eating habits. Parents who are unable to enroll their kids in a cooking class can achieve similar benefits by having their kids help them while they prepare meals at home. Children are more comfortable at home, which makes them more receptive to new foods because they will make the connection to a positive experience.

The purpose of the passage is _ .

to inform the reader

['to entertain the reader', 'to discuss with the reader', 'to warn the reader']

I really thought that my dream had come true . We planned our own wedding , and , if I do say so myself , it rocked . Still , a rocking wedding was n't enough . Sharing core values was n't enough . Even love was n't enough .

What is going to happen to the married couple ?

They are going to split .

['None of the above choices .', 'They are going to renew vows .', 'They are going to have a kid .']

It seemed like there were quarrels every evening.My children were always fighting over something.They never agreed on who had last washed the dishes,or who had last picked the,TV program.I was tired of constantly being a judge. One day,I thought over what my life was like before marriage.I recalled my high school days when the terms"Odd "day/and"Even"day meant something.My class schedule changed by turns between "O" days and"E"days.On O days I might attend Physics and Maths. And on E days I'd go to another elective class,such as First aid or Art. So I explained our new system to the children."Jolee,you were born first,"I said. "Is one an odd number or all even one?" "It's odd,Mom." "And A1,you arrived second.Is two odd or even?" "It's even,Mom." "Ok,so Jolee,from now on,every odd day is automatically your own special day.That means you get to pick what to watch,or which board game to play.Al,the same applies to you on even days." He thought about it a minute,then said,"But there are more odd days than even ones in some months.Jolee will get'her day'two times in a row when a month ends in 31,and the next one begins with a one." "True," I said,"but that also means she'11 be taking the smelly,disgusting rubbish out,washing the dishes,and doing other less-enjoyable things two more days in a row,and you won't.It's part of life's give-and-take." For the first few days after that,whenever one kid shouted,"Mom!"I'd just call out,"Whose day is it?"That settled it.Soon.the quarrelling ended. Ah,the complete joy of peace and quiet !

What made the writer bored?

Her children's quarreling.

['Programs on TV.', 'Washing the dishes.', 'Her dull marriage.']

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch visited Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, nine days after what she called a "shattering attack" at a gay nightclub. Lynch told the city's devastated gay community, "We stand with you in the light." She also announced a $1 million emergency grant to help Florida law enforcement pay for overtime costs related to the shooting, and she met with prosecutors, first responders and victims of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Her visit comes as investigators continue to dig into the background of Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people and injured dozens more on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub. Lynch said it was a "cruel irony" that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — one defined almost entirely by love — is so often a target of hate. She told the LGBTQ community, "We stand with you to say that the good in the world far outweighs the evil; that our common humanity transcends our differences; and that our most effective response to terror and hatred is compassion, unity and love." Also Tuesday, Orlando police reopened streets near the nightclub and wound down their investigation at the crime scene. A makeshift memorial that went up nearby shortly after the massacre was still standing Tuesday, with chalk messages on the sidewalk and utility poles. Among them are drawings of hearts, the message "God bless'' and the hashtag "#Orlandostrong.'' Lynch declined to answer questions about the investigation and whether authorities are looking to charge anyone else in connection with the case. She said investigators will "go back ... and see if there's anything we could have missed or anything we could have done better'' in terms of spotting Mateen as a threat. She said "people often act out of more than one motivation,'' adding that a motive may never be known. Mateen was shot and killed by police during the attack.

who said people often act out of more than one motivation

lynch

['not enough information', 'Mateen', 'Orlando police']

When I googled Mama her law firm popped up and so did a couple of high profile cases that she was involved in as well as some protests she spearheaded . But when I googled Papa I was shocked . Not only did the gallery and his website for his art pop up , but so did some older newspaper articles from when he was in high school . I knew Papa had been hurt by someone once for being gay , but I never realized just how serious it was . Then I read further and it revealed the name of his assailant .

What is the job of my father ?

He is an artist .

['He write the arts section for a newspaper .', 'He manages an art gallery .', 'He is a lawyer .']

In other news , I got back a refund check for an overflow of financial aid and loans - four hundred fifty something dollars . Mom called me up and I told her about it . Dammit , I could have blown it all on beer . BOOM . Flying keg . And I was n't able to finish this paper I had put off which was supposed to be about " the responsibilites citizens have to their communities " .

