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"At least you'll be close to home!"That phrase dominated the weeks before my move to my college.I took comfort in knowing that home was close by if I needed it
The night before the move,I spoke with a sophomore friend of mine who was moving back the next morning.I asked if he was sad to be leaving home and his response sparked in me an internal debate."It was nice to be back but honestly. I've come to think of the college as my home."Up until that moment,the move to college seemed like an extended version of summer camp.School wasn't a home;it was a place for me to explore when I was away from home right?
As I packed my things,I really started thinking about the concept of home,and I couldn't help but wonder would I ever consider college my own home? The next day,once my bags were unpacked and my parents were gone,I took a moment to look around my dorm.It was absolutely nothing like my room...no _ ,no blue curtains and no queen--sized bed.Despite the fun I was having and things I was learning in the following Welcome Week,I couldn't bring myself to call it home.I longed for my _ .I even wanted my mom's calls."There's no place like home."I murmured.
Last night,I went to visit my friends and we spent the next hour talking about that missing feeling we all shared-our families,our friends,our old lives--and soon the sadness turned to fondness.One by one our friends came in to say goodnight and the room was filled with girls,all laughing and sharing our high school experiences.It wasn't until about l:00 a.m.that I turned to my roommate,unconsciously saying,"It's getting late...we should probably go home soon."I was taken aback by my own words.Somehow in the few hours,my dorm room had turned into a home. | The author mentioned the bunnies twice in the passage to suggest that _ . | she didn't get used to her college life then | ['college lacked a friendly atmosphere', 'pet-keeping was not allowed in college dorm', 'college should prepare bunnies for new students'] |
There is no hiding from the impact agenda. The impact weighting of the Research Excellence Framework has been increased for 2021, and more recently the UK Government announced a new funding stream for knowledge exchange. But achieving impact isn’t easy, especially for researchers early in their careers.
If you ever have a spare week, or ten, it’s worth reading through some of the 6,637 REF impact case studies on the HEFCE website. There are some brilliant and fascinating examples of how researchers have achieved impact, but what strikes me most is how different impact looks across different subjects. At the risk of being flippant, among many of the medical or technological examples there is a familiar pattern and a clear route to impact: make breakthrough; license drug/technology; save lives/£millions.
For social and political science (not to mention economics, languages, education, philosophy, etc.) the route to impact is much more fragmented. Among the 97 sociology case studies, for example, impact comes from numerous briefings of government officials and parliamentarians, before the academics join “networks” and “committees” discussing their research and wider issues. Their research is covered by national media, they meet even more people – practitioners or third sector campaigning organisations to pass on their knowledge. And, after all that, and often a good deal more, sometimes there is a policy or practice change that can be pointed to as a direct impact, sometimes not.
Central to much of the impact is “access”. Prominent and experienced academics are more likely to get on the committees, know the right journalists and government officials, and have links into third sector organisations, etc. I worked with Professor Sir John Curtice, of election night fame, for a number of years. He didn’t need much support. I advised and facilitated, but after 30 years in the game he knew Whitehall (and Holyrood) inside and out – and they knew him. But many researchers, especially at the start of their careers, don’t have these networks, so how can they develop them? One way is through the media. | Who does the author say can make millions if they make a breakthrough? | medical researchers | ['the government', 'campaigning organizations', 'not enough information'] |
Though it is mere 1 to 3 percent of the population,the upper class possesses at least 25 percent of the nation's wealth.This class has two segments:upper-upper and lower- upper.Basically,the upper-upper class is the"old rich"-families that have been wealthy for several generations-an aristocracy of birth and wealth.Their names are in the Social Register,a listing of acceptable members of high society.A few are known across the nation,such as the Rockefellers,Roosevelts,and Vanderbilts.Most are not visible to the general public.They live in grand seclusion ,drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth.In contrast,the lower-upper class is the"new rich". Although they may be wealthier than some of the old rich,the new rich are anxious to make their money like everybody else lower than their class.Thus their prestige is generally lower than that of the old rich,who have not found it necessary to lift a finger to make their money,and who tend to look down upon the new rich.
However its wealth is acquired,the upper class is very,very rich.They have enough money and leisure time to cultivate an interest in the arts and to collect rare books, paintings,and sculptures.They generally live in exclusive areas,belong to exclusive social clubs,communicate with each other,and marry their own kind-all of which keeps them so distant from the common people that they have been called the out-of-fight class.More than any other class,they tend to be conscious of being members of a class.They also command an enormous amount of power and influence here and abroad,as they hold many top government positions,run the Council on Foreign Relations,and control multinational corporations.Their actions affect the life of millions. | According to the author,the"old rich"get riche _ . | by investing their inherited wealth | ['through the Social Register', 'through their reputation', 'by collecting paintings and sculptures'] |
U.S. President Donald Trump filed his annual financial disclosure form this week with the Office of Government Ethics, the U.S. government's ethics watchdog.
Under U.S. law, all top government officials are required to file annual financial disclosure documents with the agency.
In Tuesday's 92-page filing, Trump acknowledged that he'd reimbursed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, last year for more than $100,000 for unspecified expenses incurred in 2016.
Trump’s lawyers have previously said the president reimbursed Cohen for $130,000 that Cohen paid to an adult film star to keep her quiet about a sexual tryst she said she had with Trump 10 years earlier. Trump has denied having the tryst but recently confirmed reimbursing Cohen to stop “false and extortionist accusations” about it.
The financial disclosure did not say why Trump had not listed the payment in his previous financial filing, but the ethics agency said the reimbursement constituted a loan that should have been reported.
That has set off a firestorm of criticism and calls for an investigation into whether Trump violated federal law by omitting the payment from his 2017 disclosure.
The controversy has overshadowed other details in Trump's financial disclosure, which is the only publicly available snapshot into the president's finances — his debts, assets and income from dozens of companies and partnerships around the world.
Here are six noteworthy takeaways from the report:
Golf losses. Trump, an avid golfer who frequently visits his golf courses, sometimes in the company of world leaders, listed 17 golf companies in his disclosure form, with 13 reporting losses. Overall, golf-related revenue plunged to $210 million from nearly $300 million from the previous reporting period. However, the president's struggling golf courses in Turnberry, Scotland, and Doonbeg, Ireland, improved their earnings, with income at the Turnberry property growing to more than $20 million from $14 million. Trump plans to travel to Scotland during his visit to Britain this summer. | How does Trump feel about his upcoming visit to Britain? | not enough information | ['he is looking forward to it', 'he would rather visit another place', 'he has some concerns about the visit'] |
A tiny pinpoint of light , but a light all the same . It gave hope . It fought the darkness . I think that light was you Drina . " I laughed out loud . | Why would the narrator laugh after the compliment ? | The narrator was being sarcastic . | ['The narrator was being tickled .', 'The narrator was also watching a comedy .', 'The narrator was having a random impulse .'] |
its a beautiful table and i have all the accessories cues , all the balls , chalk , extra tips for the cue sticks . take a look at the pictures and let me know if you have any questions . i m told i can get this sold for $ 2000 but do nt want to wait around that long for someone to pay that price . | Will I be able to sell the table ? | Yes , selling it should n't be a problem | ['No , there has been significant damage to the structure', 'None of the above choices .', "No , it 's too small to be of real use to anyone"] |
On Jan. 3, a netizen nicknamed "Programmer Humor"published a short story on his micro-blog. It said that there was an old lady who swept nearly every inch of his Internet company. When she passed by a programmer, she took a look at the codes on the programmer's computer and kindly reminded him, "Be careful, the stack is overfilled!"
Certainly, it is a casual and fictitious story made up by the micro-blogger. However, no one would have guessed that the short blog would eventually cause the first great Internet meme of 2011 in China. Suddenly, the mysterious "Sweeping Old Lady" is showing up nearly everywhere and reminding professionals of their mistakes. From 8 a. m. on Jan. 5, some netizens collected stories of the "Sweeping Old Lady" and found she had appeared to give advice in 150 kinds of careers. A netizen even said he had met with a similar situation in real life.
Actually, the "Sweeping Old Lady" is not new figure, but is based on the "sweeping monk "in Louis Cha's famous Kung fu novel of "Tian Long Ba Bu". The "sweeping monk" is an old monk and does the lowest class of work in Shaolin Temple, but he is actually the No. 1 master in the noel both in Kung fu and in the study of Buddhism.
The "Sweeping Old Lady" is also a great modest master. Lots of netizens wish that they could have such a lady beside them to give them precious suggestions at a key time.
Although there may be 1,000 "Sweeping Old Ladies" in 1,000 people's minds, it cannot prevent the "Sweeping Old Lady" from becoming the most popular figure on the Internet.
"Programmer Humor" said he is just a programmer in the real world and once he saw the story about the "Sweeping Old Lady," he wrote it down in his micro-blog because it was funny. He never knew who the original writer of the story was and never thought the story could be so popular. | Which description about the "Sweeping Old Lady" is right? | She is just an imaginary figure created by a netizen. | ['She is an old lady good at sweeping the Internet.', 'She is well-know as the old "sweeping monk."', 'She likes to give instructions everywhere.'] |
Nowadays many people have to work very hard in order to live a better life. And the hard they work, the less they pay attention to their health. But it's very important for us to keep healthy in our everyday life. Here are some ways for you to follow.
First, you should have a healthy diet. It's necessary to eat enough fish and vegetables, as they contain many kinds of vitamin you need every day. Do not eat too much fat, such as butter or anything too fatty. Too many sweets can do harm to your teeth, so you'd better not eat too many sweets or chocolates and keep off coffee.
Second, good habits can help you keep fit. Doing regular exercise is certainly a good way to ensure that your body is healthy. After a day's work, an eight-hour sleep is needed. And avoid working or studying too hard. | Doing the following can help you keep fit except _ . | working too hard | ['doing regular exercise', 'sleeping eight hours a day', 'keeping good habits'] |
Pupils work harder in lessons if they are taught by a man, a study has claimed. Male teachers are more likely to improve pupils' self-esteem and are judged by pupils to be more fair, according to a study published by the Department for Education.
But there is a significant shortage of male teachers, especially in primary schools, with reports last month indicating that almost one in three primaries has an all-female teaching staff. The latest figures heightened fears that schools are becoming dominated by women and children are being denied access to male role models in the classroom.
Researchers at the London School of Economics and Westminster University conducted an experiment in which each of 1,200 pupils in 29 schools was given PS2. They could use the money to "buy" up to 10 questions at a cost of 20p each, which they then had to answer. If they were right they were given an extra 20p, but if they were wrong they lost 20p. Boys and girls who had a male teacher chose on average almost half a question more than those taught by women, indicating that they had a more positive outlook on the rewards of effort, the the study said.
Researchers wrote: "One of the most significant results featured in this experiment is the positive effect of male teachers on effort. The experiment suggests that higher ability pupils either believed that the teacher would reward them more favorably or had a preference for working hard to please the teacher."
According to the Good Teacher Training Guide, 86 per cent of new teachers entering primary schools are female, along with 62 per cent of those entering secondary schools.
Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said: "This is an interesting and somewhat surprising finding, but it does underline the importance of having a good mix of male and female teachers in classes." | Where can we find the passage? | It is from an educational magazine. | ['It is from a PE section on the Internet.', 'It comes from the social section of a newspaper.', 'It comes from an English teaching book.'] |
The following are books sold on our website, perhaps some of them you'll be interested in.
The Top Gear Guide to Britain (Hardback)
Our price: PS9.99
For over ten years, Top Gear has been travelling all over Britain in the course of making the world's best programme about cars, driving.
This book is not only a guide for outsiders; it is an invaluable reference manual for Britons themselves, like a mirror held up to our very souls.
Still Open All Hours (Hardback)
Our price: PS12.49
From its first episode in 1973, Open All Hours was an instant hit. Audiences around Britain loved its familiar setting, good natured humour, and the hilarious partnership of Ronnie Barker and David Jason. Whilst it only ran for 26 episodes, it firmly cemented itself as a British comedy classic.
Mrs Brown's Family Handbook (Paperback)
Our price: PS7.99
Mrs Brown's Family Handbook, the first and only official book from Brendan O'Carroll's brilliant educational creation, is filled with useful advice and gives us a unique look into the lives of the Brown family.
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: The Best of Forty Years (Hardback)
Our price: PS15.99
"I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" is the most listened to comedy programme on British radio. It regularly attracts a large audience. The author tells us about the forty years of the programme.
Life on Air (Hardback)
Our price: PS16.49
Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history film-maker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly six decades, and in this volume of memoirs Sir David tells stories of the people and animals he has met and the places he has visited. | If you are interested in comedy, which books may you buy? | I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: The Best of Forty Years and Still Open All Hours. | ['Life on Air and Still Open All Hours.', "Mrs Brown's Family Handbook and The Top Gear Guide to Britain.", "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: The Best of Forty Years and Mrs Brown's Family Handbook."] |
Wife and I just moved , and we had to go back to Comcast ( which sucked ) . We previously had what I guess is a regional cable provider ( Mediacom ) , and they provided a DVR with no questions asked . It was a standard part of the deal . | What is the reason Comcast sucked ? | They charge a monthly fee for a DVR | ['I am not approved for Comcast .', 'They have a personal vindetta against me .', 'They have spotty coverage'] |
A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night; it was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear him; he was more satisfied in making shoes than anyone else. His neighbor, on the contrary, who was rolling in wealth, sang but little, and slept less. He was a banker; when by chance he fell into a sleep at day-break, the cobbler awoke him with his song. The banker complained sadly that God had not made sleep a saleable product, like foods or drinks. Then he visited the cobbler and asked him, "How much a year do you earn, Master Gregory?"
