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Some fish may contain harmful chemicals, which can be the result of both natural causes and water pollution. Mercury is a poisonous chemical, which occurs naturally in oceans and the Earth's crust , but also comes from man-made sources, such as farm chemicals, burning garbage, oil, coal, etc. Polyclilorinated bipheuyls (PCBs), a group of chemicals, can also be found in some fish. These man-made chemicals were used in many industries until 1977, when they were banned. PCBs were released or leaked into (lie tar and water and have bear transported around the globe. How do mercury and PCBs end up in fish and the food supply? When they arc released into the air, they attach themselves to particles .These particles settle on the ground and in the water and are eventually eater by micro-organisms. Small fish cat the micro-organisms, and large fish eat the small fish and on up the food chain. Because they can negatively affect your health, the U.S. Eavirotunental Protectioc Agency advises that kids younger than 15 years old avoid fish that cortain high levels of mercury and PCBs. These include shark, swordfish, king rrnackerel, and tilefish. There are also many types of fish that are good for you, but arc in danger of being wiped out because of ovcrfishing. Sonic are being fished in the wild so much that they cannot reproduce enough to survive.Others re being farmed in ways that are not environmentally friendly. These fish include red snapper.Atlantic salmon, bluefnn tuna. and king crab. Despite these problems, there are several fish that are both healthy and sustainable , such as Alaskan salmon, American catfish, Pacific cod, and several fans-raised fish and shellfish. | Which of the fish is safe for children according to the passage? | [
"Pacific cod."
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When I asked my daughter which item she would keep; the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said"the phone". Personally, I could do without the phone entirely, which makes me unusual. Because the telephone is changing our lives more than any other piece of technology. Point 1 The telephone creates the need to communicate, in the same way that more roads create more traffic. My daughter comes home from school at 4:00 pm and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the very people she has been at school with all day. If the phone did not exist, would she have anything to talk about? Point 2 The mobile phone means that we are never alone. "The mobile saved my life,"says Crystal Johnstone. She had an accident in her Volvo on the A45 between Otley and Skipton. Trapped inside, she managed to make the call that brought the ambulance to her rescue. Point 3 The mobile removes our secret. It allows marketing manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaisen, to ring his sales staff all round the world at and time of day to ask where they are , where they are going, and how their last meeting went. Point 4 The telephone separates us. Antonella Bramante in Rome says, "We worked in separate offices but I could see him through the window. It was easy to get his number. We were so near----but we didn't meet for the first two weeks!" Point 5 The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives. Today we can talk to several complete strangers simultaneously ( ) on chat lines (at least my daughter does. I wouldn't know what to talk about). We can talk across the world. We can even talk to astronauts (if you know any) while they're space-walking. And, with the phone line hooked up to the computer, we can access the Internet, the biggest library on Earth. | It is possible to talk to several complete strangers simultaneously through . | [
"the phone line hooked up to the computer"
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I'm sure many of you have seen Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Multiplicity, or many of the other movies that describe cloning. Most of what you see in these movies is false. What you don't know is that cloning could be dangerous, to the clone and to our society as a whole. I think human cloning is wrong mainly for four reasons. What about identity? Humans are promised the right to their own personalities. What would happen if we ignore those rights by giving them someone else's genetic identity? True, Cloning may prevent people from possessing their identities. Also, these is a large power struggle here. Cloning means a degree of power and controls over another person's physical identity and that ignores their rights and their only personalities. The person doing the cloning would have more power than any parent would have. Cloning would also deal with killing embryos . You might not have known, but Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996, was one of over 200 sheep embryos and hers was the only embryo that survived. The rest died or were thrown away. Imagine if the failure rate was that high when we started to clone humans. cloning means running the risk of wasting too much effort Cloning someone, at this present time, would be extremely dangerous to the birth mother and the clone. In studies done on cows, 4 out of 12 birth mothers died. There is a very high failure rate, which is shown in the cloning of Dolly. Even if you had a few good embryos, failures have been noticeable in animal tests. So, should we work ahead in the world of cloning? I say no. the risks are greater than the benefits. It's dangerous to the clone and to the birth mother. We would be killing human lives in the process. It would also be a violation of the clone's right to its own genetic identity and personality. | According to the article, what is the author's opinion about identity? | [
"Cloning may prevent people from possessing their identities."
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I'm sure many of you have seen Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Multiplicity, or many of the other movies that describe cloning. Most of what you see in these movies is false. What you don't know is that cloning could be dangerous, to the clone and to our society as a whole. I think human cloning is wrong mainly for four reasons. What about identity? Humans are promised the right to their own personalities. What would happen if we ignore those rights by giving them someone else's genetic identity? True, Cloning may prevent people from possessing their identities. Also, these is a large power struggle here. Cloning means a degree of power and controls over another person's physical identity and that ignores their rights and their only personalities. The person doing the cloning would have more power than any parent would have. Cloning would also deal with killing embryos . You might not have known, but Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996, was one of over 200 sheep embryos and hers was the only embryo that survived. The rest died or were thrown away. Imagine if the failure rate was that high when we started to clone humans. cloning means running the risk of wasting too much effort Cloning someone, at this present time, would be extremely dangerous to the birth mother and the clone. In studies done on cows, 4 out of 12 birth mothers died. There is a very high failure rate, which is shown in the cloning of Dolly. Even if you had a few good embryos, failures have been noticeable in animal tests. So, should we work ahead in the world of cloning? I say no. the risks are greater than the benefits. It's dangerous to the clone and to the birth mother. We would be killing human lives in the process. It would also be a violation of the clone's right to its own genetic identity and personality. | What is the best title of the passage? | [
"Human Cloning Is Wrong"
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There is only one winner and in this case it is Gina Rinehart who has won it all. In her own words,"beauty is an iron mine", Gina suggested her recipe for glory and fame. She has been announced as the richest woman of the world by BRW (formerly Business Review Weekly) in May 2012. Let's read more about her life and journey to the top. Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart was born on 9th February, 1954 in Perth, Western Australia, to Hope Margaret Nicholas and Lang Hancock, the mining king. Her father discovered one of the world's biggest reserves in the early 1950s. Gina gained lots of knowledge of the iron-ore industry while working with her father. She married an Englishman Greg Milton, at the age of 19 and together they had two children, John Langley and Bianca Hope. Soon the marriage broke off and she remarried in 1983. Frank Rinehart and Gina had two children: Ginia and Hope. Frank died in 1990. Since then, Gina has devoted herself to her work and empire. She was the sole heir of her family's wealth. Then after her father died in 1992, she started her professional career as the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited (HPPL) and other privately owned group of companies. At that time, the company centered its functioning to mining-related explorations and accumulation of vast mining leases . From there, Rinehart worked her way towards transforming the leases into profit earning mines. She also worked together with other companies to raise capital. Her efforts made the business increase three times in 2011 as much as before. At home, Rinehart was working to expand the family business, but she did not satisfy herself with it. In 2010, she stepped into the media industry by acquiring 10% stake in Ten Network Holdings. Afterwards, she went on to hold stake in Fairfax Media, proving that mining is not her only interest. In June 2012, by increasing her stake in Fairfax to 18.67%, she became the largest stakeholder in the company. With this, she now stands at the head of $US 29.3 billion worth of an empire. Two new projects related to the mining sector in Central Queensland and Roy Hill are expected to begin in 2013. Gina Rinehart has made her way from being Australia's Richest Woman to Australia's Richest Person and then to World's Richest Woman. | According to Gina Rinehart, what makes her successful and famous? | [
"The iron-ore industry."
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Environmental activists in South Korea are condemning a government plan to hunt endangered whales for scientific research. They believe the plan is part of an effort to restart commercial whaling activities. Such activities are banned in many countries. South Korea announced the proposal in July at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Panama. The head of the South Korean delegation said the plan was needed to answer questions about minke whale populations. He said the hunt would take place near the South Korean coast. But he did not say how many of the animals would be caught. The International Whaling Commission has yet to make a decision on the South Korean plan. The organization banned commercial whaling in 1986 because of concerns about the survival of whale species. But now, some South Korean fishermen say they are facing a threat from minke whales. They say these animals are eating what would have been their catch. The plan was immediately condemned by anti-whaling nations. Wildlife activists also criticized the proposal. Han Jeong-hee works in Seoul for the environmental group Greenpeace."It's really regretful to hear that the South Korean government is, like, considering conducting scientific whaling. Scientific whaling is just, like, thinly disguised commercial whaling. And, you know, we are of course against all commercial whaling. Japan's the only country that is doing scientific whaling at the moment and South Korea is just trying to follow that." Apart from the plan in South Korea, an aquarium in the American state of Georgia also wants to import eighteen beluga whales from Russia. The United States currently has 31 beluga whales. They are living in six aquariums and marine parks. Four of them are at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The Georgia Aquarium has asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for permission to import the beluga whales. If it was approved, aquarium officials would send some of the animals to the other facilities. The Georgia Aquarium says it hopes to use the beluga whales in research, education and breeding programs. They currently are being held at a Russian research center. Yet many people oppose the plan. They say it is wrong to catch any wild animal. NOAA officials are studying how the beluga whales might be affected by being brought to the United States. They also want to know whether the Georgia Aquarium and its partners can properly care for the whales and how they might be used in educational activities. The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act sets rules which NOAA must consider when deciding whether these animals may be imported. NOAA officials told VOA they plan to make a decision on the request by early next year. | In which country is whale hunting permitted at the moment? | [
"Japan."
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When it comes to President Obama, most of his personal business is already known by the public. Personal information about his children, Malia and Sasha, however, has been kept a little more _ . The New York Timesrecently released a list of rules that Michelle Obama has mentioned over the years that Malia and Sasha must follow during their time in the White House, as well as in general. See how the first family educates their children: The girls must write reports about what they've seen on their trips, even if it's not required by their school. Malia may use her cell phone only on the weekends, and she and her sister cannot watch television or use a computer for anything but homework during the week. Malia and Sasha have to play two sports: one they choose and one selected by their mother. Malia must learn todo laundry before she leaves for college. The girls have to eat their vegetables, and if they say they are not hungry, they cannot ask for cookies or chips later. While these might be shocking to some, Michelle said, "They're not little princess. It's just basic rules, boundaries, and expectations that we would have normally." Michelle also mentions another set of rules: The girls must do their chores , though the White House has a large staff. Malia and Sasha have chores of their own. They must play a team sport, because it's about learning how to play on a team, how to lose and how to win gracefully. ... It sounds like Michelle and Barack want the best for their kids and to make them as well-rounded as possible. What are your thoughts on the Obama family rules? | What has to be followed after the girls' every trip? | [
"Reports."
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Recently, I came across an interesting article on the differences between British English and American English. I had a lot of fun reading it and thinking of as many differences as I could as an American. Their cars have "bonnets ",while ours have "hoods". They park their cars in a "car park" while we leave our in a "parking lot". Our "cookies" are their "biscuits", while their "rubbers" are our "erasers". Then there are the food words. Would you want to eat something called "Toad in the Hole" or "Bangers and Mash" or "Spotted Dick"? I'm here to report they are all very tasty. There are American equivalents , of course. We've got "Shoofly Mud Pie". What they call "crisps" is what we call "potato chips" and when we ask for "chips" in England we will get what we know at home in America as "French fries". They find it hysterical that we call the "toilet" the "bathroom" and they really double over with laughter when we ask for the "restroom". American ladies in England who ask for the "little girl's room" or the "power room" will be met with blank stares. A "fag" is a "cigarette" in the UK, which can lead to endless confusion for British visitors looking for a cigarette in America. Americans on the other hand are endlessly confused by English signs put up over doorways saying "Way Out". We Americans walk on the sidewalk not the pavement. "Pavement" in America is the actual cement the sidewalk is made of. | What do British people call French fries? | [
"Chips."
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It's a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST): within a week, two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings. Officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews. "We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides," said Zhang Jingyuan, head of HUST's center for research and guidance for students' development. "Media coverage may arouse some students' negative emotions again. Suicide can be contagious ," Zhang said. The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23. Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression. Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them. Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers' mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings. Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm. However, the second suicide came seven days later. Both students were described as men of few words. Their schoolmates didn't see anything to indicate suicide. Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders. But the school didn't know this until the students' close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides. According to Zhang, there are only three full-time counselors working in the university's counseling center for its 60,000 students. He complained: "It's unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students' mental problems." Some universities in the US may be able to offer solutions to Zhang's worries. They have established programs to train students to be the bridge between troubled friends and counselors. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, at Worcester, Massachusetts, US, young people in the Student Support Network role play to learn how to detect SOS signals from their schoolmates. They also practice how to gently persuade emotionally troubled students to go for professional help. To develop such empathy , many universities in China have organized campus events to popularize knowledge about mental health. But these are not that attractive to students. Ke Juanjuan, 24, is pursuing a master's degree in English translation at HUST. Ke has found that few of her peers will pay attention to activities about mental health when they are not troubled by it. Rather than bombard students with the words "mental health", Ke suggested the school organize lectures and workshops concerning study, job-hunting and relationships. She explained: "Students care about these topics. They tend to have problems in these areas and may thus get stuck in depression. "By helping students better deal with these problems, the school can effectively prevent self-inflicted injury and suicide among students." Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency, said Hu Yi'an. Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University. He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life. "Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won't resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties," said Hu. According to Hu, the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching. | In which column of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage? | [
"Campus"
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It's a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST): within a week, two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings. Officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews. "We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides," said Zhang Jingyuan, head of HUST's center for research and guidance for students' development. "Media coverage may arouse some students' negative emotions again. Suicide can be contagious ," Zhang said. The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23. Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression. Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them. Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers' mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings. Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm. However, the second suicide came seven days later. Both students were described as men of few words. Their schoolmates didn't see anything to indicate suicide. Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders. But the school didn't know this until the students' close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides. According to Zhang, there are only three full-time counselors working in the university's counseling center for its 60,000 students. He complained: "It's unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students' mental problems." Some universities in the US may be able to offer solutions to Zhang's worries. They have established programs to train students to be the bridge between troubled friends and counselors. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, at Worcester, Massachusetts, US, young people in the Student Support Network role play to learn how to detect SOS signals from their schoolmates. They also practice how to gently persuade emotionally troubled students to go for professional help. To develop such empathy , many universities in China have organized campus events to popularize knowledge about mental health. But these are not that attractive to students. Ke Juanjuan, 24, is pursuing a master's degree in English translation at HUST. Ke has found that few of her peers will pay attention to activities about mental health when they are not troubled by it. Rather than bombard students with the words "mental health", Ke suggested the school organize lectures and workshops concerning study, job-hunting and relationships. She explained: "Students care about these topics. They tend to have problems in these areas and may thus get stuck in depression. "By helping students better deal with these problems, the school can effectively prevent self-inflicted injury and suicide among students." Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency, said Hu Yi'an. Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University. He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life. "Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won't resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties," said Hu. According to Hu, the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching. | Which one of the following is NOT one of the reasons why officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews? | [
"The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23."