Why is the narrator suddenly very loose with their money ?

They got a check for a college dispersal .

['They got a check for a lawsuit they were in .', 'They got a check for a paper company they run .', "They got a check for a keg party they 're throwing ."]

I know I have n't updated this in a while . Like 24 days , or something . Let me bring you up to speed : Nothing new to report .

Why has the subject chosen the present moment to update their audience ?

The subject has realised that it has been a long time since a previous update .

['None of the above choices .', 'The subject has had a family tragedy so no updates are possible .', 'The subject wanted to wait 21 days until an update to give as great a chance as possible for news .']

When we got to our hotel this evening in Leadville , I fired up my computer , as is my wo nt , to give it time to " warm up . " It would n't boot . It powered up , but would do anything after the initial power - up screen . Later in the evening , I brought in the other computer -- the one that usually powers Match Game SF .

Why did the author bring in the computer that usually powers Match game SF ?

They were having issues getting their other computer to run properly .

['They wanted to play Match Game SF in the hotel .', 'Because the computer would not do an up screen for them after booting up .', 'None of the above choices .']

He wanted kids , he wanted to be a dad , and if Linzi was pregnant , than that was wonderful . Sure , they 'd only been married for a few months , but they 'd been together for eight years . This was n't something they could n't handle . So with Linzi in the bathroom , Billy was sat at his desk , chin in his hands as he waited .

What may Billy be thinking about as he waited for Linzi ?

That he wanted to be 100 % sure that having a baby now was the right thing to do .

['That their other kids were over eight years old and excited about the baby .', "He could n't believe that he and Linzi had been married for eight years now .", 'None of the above choices .']

The two pictures above are from there . The koi fish in that pond are huge ! Then we ended up back at the visitor 's center where we cooled off , had snacks and water , and then headed home .

Where was the narrator when they were visiting the fish ?

They were visiting the koi fish at a park .

["They visited the fish in a pond at a friend 's home .", 'They saw the fish as they swam in a lake near their home .', 'They saw the fish in a shallow part of the ocean .']

Who cares if it kills me ? " Because no one can be passive - aggressive like a Jewish wife / mother ... Anna opted , once again , to stay home and hang with her best friend 's family for the day . We wasted no energy cajoling her to join us , as her staying home meant we would n't have to take 2 cars and thereby saved us about 60 dollars in gas money . Sometimes an alienated teen can be a useful thing to have .

Why did you waste no time cajoling her to join you guys ?

I wasted no time cajoling her to join us because doing so saved us time and money .

['I wasted no time cajoling her to join us because she is closer to her best friend than us .', "I wasted no time cajoling her to join us because she is so annoying that she 's killing me .", 'I wasted no time cajoling her to join us because she is an alienated teen we have no time for .']

Somehow I ended up on my mom 's bathroom floor . Well , of course , I get her wrath for bleeding on the floor , and I just start crying . It 's a never ending flow of tears , and I get bitched at for it .

What might be true about my mother ?

She is abusive .

['She loves me .', 'She started crying .', 'None of the above choices .']

Can software bring dead tongues back to life? Probably yes. A computer algorithm works almost as well as a trained linguist in reconstructing how dead " _ " would have sounded, says a new study. "Our computer system is doing a basic job right now," says Alex Bouchard-Cote, an assistant professor in the department of statistics at the University of British Columbia and lead author of the paper describing the algorithm. But the program does a good enough job that it may be able to give linguists a head start, the statistician added. For centuries, scholars have reconstructed languages by hand: looking at the same word in two or more languages and making educated guesses about what that word's "ancestor" may have sounded like. For example, the Spanish word for man ("hombre") and the French word for man ("homme") developed from the Latin word "homo." The way linguists compare words from descendant languages to reconstruct the parent language is called, appropriately, the comparative method. The early 19th-century linguist Franz Bopp was the first to compare Greek, Latin and Sanskrit using this method. Jacob Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame, used the comparative method to show how Germanic languages developed from a common ancestor. The difference between that and Bouchard-Cote's program, the statistician says, "is we do it on a larger scale." As a proof of concept, Bouchard-Cote fed words from 637 Austronesian languages (spoken in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and more) into the new algorithm, and the system came up with a list of what the ancestor words of all those languages would have sounded like. In more than 85 percent of cases, the automated reconstruction came within one character of the ancestor word commonly accepted as true by linguists. The algorithm won't replace trained human linguists, but could speed up language analysis. Using a computer to do large-scale reconstruction offers another advantage. Bouchard-Cote says, "With big data sets, you can really start finding regularities ... You might find that certain sounds are more likely to change than others." So Bouchard-Cote's team tested the "functional load hypothesis ," which says that sounds that are more important for two clearly different words are less likely to change over time. A formal test of this hypothesis in 1967 looked at four languages; Bouchard-Cote's algorithm looked at 637. "The revealed pattern would not be obvious if we had not been able to reconstruct large numbers of protolanguages," Bouchard-Cote and his coauthors write in the new study. In addition to simply helping linguists understand how people spoke in the past, studying ancient languages can perhaps answer historical questions. For example, Bouchard-Cote says, "Say people are interested in finding out when Europe was settled. If you can figure out if the language of the settling population had a word for wheel, then you can get some idea of the order in which things occurred, because you would have some records that show you when the wheel was invented."