"How much a year, sir?" said the merry cobbler laughing, "I never count my income in that way, living as what I like from one day to another; somehow I manage to make the ends meet throughout the year; each day brings its meals."
"Well then! How much a day do you earn, my friend?" asked the banker continuously.
"Sometimes more, sometimes less; but the worst of it is that a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work, so we won't earn any money during these days, without which our earnings would be better."
The banker, who was laughing at the cobbler's simplicity, said that "In the future, I will satisfy what you want. Take the hundred coins, preserve them carefully, and make use of them in time of need."
The cobbler was very delighted and fancied that he possessed all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind. Returning home, he buried his money and his happiness at the same time. No more singing; he lost his voice. The banker could now have a sound sleep. However, at that moment, the cobbler realized that what he acquired now was the source of sorrow. Sleep broke up with him; and cares, suspicions, and false alarms took its place. All day, his eye wandered in the direction of the treasure, even at night, if some naughty cats made noises, he would think somebody was robbing him. At last, the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor; "Give me back," said he, "sleep and my voice, and take your hundred coins." | Which of the followings is the best title for this story? | The cobbler and the banker. | ['Taking and giving.', 'Helping those who are in trouble.', 'Cats and the noises.'] |
They were probably in their late 40s or early 50s . They got a table just opposite me . When they got their food , they sat opposite each other , and took each other 's hand to say Grace . That image is one that has stuck with me . | Why do you think that image stuck with them ? | They were probably touched by seeing the couple taking hands in public to pray . | ['Because they got their food first .', 'Because they sat opposite each other , and not together .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived at the city. "Where shall I put up?" he said; "I hope the town has made preparations."
Then he saw the statue on the tall column.
"I will put up there," he cried; "it is a fine position, with plenty of fresh air." So he flew down and settled just between the feet of the Happy Prince.
"I have a golden bedroom," he said softly to himself as he looked round, and he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head under his wing a large drop of water fell on him. "What a curious thing!" he cried; "there is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the north of Europe is really dreadful."
Then another drop fell.
"What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?" he said; "I must look for a good chimney-pot," and he determined to fly away.
But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he looked up, and saw--Ah! What did he see?
The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.
"Who are you?" he said.
"I am the Happy Prince."
"Why are you weeping then?" asked the Swallow, "you have quite wetted me."
"When I was alive and had a human heart," answered the statue, "I did not know what tears were, for I lived in theprefix = st1 /PalaceofSans-Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very high wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. People called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep."
"What is he not solid gold?" said the Swallow to himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks out loud. | The swallow wanted to put up when he arrived at the city because _ . | he had a whole-day flight and wanted to sleep. | ['he saw the statue of the Happy Prince.', 'he flew into a lovely golden bedroom.', 'it was night and a rain was likely to come soon.'] |
While I was there I helped her with a printer problem and checkout a monitor that she was given for free . I had to tweak it so that the picture filled the whole screen . We had drunk green tea had a nice chat as I worked . | What is one thing the two were doing during the passage ? | conversing nicely | ['ignoring a printer problem', 'working at the checkout', 'None of the above choices .'] |
The glass shattered and one of the tires burst , deep gouges appearing in the cherry colored metal . The car came to a screeching halt as they both reached the ramp , turning a 180 to face him . He let out a roar as he dug both claws into the hood and roof and tore with all his might , flinging the car into a nearby lampost . Only when the head lights had been extinguished did he stop his onslaught . | What might happen to the driver of the car after it hits the pole . | The beast will tear them apart . | ['None of the above choices .', "They will worry about the claws of the small animal they hit as they inspect if it 's still alive .", 'A rescue vehicle will assess the minor damage and broken glass .'] |
Yes, it's actually happened to me before. Let me explain before I get called irresponsible, or incapable of having a dog, or incompetent, My dog is my baby, since the day I got her we've been inseparable. I learned from this mistake and have taken every precaution to prevent it from happening again. She was uninjured luckily, but I was freaking traumatized. I have a SUUUUPPPPEEEERRR long driveway, so I usually drive my truck to the end to check my mail, and on this particular day, I was out in my yard playing with Roxie, I saw the mailman drive by through my fence, and so we walked back to the house, I grabbed my keys, and off we went. This wasn't too long ago, maybe May, so it's hot, typical North Carolina weather, maybe 92 and some change, so my windows are down, because I drive a 13 year old black truck, so it's hot as hell, and it makes it hard to breathe. The AC works, it just takes time to kick in, and number 5 (my highest AC setting) does not work. As I'm driving down, I'm going maybe 5 miles an hour. I'm petting Roxie with my right hand when I feel her jerk out of my reach and I hear a bush rustle, I look to the passenger side, slam on brakes (because the last thing I want is to hurt my baby) and put the truck in park. Sure enough, my mom and her Chihuahua were out in the front yard, and Roxie, being her playful self jumped out and ran. She scared the absolute shit out of me, so now when I drive with her in the car, the window stays shut or cracked. Lesson learned. | What was the author petting? | Roxie | ['their mom', 'not enough information', 'the Chihuahua'] |
In a cab, a woman seemed in such a hurry. She constantly rushed the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts of getting to the airport as soon as possible that she was not aware they were going by a different route.
All of a sudden, a young man got inside the cab. He took her handbag in which she had put her visa, passport, and all the money for the trip.
The cab driver, who was _ the robber, left her in the exactly middle of a dark street. She thought that she was rather unfortunate in the very situation.
During the very night, she was told a piece of shocking news. Tears came down her cheek. Flight 360, the plane that she should have got on board, had crashed. Had she not lost her important belongings, she could surely have lost the thing far more precious----her life.
Sometimes bad things really happen. There are times when nothing seems to go our way. So what should we do about it? We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the faith that we will get what we deserve.
Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed. Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done.
What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?
There was a man who won the lottery. He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on.
But when he one day made it to the front page of the newspaper again, it was a different story. He had been killed because of his riches. If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it. Life is so unpredictable. You never know what will happen next.
Live one day at a time. We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble. But please don't forget: sometimes misfortune can be the source of happiness. Live for the moment. Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And believe in yourself. As Captain Planet always says, "The power is yours!" | The passage above is intended to tell us _ . | misfortune sometimes is a blessing | ['we should save up for a rainy day', 'fortune just goes with those prepared minds', 'both losses and gains go hand in hand'] |
Europe is home to a variety of cultural treasures. Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide publisher, has offered pairs of cities for culturehungry but timepoor travelers.
London and Paris
It takes you about two hours to travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, a high-speed railway service. The two capital cities have been competing in fashion, art and nightlife for decades-but each secretly looks up to the other.
No one can doubt the grand and impressive beauty of Paris' Louvre Museum, but if you want to save money, you cannot skip the British Museum free to visit. Compared with London, Paris has more outdoor attractions such as the beautiful green walkway La Promenade Plantee.
In Paris, you'll see diners linger over red wine. While in London, you can try some afternoon tea, eat fish and chips or salted cake.
Vienna and Bratislava
Austrian capital Vienna and Slovakia city Bratislava are an hour apart by train. But since they are linked by the Danube River, the best way to travel is by ship. A tour of the two cities is the perfect way to experience everything from 17th century's Habsburg dynasty splendor to scifi restaurants.
Vienna is famous for Mozart and imperial palaces. You can appreciate the perfect blending of architecture and nature in the grand Schonbrunn Palace, and reward yourself with a cup of Vienna coffee, which has made its way to the world's cultural heritage list.
Bratislava is best known for its fine dining-the remarkable UFO restaurant. You can enjoy a meatladen dinner here in an amazing setting. | What's the relationship between London and Paris according to the text? | They admire each other. | ['They help each other.', 'They attack each other.', "They don't like each other."] |
The quality of patience goes a long way toward your goal of creating a more peaceful and loving self. The more patient you are, the more accepting you will be of what life is, rather than insisting that life be exactly as you would like it to be. Without patience, life is extremely frustrating. You are easily annoyed, bothered, and irritated. Patience adds a dimension of ease and acceptance to your life. It's essential for inner peace. Becoming more patient involves opening your heart to the present moment, even if you don't like it. If you are stuck in a traffic jam, late for an appointment, being patient would mean keeping yourself from building a mental snowball before your thinking get out of hand and gently reminding yourself to relax. It might also be a good time to breathe as well as an opportunity to remind yourself that, in the bigger scheme of things, being late is "small stuff".
Patience is a quality of heart that can be greatly enhanced with deliberate practice. An effective way that I have found to deepen my own patience is to create actual practice periods--periods of time that I set up in my mind to practice the art of patience. Life itself becomes a classroom, and the curriculum is patience. You can start with as little as five minutes and build up your capacity for patience over time. What you'll discover is truly amazing. Your intention to be patient, especially if you know it's only for a short while, immediately strengthens your capacity for patience. Patience is one of those special qualities where success feeds on itself. Once you reach little milestone --five minutes of successful patience--you'll begin to see that you do indeed have the capacity to be patient, even for longer periods of time. Over time, you may even become a patient person.
Being patient will help you to keep your perspective. You'll see even a difficult situation, say your present challenge, isn't "life or death" but simply a minor obstacle that must be dealt with. Without patience, the same scenario can become a major emergency complete with yelling, frustration, hurt feelings, and high blood pressure. | The purpose of this passage is to _ | persuade people to be more patient | ['tell how to practice patience', 'list the advantages of patience', 'state the importance of patience'] |
Probably you have seen photographs of the Grand Canyon , the great valley in the desert country of Arizona. But you must go there yourself to feel its true size and beauty. Tie Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.
The Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon over mil lions of years. Slowly, the river cut down through hard rock. At the same time. the land was rising. Today. the canyon is one and a half kilometres deep and 445 kilometres long. The el dest rocks at the bottom of the canyon are more than 1 billion years old. The width varies from about 200 metres to 29 kilo metres across. The rim or top of the canyon is about 2, 300 metres above sea level tin the South Rim, and about 3,000 metres on the other side, the North Rink As a result, there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon. The South Run is dry desert country. The North Rim has tall forests.
The canyon looks different at different times of day. and in different seasons and weather. At sunrise anti sunset the red. gold, brown, and orange colours of the rocks are especially dear and bright. In winter, the canyon is partly covered with snow.
The view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the best. Most visitors come to the South Rim and stay in camp- grounds or hotels. Every point along the canyon' s edge offers a different view.
The North Rim of the Canyon is quieter, h takes all day to drive there from the South Rim because there is only one bridge across the Colorado River. On the way, you go through Navado Indian lands, and a colourful pink desert called "The Painted Desert".
You can walk clown into the Grand Canyon, or you can go down oil the back of a mule . You can also lake a boat trip down the Colorado River, and camp on the bea ches at night. But whether you see the Grand Canyon from the top or the honom, it will be an experience that you will never forget. | From the passage we can know that the _ of the can yon is different at different time. | scene | ['length', 'width', 'height'] |
When raising children, the small things make big differences in development . Because children are people, not machines, different children need different things, and buying band name clothing and having the perfect haircut or the biggest collection of expensive toys are not the kind of attention that they need. These kinds of things will make children feel rejected and teach them that material things and appearance are more important than love.
Children need the attention from their parents. The areas of their lives and the abilities that get the most attention will develop the most. If the majority of parental attention is given to the way they stand or to finishing tasks, these areas will become more developed. When parents focus on finding faults, children will eventually take in all of that criticism. These methods often lead to unmotivated children with low self-esteem .
Children need attention to be given to the details of their lives. They need encouragement from their parents. Statements like,"It makes me happy when you play nicely with your brother" will make a child feel good . Identify the specific talent, how it is used, and your reaction to it. Train the young minds to search for their talents with the same kind of attention to the details that may have previously been devoted to fault-finding. It also helps to identify personal qualities to praise rather than external ones based on appearance.
Focusing on the details when children do good things is important. They need to know exactly what they did was good and how it made you feel .Parents often spend too much time looking for faults. When parents focus on good things, it results in motivated children with high self-esteem. _ ) are also. | What does the passage mainly talk about? | Parents should pay attention to the small things about their kids. | ['Parents should treat children as people, not machines.', 'Parents should find faults with children.', "Fix your eyes on children's advantages."] |
The largest earthquake ( magnitude 9.5) of the 20th century happened on May 22, 1960 off the coast of South Central Chile.
It generated one of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunamis . Near the generating area, both the earthquake and the tsunami were very much destructive, particularly in the coastal area from Concepcion to the south end of Isla Chiloe. The largest tsunami damage occurred at Isla Chiloe---the coastal area closest to the epicenter . Huge tsunami waves measuring as high as 25 meters arrived within 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, killing at least two hundred people, sinking all the boats, and flooding half a kilometer inland.
There was large damage and loss of life at Concepcion, Chile's top industrial city. Near the city of Valdivia, the earthquake and following aftershocks generated landslides which killed 18 people. At the port city of Valparaiso, a city of 200,000, many buildings collapsed. A total of 130,000 houses were destroyed --- one in every three in the earthquake zone and nearly 2,000,000 people were left homeless.