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What time of day can you think most quickly? Are you a morning person? Or does it take you a few hours to get your brain going? A lot of recent research suggests that we should pay attention to our body clock. It can tell us what time of day we can perform best at. Many people work best later in the morning. This is because the body's temperature takes time to rise through the day. Taking a warm shower when you wake up can help your body's temperature rise quickly. But everyone's body clock is different and some are special. Morning people will get up early and work better early in the day. Evening people will work later but work better towards the end of the day. Research shows that we're better at some activities at certain times of the day. Physical performance is at its best between 3 pm and 6 pm, so it's better to exercise later in the day. Between noon and 4 pm, people begin to pay less attention. This is because we think less quickly after a big meal. Research also shows we become sleepy around 2 pm. This is why people in Spain take a short sleep in early afternoon. Finally, it is best to eat when we're active. This allows our body to burn calories better and stops our blood sugar levels from getting too high. | What is the best time for physical performance? | [
"Between 3 pm and 6 pm"
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We all know that theme parks are places to have fun and amuse ourselves, but among so many exciting rides there are also some dangers, Make sure you know what the safety standards are for all the attractions at the park. If you do that , you will be safe and have fun. Drink water. Believe it or not , dehydration-- when your body doesn't have enough water--is the commonest cause of injuries at theme parks. Drinking water while you are at the park is not enough.You must make sure that you drink enough water before your visit. Use your "common sense". There are lots of people around , so make sure where your friends or family are .Also ,if you are walking and want to stop , make sure nobody is walking behind you. First step aside,then look behind and if you aren't in anybody's way,then stop.It might sound exaggerated ,but crashes between people can cause accidents. Follow the instructions. The majority of theme parks have instructions for each ride. Some rides only allow people of a certain height. So make sure you are not too tall or too short before boarding any ride. Also, people with certain diseases or conditions are advised not to go on some rides. Do remember : If you are told not to go on a ride, then DON'T. Do not ride with a bad atomach or if you've just eaten. Rides can make you ill because of their violent changes of direction and your lunch may end up on someone else's head: surely not a very pleasant experience. Have fun, relax, and be a little brave! Some rides might look scary but theme parks are very safe places. | What is the leading reason for injuries at theme parks? | [
"Dehydration"
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"Cooking With Kids creates fun and food for the family. Kate Heyhoe gives simple practical tips on how to bring the family together for mealtime magic." --Linda Gassenheimer, award-winning author of Dinner in Minutes "I have just helped my four year old granddaughter Jessica to make stuffed eggs. What fun it is to cook with a new generation and what a joy now to have a brilliant new book like Cooking With Kids to pass on a passion for life and its healthy pleasures to a child!" --Graham Kerr, International Culinary Consultant "Like millions of moms, I want to prepare delicious, nutritious meals for my family, and after working all day in the restaurant, I also want to spend quality time with my sons. Cooking together is the natural solution. But in the kitchen, you need the proper tools to do the job well; Cooking With Kids is just the tool to get you started." --Chef Mary Sue Milliken, TV hostess, cookbook author "In Cooking With Kids, Kate Heyhoe brings kids into the kitchen and teaches them not only great tasting recipes but cooking fundamentals such as how to hold a knife, set a table and how to survive in a supermarket. With families' busy schedules, this book is a wonderful sourcebook for family interaction." --Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef "Seize the moment, and a copy of this delightful cooking guide, then call the children to the kitchen to experience the joy of an often neglected pleasure of family life---cooking food together." --Marcel Desaulniers, author of Death by Chocolate "In Cooking with Kids, Kate Heyhoe takes your hand and leads you through the kitchen on a most delightful tour. The book is packed with easy-to-understand guidance and simple, tasty recipes that will delight kids of any age, and that includes every inner child who never learned the secrets of the kitchen. " --Michele Anna Jordan, author of Home Cooking | Who is the author of Cooking with Kids? | [
"Kate Heyhoe."
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Spotlight at Salem Academy and College Academic Camp: Creative Writing, Environmental Education/ Science, Language Camp Address 500 Salem Avenue Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101 USA (800) 833-1753 Salem spotlight is designed to arouse intellectual curiosity with emphasis on the experience and development of the individual... (more) Get more information about Spotlight at Salem Academy and College Caribbean Summer Sea Camp Academic Camp: Environmental Education/ Science Camp Address Off-Season Address Box 37 North Coast Road PO Box 1461 Little Cayman, BWI Princeton, New Jersey Cayman Islands 08542 USA (609) 933-4559 The Caribbean Summer Sea Camp is a one-week adventure on Little Cayman Island. Campers dive or snorkel to explore the wonders of coral reefs, and view the diverse life in the sea around the island. Coastal Camp at Headlands Institute Academic Camp: Environmental Education/ Science Camp Address Bldg. 1033 Golden Gate National Recreation Area Sausalito, California 94965 USA (415) 332-6961 The Coastal Camp at Headlands Institute combines marine and coastal ecology themes with hands-on educational games and exciting opportunities for discovery in the great outdoors. By promoting environmental work, Coastal Camp allows kids to become responsible earth citizens. Swift Nature Camp Academic Camp: Environmental Education/ Science Camp Address Off-Season Address W7471 Ernie Swift Rd 25 Baybrook Minong, Wisconsin 54859 Oak Brook, Illinois USA 60523 (715) 466-5666 (630) 654-8036 Located in the Northwoods of Wisconsin on a 1,500-acre lake, this small camp offers hands-on nature studies. Self accomplishment is promoted while competition takes a back seat: Horses, Swimming, Scuba, Skiing, Sailing, Canoeing, Arts & Crafts and much more. | Alice, a girl of 10, hopes to learn more about ecology by playing games. Which telephone number should she dial? | [
"(415) 332-6961"
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It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth . "I'm paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me," she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, "Some lady up ahead already paid your fare." It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend's refrigerator: "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down. Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. "I thought it was beautiful," she said, explaining why she'd taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, "like a message from above." Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn't know where it came from or what it really meant. Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days. "Here's the idea," Anne says. "Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly." Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, " _ ." The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours! | Who came up with the phrase according to the passage? | [
"Anne Herbert."
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In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day.Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important event of the year, except for graduation.Students plan it for many weeks in advance. Several days before Homecoming,students begin to decorate the school.There are signs to wish luck to the team and many other signs to welcome back the graduates from other years.Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after they graduate. The members of school clubs sell delicious foods and fruits,such as apples and sandwiches.Some clubs even help to welcome visitors. During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago.Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school. Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over,the band comes onto the field and plays school songs.Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen appears.All the students vote a most popular student Homecoming Queen or King.It is a great honor to be chosen as the Homecoming Queen or King. Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football wins the game.Even if the team loses,the students still enjoy Homecoming.Some stay at the school to dance,and others go to a party.For everyone it is a day to remember for a long,long time. | Where do people spend Homecoming Day? | [
"At the school."
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You have the ability to decide if you are happy or not. Happiness is a choice. You can't depend on someone else to make you happy. That is a lesson I learned early on in my marriage. I realized that I couldn't rely on my husband as my source of happiness. I learned that my happiness depended on me and not my husband's actions. I learned that you have to choose to be happy. You can choose your emotions. True happiness comes from within; it can't be forced by outside forces. So how do you choose happiness? The same way you choose to smile or choose to wear a certain outfit. You choose it because that's what you want to experience in your life. You want to buy a new pair of shoes so you choose a pair that you like and feel good. You wouldn't buy a pair of shoes that you don't like or that don't fit well, right? So why do we keep choosing emotions and feelings that don't make us feel good? Choosing to be happy after you realize your anger has shown up (or even choosing to be calm) can be beneficial. We choose our feelings; no one can do that for us. If we let others get to us, influence our emotions - we are giving them power over us. When others cause us anger or pain, we are giving them our power. We need to keep our feelings in check and not react automatically to what is thrown at us. We need to think our actions out instead of just reacting to what someone says or does. Remember that we can always choose happiness. At first it will be difficult to just switch your thoughts and feelings from anger, self-doubt, or fear to joy and happiness. But it is only a thought away. Don't dwell on what happens to you unnecessarily but realize what is causing you to feel that way. Realize that thoughts, feelings and emotions can change. Then move on and choose to be happy. | What's the best title of this passage? | [
"Choose to Be Happy"
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Learn to Communicate with Others Talking to Teachers--Teachers are just people behind the desk, living breathing human beings. And they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them. Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and prepare for class. And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated. The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile. Talking to Parents--Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help. If you think there's something your parents can do to help you feel more comfortable around people, then ask them. Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don't know what to do. Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk. Tell them how you feel. Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids. Talking to Strangers--This is always a tough one. How do you deal with a neighbor, or the mail carrier? That often seems to cause arguments between kids and parents. The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different. Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is ok. Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don't know. If you're having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it. | Who does the writer write this passage for? | [
"kids"
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Guo Jingming is a best-selling author in China. He was born in Zigong, Sichuan Province on June 6, 1983. He is well-known for his essays and fictions, such as On the Edge of Love and Hurt, City of Fantasy, and Tiny Times. His essays and fictions are especially popular with teenagers. He is also a director and once directed his movie Tiny Times successfully. In June 2013, Guo was awarded the Best New Director at the Shanghai International Film Festival for his first movie Tiny Times. The movie has sold 6.7 million copies. In 2001, Guo Jingming started to gain _ after winning the New Concept Writing Competition's top award. Lots of young people got to know Guo Jingming little by little. A year later, Guo entered the writing competition again and won the top prize for the second time. At the same time, a collection of his prose On the Edge of Love and Hurt was published. In 2003, his first novel City of Fantasy came out. It was the novel that made Guo Jingming famous all over the country. In 2008, Guo was elected to the Chinese Writers' Association. He became the youngest member of the association. Guo's Tiny Times series was published between 2008 and 2012. | What's Guo Jingming's first novel? | [
"City of Fantasy."
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The most important use of drifting bottles is to find ocean currents. When the position and direction of currents are known, ships can use the forward movement of a current or stay away from currents that would carry them off their course. Benjamin Franklin was one of the first to use bottles in the study of currents. He wondered why British mall ships needed a week or two longer than U.S. ships needed in order to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Franklin thought the Gulf Stream might explain this difference. Franklin talked with captains of U.S. ships. He found that they knew each turn of the Gulf Stream. They used the current in every possible way. From his talks with the captains. Franklin made his first map of the Gulf Stream. Then he checked his map by using sealed bottles. The map that he finally made is still used, with only a few changes, today. | What did Franklin make after his talks with U.S. captains? | [
"A map of the Gulf Stream.."
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TODAY, Friday, November 12 JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen. DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8a. m. to 8p. m. Tel: 682--1158. SATURDAY, November 13 JAZZ Lysis at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 60p. MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789--6749. FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond. JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 80p. THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion . Tel: 789--4536 SUNDAY, November 14 DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688--4626. HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen. THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion. | You want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday. Which telephone number do you have to ring to find out what time it starts? | [
"789--4536."
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TODAY, Friday, November 12 JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen. DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8a. m. to 8p. m. Tel: 682--1158. SATURDAY, November 13 JAZZ Lysis at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 60p. MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789--6749. FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond. JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 80p. THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion . Tel: 789--4536 SUNDAY, November 14 DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688--4626. HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen. THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion. | You want to spend the Saturday by joining the entertainment with your family. Where should you go? | [
"The sing-along at The Black Horse."
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Pasta is the world's favorite food. Asurveytaken in 17 countriesconfirmedthat pasta is what people like to eat most. Not only is pasta the number one food in its home country -Italy, but is alsoenjoyedin faraway places like the Philippines, Mexico andSouth Africa. Pasta has become popular, for one thing, because it is cheap and easy to prepare. Just cook noodles or other forms of pasta, make a sauce to go with it and you're finished. Many different types of meals can becreatedwith pasta. It tastes good and fills your stomach. It produces energy in the form ofcarbohydrates , which is whyathleteseat pasta regularly. Pasta can also be kept for a longer time. You don't have to use it up at once. Pasta has also become popular because it stands for the Italian way of life. People all over the world like it because it's so simple. It has two basic ingredients , wheatand water, just like bread. Legend has itthat Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy with him but this is not true. Arabs probably brought a noodle-likedishtoSicilyin the 8th century. Farmers have been growing wheat, the mainingredientof pasta, there for ages. The worldwide sales of pasta have risen sharply over the past decade. Italy leads the pasta-eatingcommunityof the world. The Italians are the number one consumers followed by Venezuela and Tunisia. | In which country do people eat pasta most? | [
"Venezuela"
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Playing basketball isn't ladylike. That's what Jewell Chapman's high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he was against the girls' basketball program. "We were very discouraged, " said Chapman, a forward for her high school team of Des Moines. Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the playground. She's 62 and plays for "Hot Pink Grannies", joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black trousers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League. It's one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have arisen across the country. For some, it's a chance to exercise and meet people; for others, _ "You see more and more elderly women's teams taking part in state and national competitions," said Michael Rogers, a professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. "In the future it will be something common to have leagues like this." Yearly surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association show the number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 ten years later. The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good - natured but competitive when game time comes. "I think I'm tough" says Colleen Pulliam, 69, showing off her strong arms at her challengers in a game against "Strutters", known for their bright yellow socks. Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups spread quickly through much of the country, including California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. | Who is probably a player of "Hot Oink Grannies"? | [
"Colleen Pulliam."