According to Bouchard-Cote, reconstructing the dead "protolanguages" might _ .

allow us to find answers to some historical questions

["arouse people's interest in when Europe was settled", 'enable us to picture the way linguists communicated', 'help figure out how the wheel was invented']

Do you know the Eiffel Tower when you see a picture of it? Of course you do! So do a lot of other people. In fact, I believe more people recognize the Eiffel Tower than any other famous structure in the whole world. That long, long capital A is easy to remember. The Eiffel Tower is the famous symbol of the city of Paris. It also stands for France just as the Statue of Liberty stands for the United States. The Eiffel Tower was not very well liked at first, even though the design had been chosen out of seven hundred designs. A contest had been held to find a design for a tower to be built in Paris by 1889.That year would be one hundred years after the war known as the French Revolution. The French Revolution marked the time when the French people broke away from the rule of kings. It was a very important thing to all Frenchmen, and they wanted a special tower to be built to mark the 100 years. When his design was chosen, Eiffel was fifty-four, rich, and well-known for his fine work. He had already designed dams, churches, railroad stations, bridges, harbors and, of course, the framework of the Statue of Liberty. But it was the Eiffel Tower that made him really famous. At first, the French hated the tower. When it was begun in 1887, people called it ugly and useless. They also said that it couldn't be built safely, and that it would fall down. As the tower gets close to her nineties, she is still in great shape. And the French people have changed their minds. Now they are very proud of their Eiffel Tower. They even think she is beautiful!

The Eiffel Tower is easy to remember because of its _ .

shape

['size', 'color1', 'history']

There was a wonder-filled little girl who was hurt so badly that when she entered adult life, she thought she was so bad that others just couldn't be nice to her. But she had a lot of curiosity, which kept her going. She sought many wise people to help her understand why she was so bad that her mother hurt her and why she was unable to be better so that men wouldn't hurt her. She was on a journey that she thought was to help her be "better". She carried a big bag with her everywhere she went. Inside it were all the hurts she had experienced. Because she was so eager to please those who offered their wisdom, she willingly agreed with what they said about forgiving. But she held that bag of hurts tightly. After 50 years of carrying that bag around and showing it to all she met as if it were proof that she was a good person, she decided to open it up and just see what happened. When she looked inside it was filled with bits of paper. At one time they had words on them, detailing the hurts. But time had faded the words and all that was left was some useless paper. She had been struggling to carry this bag that held nothing but the image of something that once was. She saw the absurdity of carrying that bag around. It made her laugh. By letting go of the paper and having pity for those that hurt her, this little girl was able to become a woman with beautiful hair. The woman looked in the mirror and said, "I am lovable." Although it took many years, she was finally open to bringing love and respect into her life.

According to the passage, which of the following can be used to describe the woman?

Curious.

['Kind-hearted.', 'Easy-going.', 'Devoted.']