Total damage losses, including to agriculture and to industry, were estimated to be over a half billion dollars . The total number of death related with both the tsunami and the earthquake was never found accurately for the region. Estimates of deaths reached between 490 to 5,7002 with no distinction as to how many deaths were caused by the earthquake and how many were caused by the tsunami. However, it is believed that most of the deaths in Chile were caused by the tsunami. | Where did the largest tsunami damage occurred? | Isla Chiloe | ['Concepcion', 'Valdivia', 'Valparaiso'] |
Owls are some of the world's greatest hunters. From head to feet, owls' bodies are built to hunt. Scientists are studying all the things that make owls such great hunters.
Most owls hunt at night. The birds have excellent hearing, which helps them find their next meal in the dark.
Owls have one ear that is larger and set higher than the other. When an owl hears a sound, it listens closely. Is the sound lounder in its right ear or left ear? Does the upper or lower ear detect the sound first? The information helps the owl find the location of its prey without ever seeing it.
Owls don't depend just on their hearing to hunt. After a sound draws an owl's attention, it zeroes in with sight.
Many birds have eyes on either side of their heads. But an owl's eyes face forward, like a person's. Images from each eye combine to form a 3-D picture, similar to how we see. That helps owls better judge a prey's size, distance, and speed.
An owl's eyes are so large that they can gather lots of light. That helps the owl see better when hunting at night. An owl's eyes are also fixed in their sockets . It can't roll them like we can. Instead, an owl keeps prey in its sight by turning its head.
Owls can move their beads nearly upside down and turn them 270 degrees around. Their necks have 14 vertebrae . That's twice as many neck bones as a person has.
The blood vessels thread through holes in an owl's vertebrae. The researchers found that these holes are very large so that the extra space provides an air cushion that protects the vessels.
Detecting prey is only the first step for owls. Next they must catch their meals. An owl can fly inches over your head and you can't hear anything. The secret to owls' silent flight is their feathers. Fine "hairs" cover the surface of an owl's wing feathers. And the feathers' edges have soft barbs . Together, they make the sound of air rushing over the owl's wings quieter and less clear. | The shortcoming of an owl's fixed eyes can be made up by its _ . | flexible neck | ['large head', 'strong legs', 'body size'] |
My day began on a definitely sour note when I saw my six-year-old wrestling with a limb of my azalea bush. By the time I got outside, he'd broken it. "Can I take this to school today?" he asked. With a wave of my hand, I sent him off. I turned my back so he wouldn't see the tears gathering in my eyes.
The washing machine had leaked on my brand-new linoleum. If only my husband had just taken the time to fix it the night before when I asked him instead of playing checkers with Jonathan.
It was days like this that made me want to quit. I just wanted to drive up to the mountains, hide in a cave, and never come out.
Somehow I spent most of the day washing and drying clothes and thinking how love had disappeared from my life. As I finished hanging up the last of my husband's shirts, I looked at the clock. 2:30. I was late. Jonathan's class let out at 2:15 and I hurriedly drove to the school.
I was out of breath by the time I knocked on the teacher's door and peered through the glass. She rustled through the door and took me aside. "I want to talk to you about Jonathan," she said.
I prepared myself for the worst. Nothing would have surprised me. "Did you know Jonathan brought flowers to school today?" she asked. I nodded, thinking about my favorite bush and trying to hide the hurt in my eyes. "Let me tell you about yesterday," the teacher insisted. "See that little girl?" I watched the bright-eyed child laugh and point to a colorful picture taped to the wall. I nodded.
"Well, yesterday she was almost hysterical. Her mother and father are going through a nasty divorce. She told me she didn't want to live, she wished she could die. I watched that little girl bury her face in her hands and say loud enough for the class to hear, 'Nobody loves me.' I did all I could to comfort her, but it only seemed to make matters worse." "I thought you wanted to talk to me about Jonathan," I said.
"I do," she said, touching the sleeve of my blouse. "Today your son walked straight over to that child. I watched him hand her some pretty pink flowers and whisper, 'I love you.'"
I felt my heart swell with pride for what my son had done. I smiled at the teacher. "Thank you," I said, reaching for Jonathan's hand, "you've made my day."
Later that evening, I began pulling weeds from around my azalea bush. As my mind wandered back to the love Jonathan showed the little girl, a biblical verse came to me: "...these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." While my son had put love into practice, I had only felt anger.
I heard the familiar squeak of my husband's brakes as he pulled into the drive. I snapped a small limb bristling with hot pink azaleas off the bush. I felt the seed of love that God planted in my family beginning to bloom once again in me. My husband's eyes widened in surprise as I handed him the flowers. "I love you," I said. | The writer wanted to hide in the mountain cave probably for the reason of _ . | boring daily routine with a feeling of lack of love | ['feeling fed up with her endless daily housework', "her husband's failing to fix the machine in time", 'her hoping to seek happiness in a brand new place'] |
Many people don't realize the importance of music education in the schools today.A new study showed, however, music education is extremely important.
In college, music education is one of the largest programs.Teachers have to learn general education materials and techniques. They must learn to play every instrument; they must learn music history and music theory; they must learn instrument repair and teaching methods; they must learn conducting and so much more.At the same time, much of our culture and tradition is absorbed in music.
Music plays a very important role in our education.
Music helps with math and science. Students learn to count, and how to multiply and divide.Students also use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn't.Students also need science to understand something called the "overtone series", which is about how music is produced by vibration and why.
Students learn a lot about languages through music.Many songs are written in other languages, including ancient ones.Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about. A song is likely to be a famous short work set to music; so students are exposed to that very often while singing.
Students learn a huge amount of cooperation of body parts through music, so parts of the body can work better together.Students must use motor skills in order to play an instrument.Singers and wind players must learn breath control and be in good shape to play.
Students learn about art. Some famous pieces were written about important pieces of art, and students learn about the artists and styles as they're playing the music.
Music education also brings higher thinking to our children.It allows them to think about complex patterns.Students have to be aware of what every other musician does at every time.In that way, it develops cooperation, as well.They tend to develop more ability for learning.
As one can see, music is very important to education. | As to the benefits from music, which of the following is NOT included in the passage? | Relaxation. | ['Calculation.', 'Language study.', 'Cooperation of body parts.'] |
While I was in training, my class was 2 months out from graduation. We were in class, reviewing skills such as antenna theory, radios and map reading. Our instructor walks in and pulls a candidate, we’ll leave nameless, aside. He walks him out of the classroom. I never really thought anything of it as instructors would often pull guys aside for reviews, specific instructions or taskings. I don’t know how much time passed but the candidate walked back in. He gathered his things and left the room. Guys asked if everything was cool but he didn’t say a word.
The instructor came in and sat on the desk at the front of the room. We asked if everything was alright, and he told us that the day prior, the The candidate’s wife had gone into labor however there were complications with the baby but the complications were unknown. He was reporting to the commander to let him know whether he wanted to stay in training or leave because the military does not consider a spouse’s pregnancy to be an emergency even though the complication should be. If he were to leave he would have to drop from the TACP pipeline with a possibility of either starting it over from the beginning of quitting all together.
The instructor shook his head and I could honestly see it was a difficult task for him to tell the candidate. It’s rare to see an instructor be emotional but it was something that brought reality into the room for us. The candidate was given 24 hours to call the hospital, talk to his wife, learn more of the situation and make a decision. He ended up staying in the pipeline and graduated. His child was born with minor complications but is healthy to this day.
It may not be an exact teacher to a student scenario, but it hits pretty damn close to those of us who went through military training. | At the end of the story, the author thinks: | That her story was close to the question. | ['not enough information', 'That her story exactly answers the question.', 'That he story does not answer the question.'] |
In my experience, one of the greatest reasons of unhappiness is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.When we see something we don't like, we wish it could be different-we cry out for something better.That may be human nature, or perhaps it's something that has been grown in our culture.
The root of the unhappiness isn't that we want things to be different, however, it's that we decided we didn't like it in the first place.We've judged it as bad, rather than saying, "It's not bad or good, but it just is."
Here is an example.I have written a paper, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind.Quite a few people think it bad after reading it because I think people should expect things to go differently than you planned, and that you should accept that, instead of encouraging people to change themselves or the environment as much as possible.You could accept it as the way the world works-as the way things actually are.And try to understand why that is, and follow it, as it is.
This can be useful to whatever you do: whether it be how other people act at work, how politics works and how depressing the news media can be.Accept these things as they are, and try to understand why they're that way.
It'll save you a lot of sadness because you'll no longer say, "Oh, I wish things didn't go bad!"
If you really understand what I mean, you can try a different way to live in this world:accept, and understand.It might lead to some interesting results. | What is the major reason why we feel unhappy in the writer's opinion? | We feel hard to accept the way things happen themselves. | ['We are never satisfied with ourselves and the environment around us.', "When we see something that makes us unhappy, we don't know what to do.", 'No matter how happy we are, we never want to be happy.'] |
SINGAPORE — Envoys from the United States and North Korea are holding talks to iron out any last-minute differences before Tuesday's historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that veteran diplomat Sung Kim is leading the U.S. delegation in a working group meeting Monday at the city-state's Ritz Carlton hotel. The North Korea side is being led by Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
Monday's meeting is apparently aimed at narrowing the gap between the U.S. and North Korea over the demand for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
President Trump expressed confidence about his meeting upon his arrival in Singapore Sunday, telling reporters after stepping down from Air Force One that he his feeling "very good" about Tuesday's summit.
Ahead of his arrival, Trump acknowledged he is heading into “unknown territory” for the meeting Tuesday.
In response to a question from VOA News just before heading to Asia from the Group of Seven summit in Canada, Trump said “I really feel confident” about the unprecedented encounter between a sitting American president and a member of the family dynasty which has maintained iron-fist control over one of the world’s most reclusive countries for three generations.
Trump added that he believes Kim, half the age of the American president, “wants to do something great for his people.” But Trump cautioned that Kim “won’t have that opportunity again” if the talks do not go well -- describing this opportunity for diplomacy with the United States as a “one-time shot.”
Trump and others in his government have said advancement has been made on obtaining a commitment from Kim to give up all his nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Progress could lead to a peace treaty and formally end a state of war on the Korean peninsula, which has persisted for nearly 70 years.
Whether such a deal can be done, Trump declared on Saturday, is something he will know almost from the moment they meet. | How long will the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un last? | One day. | ['A week.', 'A few days.', 'not enough information'] |
On Christmas Eve Slawek Przekosniak received an SMS with these wishes: Wishing yo good ping super new". He didn't know who sent him that surprisingly enigmatic message. And he doesn't know to this day. A pity, because thanks to that person he reached his current status and number 67 on the list of the wealthiest Poles.
Back then, during that beautiful, rusty white Christmas Eve night, Przekosniak, who was rudely kicked out from a social network for utopian fanatics of extreme phobias (www.ilovefobia.pl) just a few days earlier, got an idea.
It was a quite good idea too, and the next SMS ("All at cart by unintentionally only honest lamb") convinced him it was the best idea of his life.
Slawek Przekosniak, together with a friend from ilovefobia.pl - Czesiek Ciag, decided to set up an on-line service, through which one could send SMS greetings to mobile phones. And the most important feature of the service was that texts of the wishes were not going to be predetermined and there would be no set list of pre-selected options. Messages would be created by a special software program from random words provided by a customer. Such a system would allow for truly unique greetings, and after all, nobody said they had to be comprehensible.
Czesiek took care of the development of the software, which for now they named "John of the Disc". Czesiek had suitable experience in the matter. While on the forum for (select as appropriate) phobics he designed an application, which created slogans for street protests. The application, even though it produced phrases completely illogical and nonsensical, became quite popular, and some of its most unique catchphrases you could have seen on TV - "Out With There Harm Out!" or "To Them Bag Away Now Now!"
Two future men of success got to work and the SMS greeting portal bestbestbest.pl went live just before Easter. | Who made the phrase "To Them Bag Away Now Now!"? | TV | ['Czesiek Ciag', 'Slawek', 'not enough information'] |
Today is Baden 's birthday . It is hard to believe he is one year old . It does n't seem that long ago that we were off to the hospital early , early in the morning so I could get prepped for a c - section to welcome Baden into the world . | What might the speaker have planned for Baden ? | A birthday party . | ['A welcoming home party .', 'None of the above choices .', "A doctor 's appointment ."] |
When I was 17 years old I had surgery because of a disease. The day after the surgery, I awoke to find a friend of mine sitting in a chair across from my bed. I don't remember much about his visit. But I will not forget that he visited me on that day, and sat there for I don't know how long, while I was under the influence of a morphine drip . We benefit greatly from our close friendships, but they are not a matter of calculable gain or loss.
Our age, what we might call the age of economics, is strongly influenced by two types of relationships that reflect the lives we are encouraged to lead. There are consumer relationships, those that we participate in for the pleasure they bring us. They are focused on the present. It is what brings immediate pleasure that matters. And there are entrepreneurial relationships, those that we invest in, hoping they will bring us some return.
Aristotle thought that there were three types of friendship: those of pleasure, those of usefulness, and true friendship. In pleasure friendships, he said, "It is not for their character that men love ready-witted people, but because they find them pleasant." About the usefulness friendships, he said, "Those who love each other for their utility do not love each other for themselves, but because of some good which they get from each other."
