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"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby' s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed , knowing that his life was to be unfortunate. He cried to his mum "A boy, a big boy... called me a freak ."
He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. "But you might communicate with other young people," his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You' re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it' s a secret." The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared.
Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, "Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her." "I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet."
The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother' s casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears.
"Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," his father whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?" | Why did Mother gasp when she saw her newborn baby? | Because her son was born imperfect. | ['Because her son had a tiny face.', 'Because she saw her son crying.', 'Because her son was in her arms.'] |
Like many other inventors before him, professor Slawomir Suwak designed only the things he needed himself. He had several patents on his conscience already: an automatic cork opener for wine in the indicative state, a portable set of board games for solving personality problems, a wallet with a mini-device for the duplications of 100 zloty bills, and a piece of equipment "the day after" used to irretrievably eliminate from the time-space continuum days burdened with a hangover.
Now came the time for a mini-device preventing the development of symptoms of psycho-motor aggression.
The device was really simple. It weighed about a kilo and was the size of a bag of flour. It was to be worn on the right wrist. The fact it had to be the right wrist was very important. Otherwise, the invention didn't work properly, or even worse, it produced results opposite to its intended effect.
Each day, its mini-containers had to be re-filled with substances promoting positive processes in the body leading to the return of good mood. There were three containers to re-fill, and the substances were not available on the local market and had to be imported using diplomatic channels from the USA. To operate the device, turning it on stand-by was enough. In that mode, it could be used continuously for one and a half hours. To recharge the batteries, you needed a charger, which was stored in a small suitcase. The device, when it was turned on, made a low murmur (or according to some - a loud growl) designed to keep the owner in a good mood.
Professor Suwak called his new baby "mini-anti-aggressor."
The McPhilips corporation expressed its interest in the product early on, even when it was still at the drawing-board stage. The company partially financed the purchase of sub-assembly elements from its subsidiary specializing in the productions of components for technologically advanced products. | What is probably true about the McPhillips corporation? | They deal with psycho aggression | ['not enough information', 'They deal with assembly', 'They deal with maintenance'] |
My nephew, Adam, turned 19 on Monday. He's a good kid and makes the whole family laugh. He wears his baseball cap backward, his shorts baggy and his T-shirts loose. In short, I hate the way he looks. To me, it seems as if everything is about to fall off at any moment. He makes me nervous.
But he's still a teenager. I think that's the way he's supposed to look. Cooler than cool.
I was on the Harvard campus recently and was surprised how almost everyone looked like Adam, just as they did on the Georgetown campus the week before with baggy shorts far below the knees.
It's a uniform, of course, just as there was a uniform when I went to college. Fashion is a changeable thing. _ has made fools of us all over the years.
In my college years, everyone wore frayed bell-bottoms, tie-dye shirts and hair to the shoulders.
But I predict the "uniform" that's likely to cause the most shame for its wearers 30 years from now will be the exposed-tummy look brought to us by Britney Spears.
I'll admit. Britney's exposed-mid-waist looks pretty good in those short jeans. Just a piece of skin. Firm, flat, brown.
Unfortunately, the look has been picked up by young women from Malibu to Maine, young women who do not have Britney Spears' firm, flat, brown skin.
As my mother has asked a thousand times: Don't these girls have mirrors? | What's the writer's opinion about Britney's exposed-tummy look? | It doesn't fit everyone | ['It fits no one', 'It is pretty to wear', 'It will have an ill effect on young women'] |
At thirteen, I was diagnosed with kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said,"Mrs.Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it."
She glanced down at me through her glasses, "you are no different from your classmates, young man."
I tried, but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots , which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "sighted" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day- with an"A" on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:" See what you can do when you keep trying?" | The author didn't finish the reading in class because. | He had an attention disorder | ['He was new to the class', 'He was tired of literature', 'He wanted to take the task home'] |
When we got married we thought it was going to be all bliss and happiness for life. By about week two we both had an awakening.
Something about being exact opposites and together 24/7.
We clashed about something so important I can’t even remember what it was. We hadn’t really ever had that happen while engaged.
Suddenly we realized that the bliss and excitement was growing into, well, everyday life.