The concept of culture has been defined many times, and although no definition has achieved universal acceptance, most of the definitions include three central ideas: that culture is passed on from generation to generation, that a culture represents a ready-made principle for living and for making day-to-day decisions, and, finally, that the components of a culture are accepted by those in the culture as good, and true, and not to be questioned. The eminent anthropologist George Murdock has listed seventy-three items that characterize every known culture, past and present. The list begins with Age-grading and Athletic sports, runs to Weaning and Weather Control, and includes on the way such items as Calendar, Fire making, Property Rights, and Tool making. I would submit that even the most extreme advocate of a culture of poverty viewpoint would readily acknowledge that, with respect to almost all of these items, every American, beyond the first generation immigrant, regardless of race or class, is a member of a common culture. We all share pretty much the same sports. Maybe poor kids don't know how to play polo, and rich kids don't spend time with stickball, but we all know baseball, football, and basketball. Despite some misguided efforts to raise minor dialects to the status of separate tongues, we all, in fact, share the same language. There may be differences in diction and usage, but it would be ridiculous to say that all Americans don't speak English. We have the calendar, the law, and large numbers of other cultural items in common. It may well be true that on a few of the seventy-three items there are minor variations between classes, but these kinds of things are really slight variations on a common theme. There are other items that show variability, not in relation to class, but in relation to religion and ethnic background -- funeral customs and cooking, for example. But if there is one place in America where the melting pot is a reality, it is on the kitchen stove; in the course of one month, half the readers of this sentence have probably eaten pizza, hot pastrami, and chow mein. Specific differences that might be identified as signs of separate cultural identity are relatively insignificant within the general unity of American life; they are cultural commas and semicolons in the paragraphs and pages of American life.

What can we learn from the passage?

Baseball, football and basketball are popular sports in America.

['Different classes have different cultures.', 'Playing polo is popular among kids.', 'There is no variation in using the American language.']

I just felt bad for her - considering the cost of each plate , I wished she had the chance to at least try the food . A few days later , however , both Mable and I were past our illnesses and honeymooning in Dublin . For those that have never gone , let me put it this way - I ' m pretty well - traveled , and this is one of my top two choices for places that I want to live . Ireland , and Dublin in particular , is spectacular . The most immediately strking aspect of the city is the friendliness of the people .

What may have happened if Mable was not ill ?

She would have been able to try the plate

['She would not be able to taste the plate', 'She would have been ill for the honeymoon', 'She would have enjoyed the low cost food']

Educational Camps 2011 21st Century Princess Program: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, July 23-27. For girls 12-15. Girls learn hair care, good manners and the importance of inner beauty. Homewood Suites by Hilton, 2001 E. Highland Ave., Phoenix. $495. www. homewoodsuites. hilton.com. (623) 848-1844. Barrow Institute Summer Camp: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, July 23 through Aug. 3. For ages 12-14. Activities include exploring laboratories and researching the effectiveness of treatments and medicines. July 23-27 for beginning students, and July 30-Aug. 3 for advanced students. Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix: $195-$220: www. thebni, com.(602) 716-2028. Digital Kids World Summer Camp: 9 a.m.--4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, July 30 through Aug. 17. For kids 6-14. Choose from a variety of technical classes, such as comic book design and video game design. Morning and afternoon camps held in weekly sessions . Digital Kids World, 5070 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $150 weekly for kids 6-9; $225 weekly for kids 10-14. www. digitalkidsworld, com.(602) 445-3925. Kids Advanced College Program: Mondays through Thursdays, July 30 through Sept. 19. For ages 8-14. Classes include lively computer design, engineering and writing. Prices and times vary. Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $99--$379. www.pvc.maricopa.edu. (602) 787-6804. Camp Zoo: Mondays through Fridays, July 30 through Aug. 13. For ages 4-14. Younger kids work with smaller animals, basic care giving and art projects, while older children explore animal medicine. Morning, afternoon, evening and full-day sessions available. Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix. $153-$280 per week. www. phoenixzoo.org. (602) 273-1341.

According to the passage, these activities are mainly intended for _ .

children

['teachers', 'parents', 'college students']

Early to bed, Early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. This is an old English saying. Have you heard it before? It means that we must go to bed early and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy. We shall also be rich(wealthy) and clever(wise). Is this true? Perhaps it is. the body must have enough sleep. Children need ten hours' sleep every night. If you do not go to bed early, you cannot have enough sleep. Then you cannot think properly and you cannot do your work properly. You will not be wise and you may not become wealthy! Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is not good for them. We must sleep at night when it is dark. The dark helps us to sleep properly. When the daylight comes, we must get up. This is the time for exercise. Exercise means doing things with the body. Walking, running, jumping, swimming, and playing games are all exercise. If the body is not used, it becomes weak. Exercise keeps it strong. Exercise helps the blood to move ,brains in our heads also need blood. We think with our brains. If we keep our bodies healthy, and take exercise, we can think better. Our bodies also need air to breathe. Without air we die. We must have a lot of clean, fresh air to breathe if we want to be healthy.