Although we benefit from our close friendships, these friendships are not a matter of calculable gain and loss. Consumer pleasures are lasting for only a limited time. They surround us for a short period and then they fade, like a drug. Entrepreneur friendship, when successful, leads to the victory of personal gain.
It is precisely this non-economic character that is threatened in a society in which each of us is offered only the choices of ownership, shopping, competition and growth. It is threatened when we are led to believe that friendships without obvious recognizable gain are, in the economic sense, irrational . Friendships are not without reason, perhaps, but they are certainly without that particular reason. Shared experience, not just everyday amusement or advancement, is the true basis of friendship. | The best title for the text would be _ . | Friendship in the Age of Economics | ['Friendship in Modern Times', 'Friendship in Economic Recession', 'Friendship in a Fast Paced Life'] |
Everyone has an ambition to travel. But those who cannot do so themselves might find it interesting to work in a travel agency, arranging journeys for other people. Brian Lawtey does this, working in a small travel agency in an industrial city. Most of his work is concerned with holiday, both at home and abroad. Every autumn, the agency sends out hundreds of booklets full of attractive, color1ed photographs, describing the holidays that their customers will be able to have the next year. Soon, people begin to come into the office to book their holidays: perhaps a week's skiing in prefix = st1 /Austriain January, perhaps a cruise to the Caribbean in February, perhaps a seaside holiday inSpainin May, or a tour of Africa. Brian often has to advise people on what holidays will be suitable for them, and they always have a lot of questions. Last year, for example, a lady of eighty-two wanted to book for a mountaineering holiday in the Alps, and Brian had great difficulty in persuading her that it would not be suitable. In the end, she decided to go for a Mediterranean cruise instead.
Arranging journeys for people who have to travel abroad on business is often very complicated, but Brian enjoys this work. For example, last spring Mr. Perry,a director of chemical firm, went on a business trip, and Brian arranged it all for him. First, Mr. Perry traveled to Londonby trainband stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport, because his plane left early the next morning. He flew to Frankfurt inGermany, where he spent the morning discussing business. Then he went on by train toZurich, where he stayed the night. After a meeting the next morning, he caught a plane for Tokyo, and spent three days there before going toAmerica. He had business in Seattle, Chicago andNew York, and stayed some time in each of those places. From New York, he flew back toLondon,and then got home by train. The next day he telephoned the agency to thank Brian for arranging everything so well for him. | When do the customers come into the office to book their holidays? | Shortly after receiving the booklet. | ['Early in the morning.', 'Every year.', 'In January.'] |
WHITE HOUSE — President Donald Trump, after a tactical retreat this week on immigration policy, demonstrated Friday that there is no strategic shift to his overall tough approach to those attempting to illegally enter the country, and vowing to "end the immigration crisis, once and for all."
U.S. immigration laws, Trump declared, are "the weakest in the history of the world."
Trump made the remarks in an auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, where he presided over an event with so-called "Angel Families," those who have had relatives killed by people who entered the country illegally.
"Your loss will not have been in vain," the president told the families, who held large photos of their slain relatives. "We will secure our borders … the word will get out. Got to have a safe country. We're going to have a safe country."
Trump called family members to the presidential lectern to recount how their loved ones had been killed by those who were in the United States illegally. Several of those speaking condemned the media for ignoring the stories of the victims and praised Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for their attention to border security.
Crime assertion
Trump, in his remarks, also suggested those illegally in the United States commit more crimes on a statistical basis than citizens or resident aliens.
However, studies have shown that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit a crime in the U.S. than native-born citizens, including one published by the libertarian CATO Institute this year.
Following intense domestic and international condemnation, Trump on Wednesday signed an order ending his administration's practice of separation of children from their families while parents were being prosecuted for crossing the border illegally. The administration's recently implemented "zero tolerence" policy led to the criminal prosecutions of undocumented border crossers, which in turn led to federal officials separating adults and their children. | After the speech, what did recent critics of Trump's zero tolerance policy likely feel? | That the Administration was doing the wrong thing on immigration | ['That the CATO Institute study was flawed', 'not enough information', 'That President Trump gave a great speech'] |
San Francisco has long been a favorite place for travelers who are ready to learn languages.The mild year-round climate, shops and restaurants, bars and night-life, and some of the most beautiful scene in the US attract many visitors to this relaxing and welcoming city.Students are sure to find the San Francisco Bay Area an interesting, safe and friendly place in which they can live and study.This is the most important.
English School in San Francisco is located in the heart of the city.It is one of the best San Francisco English language schools.You can see views of the city from your classroom! Many buses stop less than a five-minute walk from the school, which is also just a two-minute walk from the famous Union Square, San Francisco Shopping Centre, the Financial District, Yerba Buena gardens and the Museum of Modern Art.The school is minutes away from the cable cars to Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf and a boat ride on the bay.
San Francisco is a great place to study English and learn about American culture, offering excellent opportunities in sports, entertainment and arts.The city borders excellent beaches, and you can sail or surf all year round.
San Francisco has more restaurants than any other city in the US, and is the home of many theaters, music and dance companies, as well as museums.Just walking through the many areas of San Francisco, you are certain to find something wonderful. | It is only a two-minute walk from English School to _ . | the Financial District | ['a bus stop', 'the beaches', "Fisherman's Wharf"] |
Then I had met another guy who was going to the same university in the flight . So we went around the houston airport for a while , as our ground shuttle was supposed to pick us up at 9:30 pm . The shuttle arrived at the airport around half an hour late . | Why may the shuttle have been late ? | There was very heavy traffic around the airport at the time . | ['The driver was going to drive them to the university instead .', 'The driver wanted them to miss their flight .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays' big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble . Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer - long and one - kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the area.
Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. "We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and, of course, we are also finding dead folks as well." Said more folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point."
Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. "We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, "he said." I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort."
Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. "Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, "said Rohr." We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier."
The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F - 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only 20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have registered more than 1,700 calls about missing people and they hope to _ most of those cases soon, as victims are identified and survivors come forth and reunite with loved ones.
This was the worst tornado to strike the United States in 60 years. It was the latest in a wave of violent storms that have swept Midwestern and southern states in recent weeks, leaving more than 300 people dead an causing more than $2 billion dollars in damage. | The best headline for this newspaper article would be _ . | Search for Survivors After the Disaster | ['Difficulties in the Rescue', 'The Great Loss Brought by the Tornado', 'Worst Tornado in the USA'] |
The United States: Fliers may want to have their tickets in hand before catching their planes, but the airline companies are doing everything they can to bring forward cost-saving ticketless flight--no paper needed, just a ticket number and a photo ID. Anyone who buys a Northwest E-ticket through the airline's computer service by June 16 will get an award. Next time you fly, you can buy another ticket for a friend for $99, good anywhere in the US or Canada, along with the lowest ticket prices. Some airlines offer extra frequent-flier miles for the ticketless crowd. And there are rising punishments for paper lovers. American, Northwest, United, and US Airways have raised the cost for lost-ticket replacement to $70 from either $60 or $50. The airlines insist that the increase in price is not meant to push travelers toward E-tickets but only covers the increasing cost of replacing and tracking a missing ticket. | To encourage people to take ticketless flights, the airlines _ . | allow each traveler to have an extra $99 ticket for a friend of theirs | ['sell their tickets for $99 from June to the following year', 'let travelers go to both the US and Canada with the same tickets', 'offer ticketless travelers free miles to fly in the US'] |
I walked on the beach a little . I sipped Bailey 's and scanned the dusky horizon through a brass telescope in an upstairs room . I found a blue shell among the beach grass near the deck where Kenny 's friends grilled shrimp under tiki torches . | what is near the narrator ? | large bodies of water | ['large seals', 'None of the above choices .', 'large whales'] |
The following story took place long ago in Israel. One day when government officials were rebuilding an office, they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another.
Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they were just about to start to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing out at the exit of the hole. After some endeavor, the mice finally got out. The strange thing was that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the exit of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped closer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other one was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After witnessing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious Rome official said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of emperor and minister." The others thought for a while and said: "That was why!" Thus the Rome official showed his arrogance .
A smart Israeli said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense; so they expressed agreement. Therefore, the Israeli's countenance (,)showed self-satisfaction.
A Chinese, who was accustomed to the firm tradition of loyalty to parents, said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son." Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement yet another time. Therefore, the face of the Chinese showed professional modesty.
At that moment, one pure-minded Samaritan who was squatted on the ground resting his chin in his hands, bewilderedly looked at other people, and asked: "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere froze. Then the group looked back at the Samaritan and remained speechless. The Rome official, the Israeli and the Chinese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to respond.
In fact, the true love is not established on benefit, friendship and loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship. | Why did they lower their heads in shame according to the passage? | They did not express themselves much better. | ['They did not dare to answer.', 'They failed to analyze the relationship between the mice.', 'They regretted driving a poor blind mouse away.'] |
The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du'l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she'd first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.
Maria Isabella had just turned sixteen then, and each set of her padrinos had given her (along with the sequined brida du caballo, the dresses of rare tulle, organza, and seda, and the diadema floral du'l dama -- the requisite floral circlet of young womanhood) a purse filled with coins to spend on anything she wanted. And so she'd gone past the Calle du Leones (where sleek cats of various pedigrees sometimes allowed themselves to be purchased, though if so, only until they tired of their new owners), walked through the Avenida du'l Conquistadores (where the statues of the conquerors of Ciudad Meiora lined the entirety of the broad promenade) and made her way to the Encantu lu Caminata (that maze-like series of interconnected streets, each leading to some wonder or marvel for sale), where little musical conch shells from the islets near Palao'an could be found. Those she liked very much.
In the vicinity of the Plaza Emperyal, she saw a young man dressed in a coat embroidered with stars walk almost surely to his death. In that instant, Maria Isabella knew two things with the conviction reserved only for the very young: first, that she almost certainly loved this reckless man; and second, that if she simply stepped on a dog's tail -- the very dog watching the same scene unfold right next to her -- she could avert the man's seemingly senseless death. | How long after the event is the story being probably told by Maria? | Many years later. | ['One year later.', 'The following day.', 'not enough information'] |
Well , it 's been a while since I made a real entry in here . I have n't had motivation to post an entry on any of my blogs lately . Right now , I ' ve just been feeling like making useless things , like video slideshows of my friends . XDPeople have been blogging about their dreams lately , it seems . | Why has the narrator not produced many blogs lately ? | They have been lacking motivation . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They have been dreaming too much .', 'They have been hanging out with people instead .'] |
This I have discovered has a major disadvantage . ( You may wish to skip the rest of this post , by the way . ) Basically , because the poo does n't go into water but just sits there , it has time to make the room smells more before you flush . On the other hand though , there is no possibility of splashback . | Why does the room smell so much . | Because the lack of water means the poo is exposed . | ['Because something was left to rot in the room .', 'None of the above choices .', 'Because something died in the room .'] |
Pearl Buck(1892--1973)was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She grew up in China, but was educated at Randolph-Macon Woman's College. After her graduation she returned to China and lived there until 1934 with the exception of a year spent at Cornell University, where she took an MA in 1926.Pearl Buck began to write in the twenties; her first novel, East Wind; West Wind, appeared in 1930.It was followed by The Good Earth (1931),Sons(1932),and A House Divided(1935),together forming a trilogy on the stories of the family of Wang. The Good Earth stood on the American list of bestsellers for a long time and earned her several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the William Dean Howells Medal. She also published The first Wife and Other Stories(1933),All Men are Brothers(1933),The Mother(1934),and This Proud Heart(1938).The biographies of her mother and father, The Exile and Fighting Angel, were published in 1936 and later brought out together under the title of The Spirit and the Flesh(1944).
Pearl Buck's works after 1938 are too many to speak about. Her novels have continued to deal with the differences between East and West. Her interest has spread to such countries as India and Korea.
Pearl Buck was active in many charity organizations; in particular she set up an organization for the adoption of Asian-American children and took an active interest in children with low IQ. | According to the passage, Pearl Buck was interested in _ . | doing charity work | ['American history', 'politics in India and Korea', 'writing novels about war'] |
Foreign attacks on U. S. soil
1812 ---- During the War of 1812, British forces burned the new capital at Washington, D. C. They also attacked Baltimore and New Orleans and captured Detroit, which at the time was a remote military outpost .
1846 ---- A brief invasion by Mexican troops across the Rio Gande began the U. S. - Mexican War in 1846. But the remaining action in that conflict occurred in California, New Mexico and in Mexico. California and New Mexico belonged to Mexico at the time.
1916 ---- Mexican revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa attacked the town of Columbus, N. M., on March 9, 1916.
1941 -- Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, killing nearly 2,400 people and forcing America into World War II.
1993 ---- Terrorists blew up a truck bomb in the basement of the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.
2001 ---- Terrorists hijacked several planes on Sep.11, 2001. Two ploughed into New York's World Trade Center (WTC), _ the two highest buildings in the city; a third seriously damaged the Pentagon . The fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Several thousand people were killed in the attacks. | During the September 11th terrorist attacks, _ . | destroyed the Pentagon completely | ['terrorists hijacked three planes', 'killed six people and injured more than 1,000', "two planes knocked into New York's World Trade Center"] |
Seeing as I was in bed at just past 6 AM or so and had to get up at 12 to get ready , it was quite understandable why I was n't entirely too proud with myself as I went to bed . Strangely , though , I managed to get up on time and even showered and all that jazz . I was n't entirely able to stomach any breakfast , though , so I ended up having a few Pepsis which was probably not the best idea in the world . As I headed off towards Tina 's , I found myself staggering a bit too much for my liking , so I ended up having to really pull myself together to appear somewhat normal and coherent as I arrived . | What may be a plausible reason I was staggering on the way to Tina ’s ? | I did not get much sleep . | ['I was walking as if I felt way too proud of myeslf .', 'I could not stomach my breakfast .', 'I drank too much pepsi .'] |
These are some signs that you can see on the roads of Great Britain.