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In America, when the eighth graders leave the middle school, they are often worried about moving to the high school. It is a hard time for them, but it can be an exciting one as well. To make it easier, students need to get familiar with their school. Even though they've done this already in the middle school, it's still important to find where their classrooms are. Most schools take students to the high school for a visit at the end of their eighth grade year. And, most schools also have a freshman speech for parents and students before the first year begins. Sometimes the main office will give away a map of the school. This can help students and parents to find different places in the school. One way to know your high school more and make new friends is to join a club or play a sport. Schools often offer chances to join different clubs and sports. Fall activities begin in August before the first day of school. If you are not interested in sports, there are clubs for any interest, such as drama, dance, chess, photography, community service, etc. These clubs allow students from different grades. By joining an activity, students can find new friendships, not to mention improving their chances in future college applications . The school office will have a list of activities offered at the school and information on how to join them. What's more, to have a great start to a high school year, students can write down some of their worries, and ask for help from teachers and school workers. | When do many schools take students to visit their new high school? | [
"At the end of their eighth grade year"
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CHICAGO (AP) On Jan. l,an order went into effect requiring that every checked bag at more than 400 of the nation's commercial airports be screened for bombs and weapons. Sunday was expected to the heaviest travel day since Jan. l. Yet spot checks on Sunday at several of the nation's airports showed no major delays caused by the new security measures. At the international terminal for Northwest Airlines at John F. Kennedy International Airport inprefix = st1 /New York, passengers waited up to 30 minutes longer than usual. Their bags were sent through giant screening machines and workers tore open taped boxes and searched through their contents before closing them up again. Most travelers simply accepted stricter screening developed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,2001,before which only 5 percent of the roughly 2 million bags checked each day were screened for bombs. The U. S. government has put an additional 23,000 people into airports to carry out the new order. Sonny Salgatar, a 23-year-old college student flying home to San Diego fromChicago, was told by an airport officer after the first pass that one of his bags was "hot", meaning there was something he couldn't identify and he wanted to open the bag for an inspection. The "hot" item turned out to be Salgatar's clothing iron. "Listen, anything they want to do for security is OK for me," Salgatar said. But not all of the passengers hold the same viewpoint as Salgatar's, complaining that they had to arrive at the airport too much time ahead of their schedule. | The new measure was adopted to guard against. | [
". terrorist attacks"
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Doctors have a new weapon in the battle against obesity -- a talking plate that tells people not to eat too quickly. The Mandometer monitors the amount of food leaving the plate, and tells users, "Please eat more slowly." The PS1,500 Swedish device is to be used in a National Health Service plan to help hundreds of obese families lose weight. It comes in two parts -- a scale placed under the plate and a small computer screen showing a graphic of the food gradually disappearing as the user eats. A red line on the screen shows the user's eating speed, while a blue line shows a healthy rate. If the user eats too fast, the red line angles away from the blue one, warning him or her to _ . If the lines deviate too much, the computer voice comes on, and the screen flashes the message "Are you feeling full yet?" to remind users to think about whether they have had enough. Britain has an increasingly serious obesity problem, with one in four adults and one in seven children classed as obese. After a recent trial using the device, experts believe teaching obese people to eat more slowly will help them know when they are full. Around 600 families with at least one obese parent and child (aged five or older) were targeted in the project by Bristol University, along with GPs and nurses. Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, who is leading the plan, says obese children and adolescents using the Mandometer ate from 12 to 15 percent less per meal at the end of the 12-month trial. Six months after they stopped using the device they still ate less, and continued to lose weight. "It will be a powerful tool to help families retrain their eating habits," he says. | What does the red line on the screen show? | [
"The user's eating speed."
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Oxford's Department for Continuing Education runs over 1000 courses per year, offered on a part-time basis. Programmes include Oxford awards and degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level, online short courses, weekly classes, day and weekend events, continuing professional development and summer schools. Oxford awards & degrees Over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate Oxford qualifications: certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, Master's and Doctoral degrees, offered part-time, in the arts, social sciences, diplomatic studies, human rights law, health care and biomedical sciences, which involve overseas students. Course duration ranges from one year to several years part-time. The Department also runs a Graduate School to provide the support and guidance needed by those following part-time graduate programmes. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/qualifications Online & distance learning Choose from over 90 courses across a range of disciplines. Most are short courses of 5-10 weeks, accredited (officially approved). A few longer courses result in Oxford qualifications. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/online Weekly classes Approximately 500 part-time accredited classes, open to all, and held in Oxford, Reading and other locations. Topics are studied in depth over a period of 10 or 20 weeks. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/weekly Day & weekend events Courses of 1 or 2 days, usually held at weekends and taught by lecturers and speakers who are noted authorities in their field of research. Many courses are offered in combination with national organizations. Over 150 offered per year. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dayweekend Professional development courses 200 courses per year, ranging from day schools to short refresher courses to full degree programmes. Subjects include health sciences, public policy, diplomatic studies, nanotechnology, electronics, historic conservation, environmental sciences, public administration, higher education leadership and more. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/cpd Summer schools Accredited and non-accredited courses of between one and three weeks, with over 120 to choose from. Most are designed for the general public; others are designed to allow professionals to update skills. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/summerschools | Which website is useful to foreign students? | [
"www.conted.ox.ac.uk/qualifications"
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On May 28th, 1998 I was driving my 13-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son to school. Unfortunately my car crashed with a truck. All three of us were critically injured. Stacey's brain injury was the most severe. Despite all attempts to save her, she died two days later. When I became conscious, I heard my husband talking to the organ donor coordinator . We knew that Stacey would want that because that's the kind of person she was. She always wanted to assist people. She was always smiling and brought so much joy to others. She was friendly and enjoyed writing stories and poetry. It has been a comfort to know that Stacey lives on in the lives of others. I have even met the family of one of Stacey's kidney recipients . This little girl was 6 years old at the time of the transplant. She was suffering from Nephrotic Syndrome. I saw pictures showing the effects of the Nephrotic Syndrome and the pictures of her after the transplant. _ already showed an amazing difference. We correspond every year through letters, cards and pictures. The girl is doing really well at school and will be graduating from high school next year. I am so grateful that we have this relationship. I also feel relieved that my daughter has made so great a difference to a person's life. Over the years, I have had some kind of contact with all of the recipients except the heart recipient. I'm very sorry for that. I would love to hear something from the heart recipient's family. There are so many things that I wonder about her. I wonder if she is anything like Stacey. Does she smile all the time? Does she enjoy writing stories and poetry? I do hope that they can contact us! I feel guilty because I was the one driving in the accident which caused Stacey's death. I also feel proud that my daughter has helped so many people. | What is the writer's attitude towards her daughter's organ donation? | [
"Proud"
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Divorce is bad for environment US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment. The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewet People,scientists at Michigan State University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More households means more houses,fuel and water are Heeded for them,the researchers wrote."Globally,the number of households is increasing much faster than the number of people,"said co-author "Jack" Liu in a telephone interview. "Even in regions with declining population, we see _ increase in the number of households. Divorce is the main reason for reducing the number of people in a household," he said. The average divorced person's household is about 40 to 50 percent smaller than the average married person's household, Liu said. But whether there are three or six people in a house ,the amount of fuel needed to heat them is about the same. In the prefix = st1 /United States, divorced households used 73 billion kilowatt--hours of electricity and 2.850 trillion litres of water in 2005 that could have been saved if households had stayed the same size as when they were married. I the United Statesand 11 other countries between 1998 and 2002, if divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7.4 million fewer households. The number of divorced households in those countries ranged from 40,000 in Costa Ricato almost 16 million in theUnited Statesaround 2000. The number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33 percent to 95 percent greater than in married households. "If you really want to get divorced, maybe you can remarry with somebody else, or live together with somebody else you like", Liu said. | How much electricity would have been saved without so many people to get divorced? | [
"73 billion kilowatt-hours"
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A new study found that inner-city kids living in neighborhoods with more green space gained about 13% less weight over a two-year period than kids living among more concrete and fewer trees. Such findings tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s, and many people think it results from increased portion sizes and inactivity , but that can't be everything. Big Macs and TVs have been with us for a long time. "Most experts agree that the changes were related to something in the environment," says Thomas Glass of the Hopkins School of Public Health. That something could be a shrinking of the green. The new research, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, isn't the first to associate greenery with better health, but it does get us closer to identifying what works and why. At its most straightforward, a green neighborhood simply means more places for kids to play -- which is important since time spent outdoors is one of the strongest links to children's activity levels. Glass warns that most studies don't necessarily prove a link between greenness and health, but they're helping _ action. In September the U.S. government approved the No Child Left Inside Act to encourage public initiatives aimed at exposing kids to the outdoors. Finding green space is, of course, not always easy, and you may have to work a bit to get your family a little grass and trees. If you live in a suburb or a city with good parks, take advantage of what's there. Your children in particular will love it -- and their bodies will thank you. | According to the passage, what might cause children's inactivity? | [
"A shrinking of the green"
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Modeled after US hot website.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts for a daily deal on some best stuff to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon,as it is the best time for him to check "today`s special" at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. " I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new," he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. "It is cool. I want to buy a new digitgal camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!" Zuo said. | What is the passage mainly about? | [
"Group buying"
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I was small for my age. I was shy and sometimes it was hard for me to make friends with the others. However, learning came fairly easy for me. I was the best in most of my classes, but PE class was my nightmare and made me feel that I was not as good as the others. Miss Forsythe was our PE teacher. She was young and energetic. Everyone liked her. She said that we all had to come to her classes. No one could hide from Miss Forsythe! One day she told me that she wanted me to play a game with another girl in a PE show. I was rather worried that I wouldn't do a good job when she explained her idea, but she was excited. With her encouragement, I had no choice but to agree. It was a "boy meets girl" game. I played the boy and my classmate, Margaret Ann, played the girl. We were dressed in evening clothes and danced around the floor. According to Miss Forsythe, I had to pick up Margaret Ann when we finished the dance. Since I was not strong enough to pick the tallest girl up, it was she who picked me up. I suddenly felt ten feet tall! It was a huge success and everybody applauded for our excellent performance. What a wonderful ending! Afterwards, I smiled confidently . Miss Forsythe's understanding and willingness to create a place for me in her show (which certainly did not need me) gave me some much needed confidence. She was and always will be my favorite teacher. | What do we know about Miss Forsythe? | [
"She was young and energetic."
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There are records of fingerprints taken many centuries ago. The ancient Babylonians pressed the tips of their fingerprints into clay to record business trade. The Chinese used ink-on-paper finger impressions for business. However, fingerprinting wasn't used as a method for identifying criminals until the 19th century. In 1858, Sir William Herschel was working as an official of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India.In order to reduce fraud , he had people living in the district record their fingerprints when signing business documents. A few years later, Scottish doctor Henry Faulds was working in Japan when he discovered fingerprints left by artists on ancient pieces of clay.This finding inspired him to begin investigating fingerprints.In 1880, Faulds wrote to his cousin, the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, and asked for help with developing a fingerprint classification system.Darwin refused, but sent the letter to his cousin, Sir Francis Gallon, who was an eugenicist . Gallon began collecting fingerprints and eventually gathered some 8, 000 different samples to analyze. In 1892, he published a book called "Fingerprints", in which he outlined a fingerprint classification system--the first existence. Around the same time, Juan Vucetich, a police officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was developing his own version of a fingerprinting system.In 1892, Vucetich was called in to assist with the investigation of the two boys murdered in Necoche, a village near Buenos Aires. Their mother, Francisca Rojas, accused a neighbour named Velasquez. But when Vucetich compared the fingerprints found at the murder scene to those of both Velasquez and Rojas, _ matched Rojas' exactly.She admitted her crime. This was the first time fingerprints had been used in a criminal investigation.Vucetich called his system comparative dactyloscopy . It's still used in many Spanish-speaking countries. Sir Edward Henry, in charge of the Metropolitan Police of London, soon became interested in using fingerprints to catch criminals. In 1896, he added to Gallon's technique, creating his own classification system, the Henry Classification System. It is the primary method of fingerprint classification throughout most of the world. | Who first came up with the idea of creating a fingerprint classification system? | [
"Gallon."
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What's on ? The Conjuring 2 (2016) Certificate R 134 min--Horror Viewer points: 8.2 / 10 Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house troubled by evil spirits . Director : James Wan Stars : Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , Madison Wolfe , Frances O'Connor Warcraft (2016) Certificate PG-13 123 min--Action | Adventure | Fantasy Viewer points : 7.7 / 10 The peaceful land of Azeroth stands on the edge of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders : orc warriors escaping their dying home to conquer another . As a tunnel opens to connect the two worlds , one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction . From opposing sides , two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family , their people , and their home . Director : Duncan Jones Stars : Travis Fimmel , Paula Patton , Ben Foster , Dominic Cooper Now You See Me 2 (2016) Certificate PG-13 129 min--Action | Comedy | Thriller Viewer points : 7.1 / 10 The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly hired by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible magic show yet . Director : Jon M. Chu Stars : Jesse Eisenberg , Mark Ruffalo , Woody Harrelson , Dave Franco Me Before You (2016) Certificate PG-13 110 min--Drama | Romance Viewer points : 7.9 /10 A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-disabled man she's taking care of . Director : Thea Sharrock Stars : Emilia Clarke , Sam Claflin , Janet McTeer , Charles Dance | Which actor will show in a movie that scares you ? | [
"Patrick Wilson"
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What's on ? The Conjuring 2 (2016) Certificate R 134 min--Horror Viewer points: 8.2 / 10 Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house troubled by evil spirits . Director : James Wan Stars : Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , Madison Wolfe , Frances O'Connor Warcraft (2016) Certificate PG-13 123 min--Action | Adventure | Fantasy Viewer points : 7.7 / 10 The peaceful land of Azeroth stands on the edge of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders : orc warriors escaping their dying home to conquer another . As a tunnel opens to connect the two worlds , one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction . From opposing sides , two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family , their people , and their home . Director : Duncan Jones Stars : Travis Fimmel , Paula Patton , Ben Foster , Dominic Cooper Now You See Me 2 (2016) Certificate PG-13 129 min--Action | Comedy | Thriller Viewer points : 7.1 / 10 The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly hired by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible magic show yet . Director : Jon M. Chu Stars : Jesse Eisenberg , Mark Ruffalo , Woody Harrelson , Dave Franco Me Before You (2016) Certificate PG-13 110 min--Drama | Romance Viewer points : 7.9 /10 A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-disabled man she's taking care of . Director : Thea Sharrock Stars : Emilia Clarke , Sam Claflin , Janet McTeer , Charles Dance | Which movie may be least recommended by the audience ? | [
"Now You See Me 2"
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With the new school year quickly coming near (or perhaps, for your early-starters, already under way), it's time to get ready for a successful term . And while you may be cleaning your wardrobe , it's equally important to freshen up your study skills, too. Have you ever noticed that your study habits are different from those of your friends? Or how you seem to learn faster in certain classes? Some people are quick to blame the teacher or subject for their difficulties, but that isn't always the cause . One thing that many people seem to ignore is their learning type. Now, you may be wondering what a learning type is and how to find yours. There are three different learning types: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. You can be a _ of learning types, but most people have one main type. 1. Visual learners learn best by seeing. If you seem to easily get information from pictures, graphs, and videos, you are likely a visual learner. 2. Auditory learners learn best by hearing. If you seem to remember things by hearing them, whether listening to a lecture or repeating information out loud, then you are likely an auditory learner. 3. Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing. If you seem to learn best by working with your hands or testing out what you are shown, you are likely a kinesthetic learner. So now that you know your personal learning style, the trick is to find out how to use your new-found knowledge to help you in your classes. | Stephen loves science and usually does experiments with his classmates in the lab to test what he has learned. So what type of learner is he? | [
"Kinesthetic"
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The average global temperature has increased by almost 0.5 centigrade degree over the past century; scientists expect it to rise by an extra 1~3 degree over the next 100 years. Warmer weather makes glaciers melt, adding more water to the ocean. The warmer temperature also make water expand, so it takes up more space, causing the sea level to rise. The sea level has risen about 10~25 cm in the last 100 years. The main cause of global warming is human pollution. Through burning coal, oil and gas, people have been increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as CO2. This adds to the power of the greenhouse effect, making the planet even warmer. Many scientists believe that, if the warming is not stopped, there will be huge climate changes. The sea level could rise to one metre this century. Should this come true, millions of homes will be swallowed up by the sea and the world will be flooded with "climate refugees" looking for somewhere to live? | What's the basic reason that globe becomes warmer and warmer? | [
"Human pollution."