A habit is something we do _ .

very often

['every month', 'twice a day', 'every week']

When the machine came back to life ( or not as it were ) , the computer was extremely slow , taking nearly 10 minutes ( rather than the usual 30 seconds ) to load Windows . I thought it was due to updates , but when I finally got logged on , only a few of the programs I installed would execute . Crysis , Call of Duty 4 , Unreal Tournament 3 , FEAR , Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus , @Promt translator , Windows Movie Maker , Windows Media Player , Mozilla Firefox ( but not IE , that did n't start at all ) .

Why would the narrator put up with slow computer speeds ?

They want to play computer games .

['They want to work on Microsoft software .', 'They want to play with the graphical interface .', 'None of the above choices .']

He is a lesson to every boy who ever picked up a basketball and dreamed that it would change his life. The lights were never brighter and the crowds were never bigger for a homegrown sports hero than they were a quarter-century ago for Ray Hall. But his athletic achievements, as impressive as they are, are to my mind not what is most admirable about the man. Known as "Sugar Ray" in his teens, Hall was rated among the country's top 25 high school basketball players. An inner-city kid from a solid family, Hall took on the challenge of lifting Canisius College -- still recovering from its failure -- back to respectability, rejecting more favorable offers. His status of a savior brought more pressure than any 18-year-old should have to handle. However, I watched him mature into the player who led Canisius back to daylight. After college Hall played professionally in Italy and Greece for over 10 years until a car accident at 32 ended his basketball career. The news that he would never play again shocked Hall but unlike so many others he was ready for life after basketball. When I met Hall -- still fit at 46 -- for lunch Monday, he wore a cut-sharp gray suit, designer tie and blazing white shirt that screamed Success. "That was always the question -- when the cheers end, where do you go? Who do you turn to?" he said. "It starts and ends with that person in the mirror." Hall got the concept of academics-first from his parents. He graduated from Canisius a semester early. "No matter how good of an athlete you are, you are just one injury away from losing it all," he said. "But if you take care of things academically, you are prepared until you leave this earth." For the past 14 years, he has been in a computer sales job at Ingram Micro. He married his college sweetheart. They have three kids and a nice house in the suburbs. He figured out early what others learn too late: Athletics is part of a journey, not the destination. Congratulations, Ray, you made it. In more ways than one.

According to the writer, which of the following best describes Ray's success?

He enjoys a successful job and a happy family.

['Unlike other athletes, he was academically superior.', 'He defeated his injury and returned to the playground.', 'He has gained impressive athletic achievements.']

WASHINGTON — When Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton announced her vice presidential choice, she referred to Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as a progressive who is "everything Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not.” Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine was born on February 26, 1958, in St. Paul, Minnesota, but grew up in the metro area of Kansas City, Missouri. He is the eldest son of an ironworker and a home economics teacher. Kaine attended an all-boys Jesuit high school, joining spring mission drives to fund Jesuit activities in Honduras. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri before entering Harvard Law School. Kaine took time off from his law studies to work with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Honduras for nine months in 1980-81, helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso. His time there reportedly helped form his support for citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the United States – a stance likely to attract Latino voters. He also learned to speak fluent Spanish, seen as a possible advantage with Hispanic voters. At Harvard, Kaine met his wife, Anne Holton, the daughter of former Republican Virginia Governor Linwood Holton (1970-74), who desegregated the commonwealth's public schools. She now serves as Virginia's secretary of education. They have three children. After law school, the Kaines settled in Richmond, Virginia, where he spent nearly two decades as an attorney focusing on civil rights and fair housing. He helped found the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness and was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal. Kaine entered politics in 1994 when he was elected to the Richmond City Council, then became the city's mayor. Virginia's voters chose him as their lieutenant governor in 2001. Four years later, he ran for governor against Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore, a former state attorney general. Considered an underdog, Kaine trailed in polls for most of the election but won the race. He governed from 2006 to 2010.

When did Kaine learn to speak fluent Spanish?

While working as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Honduras

['While studying economics at the University of Missouri', 'While serving as governor of Virginia', 'not enough information']