Number one is a sign with the number thirty on it. When drivers see this sign they must not go at more than thirty miles an hour. We see this sign when we get to parts of the country where there are many houses and other buildings, for example, when we are getting near a town. Thirty miles an hour is the speed limit. Number two is sign for the end of the speed limit. We are out of the town now and may go at more than thirty miles an hour. Number three is a sign that we are near a crossroads, that is, a place where two roads cross. We must drive carefully. Number four is a sign that there is a bend in the road. Again, we must drive slowly and carefully. Number five is a sign that there is a hill and number six is a sign that the roads get narrow. Drivers must go slowly and carefully. Number seven has the word "school" on it. This is a sign that there is a school at the side of a street or road. Perhaps there are children going to school or leaving school. So drivers must look carefully and go slowly until they are past the school building.
Number eight is a sign with the letter P on it. The letter P is for "parking." A parking place is a place where drivers may leave their cars. If the driver of a car wants to leave his car and go to the shops, he looks for this sign. Then he knows that he may leave his or her car there. | Now , you--three drivers are driving side by side along the road, if you see the No. six sign, you have to _ . | drive along one after one because the road is not wide enough | ['drive more slowly because of the speed limit', 'drive more carefully because school children maycrossthe road', 'drive slowly because you have got to drive uphill'] |
I had seen it before, those fuzzy, furry leaves and stalks, with the pretty, star-pointed purple flowers, but up until that moment that I saw them sitting in a basket at the market stalls, I admit I had never taken notice of it as a food. It grow along cracks in stone walls and along the roadside near my home in Settignano, which is blooming with spring goodness right now: robinia (black locust) trees, wild garlic (three-cornered leek) and even elderflowers are already bursting.
I asked the vendor just to double check, “Is this borage?” “Si,” Came the answer, “Borragine.” He confirmed. “I’ve had it in ravioli,” I started to say, “Brava!” He said, as if we were about to start a guessing game on what could be done with it. Actually, there’s a lot that can be done with it. If you can use it as a ravioli filling with ricotta, then you can imagine it taking the place of spinach in gnudi, too, but also soups or frittata or stirred through polenta.
I learned that the flowers are just as delicious, if not more interesting, for their delicate cucumber-like flavour — people told me of their use in salads or cocktails like Pimms, and someone even mentioned she freezes them in ice cubes, what a pretty idea for those first warm nights when you can dine al fresco, homemade cocktail in hand. Then there’s risotto and of course the fritters, much like these ones. Or you can simply deep fry the clusters of buds that haven’t yet burst open like these deep-fried robinia flowers.
borage and ricotta crepes
The problem, I was thinking, as I took home my bag of borage, is that I can’t decide what to make. There’s simply too much choice.
I consulted two of my favourite books that also happen to be cookbooks. Patience Gray’s Honey from a Weed and Luigi Ballerini’s A Feast of Weeds. Both had wonderful ideas for borage (and indeed many other edible, foraged plants). | Who is the vendor? | not enough information | ['a good man', 'A chef', 'a smart salesman'] |
Made pancakes . Though slightly disastrous at first , causing me to have a massive strop ... but got over it and in the end they were well good , with syrup and all!Nice to be off the weekend for once . Managed it to a party last Saturday at Mag 's new flat , but was working at 7 am the next day , it was a nightmare , I was so so tired . Also headed to the Garage ( for a change ! ) | Why were they tired after Meg 's party ? | They had stayed out too late . | ['They had to wake up earlier than they wanted .', 'They had done too many things that day .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Does anyone know of a file sharing site ( like sendspace.com ) that DOESN'T delete your files after they go inactive for a certain period of time ? Someplace that , you know , I do n't have to PAY for ? ( I ' m poor , people . | What may happen after they ask for advice ? | They will receive suggestions for good file sharing sites . | ['They will have to do their own research .', 'They will be suggested expensive file sharing websites .', 'Their request will be ignored by others .'] |
Talking on a mobile phone is expensive, so a lot of people send text messages. Text messages are much cheaper than talking on a mobile phone, and you can make it cheaper by making the words shorter. You can do this by taking out "unimportant" letters in the words and using numbers instead of words (2 =" to," 3 =" free," 4 =" for," 8 =" ate," so h8 =" hate," etc.). You can also keep away from using punctuation . Here is an example: Do U wnt 2 g 2 th cnma tnite (Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?)
What do you think these text messages mean?
Whr hv U bn? Iv bn wtng hrs fr a cll.
Im hm nw, why nt gv me a cll.
I gt a txt mssge frm my frnd. Shes hvng a prty on Strdy.
Mobile phone users have developed a group of symbols to show how they feel. They are called emoticons, and there are some examples below. To read an emoticon, you have to look at it sideways. For example, if you say something in a text message that is a joke, you can follow it with a smiling face. Like this: Why didt u call me? I'm so sad. (
Here are some others. Can you think of text messages where you could use them?
) laughing ( sad < really sad
V shouting |*| asleep :0 shocked
8*| surprised \*o bored | What does this text message "Do U wnt 2 cm?" mean? It means " _ ?". | Do you want to come | ['Do you wear two caps', 'Do you want two cakes', 'Do you go home early'] |
Clyde, a small-clawed otter, was moved from Auckland Zoo to Wellington Zoo two months ago. The zookeepers hoped he and the other otter Bonnie might start a family together.
But only two days after he arrived, Clyde went missing. He had dug his way under one of the walls and was nowhere to be seen.
The zookeepers set up cages inside the zoo, with plates of Clyde's favorite fish in them, hoping to catch him. Two days went by and still there was no sign of Clyde.
At last a couple saw Clyde at their house --- a whole kilometer away in Newtown. Clyde was hiding in an out-of-reach hole outside their laundry.
The zookeepers arrived and set up some more traps to try to catch him. But Clyde is a pretty smart otter. Twice he managed to get the fish out of a trap without being caught.
Five days after he'd escaped, Clyde's days on the run came to an end when he was finally caught in one of the traps.
It was no good putting Clyde back in his old home---he'd only dig his way out again. So he and Bonnie were put into the zoo hospital. There was no chance of their escaping from there.
Meanwhile, the zookeepers were working hard to make Clyde's old home safer. They put an iron barrier underground to stop him digging their way out. Then Bonnie and Clyde went home again.
But a month after his first escape, Clyde was out again. Once more the zookeepers came hurrying to catch Clyde. They found him by following the bubbles he made in the river nearby.
Nobody knew how Clyde had escaped. But this time he was only out for an hour. So---back he went to the hospital again.
Poor Clyde. It seemed that he wasn't happy at Wellington Zoo, even though he and Bonnie were getting on well together. The keepers didn't like seeing him unhappy, so they planned to look for a home for him somewhere else. | Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from? | A news report. | ['An advertisement.', 'A book review.', 'A research paper.'] |
Here 's a clip of a piece that aired several weeks ago in Seattle on a show called Evening Magazine . We filmed it last summer in an art gallery using one camera , so the shots of the reporter asking the questions and me answering them were filmed in two separate takes . First they recorded me answering all the questions , and then they moved the camera behind me and taped the reporter asked some of the questions a second time . | Why would the narrator be explaining background to their friend ? | They are proud to be featured in such a shoot . | ['The friend is slow .', 'None of the above choices .', 'The friend is confused .'] |
Well less than a week after my surgery my mom had a heart attack so she was in the hospital for a couple of weeks . She had open heart surgery and all that and that went pretty well . She 's home now and doing much better . | How might I have been feeling when my mother was going through these things ? | I might have been feeling anxious | ['I might have been feeling relieved', 'None of the above choices .', 'I might have been feeling happy'] |
A man in a very splendid restaurant started to take off his jacket. Seeing this, the head waiter dashed to his table and said, " I'm afraid I must ask you to keep your jacket on, sir, for it is not good manners to do it in such a smart restaurant."
"Now listen," said the man, "I'll let you know that the Queen of England gave me permission to remove my jacket here." "The Queen of England?" said the waiter in great surprise. "Sure," replied the man, " When I was in England last month, a friend of mine who had a very important position in high society took me to see the Queen. It was rather hot, so I started taking my coat off. The Queen looked over and said, "You may do that in the United States, but you may not do it here. " So I got the Queen's permission, right? | When the head waiter asked the man not to take off his jacket, the man _ . | refused to listen to him | ['took his advice immediately', 'obeyed him without any hesitation', 'apologized for his bad manners'] |
Sondra arrived at 1:00 PM sharp. Billy-Eye's Arcade and Dance Barn was located on Highway 87, north of town. She was not impressed. It was nothing but a huge commercial metal building with the name painted in big lettering across the front. There were about fifteen cars in the small gravel parking lot--mostly older models like hers.
She walked in, and saw a line of people standing at a closed office door. Clearly, they were band members waiting to register for an audition. A couple of the guys had their electric guitars strapped on their backs.
Sondra was quite familiar with Billy-Eye and his two sons. She'd eaten her share of Buttard Biscuits growing up. And she still remembered the time in high school when Craig walked up to her in the hallway and asked her for a date. She had nearly laughed in his face. He was just a kid--three grades below her.
A couple of years later, when she found out about his reputation as a stud, she wished she had accepted his offer. She would have given the little punk the ride of his life.
While she was still thinking about Craig, the office door opened, and he walked out.
He glanced at the long line of rockers. "Okay, we're about to get started, Guys." Then he spotted Sondra at the back of the line. The blonde six-footer was not easy to miss.
"Sondra Crench? Is that you?" He walked up to her.
"How are you, Craig?"
"Well, I'm impressed that you remember me. So, you're here to sign up?"
"Yeah."
He checked out the young men standing in front of her. "Are these guys with you?"
"No."
"Well, where's your band?"
"I'm working on it."
"Follow me."
She hesitated. There were at least thirty people in front of her in line.
"Come on," he insisted.
She followed him into the office. | When did Sondra laugh in Craig's face? | After he asked her on a date. | ['Before she saw him come out of the office.', 'When he invited her into his office.', 'not enough information'] |
I could fill a book with embarrassing situations I've been in over the years. These moments used to haunt me and my face would turn as red as a big tomato.
It wasn't until I was in my late teens, working at a hotel that things changed for me. I took a year off in between high school and university, because like many people my age I had ly no idea what I wanted to do, and I didn't want to waste $ 5,000 on a university tuition .
I tried to keep silent at my new job, avoiding the other employees. All of them didn't care about me except for one girl. She kept at me, telling me stories of her weekend and how she loved snowboarding, something I was interested in as well. She was the type of warm personality where people were immediately drawn to her, and soon enough I found myself looking forward to our coffee breaks and snowboarding after work. The more I hung out with her, the more I realized that this girl, who seemed to have it all together, was in fact just like me, except for one major difference. She laughed at herself.
One night after work we were snowboarding and she fell down carelessly resulting in a mouth full of snow. Instead of getting embarrassed she jumped right up laughing loudly at how ridiculous she must have looked. As time went on, her warm personality began to wear off on me and soon enough I had a mini-breakthrough. I'm not saying that I no longer find myself in embarrassing situations; I've just learned how to handle them differently. Just a few months ago I walked out of a bathroom unaware of the fact that my skirt was tucked in my underwear. But instead of rushing back to the bathroom I calmly pulled it out and continued on my way shaking my head and smiling. | When she fell down carelessly resulting in a mouth full of snow, the girl _ . | just laughed and joked about herself | ['tried to hide her pain through laughing', "was quite upset and didn't know what to do", "couldn't help becoming excited"] |
Do you want to visit Warwick Castle in Britain? Warwick is a friendly and a memorable experience with something for all ages.Easily accessible by car, bus, train, cycling or on foot it is surrounded by historic buildings and numerous attractions.
Ticket Prices &Offers
Look at our online offers, Warwick-Castle, com is the only place to purchase the Ultimate Castle and The Castle Dungeon ticket at the best price.
Online bookings must be made 24 hours before you visit.Please note that admission to The Castle Dungeon is NOT included with standard online or on the day tickets.There are limited Dungeons tickets available, and only from Warwick-Castle, corn.Please book in advance to guarantee your Castle Dungeon experience.
One Day Tickets
Booking online is the best way to get your tickets for Britain's Ultimate Castle.Save 20% and skip the ticket queue when you arrive - it couldn't be easier!
If you're not sure when you want to visit then don't worry, you can still book a Flexible Ticket-valid for any day that the castle is open during 2010.
Buy tickets online now!
Important notes on ticketing
Please note that if you wish to visit the Castle using an on-the-day promotional voucher ,your Dungeon experience can be prebooked by calling 0870 442 2375.