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A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. "I think half of them fell off their chairs," Gerner says. Gerner manages school facilities for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes ; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings. Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. "One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation ," Mark. McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. "You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool." Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. "I don't believe in the new green religion," Gerner says. "Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I'm interested in those that work." But he wouldn't mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. "You never know what's going to start the interest of a child to study math and science," he says. | What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County? | [
"The desert climate."
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Most of the movies show our relationships and our society. What's more important is that people love to watch highs and lows of the relationships in movies. Friendship has been the favorite subject of movie makers for a long time. Many movies are based on lovely relationships like friendship. Friendship can be between two persons or among more than two persons. Movies based on friendship make us remember that the relationship among friends is delicate . These movies also show how important it is to have a true friend in life and to own the friendship. Friendship is described in different ways in movies. These movies show different faces of this lovely relationship including the pleasant and interesting faces .Let us discuss how friendship is described in movies. Friends share common interests:In most of the movies, it is shown that two people become friends easily when they share some common interests. For example, two friends may be in love with the same sports, studying in the same school or living in the same neighborhood.You can see such friendship in movies such as "Harry Potter" and "Lord of Rings". Harry Potter has two friends. All of them are interested in the use of magic. Friends make sacrifices : In most of the movies,friends make sacrifices for each other. A good example is "Sholay". In this movie,there are two friends Jay and Veeru who are there for each other till death. Jay sacrifices his life to save his friend. Friends never run away from difficulties: In movies,it is always shown that true friends always stand up for their friends in times of difficulties. Understanding: In movies,friends understand each other without even saying a word. A single smile can brighten up the faces of all the friends. | What is mainly talked about in this passage? | [
"Friendship in movies."
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Four students are talking about the future after class. Deng Yu: In 2050, China will be richer than it is now. Beijing will be getting ready for the 40thOlympic Games in 2050. We will see the blue and clear sky and smell the fresh air. There will be more pandas living happily in China. I believe that 2050 will be the year of China. Liu Yan: A holiday to the moon will no longer be a dream. We can also travel far to other planets and talk with spacemen. We might also eat something like pills instead of today's meals. Everyone will enjoy a longer life. Sun Wei: Robots will be more popular. They will do what people don't want to do. We'll build new homes on other planets. By then, I'll be sixty years old. Zhang Lan: By the year of 2050, cloning will have been used in many ways. It will bring back animals which disappeared many years ago. There will be no pollution. The whole world will be one big family. There will be no wars. We'll live a much easier and better life. | What is the dialogue mainly about? | [
"the future"
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Below are Top 10 Scholarly Stars in America in 2011. It's not always about fame and fortune for these celebs - education is a priority in their lives. Find out what scholarly stars have earned degrees and diplomas or are returning to the classroom as you head back to school. No. 10: James Franco James has attended FOUR prestigious universities in his life: UCLA, New York University, Columbia University and Yale University. We hear he's is so serious about school, he missed the Oscar nominations to attend class! No. 9: Natalie Portman Natalie Portman is so Ivy League: she graduated from Harvard University in 2003, thanks to her parents, who she says always made sure she put her studies before her acting. No. 8: Haley Joel Osment When students at NYU heard Haley Joel would be joining them as a freshman in 2006, they chalked the campus' sidewalks with his famous Sixth Sense movie line: "I see dead people." No. 7: Emma Watson Although Emma Watson put her education on hold to wrap up the Harry Potter film series, in July 2011 she announced that she was going back to school at Brown University to complete her degree. No. 6: Dakota and Elle Fanning Celeb sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning are stars on screen and in class. Dakota was her high school's homecoming queen two years in a row while Elle, who still attends middle school, somehow manages to balance her acting career with math tests and gym class. No. 5: Mara Wilson Mara Wilson graduated from NYU in 2009. Mara, who played the adorable Nattie in Mrs. Doubtfire, eventually grew up and headed to New York to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; she graduated in 2009. No. 4: Tyra Banks Tyra Banks is known for being a savvy businesswoman, but even the best could use some formal training. She enrolled in Harvard Business School in 2011 and even went so far as to live in a dorm with her fellow classmates! "We live in dorms," confirmed the TV star. "I have my own room but we share a kitchen, living room and study area. It's mandatory dorms. I freaked out. In the beginning I was like, 'Oh yes, I'm going to Harvard and I'll be at the Four Seasons down the street.' And they were like, 'Girl, you're living in dorms!'" No. 3: Shakira Singer Shakira is resting her hips and giving her brain a workout at UCLA, attending classes on the history of western civilization so she could "learn from the best". No. 2: Steven Spielberg Director Steven skipped getting a formal education to be an unpaid intern at Universal Studios, where he learned his tricks of the _ . But eventually he did go back and earned his film degree in 2002. No. 1: Danica McKellar Danica McKellar is a math whiz. She used to be known for starring as Winnie Cooper in the Wonder Years, but Danica is also a UCLA graduate, math whiz and education advocate who's written three best-selling books encouraging middle-school girls to have confidence and succeed in mathematics. | How many stars referred to in the material studied or will go to UCLA? | [
"Three."
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From Britain to the Middle East and China, engineers and architects are pushing the boundaries of possibility as they strive to create the biggest and the best. Here are recently-selected seven wonders-to-be in the modern world which are near completion. Among these, Beijing Daxing International Airport ranks the first and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge ranks the third. No.1 Beijing Daxing International Airport, China Beijing Daxing International Airport, which is set to be the biggest airport in the world, is designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The new Terminal One will have a radial-like plan, designed to reduce passenger travel distances. The construction of the new airport started in 2015 and it is planned to be put into use in 2019. No.2 Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Adrian Smith, the architect who has designed the highest structure in the world, the 829.8 m-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is now working on his new project which will smash his own record by this over-a-kilometer-high Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. No one can be sure about the exact date of its completion but most probably the project will be ended in 2019. No.3 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China At about 50 km long, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will take the title of the longest water span in the world from another China's bridge in Jiaozhou Bay. The construction started in 2009 and will complete the first session in 2017. No.4 Chernobyl reactor, Ukraine The engineers of the USSR who fought to bring the Chernobyl disaster under control built a concrete sarcophagus to cover the hole that had opened up above the destroyed reactor. A new steel arched structure is being built, to be rolled on rails over the reactor, from which point demolition work can begin using cranes suspended from the new roof. Most possibly it will be finished in 2020. No.5 Hotel Abraj Kudai, Mecca Every hajj, Mecca receives more than two million pilgrims from all over the world. New buildings are being built to accommodate these pilgrims. The Abraj Kudai cluster of towers will hold more than 10,000 hotel rooms. It is expected that the construction work will be put an end to in 2017. No.6 Crossrail, London Crossrail is built to link east and west London through the sewers, cables, and the city's foundations. After its completion in 2017, it is expected to alleviate traffic jams in London. No.7 Grand Stade FFR, Paris Grand Stade FFR is designed especially for the French Rugby Federation. The stadium can accommodate 82,000 fans and is dotted with retractable pitches (a marked out area of ground on which a sport is played). A retractable roof apparatus is capable of turning the stadium into a giant interior. Hopefully the fans can gather there to watch thrilling matches in 2018. | Which building is the highest existing building? | [
"Burj Khalifa in Dubai."
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Helge and Kari Farsund, who live in Oslo, Norway, have been a couple for 50 years. Mr Farsund worrked as an engineer, while his wife was an intensive-care nurse at one point serving with the Red Cross in Rwanda, helping victims of the violent war in that country.Three years ago, a personal tragedy struck, when Mrs Farsund was found to have developed Alzheimer's . 'As the condition became worse, Mr Farsund began looking for a system that could help both of them live as normal a life as possible. He came across the healthcare technology company Abilia, which has come up with just such a network. At the center \of the system is an iPad-like device. The screen has Skype, which allows carers to regularly check in with patients. It also has a planner for patients or carers to record up-coming events and provides spoken reminders about daily tasks, such as when they need to take medicine. Some l,000 people now have the system installed in their homes, and 25 of them, including the Farsunds, are testing the latest version, which combines the screen with wirelessly connected sensors. The motion sensors know if you are in the room or open a door, and send out alarms, for instance, if the stove is left on for more than 15 minutes or a per.son opens a door in the middle of the night. The second is a particular issue in Oslo, where sub-zero winters mean some Alzheimer's patients are freezing to death. "With.this kind of system, it allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing," says vice president Oystein Johnsen. For him, any move to improve city life needs to begin with people. "Smart cities are coming and they need to start with individuals in their own home," he says. "It also saves the govemment money. In Norway it costPS100,000 per year to have someone in a home, while this system costs 15,000. That is a lot of money to save." | Which section of BBC news is most likely to.include this passage? | [
"Technology."
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During adolescence , peers play a large part in a young person's life and typically replace family as the center of a teen's social activities. Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don't go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that "everyone's doing it" may influence some kids to leave their better judgment, or their common sense, behind. As children grow, develop, and move into early adolescence, contacts with one's peers and the attraction of peer identification increases. As pre-adolescents begin rapid physical, emotional and social changes, they begin to question adult standards and the need for parental guidance. They find it good to turn for advice to friends who understand-- friends who are in the same position themselves. By trying new things and testing their ideas with their peers, there is less fear of being laughed at. There are two levels of peer pressure. The first is in the large group: for most teens a school or a youth group are examples. This is the situation that gets the most attention. The second is in the close relationship with one or several best friends. This is the situation that is sometimes _ . The large group puts a general pressure on its members. It sets the standard for clothing, music, entertainment, and "political correctness". The pressure can be avoided by keeping quiet or by putting on the appearance of agreement. | When in pre-adolescence, who may children ask for suggestions? | [
"Friends"
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We offer five kinds of courses. Each course has been designed to help students according to their needs. Course 1: General English General English is designed to develop students' basic communication skills in: Speaking and Pronunciation, Reading, Listening, Writing, Grammar and Vocabulary. Tuesday to Friday: 9:00 am to 11:00 am, $288 per week. Course 2: Academic English Academic English is for students who want to take the IELTS exam or for those who need to use English in a professional area. Monday to Friday: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, $320 per week. Course 3: High School ESL Why not make the most of your time studying in Australia with the help from TIES? We have High School ESL classes each week specifically designed for International Students. Tuesday to Friday: 8:00 am to 11:00 am, $25 per hour. Course 4: Night Classes Do you want to improve your English and get the best results possible in your GRE test? We have two night classes each week designed to meet your needs. Tuesday and Thursday evenings: 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm, $60 per day. Course 5: One on One If you are interested in some One on One lessons with TIES teachers, we can design a curriculum to meet your needs. One on One lessons can improve your English language skills more quickly and help students who want to take TOEFL. Tuesday to Friday: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, $80 per hour. | Which course would be helpful for students who want to take the IELTS exam? | [
"Course 2."
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Five Ways to Rock the Rest of the Semester With exams around the corner, how can you possibly pack in one more English word, let alone the causes of the Cold War? Don't worry. Here is our handy guide to help you Power Down So you stayed up too late last night reading Mockingjay for the fifth time. Oops! When you're that fired, your schoolwork suffers. Instead of studying inefficiently while you are sleepy, allow yourself a 15-minute afterschool power nap. Studies show that even a few minutes of shut-eye can improve memory and concentration. Take Notes Not quite grasping that super complicated concept in your chemistry class? You may need to change the way you take notes. Instead of recording every word your teacher says, try using visual hints like pictures, symbols and word bubbles. You can even switch computer fonts or pen color for the important stuff. Dream On Your bed's not just for zzz's. Experts say it may be good to study in bed, too. Why? We're able to absorb more right before bed because we're less distracted and the new information stays in our minds as we sleep. So, slide into bed with a textbook or notes, read for 15 minutes, and then turn off the lights for some sweet and smart dreams. Brain Food You're in the middle of a biology exam when your mind goes blank. You knew this stuff cold at home, but now you can't tell a ribosome from a chloroplast. What's going on? Your brain's in need of some refueling. Have some snacks like apple slices or cheese before class, and have plenty of water, too. If your teacher doesn't mind, pop in a piece of gum during an exam. Some scientists think the chewing increases the flow of oxygen to the brain. Smart Move Ugh! You're taking an English test and you cannot remember the past participle of "understand". What to do? Skip it. Test taking is all about timing, so don't waste it on tricky questions. Move ahead and answer everything you know before returning to the ones you don't. Chances are, once you get back to the toughies, you'll recall the answer or at the very least, you'll have a little more time to come up with one that works. | You have been working on your essay for two hours and your eyes feel tired, you'd better | [
"Power down"
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Kong Zi , also called Confucius (551-479 B.C) , and Socrates (469-399 B. C) lived only a hundred years apart , and during their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas , and how these ideas in turn ,shaped their societies. Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life:" Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you." He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some bad more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that the superior class should rule the inferior classes. For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of the society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations. Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes. | What made some people different from others according to Confucius? | [
"Knowledge."