And all that passionate romance that had driven our relationship was growing, well, less passionate.
We both realized our marriage had entered a new phase, one of many, through the years.
And we needed to be much more purposeful about making sure it worked. Purposeful because the blinding emotional love some days seemed to be asleep.
Yet, we both had committed to our marriage. For better or worse. So we decided we had the potential for either. We needed to make it better or it would become worse.
We learned to really talk. Even when it was difficult.
We learned to argue without hurting each other.
We purposefully expressed love even in those times we didn’t especially feel it.
We built romance into our relationship even when we didn’t feel romantic.
And through the years our relationship has grown. Sometimes through difficult times.
Heck, sometimes through difficult eras.
Yet, we both never gave up the dream of making our marriage great. We never gave up the ideal of living together in love for a lifetime.
And because of that, through all the trials and triumphs. Through all the frustration and bliss. Through all the sameness and romance.
We still everyday enjoy our love and each other. And can’t imagine life without the other.
Well actually, there have been probably a couple of those days for my wife. She’s just too nice to say it.
A great marriage isn’t built because it’s perfect. Only because you keep trying to make it perfect. | Very soon after they got married: | they had a fight | ['not enough information', 'they had difficult eras', 'they worked through a lot of issues'] |
England will play Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in a tough Group D at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Roy Hodgson's men open their campaign against Italy in the Amazonian city of Manaus on 15 June in the only World Cup game which kicks off at 02:00 BST. England take on Uruguay on 19 June and play Costa Rica five days later.
Hosts Brazil are in Group A with Cameroon, Mexico and Croatia while the World Cup holders Spain open with a repeat of the 2010 final against Netherlands.
England will have to travel 1,777 miles from their chosen base in Rio for their first match in the tropical heat of Manaus.
Earlier this week Hodgson described Manaus as "the place to avoid" because of the climate--temperatures reach 30C and humidity is about 80%--although after the draw the England boss took comfort from the fact his team face a fellow European side.
"The conditions in the north will be tough, so we will both be in same boat," he said. "If we'd had three games up in the north, it would have been difficult."
Following Hodgson's initial comments, the mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio, said England would not be welcome in the city.
England takes on two-time champions Uruguay in Sao Paulo and they play Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte--both cities are within 225 miles of their base.
England have never previously beaten Italy or Uruguay at a major tournament , while they have never faced Costa Rica.
Uruguay, who reached the semi-finals in 2010, and Italy, who knocked Hodgson's men out of Euro 2012, are ranked sixth and seventh respectively in the Fifa rankings while Costa Rica are 31st in the world - 18 places below England. | When and where will England play its third group stage match? | On 24 June; in Belo Horizonte | ['On 24 June; in Manaus', 'On 19 June; in Manaus', 'On 19 June; in Sao Paulo'] |
Emily Nagoski is a badass Ph.D. who teaches human sexuality. She wrote a book – Come As You Are. Here’s a secret: the entire sexology community was eager to get their mitts on her book, it was very exciting. I can’t recall the last time there was that much hullabaloo about one book.
In this important book, Dr Nagoski explains the interplay between sexual desire and stress — a concept that gives us a unique insight into what is going on in women’s sex lives.
THE ACCELERATOR AND THE BRAKES
This concept is a big deal. Think of the accelerator and the brake of a car. Each pedal acts independently from one another; you can press on the accelerator and you can stomp on the brakes. You can even press both at the same time. We don’t often press them at the same time – in fact, I was specifically told NOT to do that in driver’s ed – but anyhow, pretend you do. If you press both pedals all the way to the floor of the car, do you stop or go?
That’s right, you STOP!
Ok, now get this, your brake pedal is all the stress you have and your accelerator is your sexual desire. In the same way that the brake and accelerator of a car are two separate pedals yet also inextricably linked, so are your stress and your arousal. They are not the same things, yet have everything to do with one another.
If your stress level is high, the majority of women have brakes that turn on, meaning, no matter how much sexy stuff is going on around her, she does not want sex at all. It is like she is pressing down the brakes and the accelerator at the same time.