A PS1.50 fee applies to all bookings made online and via telephone - one fee per booking.Children must be accompanied by an adult.Group rates are available for groups of more than 10 people.Groups can book by calling 0870 442 2371 or online. | .In order to buy group tickets, _ . | you should dial 0870 442 2371 | ['you should dial 0870 442 2375', 'bookings can be made by emails', 'there should be at least 20 people'] |
Brooke 's Bridal Shower yesterday was a huge bust . I got there around 5 pm & all these ladies were just sitting around the coffee table & barely saying a word . WEIRD . A bunch of duds . | What was the reason for everyone being sitting around the coffee table ? | They wanted to support Brooke at her bridal shower . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They were there to talk about 5 p.m. coffee .', 'They were there to drink coffee and chat a lot .'] |
Safeburn
Planning a home demands great care. The fireplace should be distinctive and elegant , with a fire that looks like a fire, giving your family the warmth and protection they need.Every year 7,000 people die in fires in Britain, and hundreds of them are little children. Thousands more are disfigured for life.
When you choose a fire, choose Safeburn. It gives you the atmosphere of home comfort you are looking for, and sets your mind at rest.
Caithness Pride
Caithness Pride. The ninth Duke of Caithness would only drink the best whisky. So he built his own private still, in the heart of the Highlands, with the fresh water running in the stream nearby. When we came into possession of the still, we paid the Duke's heirs a lot of money for it. But it was worth it. After all, what was good for the Duke is too good to be kept a secret. | Fire can provide people with all the following except _ . | great care | ['home comfort', 'heat', 'peace'] |
The night before my gears stopped working on my bike and Jake was kind enough to lend me his bike . The gears on his bike worked great , it was just a good twenty pounds heavier than the bike I was used to . I managed to lug it off the bike rake and wander over to the starting area . | What happened after I got to the starting area ? | I started a race using Jake 's bike . | ['None of the above choices .', 'The gears on my bike stopped working .', 'I started a race using my own bike .'] |
I have always been a “handyman” involved in various building projects around the house. One particular time I was refinishing a section of ceiling. I had laid in the wiring and insulation by myself and all that remained was nailing a number of heavy 4ftx8ft gypsum wallboard panels onto the rafters of the 8 ft ceiling. I had arranged for a paid assistant to help me since the height of the ceiling and the weight of the wallboard was more than I could handle.
When the time came, the assistant didn't show up and did not even call. I was pissed as hell. After my messages were not returned, I had what can only be called a “rage” of determination. Using a six foot ladder, three 2x4s and my head(literally) I hefted the heavy wallboard, Using leverage I placed them one by one on the overhead rafters, held and braced them with my head, glued and nailed them there all by myself. About a half hour after I finished, I was standing there smugly trying to figure how I did it so easily when there was a knock at the door. Of course it was the assistant with a lot of excuses. He seemed surprised when I told him I was finished. He looked up at the ceiling and said "how in the world did you get those up there by yourself?" I said, "Oh, believe me, You helped more than you will ever know!"
I learned a lot from that. Anger has its place in your life. You have to control it and use it directly to solve a problem. To this day I do not know how I accomplished what I did the way I did it. But, if I hadn't been so angry I would never have attempted it at all. Life is full of little lessons. Pay attention to them and learn. If you have to lash out, lash at solving the situation you are in instead the person who caused it. It is significantly more productive that way. | The assistant showed up: | after the job was done | ['on time', 'too early', 'not enough information'] |
Among the soldiers of King Philip there was a poor man who had done some good deeds. He had pleased the king in many ways, and so the king believed in him.
One day this soldier was on a ship at sea when a great storm came up. The winds drove the ship upon the rocks, and it was broken. The soldier was thrown upon the shore ; and he would have died there if it had not been for the kind care of a farmer who lived nearby.
When the soldier was well enough to go home; he thanked the farmer for what he had done, and promised that he would repay him for his kindness.
But he did not mean to keep his promise . He did not tell King Philip about the farmer. He only said that there was a fine farm by the seashore, and that he would like very much to have it for his own.
"Who owns the farm now?" asked Philip.
"Only a useless farmer, who has never done anything for his country," said the soldier.
"Very well, then," said Philip "You have served me for a long time, and you shall have your wish. Go and take the farm for yourself."
And so the soldier drove the farmer from his house and home. He took the farm for his own.
The poor farmer was hurt seriously. He went ly to the king, and told the whole story from beginning to end. King Philip was very angry when he learned that. He sent for the soldier in a great hurry, and when he had come, he had these words burned in his forehead: "The Ungrateful Man". | It can be learned form the story that _ . | the king once believed that the soldier deserved the farm | ['the king believed in the soldier more than others', 'the farmer helped the soldier out of the rough sea', 'the farmer would be killed by the angry king'] |
Gimmicky--and expensive--new gloves allow chatterboxes to take the term 'handsfree' to a new level--by talking into them as they make a call.
The gloves are known as 'Talk to the Hand' and costPS1.000 a pair.
They come with a speaker unit embedded into the thumb and a microphone built into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.Artist Sean Miles designed the gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget recycling.He combines gloves with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2,which commissioned the project.
Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phone out of their pocket or handbag.
Mr Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves--one in pink and the other in brown and yellow.They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves.If demand is high,they will then be produced on a larger scale.
O2 Recycle,which backs the project,estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK.The service pays those who recycle gadgets including phones,MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Scan Miles,hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling.The 41-year-old said:"I hope that my Talk to the Hand project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets.If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to landfill ,I think this project will have fulfilled its aim."
The Talk to the Hand mobile phone gloves are the second product in a series that O2 Recycle and Miles have created.Miles is now working on combining phones with handbags--so people don't spend time rummaging around in their bags to find a phone when it rings. | Which of the following is true of O2 Recycle? | It encourages people to recycle gadgets. | ['It has recycled 70 million mobile handsets.', 'It promotes the technology of IT.', 'It is now recycling gadgets around the world.'] |
The collaborative process between me and Claire Bridge has been good so far. Upon finding out her email address we had a brief email exchange culminating in me sending her a list of potential questions for the interview. Claire quite liked a lot of the questions, but overall there were too many, so we proceeded to reduce the number of questions to six main questions. These questions would then form the basis of the artist portrait, with an attempt to limit answers to no more than a minute, so little had to be cut for the final edit. The six questions we arrived at are as follows:
How would you define creativity?
What does it mean to you to be an artist?
Do you feel a painting or piece of art can house an energy/a feeling from the original artist? Do you feel that your own works house this energy?
Change and transformation are recurrent themes in your work. What are you exploring and why do these fascinate you? And recently we saw a change in your medium too, incorporating video works and photography.
You seem to draw on many influences in your work, from quantum physics, astrophysics, to environmental ecology, psychology, philosophy and metaphysics. With titles like “Dark Matter”, “Touching Infinity”, “We are made of Stars”, “Rising tides” and “A drop in the ocean” or “Alchemy”. Can you tell us something more about the convergence of these ideas and influences?
What continues to motivate and inspire you as an artist?
We both felt these questions addressed the initial topic of exploring creativity, explored why Claire became an artist, gives insight into Claire’s work and practise and looks toward the future of Claire’s practice. After refining the questions, we proceeded to organise a day to film, which will be on the 16th September. Hopefully if all goes well we will both have an artist portrait that lives up to our expectations. | What happened after the author sent Claire a list of potential questions? | they reduced the number of questions down to six | ['Claire said she would answer them later', 'not enough information', 'Claire answered all of them'] |
We deduced that HP is too stressful an environment to work in , laughs . But whoever you are , I hope you are okay , and that it was just a simple case of low sugar level and nothing serious . We felt like hero and heroines this morning ! | What is a likely reason that the speakers felt like heros and heroines ? | Someone was having a serious health concern and they managed to be of assistance | ['None of the above choices .', 'A kitten had gotten stuck inside of an industrial printer and they managed to free it without injury', 'The office caught fire , but they managed to help all of the women and weaker folks out before saving themselves'] |
Two words rhyme with each other when they have the same ending word, like "think," "pink". The last word in each of the lines of a poem does not have to have a rhyming sound, many of them do. Two lines of poetry that rhyme with each other at the end are call rhyming couplet.
Writing rhyming poetry can be difficult because you need to choose words that not only rhyme but have meaning, too. Even though some poems are short, you have to think extra long at which words to choose. Here is an example of a short poem:
He was only a bug, but he was the king.
She smiled at him when he gave her a ring.
He forgot to be careful of one little thing.
His queen was a bee, and she could sting. | Rhyming poetry is sometimes hard to write because you need to choose _ . | rhyming words with meaning | ['rhyming words without meaning', 'short lines with extra long words', 'meaningful words without rhyming'] |
I could n't fit in through the broken pane , but I could reach in through the broken window and reach the swiss army knife on my dresser , and I used that to unscrew the window . By the time I got in , my bedroom looked like a murder scene with all of the broken glass and bloody everything , and I had lost so much blood that I felt violently ill and dizzy . As I mentioned earlier , I ' m not a just a total pussy , so I glued my finger back together and drank a soda in an attempt to boost my blood sugar and cancel out the loss of blood . Two days later , so far so good . | What may be the reason for their injuries ? | They had cut themselves going through their window . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They had fallen out of their bedroom window .', 'They had to fight back against someone trying to kill them .'] |
It was built exactly half the width , a third the length , and half the height of the original Titanic ( and even shaped like it too ) . It took you all the way from the ship 's conception all the way to when it sank to how they 're trying to recover it now . They had a lot of artifact they ' ve recovered , which were neat . | What historic event is being discussed here ? | The sinking of a famous ship | ['The building of a famous ship', 'The demolition of a famous ship', 'The launching of a famous ship'] |
For a clearer picture of what the student knows, most teachers use another kind of examination in addition to objective tests. They use "essay" tests, which require students to write long answers to broad, general questions such as the following: "Mention several ways in which Benjamin Franklin has influenced thinking of people in his own country and in other parts of the world."
One advantage of the essay test is that it reduces the element of luck. The student cannot get a high score just by making a lucky guess. Another advantage is that it shows the examiner more cares about the student's ability to put facts together into a meaningful whole. It should show how deeply he has thought about the subject. Sometimes, though, essay tests have disadvantages, too. Some students are able to write rather good answers without really knowing much about the subject, while other students who actually know the material have trouble expressing their ideas in the essay form.
Besides, in an essay test the student's score may depend upon the examiner's feelings at the time of reading the answer. If he is feeling tired or bored, the student may receive a lower score than he should. Another examiner reading the same answer might give it a much higher mark. Because of _ , the objective test gives each student a fairer chance, and of course it is easier and quicker to score.
Whether an objective test or an essay test is used, problems arise. When some objective questions are used along with some essay questions, however, a fairly clear picture of the student's knowledge can usually be gotten. | According to the passage, which of the following statements about the objective test is NOT true? | It shows the student's ability to think about difficult problems. | ['It is more objective than the essay test in terms of scoring.', 'It allows the student to guess the correct answer without really knowing the material.', 'It is easy and quick to score.'] |
There used to be four common life phases : childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age.Now, there are at least six: childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement and old age.Of the new ones, the least understood is odyssey, the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood.
They see that people in this age bracket are delaying marriage.They're delaying having children.They're delaying permanent employment.People who were born before 1964 tend to define adulthood by certain achievements moving away from home, becoming financially independent, getting married and starting a family.
In 1960, roughly 70 percent of 30-year-olds had achieved these things.By 2000, fewer than 40 percent of 30-year-olds had done the same.
Yet with a little imagination it's possible even for baby boomers to understand what it's like to be in the middle of the odyssey years.It's possible to see that this period is a sensible response to modern conditions.
Two of the American best social scientists have been trying to understand this new life period.Through their work, you can see uncertainty that now characterizes this stage.Young people grow up in tightly structured childhoods, Robert Wuthnow of Princeton observes, but then graduate into a world of uncertainty.Old success recipes don't apply, new systems have not been established and everything seems to give way to a less permanent version of itself.Dating gives way to Facebook and hooking up.Newspaper reading gives way to blogging.For example, in 1970, 49 percent of adults in their 20s read a daily paper, now it's at 21 percent.
The job market is changeable.Graduating seniors don't find corporations offering them jobs that will guide them all the way to retirement.Instead they find a vast menu of information economy options, few of which they have heard of or prepared for. | By 2000, most of the 30-year-olds _ . | preferred blog writing to newspaper reading | ['were financially dependent', 'got well-prepared for the employment', 'got married early and started their family'] |
Paul Reynolds crisscrossed his sketchbook with furious strokes, filling the pages with images of the vengeance he would take on his former coworkers at Fear and Loading Games. He'd founded the company three years back and, just a few hours ago, his partners and erstwhile friends had fired him without cause or warning. He concentrated hard as his pen brought to life demonic figures from one of the best-selling comics he'd created, scythe wielding cyber-men called Myrmidons who tore into surprised computer programmers with fangs and claws. Elsewhere on the page, computers assembled themselves into 21st century Golems, rising up against traitorous CEO's and producers to crush them to bloody pulp as they cowered beneath their desks. Sitting at the bar in Señor Goldstein's Mexican Restaurant in San Jose, California, Paul's own artwork engaged him for the first time in months, maybe years. Under other circumstances, that would have made him happy. But today's circumstances allowed only two emotions: despair and a burning desire for revenge. Not wanting to succumb to the former, and not quite wanting to find a gun and go back to the office, he instead drew.