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When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there'd be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves. "Aren't you cold, Dad?" I'd ask. "No," Dad would reply. "I'm not cold--- working too hard to be cold." Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish. One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day--and bitterly cold. After we'd been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold. "Daddy, my feet are cold." I said. "Yeah, it's cold out here today," he replied. "Tell you what," he said. "Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm." Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, "How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind. But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold. Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. "Aren't you cold?" my husband asked one winter day. "No," I replied. "I'm not cold--working too hard to be cold." I hope my husband has decided I'm both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I'm foolish. Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky--I'm sure he can't help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I'm working outside in the winter. | What might the author's husband think of her? | [
"Foolish"
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My grandson, Daniel, and I have always been very close. When Daniel's father remarried after a divorce, Daniel, who was eleven, and his little sister, Kristie, came to live with us. My husband and I were more than happy to have kids in the house again. Things were going along just fine until the diabetes I've lived with most of my adult life started affecting my eyes, and then more seriously, my kidneys . Then everything seemed to fall apart. Three times a week, I had to go to the hospital to be hooked up to a dialysis machine . I was living, but I couldn't really call it a life -- it was an existence. I had no energy. I dragged myself through daily chores and slept as much as I could. My sense of humor seemed to disappear. Daniel, seventeen by then, was really affected by the change in me. He tried as hard as he could to make me laugh, to bring back the grandma who loved to clown around with him. Even in my sorry state, Daniel could still bring a smile to my face. But things were not improving. After a year on dialysis, my condition was deteriorating and the doctors felt that if I didn't receive a kidney transplant within six months, I would surely die. No one told Daniel this, but he knew -- he said all he had to do was look after me. To top it off, as my condition worsened, there was a chance that I would become too weak to have the transplant surgery at all, and then there would be nothing they could do for me. So we started the tense and desperate wait for a kidney. I was adamant that I didn't want a kidney from anyone I knew. I would wait until an appropriate kidney became available, or I would literally die waiting. But Daniel had other plans. The time that he took me to my dialysis appointments, he did a little secret research on his own. Then he announced his intention to me. "Grandma, I'm giving you one of my kidneys. I'm young and I'm healthy ..." He paused. He could see I wasn't at all happy with his offer. He continued, almost in whisper, "And most of all, I couldn't stand it if you weren't around." His face wore an expression of appeal mixed with determination. He can be as stubborn as a mule once he decides on something -- but I've been told many times that I can out-stubborn any mule! We argued. I couldn't let him do it. We both knew that if he gave up his kidney, he would also give up his life's dream; to play football. It was all he ever talked about. And he was good, too. Daniel was co-captain and star defensive tackle of his high school team; he expected to apply for a football scholarship and was looking forward to playing college football. He just loved the sport. "How can I let you throw away the thing that means the most to you?" I pleaded with him. "Grandma," he said softly, "compared to your life, football means nothing to me." After that, I couldn't argue anymore. So we agreed to see if he was a good donor match, and then we'd discuss it further. When the tests came back, they showed Daniel was a perfect match. That was it. I knew I wasn't going to win that argument, so we scheduled the transplant. Both surgeries went smoothly. As soon as I came out of the anesthesia , I could tell things were different. I felt great! The nurses in the intensive care unit had to keep telling me to lie back and be quiet -- I wasn't supposed to be that lively! I was afraid to go to sleep, for fear I would break the spell and wake up the way I had been before. But the good feeling didn't go away, and I spent the evening joking and laughing with anyone who would listen. | What would giving up a kidney mean to Daniel, according to the passage? | [
"He would also give up his life's dream: to play football."
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Michael Jackson is one of the world's best singers. Michael Jackson was born in the middle west of the city of Gary, Indiana, in 1958. He began singing with his four brothers. They called the group "The Jackson Five". The group became very popular after appearing on a television program. They started singing in 1965, and became popular soon. In 1970 the group made their first record with the name of "I Want You Back". It was very popular. One of their hit records was "Never Say Goodbye". Michael was good at dancing as well as singing, such as his dance moves and moon walking. He was asked to act in a film in 1978 for the first time, and in the same year he made a record on his own, which sold eight million _ all over the world. Michael nearly didn't go out because he was too famous. Once his fans went off in a faint when they saw him at the concert. No one can do it by now. He lived in a large house and kept lots of animals. He never ate meat. He often raised money for Charity. This made him win the Guinness World Records in 2006. He died on June 25th, 2009, but he would live in our heart forever. | How many people are there in Michael's group except him? | [
"Four."
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Michael Jackson is one of the world's best singers. Michael Jackson was born in the middle west of the city of Gary, Indiana, in 1958. He began singing with his four brothers. They called the group "The Jackson Five". The group became very popular after appearing on a television program. They started singing in 1965, and became popular soon. In 1970 the group made their first record with the name of "I Want You Back". It was very popular. One of their hit records was "Never Say Goodbye". Michael was good at dancing as well as singing, such as his dance moves and moon walking. He was asked to act in a film in 1978 for the first time, and in the same year he made a record on his own, which sold eight million _ all over the world. Michael nearly didn't go out because he was too famous. Once his fans went off in a faint when they saw him at the concert. No one can do it by now. He lived in a large house and kept lots of animals. He never ate meat. He often raised money for Charity. This made him win the Guinness World Records in 2006. He died on June 25th, 2009, but he would live in our heart forever. | What's the name of their first record? | [
"\"I Want You Back\""
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Michael Jackson is one of the world's best singers. Michael Jackson was born in the middle west of the city of Gary, Indiana, in 1958. He began singing with his four brothers. They called the group "The Jackson Five". The group became very popular after appearing on a television program. They started singing in 1965, and became popular soon. In 1970 the group made their first record with the name of "I Want You Back". It was very popular. One of their hit records was "Never Say Goodbye". Michael was good at dancing as well as singing, such as his dance moves and moon walking. He was asked to act in a film in 1978 for the first time, and in the same year he made a record on his own, which sold eight million _ all over the world. Michael nearly didn't go out because he was too famous. Once his fans went off in a faint when they saw him at the concert. No one can do it by now. He lived in a large house and kept lots of animals. He never ate meat. He often raised money for Charity. This made him win the Guinness World Records in 2006. He died on June 25th, 2009, but he would live in our heart forever. | Why did Michael have to stay at home most of time? | [
"Because he was too famous."
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"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is one of the most common sayings in the English languages. This is because apples were one of the first foods that medical professionals recognized as healthy---their benefits became obvious when, quite simply, doctors found that people who ate apples were sick less often than those who did not. Today we have a more specific understanding of why apples are so beneficial to overall health. Apples can help keep your levels of bad cholesterol down. The pectin in apples helps you to maintain cardiovascular health and reduce LDL cholesterol(which is the "bad" kind). Apples themselves do not add cholesterol to your diet and are full of water and fiber to help weaken the cholesterol in other foods you might digest. According to Health Diaries, people who eat two apples per day may lower their cholesterol by as much as 16 percent. Apples are naturally low in calories and high in water content. Eating an apple can satisfy your hunger and keep you from reaching for high-sugar, high-calories snacks. By eating apples, you will be more able to maintain a healthy weight because they fill you up, potentially stopping you from eating food that encourages a waistline increase. Apples contain considerable levels of boron , which helps build healthy bones, and can also prevent diseases like arthritis. Apples are rich in vitamin C, which is known to help build immunity. Studies have shown that apples can decrease the risk of breast cancer and liver cancer. One theory is that the apple skins are responsible for this, so be sure not to take apple skins off before you eat them, as you could remove some of the health benefits. | Which plays an important role in reducing the risk of breast cancer? | [
"The apple skins."
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Hurry! Time to "steal vegetables" Don't be afraid! We are not encouraging the stealing behavior, but to tell you maybe the most popular topic from white-collars' mouth in cities. Together with "How many vegetables do you steal today," "it's harvest time for your ripe peach," "I bought you a new car today." Are there so many people in the city really have their own farms, or are they really so rich to buy someone else cars casually? The answer is obviously negative. They just play some games on Social Network Sites (SNS) like kaixin001.com. Can you imagine that more than millions of people in Chinese mainland will spend lots of time on SNS to play game and talk to friends, especially white-collars who work in the cities? Take kaixin001.com as an example, the current member of it has already hit 38 million. However, the great number of people who would like to use such SNS indicates another social problem. That is lots of people choose to escape from the reality. And SNS just offer them a Virtual space to forget the reality. Kinds of games and various of friends do give netizens lots of fun. Though indulging, dreaming, chatting and playing , it seems like people could really escape from all the upsets in reality. But virtual world is not real and no one can live in it forever, and reality is not that simple like noodling around on the internet. Since this kind of social phenomenon is so popular on the internet, people start thinking to remove it in the reality.After playing the "happy farm" game on kaixin001.com, would you like to put yourself among the real corps while smelling the fragrance of the countryside? Recently, a farm land service called "happy farm in reality" was opened in the suburbs of Shanghai where white-collar workers from around that region can experience the real farmer's life by themselves | Which group are the majority playing the "Happy Farm" game? | [
"White-collars"
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It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don't have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a "winter wonderland". That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song. But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It's cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn't surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it's warm and pretty--like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song "California Dreaming". During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called "A Hazy Shade of Winter". They sing about life and hope and possibilities. In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in "Sometimes in Winter". In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called "Winter". She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child. Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it. | Which of the songs can bring us hope of life? | [
"A Hazy Shade of Winter."
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It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don't have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a "winter wonderland". That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song. But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It's cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn't surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it's warm and pretty--like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song "California Dreaming". During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called "A Hazy Shade of Winter". They sing about life and hope and possibilities. In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in "Sometimes in Winter". In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called "Winter". She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child. Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it. | What does the passage mainly talk about? | [
"Songs about winter."
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When I was two years old, something happened which I have never forgotten. It was early spring, and there was a light mist over the trees and fields. The other young fellows and I were feeding at the lower end of the field when we heard the distant cry of dogs. The oldest among us lifted his head to listen. "There are the hounds ", he said, and immediately raced off. The rest of us followed him to the top of the field where we could see several fields beyond. Soon the dogs were all racing down the field next to ours, making a loud "yoyoyoyo" sound. After then came men on horses, some in green coats. Suddenly, the dogs became silent and ran around with their noses to the ground. "They've lost the smell of the hare." said the old horse. "Perhaps it will escape." But the dogs began their "yoyoyoyo" again and came at full speed towards our field. Just then a hare, wild with fear, ran towards the trees. The dogs jumped over the stream and ran across the field, followed by the huntsmen. Six or eight jumped their horses over the stream, close behind the dogs. Before the hare could get away, the dogs were upon her with wild cries. We heard a terrible scream, and that was the end of the hare. One of the men picked her up and held her by the leg. She was covered in blood, but all the huntsmen seemed pleased. I was so greatly surprised that at first I did not see what was happening by the stream but when I did look, I saw a sad sight. Two fine horses were down, one in the stream struggling to stand up and the other on the grass with one of his legs broken. One rider, who seemed unhurt, was climbing out of the water, but the other lay quite still. "His neck is broken," said my mother. "I can't understand why men are so fond of this sport. They often hurt themselves and ruin good horses, all for one hare that they could get more easily in other ways. But we are only horses, and don't know why men do these things." They carried the dead rider to our master's house, and then came back to the black horse on the grass. The animal was in great pain and one of his legs was broken. Someone ran to our master's house and came back to the horse with a gun. Soon after there was a loud bang and a terrible cry, and the black horse did not move any more. | Which word can be used to describe my true feeling at the scene of the hunting? | [
"Sad."
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In opposing President Barack Obama's opening to Cuba, Florida's Republican senator, Marco Rubio, explained, "This entire policy shift announced today is based on an illusion, on a lie, the lie and the illusion that more commerce and access to money and goods will _ political freedom for the Cuban people." Rubio has correctly touched on the hottest issue. But theory, logic and history suggest that he's wrong in his conclusions. I would recommend to Rubio one of the classics of conservative thought, Milton Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom." He doesn't have to spend too much time on it. The first chapter outlines the "relation between economic freedom and political freedom." The point Friedman makes in the book is one that America's founding fathers well understood. Drawing on the political philosopher John Locke, they believed that the freedom to buy, sell, own and trade were primary elements of human freedom and individual autonomy . As they expand, liberty expands. This is not just theory, of course. Over the last two centuries, the countries that embraced "more commerce and access to money and goods" in Rubio's phrase -- Britain, America, then Western Europe and East Asia -- have moved toward greater prosperity, but also political freedom. If you exclude oil-rich countries, where money is not earned but dug from the ground, on the whole there has been a strong connection between economic freedom and political freedom. In Latin America today, democracy and markets have acted to strengthen each other, transforming the continent, which 30 years ago was almost entirely ruled by dictatorships to one that is today almost entirely ruled by democracies. After opening up its economy in the 1970s, Chile began to grow, but that growth then produced a stronger civil society that over time contributed to the end of the dictatorship within the country. Yet Cuba is an outlier, one of the last regimes in Latin America that has embraced neither markets nor ballots. The Obama administration is acting on the theory that more commerce, capitalism, contact, travel and trade will empower the people of Cuba and thus gives them a greater voice in their political future. And so the first point to make is that it will help Cubans economically -- it will raise their incomes, their standard of living, and boost access to technology. These are all good things in and of themselves. But easing the embargo will also help Americans, who will benefit from being able to trade with a neighbor. This is the reason that conservatives have long understood that free trade is not a gift bestowed on someone. It helps both countries and in particular, helps the United States. That's why the Wall Street Journal's editorial page -- bastion of conservative thought -- has been an advocate on lifting the trade embargo against Cuba, which is a far larger step than Obama's normalization. | Who doesn't believe that democracy and markets strengthen each other? | [
"Marco Rubio"
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U.S. Bottled Water Sales Are Booming Again Despite Opposition Despite organized anti-bottled-water campaigns across the country and a noisy debate about bottled water's environmental impact, Americans are buying more bottled water than ever. Why do so many people seem to think they should have any input on what other American's choose to buy or do? If they want to buy bottled water, let them. If they want to eat fast food, let them. If they want to smoke pot, let them. -- Barackalypse People just get tired of paying for others' bad behavior. If many people eat excessive fast food, you pay higher insurance premiums. If many people frequently buy bottled water, your trash bills go up and landfills fill up quickly.www.zxxk.com It's about personal responsibility, which really should be a cornerstone of libertarianism. -- Bdbr So? This is the price you pay to live in a free society. You want to control the life of another just so you can save a few bucks? What would you say when someone do the same to you? -- Norman619 Defend selfish pricks all you like; I'm just glad there are still people who still believe personal responsibility is a good and decent thing. We make your life cheaper and less bothersome. -- Yoyo What a waste of money! It's fine when you're on the road and you need a cold drink, but people who buy cases of bottled water for home are completely crazy. -- Agmlauncher I wish we all can find a way to improve things and benefit from this. The environment needs a lot of help but businesses will always work on what people would need and demand. Is this part of the balance? Hope we can find better ways. -- Skipweis | Who would agree with Barackalypse on this matter? | [
"Norman619."
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Singles' Day, also called Double Eleven, began as a day for unmarried or uncoupled people to celebrate their lives on November 11, 1993. In China, however, Singles' Day has become the biggest online shopping day in the world, which was created in 2009 by Alibaba's CEO Daniel Zhang to increase online sales. Since then, it has grown into a cultural phenomenon. China Singles' Day, as a shopping day, takes place on November 11 each year. There are sharp _ and other promotions designed by Alibaba to attract online customers. In 2015, E-commerce giant Alibaba broke records with sales of $14.3 billion on China Singles' Day, with online sales increasing 60 percent from last year, according to Alibaba. "Most people shop on mobile phones or ipads and online shopping has become a comfortable channel for most consumers", said Kitty Fok, China manager for market research. "China is a big market with close to one billion smart, connected device users. It is good news for both Alibaba and their competitors," she said. The company is focusing on international e-commerce for future Singles' Days, reported Reuters. "Within the next five years, we expect China will become the world's largest e-commerce market for imported products," President Michael Evans told reporters on Wednesday. Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said in a statement that Singles' Day would mean that "the whole world will see the power of Chinese consumption." Over 130 million users visited Alibaba's marketplace app, Taobao, reported the BBC. | What does Alibaba expect to do on Singles' Day? | [
"Increase online sales"
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One fine afternoon, I was walking along Fifth Street when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. Why I wished to buy only one pair was unimportant. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye. A boy clerk, who could not have been more than seventeen years old came forward. "What can I do for you, sir?" he said "I wish to buy a pair of socks." I replied. His eyes shone. There was a note of excitement in his voice. "Did you know that you had come into the finest place in the world to buy socks?" I had no idea of that, as my entrance had been accidental. "Come with me," said the boy, eagerly. I followed him to the back of the shop, and he began to pull down box after box from the shelves, showing their contents for my choice. "Hold on, lad" I said "I am going to buy only one pair!" "I know that," said he, "but I want you to see how beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful!" There was on his face an expression of seriousness and pride and delight as if he were showing me the secrets of his religion . I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in surprise. "My friend, " said I, "if you can keep this up, if this is not merely from having a new job, if you can keep up this high spirit and excitement day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States." | What did the writer want to buy one fine afternoon? | [
"A pair of socks."