He had turned to a fresh page and begun to sketch his most elaborate revenge-scheme yet when a woman walked into his line of vision. There were four or five other women in the restaurant already (most of them employees), but this one stood out. This one would've stood out anywhere. Her hair, cut short and spiky, was dyed a magenta so bright it nearly glowed. She wore a tight black t-shirt, baggy olive drab shorts that hung on shapely hips, and heavy black boots with two inch thick soles. She had a faded black messenger bag slung across her chest, the strap pressing between her breasts. If Paul had to guess, she wasn't wearing a bra. She definitely wasn't your average Silicon Valley techie on an early lunch break, and certainly not a restaurant employee. | Who had short magenta hair? | The woman in the restaurant | ["Paul's coworker", 'not enough information', 'Paul'] |
I mean , seriously , I think there is about an hour missing from it . The whole second half makes no kind of sense whatsoever , and the ending hits so arbitrarily and unexpectedly that the effect is dizzying . In happier news , I finished up my last Netflix movie tonight . It 's called Charlie Bartlett , and it beats the heck out of the other movie I saw tonight . Kind of a Ferris Bueller 's Day Off for this generation , with a dash of Pump Up the Volume thrown in . | How did the narrator spend their day ? | They spent it watching films . | ['They spent it watching TV .', 'They spent it watching television .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Commencement is a time for idealism.
But economic reality is cruel everywhere; especially for new graduate. They have been told repeatedly that a college degree is an open sesame to the global economy. But that's not necessarily so, according to new research by two economists at he Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin.
It is true that people with college degrees make more money than people without degrees. The gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years, which is disturbing. But the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers.
The bad news, though, is that a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economics pie for many graduates. In recent decades Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show, only college-educated women have seen their income grow in line with economy wide gains in productivity. The earnings of male college graduates have failed to keep pace with productivity gains.
Instead, a huge share of productivity growth, which expands the nation's income, is going to Americans on the top of the income scale. In 2005, the latest year with available data, the top of 1 percent of Americans---whose average annual income was $ 1.1 million--- took in 21.8 percent of the nation's income, their largest share since 1929.
Administration officials, and other politicians and economists, often, believe that income inequality, reflects an education gap. But Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show that in the case of men, the average bachelor's degree is not enough to catch the rising tide of the global economy.
They argue that the real reason that inequality is worsening is the lack of strong policies that broadly distribute economic gains. In the past, for example, a more progressive income tax and unions promote equality. Positive measures have been _ and new ones have not yet emerged, making the income gap even greater.
Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin conclude that only a new government policy can restore general prosperity. That's a challenge to the nation's leader and today's graduates. America needs them to contribute to the development of the nation in global economy. | We can infer from the passage that _ . | female college graduates have benefited from some governmental measures to ensure their income growth. | ['female college graduates have higher income than male ones.', 'income tax can grantee income equality.', 'new measures and policies have been taken to promote income equality.'] |
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. He seemed to expect too much of me. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A's and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as "successful" as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to feel very nervous.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father's friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son's funny facial expressions. Gone was my father's critical air and strict rules. After my visit to Tucson , My father seemed to be so friendly and gentle. What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I'm at last seeing another side of my father. And in doing so, I'm delighted with _ . My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was. | When the writer went out with her father on weekends, she would feel very _ . | nervous | ['sorry', 'tired', 'safe'] |
Sorry to those of you who read my myspace blog also since I just copied and pasted this from there . Ok , this is going to be short because I ' m at the library and Alan 's laptop battery is almost gone . But , it has been a crazy week / weekend ! We went apartment hunting in PA and on the way back my car started acting up and I thought we were gon na be stranded in Cleveland ! Luckily , we were able to make it to the lake and eventually to Fort Wayne . | Which of the following is true of the narrator ? | They write and post their thoughts online . | ['They live in an apartment in PA .', 'None of the above choices .', 'Their laptop battery is almost gone .'] |
Madhuri 's dates were not available and Boney Kapoor suggested to me that there is this new girl called Urmila in a film called " Narasimha " . I did n't think much of her but because there was no time and no one else available I signed her . Neither the film nor she worked . | What might this person do for work ? | They might be a casting director | ['None of the above choices .', 'They might work with Urmila', 'They might be in films'] |
Our "Mommy and Me" time began two years ago.
My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were our in our front yards, watching seven children of age six and under ride their bikes up and down. "I wish I could take one of my children out alone," said Christie. Then we worked out a plan. When Christie takes one of her children out alone, I'll watch her other three. And when she watched two of mine, I will take someone out.
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of "Mommy and Me" time. Christie's daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. "She is like a different kid when there's no one else around," Christie shared with me quietly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn't have to make any effort to gain attention.
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times. For example, I'm always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering son, Tom, doesn't stutter once during our activities since he doesn't have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who is always a follower when around other children, shines a leader during our times together.
The "Mommy and Me" time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child--talking, sharing and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves an only child at least once in a while. | What's the text mainly about? | The advantage of spending time with one child at a time. | ['The basic needs of children.', 'The happy life of two families.', 'The experience of the only child being with mother.'] |
Little more blogging , little less calender - of - activities , you know ? Today I was watching television in my mom 's room when she came home from work and asked me to go play tennis with her . Now , since today was one of those " put - my - pajamas - on - directly - after - I - get - home - and - spend - all - day - catching - up - on - homework " days , I was debating saying no because I was n't dressed and I was fully exhausted . Nonetheless , I decided I would go and I ' m so incredibly glad I did . | What did I have to do before playing tennis with my mom ? | Put my shoes on . | ['Buy new pajamas .', 'Call my friend .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity .
Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation legend Burt Rutan's Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal .
Spaceship One is the world's first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said "flying officer" Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.
He said, "Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed--we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth."
GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than PS2m a year, has three air ambulances .
Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence's safety was not guaranteed. He said, "This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved."
Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes.
Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth's surface, just breaking through the planet's atmosphere.
If it repeats the feat inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business. | Which of the following is the best title? | Teddy bear astronaut to lift off | ['Spaceship One to lift off', 'Space flight', 'The toy bear will be auctioned off'] |
In this voyage I visited my new colony on the island, saw the Spaniards , had the whole story of their lives and of the villains I left there; how at first they treated the poor Spaniards badly,*how they afterwards agreed, disagreed, unired, separated, and how at last the Spaniards were forced to use violence with them; how they gave in to the spaniards, how honestly the Spaniards used them ---- a history, if it were entered into, as full of variety and wonderful accidents as my own part ---- particularly, also, as to their battles with the Caribbeans, who landed several times upon the Island, and as to the improvement they made upon the Island itself, and how five of them made an attempt upon the main land, and brought away eleven men and five women prisoners, by which, at my coming, I found about twenty young children on the Island.
Here I stayed bout 20 days, left them supplies of all necessary things, and particularly of arms, powder, shot, cloths, tools, and two workmen, which I brought from England with me, namely a carpenter and a smith.
Besides this, I shared the Island into parts with them, reserved to myself the property of whole but gave them such parts _ as they agreed on; and having settled all things with them and encouraged them not to leave the place, I left them there.
From then on I landed the Brazils, from where I sent a bark, which I bought there, with more people to the island; and in it, besides other supplies, I sent seven women, being such persons as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them. As to the Englishmen, I promised them to send them some women from England, with a good cargo of necessaries, if they would apply themselves to planting ---- which I afterwards could not perform. And the fellows proved very honest and diligent after they were mastered and had their properties set apart for them. I sent them also from the Brazils five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some pigs, which when I came again were considerably increased.
But all these things, with an account how 300 Caribbeans came and invaded them, and ruined their plantations, and how they fought with that whole number twice, and were at first defeated, and one of them killed; but at last a storm destroying most of their enemies' boats, they destroyed almost all the rest, and renewed and recovered the possession of their plantation, and still lived upon the Island.
All these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more, I may perhaps give a further account of the story. | From the story, we can judge the Writer might be _ . | an adventurer | ['an invader', 'a carpenter', 'a prisoner'] |
When talking about colds, maybe some people say it is very common. During the cold winter days, many people will complain the cold winter makes them catch a cold, and what they feel upset are not only the headache, cough but also the runny nose. It is so embarrassing when they forget to take a handkerchief or tissue along with them.
Want to stay away from colds? Put on a happy face.
Compared to unhappy people, those who are cheerful and relaxed are less likely to suffer from colds, according to a new study. It's possible that being happy helps the body fight illnesses, say the researchers from New York University.
"It seems that positive feelings may reduce the danger of illness," said the study's chief researcher Sheldon Cohen.
In an earlier study, Cohen found that people who were cheerful and lively caught coughs and colds less often. People _ were also less likely to tell their doctors that they felt ill.
In this study, Cohen has interviewed 193 adults every day for two weeks. During the interviews, the people told researchers that they were given colds by doctors and had to stay alone in a room for six days.
The results showed that everyone in the study was equally likely to get ill. But for people who said they felt happy during the research period, their illness are less serious and lasted for a shorter time.
Cohen believes that when people experience positive feelings, their body may produce a chemical that helps fight illness and disease. So if you are worried about your health, look on the brighter side more often. | According to Cohen, which of the following may help fight illness? | Laughing | ['Eating.', 'Crying', 'Sleeping.'] |
Dickson Despommier, a public health professor at Columbia University in New York City developed an idea with his students nine years ago. They imagined people in cities growing crops inside a tall building. Tomatoes could grow on one floor of the skyscraper , potatoes on the next, small animals and fish on the floor above.
This vertical farm, or "farmscraper", could have space for restaurants and other places that serve food, like schools or hospitals. They could serve foods that are truly locally grown.
But why would anyone want to build a farm indoors in a city? Dickson Despommier believes it will become necessary. The world needs to find places to produce enough food to feed the growing population. Space, he says, is an all-important issue.
The professor also points to the problems of traditional farms. They use a lot of freshwater. Their fertilizer and animal waste can pollute water resources. And their growing seasons can be limited.
But inside the vertical farm, crops could grow all year. And there would be no wind to blow away soil. Farmers would not have to worry about too much or too little rain, or about hot summers, freezing winters or insects. And without insects there would be no need for chemicals to kill them.
Farm machines that .use fossil fuels, like tractors, would not be needed either. And water could be recycled for drinking. "The vertical farm reuses everything, so there is no waste," says Professor Despommier.
Even buildings could be saved. Old buildings could become new farms and provide jobs.
The professor has been actively proposing the idea to cities as far away as Dubai and Canada. But so far it exists only in plans and drawings, and a model at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Critics say building a farmscraper would cost too much, especially considering the price of land in many cities. Dickson Despommier estimates the cost at about twenty to thirty million dollars.
But he says the building would not have to be very tall. And his graduate students have found many empty lots and unused buildings in New York City that could provide space. | Which is one of the advantages of a farm scraper? | It is more environmentally friendly. | ['It costs less', 'It saves labor power.', 'It consumes too much energy'] |
On the night of November 14, 1978,a six-year-old Korean boy was flying to the United States. All he knew was that he was on a plane heading for somewhere. The plane landed at Kennedy International Airport, where he was greeted by a family. This young boy was me.
I have grown up in a town where there were few Asians, so I stuck out in the crowd. I made friends quickly and they treated me just like anyone else. You may ask if anyone made fun of my appearance. Well, of course, I met that' kind of person. I just shrugged it off.
As an adopted child, I have something that others don't have. I have had the benefit of two families. I'm lucky to have got a chance to start a new life. But we must try never to forget our past. Someday I will go back to Korea to find out what kind of culture I left behind.
There is only one thing that I regret about being adopted. When I argue with my parents and they realize they are losing the argument, they sometimes wonder what I would be doing if I were back in Korea. I don't understand this because I thought the purpose of adopting someone was to give them a better chance of growing up in a family. Some day when I am older, I want to adopt a girl and raise her the way my parents have raised me, but I would do it better, for I know what went well and what did not. | When the writer was made fun of by others, he _ . | didn't care about it that much | ['was deeply hurt', 'wanted to go back to Korea', 'tried to make friends with them'] |
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough ,but who could ever imagine ; stopping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp ,an Australian farmer,saw a rain of fish that covered his farm .How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof!
What caused this strange occurrence ?This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish .The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.
When it is spring in the northern part of the world ,it is fall in Australia, Throughout the autumn season ,terrible storms arise and rains flood the land .The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners, collecting seaweed ,pieces of wood ,and even schools of fish .Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses ,and stonishedpeople.
Although they seem unusual ,fish-falls occur quite frequently in Australia.When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish ,he remarked, "They look like millions of dead birds falling down." His statement is not surprising .The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain .Nature ,with its infinite wonders ,can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky. | Fish-falls occur in Australia _ . | quite often | ['on large farms', 'only in winter', 'when the air is calm'] |
We provide summer English courses which are the best you can find. You will enjoy coming to Los Angeles to learn about American culture and improve your English at the same time. The courses last for four, six or eight weeks. They start at the beginning of July and August. Our teachers are well-trained and very experienced. They teach English classes for four hours a day. You can choose between small groups of two or three, or larger groups of up to 15. We provide weekly tests to see the progress you' re making with your language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. We also provide books and other materials.
As well as learning English, we want you to experience life in the USA. You live with an American family, and you take part in American life. You have meals with an American family and do some activities with them, too. For many of our students this is the most interesting part of the course. Many families create friendships with the students which last a long time. Of course, if you prefer, we can arrange hotel accommodation.