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I decided to go back to school in the fall of 2008 after not being happy with my current job and financial status. I obtained my Associate's Degree in May 2002 in Commercial Arts. After graduation, I had trouble obtaining a job in that field. For years, I was going from one job to another feeling unfilled, and I was not satisfied with the instability. I decided to go back to school for either International Business or Psychology. I weighed the pros and cons of both professions and Psychology won. I like helping my friends and family, when they go through hard situations in their life by giving them sound advice and being honest with them. Also, I was interested in "the mind". I was searching for online schools because my work schedule at my current job would not allow me to attend a regular class. I was nervous about starting online classes because I heard mixed stories from other friends who were taking online classes. I decided to do it anyway to experience something different. I wanted to find an online school that was affordable and reputable. Through my search, I discovered Walden University, which is specially for working adults who want to obtain a bachelor's degree or higher. The process of getting accepted was easy, which included writing an essay on why I wanted to attend their school, transferring my previous credits, etc. I am currently enrolled in the Bachelors program for psychology, and I am paying for college via financial-aid loans and grants. This experience has been interesting yet trying as sometimes it was difficult to balance work, school and home life. I learned a lot about psychology and myself. For example, I like writing about current events, relationships and traveling. I thought my English composition was ordinary, but after taking a few classes at Walden University, I improved my English composition and it made me feel confident enough to start writing professionally so I became a freelance writer. Currently, I am only three classes away from obtaining my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology! It was one of the best decisions I made in my life. | What did the author study originally when he was in college? | [
"Commercial Arts"
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My grandmother often said to me, "You can count the number of your true friends on the fingers of one hand." For a long time I thought this was true. However, I've now discovered my grandmother was only half right. Maybe we do only make a few "best" friends in our lifetime, but those aren't the only people that we can call friends. There are many different types. Let me tell you about a few of them. One type of friends is the type I call the "football mom friend". My neighbor Sally is a good example. We both have kids who play football in a football club, and someone has to take them to practice and pick them up. Sally and I and two other mothers take turns to do this. We meet sometimes and have tea and talk about what our kids are doing, but those are the only times that we meet each other. I enjoy being with these women, but we don't do anything else together. Another type is called the "hobby friend". That's the person you share an interest or a hobby with. Michael and Cater, who are brothers, are a good example of this type. We're all in a bird watching club. Every few weekends the members of the club go on a trip to watch different kinds of birds. There's nothing romantic about my relationship with Michael and Cater, of course. We just share interest in birds. Then there's the "other half of the couple" type of friends. Jim is married to Rose, a friend that I've known since college. When Rose married Jim, I realized that I would have to be Jim's friend if I want to continue to be Rose's. Jim and I don't share so many interests, but we do have a friendly relationship. | Many people are mentioned in this passage. Who is the writer's true friend? | [
"Rose."
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The following five destination shall never be missed *Blue Lagoon : Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The warm waters are rich in minerals and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the Lagoon averages 37degC - 39degC(99F -102F). The Blue Lagoon also operates a research and development facility to help find cures for skin diseases using the mineral-rich water. *Budapest: Budapest holds the title "City of Spas" since the year 1934, as it has more hot and medicinal water springs than any other capital city in the world. There are 118 springs in Budapest, providing over 70 million liters of hot water a day. The temperature of the waters is between 22degC and 40degC. *El Tatio: El Tatio is a geyser field located within the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 meters above sea level. With over 80 active geysers, the site is the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world. It is a major tourist attraction in Chile and is among the highest-elevation geyser fields in the world. The temperature of the waters goes between 70degC and 85degC. *Hokkaido: Visitors to the Japanese island of Hokkaido have plenty of options. These range from top resorts with thermal baths like the Spa Resort Hawaiians to small traditional inns that have their own small hot pools with water temperature comfortable to skin. Some bathing spots are outdoors and are not associated with any spa or inn. The classic forest and mountain landscapes of this nature-rich island make it a great choice for those seeking a science setting for their baths. | Which site of the spring has the greatest gap of water temperature? | [
"Budapest."
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Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins. Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called _ is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world. By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums. The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world's largest fish. Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits. Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets. | Which aquarium opened again after its rebuilding ? | [
"The Adventure Aquarium."
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New Zealand has long been mountain hike mad. Over the last 25 years an increasing number of dedicated cycle tracks and parks have sprung up in both town and country, many developed by bike clubs and other community groups. Recreational cycling was already on a roll, when in 2009 a 50 million New Zealand dollar government fund was established to create a continuous touring route running the length of the country, supported al a grass roots level by an additional 50 million New Zealand dollars offered up by councils and focal organizations. It soon became apparent, however, that building one continuous route across the two islands was not only too ambitious, hut it also would bypass many of the most remote and interesting corners of the country. Restoring and extending historic pathways made more sense, enabling cyclists to visit fascinating historic and cultural sites while seeing natural wonders along the way, and inspiring both locals and people from overseas to ride them. The first sod of the new trails was turned by Prime Minister John Key in late 2(X)9. Since then, armed will machetes, shovels and diggers, some of the world's hest single-track designers and builders have bush-bashed, benched. sidled and switch-hacked their way through a diverse range of terrain . By the encl of 2012, 10 0f the 20 trails were open to riders, with the remainder scheduled for completion by the end of 2,013.The 2,340 km network will be even further extended by already-established trails, such as the famous 71 km Queen Charlotte Track that goes through the Marlborough Sounds al the top of the South Island. | Who first started the building work of the new trails? | [
"Prime Minister John Key."
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Amy Pankratz spent a few nights in the hospital with her daughter, Isabella, who caught a bad flu. "Lying in bed beside Isabella, I could hear the cries of children in pain, "says Amy. "It completely broke my heart." When Isabella was getting well and could leave her room, she wore her prized possession--a "superhero cape " Amy had sewn to encourage her--and walked into the hallway. The pink cape was an instant hit with the other young patients, who were doing exercise around the nursing station. "Then, all the kidswere taking turns wearing the cape, giggling, "Amy says. "These were some of the same children I had heard crying the night before, and here they were playing and having fun--kids just being kids!" From that moment on, Amy began making Comfort Capes for little ones battling with serious illnesses. "I felt God presenting an opportunity, "she says. "I hoped Comfort Capes can help these kids feel brave, to lift some of the fear away. " Since then, Amy has made and donated more than 5, 000 capes in the United States. Amy usually pays for materials herself, although she accepts donations. The capes she makes for kids in treatment are different from those her own children have. Before Amy starts to sew she learns what image or character the little boy or girl connects with. "I choose the pattern, color and theme specially for each child," explains Amy. When she is not sewing, Amy is raising awareness of childhood cancers and looking into ways to get Comfort Capes to more kids who need them, "If a cape can help a child, even only for a moment, forget his illness, it's worth the time spent sewing," she says. | What made Amy feel sad when she was staying with her daughter in the hospital? | [
"The cries of children in pain."
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Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink and can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured. The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened chocolate drink. Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe. Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly to produce. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America, but these trees are difficult to grow. They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods, which grow near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside these pods are harvested to make chocolate. Growing cacao is very hard work for farmers. Today, chocolate industry officials, activists, and scientists are working with farmers. They are trying to make sure that cacao can be grown in a way that is easy for the farmers and safe for the environment. The market value of the yearly cacao crop around the world is more than five billion dollars. Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States. Each year, Americans eat an average of more than 5 kilograms of chocolate per person. Specialty shops that sell costly chocolate are also very popular. Many offer chocolate lovers the chance to taste chocolate grown in different areas of the world. | What made it possible to produce chocolate inexpensively? | [
"New technologies."
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Five boys are suspected of starting a fire that destroyed their school on the eve of the new term. Police said yesterday that five boys -- one aged 11, two 12-year-olds, one aged 13 and one 15 -- arrested on suspicion of starting the fire had been released until later this month. Parents said the five pupils all attended St Mary's. Pupils witnessed their schoolwork being destroyed in the fire at Leyland St Mary's Catholic Technology College in Lancashire. The 1950s science block was reduced to the ground in Sunday's fire, which created clouds of smoke visible for miles. It is reported that the library and sports hall were also destroyed beyond repair. Strong winds and a shortage of water prevented 125 firemen trying to bring it under control. Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene until late this afternoon. Staffs were due to attend the school yesterday for an inset day, and pupils pupils were to return for lessons after the holidays today. St Mary's head teacher Kathy McNicholas fought back the tears as she watched her school go up in flames last night. She said, "This is so upsetting to watch. It's heartbreaking. It's very _ for the staff and the children. Everyone had been looking forward to coming back for the new school year." Finding somewhere around 730 children won't be easy. A few of the staff have turned up to see if there is anything they can do and they have all been shocked and saddened by what has happened. "It's tragic because we have only just had a lot of refreshment work done to the school during the summer break. It was a big investment. The community around here very much looks after its school." Plans were being drawn up to provide alternative classrooms for 730 children, with parents warned to keep them at home for at least the rest of the week. | Which part of St Mary's Catholic Technology College was burned to the ground in the fire? | [
"The science block."
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Athens will welcome the 2004 Olympic Games with open arms. Not only will the Games be returning to their birthplace, but they'll also be entering a new period of Olympic history. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been looking for ways to make the world's largest sporting event a bit smaller and easier for cities to host. Mexico is the only Latin American nation to have hosted the Olympics. And the games have never been held in Africa. It costs well over$4 billion to host the Olympic Games. And this is stopping many poorer countries from trying to win the bid. Cities in Africa and Latin America, with great social and money problems, cannot even begin to make the bid. So, the IOC has suggested 117 ways to make the Games smaller and easier for cities across the world. These ideas are to be put into practice soon---maybe in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The IOC wants to save up to $400 million. The suggestions include limiting the number of sports to 28 and the number of athletes to 10,500. "Imagine a bus with 28 seats and some sports need to get off to give their places to other sports,"said an IOC official. Sports that might not appear in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games included baseball, softball and the modern pentathlon (shooting, fencing, horse, jumping, swimming and running). "We think that the Olympic Games have to be made smaller, and the less costly so that they can be organized by all continents and subcontinents ,"said IOC president Jacques Rogge. "Our dream is that a continent such as Africa will be able to organize the Olympic Games." | What's the main idea of the passage? | [
"The Olympic Games have to be made smaller and less costly"
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Australia is the smallest continent in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is on the Southern Hemisphere of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai. Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish in the rivers. Plants grow very well. Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flower _ . There we saw large numbers of wild flowers on show, most of which we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. Every year in spring Perth has wild flower exhibitions. After visiting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves very much. When we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill, we looked up, but what we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to our car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us along the path. Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos . After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself among the white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere you can see sheep. | Which country is the writer most possibly from? | [
"China"
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It's not the first movie to show the end of the world. But in the latest box office hit 2012 it is neither aliens nor a killer disease that threaten the human race, but climate change. Some say the film lacks good dialogue and its science is questionable, others believe German director Roland Emmerich makes up for these flaws in special effects. An earthquake destroys the White House and Yellow stone National Park ends up in flames. Emmerich borrows from the old Mayan story which says, that the world will end in 2012.He is being criticized for Internet rumors about doomsday "There is no factual basis for these claims,'' NASA said on its website. "Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat connected with 2012,'' it insisted. "After all, our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, " they added. According to the UK's Daily Telegraph, it was first thought that the disaster would happen in May 2003. When the world continued, supporters picked the last day of the Mayan calendar. "Every culture has a myth of destruction , just as they have a myth of creation. These myths |of destruction tend to surface during times of crisis , " Michael A. Ryan, an assistant profess of history,speaking to Purdue University News. Ryan studies apocalyptic themes from the Middle Ages at the US university. "Today's current economic climate is a state of crisis for many people who are worried whether they can afford to feed themselves,"he added. | What led to the end of the world according to the film 2012? | [
"Climate change."
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The Internet will overtake radio in 2008 and become the world's fourth-largest advertising medium, a year earlier than forecast. Global spending on Internet advertising increased from 18.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 24.9 billion dollars last year, according to Zenith Optimedia, the media-buying agency. The Middle East and Asia are driving a boom in global advertising spending. Zenith predicted _ of 7.7% in spending in Asia in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In the Middle East and Eastern Europe, advertising spending is growing faster than in North America and Western Europe, which are "maturing rapidly" as advertising markets, Zenith said. Advertising spending in the Middle East increased by 22.4% between 2005 and 2006, compared with growth of 5.2% in America and 4 per cent in Western Europe. Zenith attributed the huge percentage share in the Middle East to the growth in local economies and high oil prices. In addition to the Olympics, the U.S. presidential election and the European football championship in Austria and Switzerland next year will be the biggest contributors to overall growth during the next two years. However, Zenith noted, the market should brace itself for a fall in revenues after those big events end. | Which has enjoyed the fastest growth of advertising spending in the last year? | [
"The Middle East."
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Think about the longest elevator ride that you've ever taken. Whether you rose five or 100 floors, it probably took less than a few minutes. Now imagine riding in an elevator higher and higher as it climbs for nearly a day. When you reach the top floor, prepare for views that are really out of this world. You'll be in space! Space elevators might sound like a crazy idea, but they're something scientists have been working on for decades. At the moment, riding in a capsule is the only way ordinary people can get to and from space. But those rides are very expensive---about $ 25 million per person per flight. Now scientists are making efforts to reduce the expense of those rides. Researchers are still figuring out the details about how a space elevator might work. One idea is stretching a very long cable -- more than 37,000 kilometers -- up to space from the earth's equator . Objects in space above the equator orbit (......) the earth at the same speed that our planet turns. A weight on the end of the cable would stretch it tight. An elevator tied to the cable could use _ to climb up and down. The only problem is that besides being long, this cable must also be very strong. Storms, including hurricanes might break it. One way to solve this problem is to stretch the cable from the moon instead of from the earth. Airplanes designed to climb higher than a typical jet might take off from the earth and link up with the cable, which would be held in place by the pull of gravity from the earth. An elevator car waiting there would then take riders the rest of the way to the moon. Fueled by solar power, the elevator could transport people and materials without much expense or effort per ride. | What may make the cable stay in place on the moon? | [
"The pull of gravity from the earth."