Of course, there are many things to do in Los Angeles. Every day we have activities which take place after class. You can choose to take trips to Hollywood, Disneyland or the famous beaches around LA. You can also go to various shopping centers, sports centers, movies and concerts. There are also weekend visits organized to San Francisco and other places of interest in California. We try to give our students the best possible experience of English and life in the USA. Just ask our students! They say our summer English courses are fantastic!
We hope that you'll enjoy a course with us, too. If you're interested, please fill in our application form where you will also find our list of prices.The course must be paid for one month before it begins. | If you want to take part in the course, you must _ first. | fill in the application form | ['pay for a one-month course', 'choose an American family', 'learn about American culture'] |
Well , that was interesting . I go to the sleep study and the bedrooms are quite nice . I had a sleep number bed and everything . A nice young man named James glued all sort of wires to my head , legs and torso . | How did I feel about the sleep study experience . | I was happy with the study , the bed and the person who helped me . | ['I wanted to meet a nice young man like James .', 'I though James had too many wires on my head , legs , and torso .', 'I enjoy going to sleep studies because the pay me money to test .'] |
Keep it in the air: The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics all year round. Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists. The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks. Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions.
Time: 7:15 p.m. Daily
Place: 36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 1716, 16818
Use your head: Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors. It's a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel The Scarlet Letter. It describes the heroine's great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement.
Time: 7:15 p.m. until March 5, except Mondays
Place: China Children's Theater
Tel: 102220, 102210
Mix and match: Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world. After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero. But things don't go as she planned...Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play. This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, and Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modem drama.
Time: 7:30 p. m. until March 10, except Mondays
Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People's Art Theater
Tel: 121118
Peking Opera: The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang'an Crand Theater. Each performance includes two classical excerpts . One is Wenxi (a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing). The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge. And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatte.
Place: Chang'an Grand Theater
Tel: 813108 | If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call _ to book a ticket. | 16818 | ['813108', '121118', '102220'] |
SINGAPORE — Envoys from the United States and North Korea are holding talks to iron out any last-minute differences before Tuesday's historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that veteran diplomat Sung Kim is leading the U.S. delegation in a working group meeting Monday at the city-state's Ritz Carlton hotel. The North Korea side is being led by Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
Monday's meeting is apparently aimed at narrowing the gap between the U.S. and North Korea over the demand for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
President Trump expressed confidence about his meeting upon his arrival in Singapore Sunday, telling reporters after stepping down from Air Force One that he his feeling "very good" about Tuesday's summit.
Ahead of his arrival, Trump acknowledged he is heading into “unknown territory” for the meeting Tuesday.
In response to a question from VOA News just before heading to Asia from the Group of Seven summit in Canada, Trump said “I really feel confident” about the unprecedented encounter between a sitting American president and a member of the family dynasty which has maintained iron-fist control over one of the world’s most reclusive countries for three generations.
Trump added that he believes Kim, half the age of the American president, “wants to do something great for his people.” But Trump cautioned that Kim “won’t have that opportunity again” if the talks do not go well -- describing this opportunity for diplomacy with the United States as a “one-time shot.”
Trump and others in his government have said advancement has been made on obtaining a commitment from Kim to give up all his nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Progress could lead to a peace treaty and formally end a state of war on the Korean peninsula, which has persisted for nearly 70 years.
Whether such a deal can be done, Trump declared on Saturday, is something he will know almost from the moment they meet. | When did the G7 summit in Canada take place relative to Trump and Kim's meeting? | Before their meeting | ['A month before', 'Immediately after the meeting', 'not enough information'] |
She calls him down to dinner & to her shock , the minute he is done he marches back to his room without a word and in no time he is back hitting the books as hard as before . This goes on for some time , day after day while the Mother tries to understand what made all the difference . Finally , Little Johnny brings home his report card . | What may be the reason Mother is baffled by Little Johnny 's behavior ? | He rarely studied or did his homework so willingly before . | ["Little Johnny does n't want to hit the books anymore and he used to love it .", 'None of the above choices .', "He usually hits the books while he 's eating dinner , not afterwards ."] |
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. | After the end of the story, Claire is probably: | done with the interview | ['not enough information', 'impatient', 'hungry'] |
The Tuesday night aerobics classes at another facility have apparently fallen through . I had it on my planner that the first class was last Tuesday , but I never heard back from either my boss or the woman who tried to subvert me and get me to teach for free , so I blithely erased it and skipped along with my life . Tuesday nights Keatsfan is gone until about 10p , teaching a late class , so I get a ton done precisely because I do n't have to teach . Last night we watched all but the final ep of State of Play . | What may happen after finding out that the aerobics class has fallen through ? | I do n't have to worry about going to it now . | ["It wo n't be offered any longer .", 'It has been rescheduled for later in the week .', 'The class time has been changed .'] |
Therefore I held off on the x - rays ; if they were done in the month of May , while I still had insurance . Strangely , I have received a bill from the dentist for $ 93.40 . I called and discovered that it was because Delta Dental is refusing to pay for that check - up on April 21 , in spite of the fact that over the phone they claimed they would pay it . Dishonest and greedy much ? | Why is the narrator facing a dental debt ? | The insurance did n't pay . | ['None of the above choices .', "The narrator 's mom did n't pay .", "The narrator did n't pay ."] |
The problem for them has always been what this missive conveniently omits : the means to do it . This is the crucial difference between WWII and the conflict with the Islamic jihadists . Hitler and Tojo had massive armies which they used to conquer neighboring states . They had the ability to effect a military takeover of the United States . | Why may be the person talking about Tojo ? | They are Foreign Policy buffs . | ['They are from Japan .', 'None of the above choices .', 'They love Japanese culture .'] |
Macy peeked in, expecting to see Mallie Mae in her favorite chair. Instead, she was standing at a front window, staring at the sky. The matriarch spent most of her time in her bedroom these days. She had everything she needed right there. The room was spacious and beautifully furnished. And Macy was ready to jump at her command.
"Did you finish your lunch, Mallie Mae?"
The 75-year-old Mallie Mae Mobley loved Macy like the daughter she never had.
"Yes, I'm finished. But tell Hadley the ham was dry."
"You know that will hurt his feelings."
"I don't care. I won't eat dry ham. I've told him over and over, but he keeps sending me dry ham."
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll tell him.
Macy walked over to pick up the tray.
"What do you think about Lilman's fiancé?
"She a nice young lady, I suppose."
"Macy--tell me what you really think."
Macy studied Mallie Mae's face to make sure she really wanted to hear her opinion. "I'm not crazy about her."
"I think she's awful--a crude money-hungry tramp."
Macy tried not to smile.
Mallie Mae went on. "If there was any way I could stop this wedding without alienated my son, I would do it in a heartbeat."
"Just tell him how you feel."
"No, no, no. Then he'll be determined to marry her--and he'll be mad at me. I wanted him to be a surgeon, you know. I had planned it since he was a little boy. He could have been a world-class surgeon."
Macy had heard this story nearly every day since she took the job as a personal aide fifteen years earlier, after Mallie Mae had taken a fall and broken her leg. | Mallie Mae had lunch | Before talking to Macy | ['not enough information', 'After talking to Macy', 'She had lunch with Macy'] |
I normally do not post certain types of things on my blog or on social media, like political messages, but today I feel compelled. I’ve been thinking for the last few days about the most recent school shooting in Parkland, and my overwhelming emotion right after grief is rage. I am so angry it makes me cry and for those of you out there who know me, angry-cry is the end-stage, top-of-the-gauge level of angry for me.
I am angry that as a nation, we continue to wring our hands and bemoan each mass shooting but we don’t take any action to stop the next one.
I am angry that our elected officials have failed us in the most spectacular way possible by being unable to work together or to set aside special interests to protect the lives and safety of Americans, including our most vulnerable citizens, our children.
I am angry that time and time again, we the people and our elected officials weigh the value of human lives against countless other things (Second Amendment, special interests, party disagreements, inertia, whatever) and the value of human life comes up short in the calculations.
I am angry at myself for believing at any point in the last several years that I could trust lawmakers to address this epidemic and I am angry at myself for feeling so helpless that I have not personally taken action. This stops now.
I am angry that in 2012, 20 6-7 year old children and 6 adults were murdered in Sandy Hook and in the 5+ years since, we have done nothing meaningful to stop this. To me, this is tantamount to saying that we as a nation are OK with this.
I don’t think we are, but that’s the message we’re sending if we don’t force our government to do something. According to the New York Times, there have been 239 school shootings nationwide since Sandy Hook with 438 people shot, 138 who died. | After writing her blog post, how does the author feel about the future for our nation? | She's worried these shootings will not stop unless the government makes changes | ['not enough information', "She's hopeful the violence will stop", 'She is relieved the country will not make a stand for change'] |
When people are huddled at a conference or professional event, the subject often turns to the value of failure and embracing feedback. “It is the key to self improvement!”, many chant, channeling their inner self-help gurus, Sadly, many don’t quite practice what they preach.
Seeing the value in critical feedback and the lessons that failure can offer is a tough pill to swallow. For those confident in their capabilities, their social standing (in their companies/communities etc), and their abilities, the pill goes down a little easier. For those who experience imposter syndrome, feel insecure about their work, or are new in their careers, it is more difficult.
Here’s the thing: these are not binary personalities. While some people are overly confident about themselves, and some people are overly insecure about themselves, most people have a blend of both. As such, even the most confident people can feel the sting when they get critical feedback or screw something up. This is a guide with some things I have learned over the years about how to turn feedback and failure to your advantage.
In my not-so-humble opinion, the perfect blend of a human being is confidence in their ability to execute and accomplish their goals, but with a healthy dose of awareness of their current limitations. Let’s face it, overly confident people are often not just at risk of being swallowed up by ego, but can also lack the empathy to understand other folks they need to work with who don’t share the same confidence.
An understanding of our current limitations is healthy. When we understand we are not great at something, but we are eager to learn and improve, it opens us up to counsel and tuition. The confidence piece plays an important role in helping us to remember: “I might suck now, but I am going to learn and get better”. When we have this in our heads it makes the journey more palatable: we know that our failure to succeed right now is temporary and it will improve. | what did the writer think? | people need feedback | ['people need to listen', 'people need to learn', 'not enough information'] |
Loneliness is like a disease, and what's worse, it's contagious. It can spread from one person to another, according to the recent research that stresses the power of one person's emotions to affect even people they don't know.
The new analysis, involving 4,793 people who were interviewed every two years between 2005 and 2015, showed that a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness by the time of the next interview. A friend of that person was 25% more likely, and a friend of a friend of a friend was 15% more likely.
''Loneliness is not just the property of an individual. It can be transmitted across people--even people you don't have direct contact with," said John T. Cacioppo, a psychologist of University of Chicago who led the study published in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Loneliness has been linked to medical problems, including depression, sleep problems and generally poorer physical health. Identifying some of the causes could help reduce the emotion and improve health, experts said.
Although the study did not examine how loneliness spreads, Cacioppo said another research has provided clues. "Let's say for whatever reason you get lonely. You then interact with other people in a more negative fashion. That puts them in a negative mood and makes them more likely to interact with other people in a negative fashion and they _ their social ties and become lonely," Cacioppo said.
According to Cacioppo, loneliness spread more easily among women than men, perhaps because women were more likely to express emotions.
Lonely people become less and less trusting others. This makes it more and more difficult for them to make friends--and more likely that society will reject them. Therefore, it is important to recognize and deal with loneliness. Cacioppo emphasizes people who have been pushed to the edges of society should receive help to repair their social networks. | What should lonely people do to get rid of loneliness? ' | Admit and try to solve it. | ['Refuse the help given by others.', 'Interact with others more negatively.', 'Express emotions more often.'] |
I’ll go one farther back than that. I almost never had a first date. A young lady I met in the hospital cafeteria where I worked as a pharmacy intern (she was an X-ray tech) I asked out on a date. Would you like to follow me home? she asked. I said SURE!
She got in her car, hit the freeway, went over the top of the hill..and was gone. I went 75 mph desperately trying to keep her tail lights in my line of sight while swerving in and out of traffic. I thought if you don’t really want to go out with me, just tell me, don’t try to ditch me! I finally caught up with her but found out she always drives that way. If Janet Guthrie wasn’t the first woman to drive in the Indy 500, she would have been.
Over the years as she got older, collecting speeding tickets got old so she became a more responsible driver. I’m glad, because I had to help pay for those tickets over the last 30+ years we’ve been married. Glad I caught up to her that one night on the freeway.
EDIT, AND BACKSTORY:
She ate lunch with her X-ray tech coworkers. She left the table first and I approached the others and asked what was her name, the girl that just left. They told me, and about a half hour later called the radiology department from the pharmacy phone and asked for her.
She said all the girls in the department were huddled around the phone and giggling while we talked. It’s the handsome blonde intern in the pharmacy, they told each other. Oh, you mean THAT one?! Ooooh! Like the final scene from “An Officer And A Gentleman.” Pretty funny. | Where are the author and Janet from? | not enough information | ['New York City, New York', 'Los Angeles, California', 'Austin, Texas'] |
We had a little visitor last night . Mike was sleeping and I was just getting ready to get into bed myself , when I saw something moving on the floor . I looked closer and sawa little green frog hopping across the floor towards our suit case . I hopped behind the glider and I lost sight of it . | What will happen to the frog ? | Mike will catch it . | ['None of the above choices .', 'A snake will eat it .', 'The frog will hide in a log .'] |