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Western artist R.V. (Ron) Jahns creates his unique western wildlife paintings by tapping into his vast experience of true life. He had rich western experiences out in the mountains in the great Northwest. Ron paints from the heart and his experience as a cowboy in the west. He has a particular passion for the mountains from Eastern Oregon to Alaska and draws from his many years of mountain adventures as inspiration for his western paintings. Born and raised on a farm, this cowboy artist is well knowledgeable with the subjects of his Western art. Ron struggles for historical accuracy in his western cowboy paintings when an artist gives a false description of the facts about cowboys in the west! Living in Alaska for 17 years added a new factor to Ron's western art. As a hunter and fisherman he observed the wildlife in its natural setting and has conveyed this spirit to his canvas. Ron's western art can be viewed throughout the United States, in Europe and through occasional private showings. You can find western wildlife paintings by Ron at various art shows throughout the year. For a list of art shows the Cowboy Artist will be attending, visit his Art Show page. Although a self-taught western artist, Ron himself has taught painting in colleges and through private lessons. Ron is quite a storyteller and the last of an old kind of cowboy poets and western storytellers. If you've met Ron at the Flea Markets in Sumpter, Oregon then you no doubt have already had a taste of his knack for telling tall tales and sharing his original cowboy poems of true life on the ranch. | What is the best title of the passage? | [
"A cowboy artist"
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Vending machines are found in 16% of U.S.elementary schools, 52% of middle schools and 88% of high schools.About 22% of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day--and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health. Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories' worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot.The most popular vending machine items included soft drinks, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes and ice cream.On the plus side , kids also bought low-fat milk, fruit juice and even fruit, the study found. But the eventual effect on kids' diets was not good.Those who bought from vending machines ate an average of 156 grams of sugar per day, compared with 146 grams for those who abstained .They also consumed less fiber, iron and vitamin B. _ Vending machine customers ate 4% less sodium than other students--an average of 3,287 milligrams per day compared with 3,436 mg for those who didn't buy from vending machines.That's probably because the extra snacks made kids too full to eat as much at mealtimes, when dishes are especially Salty.In any event, kids should eat no more than 1,200 to 1,500 mg of sodium each day, according to the Mayo Clinic.Even for adults, the government recommends a daily limit of 2,300 mg. Overall, vending machines in school appear to be a threat to children's health.The researchers calculated that all that snacking adds up to about14 extra pounds per child per school year.For some students this might be a serious contributor to weight issues.The study was based on data collected from 2,309 children nationwide for the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which was conducted by the U.S.Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. | The students using vending machines take in less of all the following EXCEPT . | [
"sugar"
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The days of the sneak thief who stole a couple of apples or a packet of sweets from a chain store are actually over. I had a chance to say this to a young offender the other day, "Sweets from a chain store?" He said, "You must be joking. That's what kids do." I may add that he was aged 11. In other words, today's young criminals would find it laughable to risk being caught for petty theft of this description. They've got enough money in their pockets to buy the sweets they want, anyway. I think it's all too easy to put the blame on anyone but ourselves. Faced as they are with a society that frequently gives them up on the grounds of color1, race or low learning ability, these children turn to crime as a means of showing off their self-respect. Nurtured on films and TV glamorizing the role of the criminal, they are quick to copy these anti-heroes. It is a matter of increasing concern to the police and government that the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, is becoming improper to deal with the rise in young criminals. Because the emphasis has been placed on the cause and gentle treatment of their crimes, rather than on old-fashioned methods of punishment, the children themselves know well that there is very little that can be done to prevent them continuing to steal, damage and in some case even cause the death of those they choose to terrorize . I don't like the look of this situation any more than you do. In our own interests and in those of our children and grandchildren, we cannot continue to take the "it's nothing to do with me" attitude we have used for so long. We must unite in a common demand for harder and stricter methods against these young criminals. | In the writer's opinion, who should be blamed most? | [
"Society."
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Once in a blue moon, there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor. A full moon occurred on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown. The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them. A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028. "Blue moons have no astronomical significance," said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California. "`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon'(a full moon in octorber) or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail. The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons. | Which full moon should be called blue moon according to the original definition? | [
"The third full moon in a season with four full moons."
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Asia has many wild places. The following national parks are among the most famous in Asia. People come to visit them from near and far in order to appreciate the unique qualities of the land and everything on it. Have you ever visited any of these Asian national parks? Jiuzhai Valley National Park, China The extraordinarily beautiful park is famous for its fascinating blue-green lakes, waterfalls and its unique wildlife. Located in the Minshan Mountain, Sichuan Province, it is a breathtaking park because of its scenery and it is also home to nine Tibetan villages, over 220 bird species as well as a number of endangered animals and plants, such as giant pandas, Sichuan golden monkeys and numerous _ . This park was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Khao Sok National Park, Thailand This extraordinary park is several miles away from Phuket , yet its remoteness prevents it from being visited. Even so, it is well worth a visit as scientists have noted that is rainforest stretches are not only longer than those of the Amazon, but also more divers . Animals like tigers, Asian elephants, and macaaues make their home here. Everyone who visits the park, however, seems to want to have a look at the amazing Rafflesia, one of the strangest flowering plants on earth; it smells like smelly meat when it blooms. Nikko National Park, Japan It is lovely to visit this park all the year round with its waterfalls and picturesque Lake Chuzenji. And it is especially worth visiting in autumn when the leaves change from green to deep red and orange. Set with UNESCO protected shrines and temples, the park is a unique mixture of natural and man-made attractions. With various routes perfect for adventurous hikers, a visit to the Nikko National Park is not to be missed. If you want to know more information about Asian famous national parks, you can log in http://www.travel.Amerikanki.com. If you want to enjoy all the above, welcome to call 050-24689120, and we can give a reasonable price. | If you're an adventurous hiker, which park would you probably choose to visit? | [
"Nikko National Park."
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I've loved my mother's desk since I was just tall enough to sit above the top of it. Mother sat writing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be a most wonderful thing in the world. Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. "But the desk," she said again, "is for Elizabeth." I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed in action. But as a young girl. I wanted to have heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was "too emotional ". But she lived "on the surface ". As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me. My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace - it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn't be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not. But the present of her desk told me, as she'd never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside - a photo of my father and a one-paper letter, folded and refolded many times. It was my letter. "In any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words." | What's best title of the passage? | [
"My Mother's Desk"
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Teaching and research are supported by the University's extensive collections--the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Collection of Musical Instruments. All the collections are open to the public. Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery, founded in 1832, today houses a collection that has grown to rank with those of the major public art museums in the United States. Its two connected buildings house ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art, Near and Far Eastern art, archaeological material from the University's excavations , Pre-Columbian and African art, works of European and American masters from actually every period, and a rich collection of modern art. Across the street, the Yale Center for British Art, which was opened in 1977, holds the largest collection of British art and illustrated books anywhere outside the United Kingdom. Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History, founded in 1866, contains one of the great scientific collections in North America. Among its holdings are the University's comprehensive mineralogical and ornithological collections, the second-largest repository of dinosaur artifacts in the United States, and the largest undamaged Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus ) in the world. The Peabody is truly a working museum, where public exhibition, research, conservation, teaching, and learning intersect . Yale Center for British Art Institutions like the Art Gallery, the Center for British Art, and the Peabody Museum hold only a portion of the treasures in the University's collections. From paintings by Picasso, to pterodactyl remains, to a 1689 tenor viol in the Collection of Musical Instruments, Yale's possessions are meant to be accessible to the communities they enrich. Collection of Musical Instruments Exhibitions are also frequently mounted at the following venues on campus: Art + Architecture Gallery (School of Architecture), Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Green Hall Gallery (School of Art), and Sterling Memorial Library, including the Arts of the Book Collection. | Where will you go if you want to enjoy dinosaur artifacts? | [
"Peabody Museum of Natural History."
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It takes two to duet , and one question for scientists is how these coordinated performances arise -- in birds. Are they the result of cooperation, a way in which one pair signals to others that they've got it together? Or are they the result of conflict, evolving to avoid one partner's song interfering with the other's? A study of duetting in Peruvian warbling antbirds suggests that it might be a little of both, and that context is everything. Joseph A. Tobias and Nathalie Seddon of the University of Oxford show in Current Biology that sexual conflict can cause the female of a pair that normally cooperates to "jam" the male's song by singing over it. The researchers exposed antbird pairs to recorded songs of other antbirds and monitored the songs the pairs produced. In one experiment, they played the songs of an intruding pair. In this case, the resident pair "both are likely to lose their territory, so both should cooperate," Dr. Tobias said. And they do. They produce a coordinated duet that in effect tells the intruders to keep away. But when the researchers played the song of a single female, the pair behaved differently. "You'd expect the resident female to be highly motivated to defend her position in the partnership," Dr. Tobias said. And that's what occurs. The male sings its heart out, flirting with the single female, and the female of the pair does its best to interfere with the song by singing over it, apparently to make her mate less attractive to the other female. "It's clear that the male doesn't like what she's doing," Dr. Tobias said. The behavior "breaks up what is otherwise a very cooperative situation into a more complicated signal," he added. It's the first evidence of this kind of signal jamming among pairs, Dr. Tobias said. And in that it leads the male to alter its song to avoid the female's interfering notes, it shows that this kind of conflict could, over a long period, drive the evolution of coordinated song. | What is the key factor of antbirds' duet? | [
"The context."
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SAN FRANCISCO--The "Reading Wizard", an 11 - year - old - boy, whose offer to read to children without being paid at a local library was refused by libraries, will get to read to younger kids after all. Mayor Willie Brown last Wednesday ordered San Francisco Public Library officials to allow John O'Connor to read to preschool children to get them interested in books and stop them from watching television and video games. "I didn't expect this kind of attention. " John said, "It's just shocking." John has chosen his first book, "The King's Giraffe", and made up fliers inviting neighborhood children, aged from three to six, to the Presidio Branch every Wednesday afternoon. He planned to call himself the "Reading Wizard" and wear a special hat, fake glasses and a black coat. But his idea was refused - on the phone, in person and finally with a letter from Toni Bernardi, the chief of the library's children and youth services. Using terms like "age appropriate material" ,she wrote that only library workers are allowed to read to children. John then went to a member of the city board of supervisors , who advised him to write letters to the library officials. "Our libraries are supposed to turn kids on, not to turn them off." Brown said he enjoyed "the creative idea, the sense of civic duty and the caring for others that John clearly showed us." | Who is the "Reading Wizard"? | [
"John O'Connor."
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"We don't necessarily believe that new advertising, which might make consumers feel better about the Coke brand or better about the ads themselves , will actually result in consumers consuming more of the product," Morgan Stanley's Bill Pecoriello wrote in a research note the days after the investor meeting . But Coke is optimistic it can regain its old magic, and is banking on a new slogan: "Welcome to the Coke side of life." BREAK THROUGH HIT? With PepsiCo about to surpass Coke as the beverage king on Wall Street--Pepsi's market capitalization has _ in recent years to $97.9 billion, putting it less than a billion dollars behind its rival--the heat is on Coke . It's set to launch a new marketing campaign in March, 2006. And having taken a quick look at Coke's investor presentation on Dec. 7 in New York, my sense is that Coke may be moving in the right direction . Given the continued shift by consumers away from soda--Coke's stronghold --and into alternative beverages like juice, tea, and water, Coke badly needs a breakthrough hit. And given that shift away from soda, some analyists wonder whether even the catchiest new ads will be enough to put the fizz back into Coke. SAME OLD, UPDATED? The new flavors of PowerAde sports drink will probably enable Coke to continue stealing market share from PepsiCo's Gatorade brand. And Coke is getting a little more creative with packaging, including new, aluminum bottles of Coke that will be sold in nightclubs, and an 8.4-ounce "100 calorie" version of its flagship Coke that will appeal to women who want fewer calories and will like the fact that the small can will fit in their purse. I doubt whether other new products will be successful, including a new coffee-flavored soda called Coke-Cola Black that I tried. Think carbonated coffee. But I'm not sure if the product, which Coke is pitching as an afternoon pick-me-up for the 35-and-over set, is going to pull people away from their afternoon Frappucino fix. And my opinion is that Vault, an orange-flavored energy drink, will have just as much trouble unseating Mountain Dew among teens as did Coke's last attempt, a product called Surge. If there is one concern I have about the fresh offerings Coke plans to launch this year, it appears that many of them are simply new brands, not new products. | When the middle-aged people feel tired, what would they prefer to drink in order to continue their work? | [
"Frappucino."
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While most teachers enjoy the summer break from work, other teachers try to find part-time work during that time. If you're one of those teachers who are finding part-time work during the summer, writing for children might be the right job you're looking for. During the school year, you're very familiar with children in your classroom. That means you know what children think about, how they talk and how they act. If you read stories and books for children with your students during the school year, you also know the kinds of story that children are fond of. As a teacher, you can go to the school library and find out what kinds of books students are most interested in. Also, what kinds of books seem to be in short supply? Use this information to create stories and novels. If you continue writing for children during the school year, you won't have enough time to write as much while you're teaching, but you can probably manage to work on at least one short story for children each month. Even if you don't finish these pieces during the school year, when school ends for the summer you will have lots of writing projects to finish and hand in to editors . Recently, many teachers have turned to writing for children as a part-time job. If you enjoy writing as much as you enjoy teaching, then writing for children might be the second job for you, too. | Who is the passage probably written for? | [
"Teachers."
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"To be or not to be".Outside the Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of the world.They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are the most famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only for himself but for every thinking man and woman.To be or not to be----to live or not to live, to live richly and abundantly and eagerly, or to live dully and meanly and scarcely.A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive or not, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally.He answered it by saying, "I think, therefore I am." But the best definition of existence I ever saw was one written by another philosopher who said, "To be is to be in relations." If this is true, then the more relations a living thing has, the more it is alive.To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity of our relations.Unfortunately, we are so constituted that we get to love our routine.But other than our regular occupation, how much are we alive? If you are interested only in your regular occupation, you are alive only to that extent.So far as other things are concerned----poetry and prose, music, pictures, sports unselfish friendships, politics, international affairs----you are dead. On the contrary, it is true that every time you acquire a new interest----even more, a new accomplishment----you increase your power of life.No one who is deeply interested in different kinds of subjects can remain unhappy.The real is the person who has lost interest. Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend.But we gain new life by contacts with new friends, and new ideas and thoughts, too.Where your thoughts are, there will be your life also.If your thoughts are limited only to your business, only to your physical welfare, only to your narrow circle of the town in which you live, then you live in a narrow restricted life.But if you are interested in the characters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interested people; if you listen intently to fine music, you are always away from immediate surroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination. To be or not to be ---- to live intensely and richly, or merely to exist, that depends on ourselves.Let us widen and intensify our relations.While we live, let us live. | What is the main idea of the passage? | [
"To be is to be in relations."
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Vivi Mac, an amazing artist from France, can use nearly any kind of food to create detailed celebrity portraits .Although she has yet to _ her short-lived work of arts in a proper art gallery, Vivi Mac has already made a name for herself online. We've seen some amazing food artists in the past, but none are quite like this one .Karen Eland is a master coffee painter, Elisabetta Rogai uses wine as her medium ,Kelly McCollam uses food colouring to recreat classic paintings, but the self-taught Vivi Mac can take anything from chewing gum to milk and turn it into a fantastic portrait When working with liquids, Mac uses a simple plastic straw and her hands to guide the unusual .mediums around a plastic plate which acts as a painting. Just how she manages to capture the finest facial features is still a mistery to me, and I've seen videos of her doing it many times, Vivi Mac has never attended art school. She only used online resources like blogs and facebook to learn the basics of drawing and painting. She started out working with pens and paper, but soon realized drawing wasn't just creative enough for her. She got into speed painting and body painting, posting videos of her works on You Tube, but it wasn't until she began experimenting with different kinds of foods that her art got serious coverage. Photos and videos of her eatable celebrity portraits, like Bruce Lee in milk Ice Cube in crushed ice or Amy Winehouse in wine, became popular on the French inter-webs and changed Vivi Mac into an online celebrity. | In which section of a website are we most likely to find the passage? | [
"Art"
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As a boy growing up in India, I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s, with great interest. My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe, where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium, Netherlands and West Germany. I have clear memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand, during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew . The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable, even for someone like me, who is especially afraid of flying. After spending almost two weeks in Europe, we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport, for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine , it was simply an unforgettable experience. I had a sombre feeling on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation, but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again, with the quality of their service. Being the first airline to take me abroad, Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today,I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying, in general,for me,has always been a terrible and painful experience.Flying on Lufthansa,however, is something I always have and always will look forward to. ks5u | Which country does the author live in now? | [
"India."
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Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that men and animals possess, if they are properly used. If fire did not hurt when it burnt, children would play with it until their hands were burnt away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn't, a child would burn himself or herself again and again, because fear would not warn himself or herself to keep away from the fire that had burnt himself or herself before. A really fearless soldier--and some do exist, is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which men and animals might soon die out. In our first sentence we suggested that fear should be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. Even in your house you are not absolutely safe: an aeroplane may crash on your house, or ants may eat away some of the beams in your roof so that the latter falls on you, or you may get cancer! The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take. In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you. Fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well. In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you can't prevent an aeroplane crashing onto your house. In this case, fear has given you its warning; you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of this particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it. | What's the writer's suggestion when the danger can't be avoided? | [
"You have to try to overcome it."
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"When I grow up, I want to be..." Almost all of us have thought about, or been asked to think about, our future careers. Our answers may differ greatly. Even now your aspirations may have changed from when you were in primary school. However, it seems career options aren't only based on personal taste. In a survey carried out by Teens, doctors, lawyers, and bankers were some of most popular careers that people said they hoped to follow. This is in line with a similar survey carried out in the UK in May 2011 by job website monster. Co.uk, in which medicine was the top choice among UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17. Medicine and law are two of the oldest and best known professions. Their prestige may come from the fact that doctors and lawyers are some of the most esteemed members of society, and they make good money. Joining these high-profile professions is often seen as a sign of upward social mobility. It is equally unsurprising that banking is now one of the most common career choices. Youngsters worldwide think of banking and see the money rolling in. Wealth is increasingly becoming one of the most important indicators of a successful career. British young men list the UK tycoon Alan Sugar, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg as their top role models "for their wealth". Just as Chinese teenagers see being a banker as a good and fun pathway to "wealth". However, not every child has the makings of doctor, lawyer, or banker. They are those who see fulfillment and happiness in other areas, and many teenagers dare to ink more individuality into their career options. As the Teens' survey discovered, a variety of unconventional jobs---coffee shop owner, gourmet ,waiter at a fast food restaurant---are among teenagers' career choices. They can be equally interesting and rewarding jobs. With every choice comes responsibility and challenge, and all career paths require specific education and training, you have to learn to balance optimism and confidence with being realistic about your particular talents and skills. | What is the top career choice among UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17 according to the article? | [
"Medicine"
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"When I grow up, I want to be..." Almost all of us have thought about, or been asked to think about, our future careers. Our answers may differ greatly. Even now your aspirations may have changed from when you were in primary school. However, it seems career options aren't only based on personal taste. In a survey carried out by Teens, doctors, lawyers, and bankers were some of most popular careers that people said they hoped to follow. This is in line with a similar survey carried out in the UK in May 2011 by job website monster. Co.uk, in which medicine was the top choice among UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17. Medicine and law are two of the oldest and best known professions. Their prestige may come from the fact that doctors and lawyers are some of the most esteemed members of society, and they make good money. Joining these high-profile professions is often seen as a sign of upward social mobility. It is equally unsurprising that banking is now one of the most common career choices. Youngsters worldwide think of banking and see the money rolling in. Wealth is increasingly becoming one of the most important indicators of a successful career. British young men list the UK tycoon Alan Sugar, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg as their top role models "for their wealth". Just as Chinese teenagers see being a banker as a good and fun pathway to "wealth". However, not every child has the makings of doctor, lawyer, or banker. They are those who see fulfillment and happiness in other areas, and many teenagers dare to ink more individuality into their career options. As the Teens' survey discovered, a variety of unconventional jobs---coffee shop owner, gourmet ,waiter at a fast food restaurant---are among teenagers' career choices. They can be equally interesting and rewarding jobs. With every choice comes responsibility and challenge, and all career paths require specific education and training, you have to learn to balance optimism and confidence with being realistic about your particular talents and skills. | What do youngsters think is increasingly becoming one of the most important indicators of a successful career? | [
"Wealth"
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Experience the Colorado River the Hualapai Way! River Runners offers the ONLY One Day Whitewater trip ANYWHERE at the GRAND CANYOU! Since1973,Hualapai River Runners has been conducting whitewater rafting journey to the Colorado River. Our experienced guides expertly sail along the river and share the history of the Canyon and the Hualapai people with you. Visitors experience the excitement of whitewater rapids and then stop to enjoy the impressive beauty of Travertine Falls and a tasty lunch.No charge for children 2 years and under. One-Day Trip Retail$249.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation) Whitewater rafting tours begin in Peach Springs.Hualapai River Runners transports you to Diamond Creek, which is the starting point for the 37 mile rafting tour. Lunch is included and upon arrival at the rafting tour termination point ,fly out of the Grand Canyon by helicopter to Grand Canyon West. Two-Day Trip Retail$549.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation) Two-day rafting trips with one night on the Colorado River. All supplies and meals are included. Two days in the Grand Canyon,on the Colorado River allows more time to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Tours Include: *Round-trip transportation from Peach Springs to the starting point and from the termination point back to Peach Springs. *Snack, drinks and lunch(vegetarian meals available upon request) *Waterproof dry bags for storing your cameras, sunscreen, dry clothes, etc. *The helicopter part of transportation is weather permitting. If the helicopter transportation is cancelled because of bad weather, the raft will continue an additional two hours to South Cove and a maximum $20.00 per customer will be given back. Special Website booking rate 15% off rafting in April 2010. So book now! Call us Toll Free Today! Tel: 1-888-868-9378 | Where do whitewater rafting tours start? | [
"Peach Springs"
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Melissa and Roman McCoy were looking forward to the Christmas. But on December 5th, Roman got a phone call that changed everything. Melissa had been in a terrible car accident, and the doctor had little hope she would make it. "He said the next six to eight hours were critical in determining whether she would live or not. And I just wept," Roman said. "A lot of pressure built up inside, and I just dropped my cell phone on the ground when I heard that. It was the worst feeling that I've ever felt." Melissa, a college English professor, was on her way to class when her car hit into a mound of dirt and rolled over several times. Roman recalled, "I could only think how I am going to raise my kids without their mother. If she did live, how would I take care of her and my kids? The questions you never want to ask yourself, I had to face." Melissa survived the first night. She had injuries to her stomach and lungs and worse, she suffered severe injuries to her brain. She didn't recognize anyone, even her own husband. "Over the next few days, she remained unresponsive to treatments. The brain surgeon never really gave us much hope." Days passed and Melissa didn't improve. Christmas Eve, Roman was by her side in the hospital. Then, he received a Christmas gift he would never forget. "That evening, she woke up and was just as clear as before, recognized everybody, and was able to read. It was just amazing. I saw her bright smile and her sense of humor. The only way I could describe it is that the weight of the darkness that had hovered over me was just completely gone." Melissa quickly improved, and she is back to being a wife, mom, and professor. There is no sign of damage from the brain. Melissa said, "I thank him for everything now. It's not just 'thank you for my job, thank you for my children.' It's 'thank you for every aspect of my life.'" | The worst injuries that Melissa had were to her . | [
"brain"
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Everywhere man is altering the balance of nature.He is facilitating the spread of plants and animals into new regions, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously.He is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants, or with houses, factories, slag-heaps and other products of his civilization.He exterminates some species on a large scale, but favours the multiplication of others.In brief, he has done more in five thousand years to alter the biological aspect of the planet than has nature in five million. Many of these changes which he has brought about have had unforeseen consequences.Who would have thought that the throwing away of a piece of Canadian waterweed would have caused half the waterways of Britain to be blocked for a decade, or that the provision of pot cacti for lonely settlers' wives would have led to Eastern Australian being overrun with forests of Prickly Pear? Who would have prophesied that the cutting down of forests on the Adriatic coasts, or in parts of Central Africa, could have reduced the land to a semidesert, with the very soil washed away from the bare rock? Who would have thought that improved communications would have changed history by the spreading of disease-sleeping sickness into East Africa, measles into Oceania, very possibly malaria into ancient Greece? These are spectacular examples; but examples on a smaller scale are everywhere to be found.We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds, prescribing absolute security for all species; and we may find that some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies beyond measure and ousts the rare kinds in which we were particularly interested.We see, owing to some little change brought about by civilization, the starling spread over the English country-side in hordes.We improve the yielding capacities of our cattle; and find that now they exhaust the pastures which sufficed for less exigent stock. | What have spread diseases? | [
"Improved communications."
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School leaders from around the country gathered at the White House on November 19 for"Connected to the Future," a conference about digital technology in education.Connected is the Obama Government's five-year plan to support the growth of digital learning in schools.This growth includes equipping America's schools with high-speed broadband Internet . At the conference,President Barack Obama said the U.S.Department of Education is taking steps to help educators and school districts as they change to digital learning.The department created new guidelines to help schools work to improve their technological infrastructure .The guidelines are also designed to help schools choose the right digital devices and set up policies for their proper use. "We have to do more to offer our children a world-class education,"Obama told the crowd of school leaders."We have to improve our education level if we are going to make sure that every child in America can go as far as their dreams and talents will take them." According to Cecilia Muoz,director of the Domestic Policy Council,less than 40% of public schools in America have high-speed Internet access in their classrooms.She believes that Connected will make America a leader in using technology to educate students. Muoz mentioned the Mooresville school district as a success story.Mooresville provides each student in grades 3 through 12 with a device,and uses a mostly digital subject.Muoz said Mooresville now ranks third in test scores and second in graduation rates in the state. At the end of the president's speech,1,200 school leaders attending the event signed the Future Ready District Pledge on their iPads.It promises the education leaders to help develop a culture of learning through technology at their schools,and to support teachers and students in using technology. "Every child deserves a chance at a world-class education,"Obama added."That's what makes our nation great." | Who will take charge of putting the plan into practice? | [
"The U.S.Department of Education."
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The man sitting opposite Robert was the Financial Controller. Everybody called him "the FC" for short. He made all the decisions about money. Robert needed some more. That was why he had to see him. The two men did not get on very well. In fact, they had always disliked each other. "Your request is out of the question," the FC said. Robert had difficulty in controlling himself, but he managed somehow. He explained that he wanted the money in order to make more programmes. "And why do you want to do that?" the FC asked sharply. Again, Robert almost lost his temper. "Because more and more people are listening to my department's programmes. There's great demand for them," he answered. The FC did not seem to believe him. But Robert had a report on the numbers of listeners to all EBC programmes. The FC became less confident. Robert threw the report down on the table and told him to read it. The FC looked at it in silence. The figures proved that he had been wrong, but he did not want to admit it. "Well," he finally said, "I may have made a small mistake." Robert noticed the word "may." He got up to leave. But he had the feeling that he would get the money after all. | Who do you think won the argument in the end? | [
"Robert"
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British author JK Rowling was at the release of her latest Harry Potter book called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the Natural History Museum in London, Friday July 20, 2007. J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on a detective novel, a British newspaper reported Saturday. The Sunday Times newspaper quoted Ian Rankin, a fellow author and neighbor of Rowling's, as saying the creator of the "Harry Potter" books is turning to crime fiction. "My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel," the newspaper quoted Rankin as telling a reporter at an Edinburgh literary festival. "It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," said Rankin, who is known for his own police novels set in the historic Scottish city. Rowling famously wrote initial drafts of the Potter story in the Scottish city's cafes. Back then, she was a struggling single mother who wrote in cafes to save on the heating bill at home. Now she's Britain's richest woman - worth $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine - and her seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide. In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Rowling said she believed she was unlikely to repeat the success of the Potter series, but confirmed she had plans to work on new books. "I'll do exactly what I did with Harry - I'll write what I really want to write," Rowling said. | What is JK Rowling famous for? | [
"Harry Potter books"
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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. | What kind of disaster of this article is talking about? | [
"tornado"
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Students across the country are finding ways, with the help of devoted teachers, to raise funds for causes near and dear to their hearts. While kids raise funds for bird habitats and heart health, they learn lessons that will help them succeed in school -- and in life. Feathered Friends To collect money for an important nature fund and use skills right out of a science textbook, The Branch School of West Houston, Texas, took to the fields and forests to find more than 45 species of birds in their Bird-A-Thon's largest annual fundraising event and the world's biggest bird watching competition. Teams earn pledges for each donation to benefit the 40-year-old Houston Audubon (houstonaudubon.org), a chapter of the National Audubon Society. The 24th Houston Audubon Bird-A-Thon raised over $56,000 to promote the conservation and appreciation of birds and wildlife habitat. Bonus: In identifying specific species, students learn about habitats, ecology, and preservation, all while getting exercise. Jump Rope for Heart This program has raised a lot of money for AHA (the American Heart Association). French Road Elementary of Rochester, New York, topped the 2012 list of participating schools in Jump Rope for Heart, a jump-rope-a-thon, with $67,432. A "Wall of Honor" stands at one end of the gym, each paper heart bearing the name of a patient for students to see as they jump in honor of that child. The program, organized by physical education teachers, earned pledges per jump. Bonus: Per jump pledges offer students practice with multiplication and money handling skills, with science and health, too! | What do "Feathered Friends" probably refer to? | [
"Birds."
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