This isn’t the case for all women; some women have extremely sensitive brakes or extremely sensitive accelerators. And as Nagoski has found, while this correlation between stress and sexual desire is more common for women, men experience it too (just not quite as often). | When was the author told not to press the accelerator and the brakes at the same time? | while in driver's ed class | ['not enough information', 'while in elementary school', 'while in college'] |
It was amusing because I doubt I will use either , but I ' m sure I can find someone to give them to . My main mistake in this race was wearing XC spikes ( obviously with the spikes not screwed in ) . I had tried them out a few times in training , and thought it would be worth the experiment . They are very hard , and substantially more minimal and lighter than the flats I normally train in , and as a result they did a number on my calf muscles over the final few miles . | How may I be feeling right now ? | Tired | ['sad', 'hungry', 'Happy'] |
No one knows where he is , or if he 's okay . I feel so sad for him and his family . I hope he 's okay , and that there is some reasonable explanation for his not being home for a few days . It 's so weird how people you have little to no contact with can have such an impact . | What has plausibly happened to him to write this post ? | He is missing . | ['He went to work .', 'He is sick .', 'He broke up with his girlfriend .'] |
Standing at the altar of willing - to - give - up - my - pride - and - dignity - forgotten , ready to wait for as long as it took you to come running through the doors . To your credit , you did come halfway through the aisle ... You just kept turning your head to see if the things you had to leave behind were still in place . I do n't want you to feel like you 're indebted to love me just because I loved you unconditionally ( that 's why it 's unconditional ) . It would have been fine if you stayed rooted to your spot , your eyes somewhere else ( perhaps on the many girls you ' ve been spotted with ) , and I would have been fine with it . | What may be the reason for loving someone so much when they treat you like you 're second best ? | None of the above choices . | ['They are codependent .', 'They have a long history .', "They are obsessed and do n't know how to live without them ."] |
Standard English is that variety of English which is usually used in print,and which is normally taught in schools and to non-native speakers learning the language.It is also the variety which is normally spoken by educated people and used in news broadcasts and other similar situations.The difference between standard and non-standard,it should be noted,has nothing in principle to do with differences between formal and informal language:Standard English has informal as well as formal variants.
Historically the standard variety of English is based on the London Dialect of English that developed after the Norman Conquest resulted in the removal of the Court from Winchester to London.This dialect became the one preferred by the educated,and it was developed and promoted as a model,or norm,for wider and wider parts of society.It was also the norm that was carried overseas.But not one unaffected by such export.Today,standard English is codified to the degree that the grammar and vocabulary of English are much the same everywhere in the world where English is used:difference among the local standards is really quite minor,so that the Singapore,South Africa,and Irish varieties are really very little different from one another so far as grammar and vocabulary are concerned.Indeed,standard English is so powerful that it puts a tremendous pressure on all local varieties,to the degree that many of the long-established dialects of England have lost much of their vigor and there is much pressure on them to converge towards the standard.This latter situation is not unique to English:it is also in other countries where processes of standardization are under way.But it sometimes creates problems for speakers who try to strike some kind of compromise between local norms and national,even super-national ones. | The main topic of the text is | the origin and development of standard English used nowadays. | ['the difference between standard English and non-standard English.', 'the influence between standard English and non-standard English.', 'the difference between standard English and the London dialects.'] |
Red roses were her favorites; her name was also Rose. And every year her husband sent them, tied with pretty bows. The year he died, the roses were delivered to her door. The card said, "Be my Valentine " , like all the years before.
Each year he sent her roses, and the note would always say, "I love you even more this year, than last year on this day. My love for you will always grow, with every passing year." She knew this was the last time that the roses would appear. She thought, he ordered roses in advance before this day. Her loving husband did not know that he would pass away. He always liked to do things early. Then, if he got too busy, everything would work out fine. She cut away some stems, placed them in a very special vase, and set the vase beside the picture of his smiling face. She would sit for hours in her husband's favorite chair, staring at his photo and the roses sitting there.
A year went by, and it was hard to live without her mate. Loneliness and solitude had become her fate. Then, the very hour, as on Valentine's Day before, the doorbell rang, and there were roses, sitting by her door. She brought the roses in, and just looked at them in shock. Then, she went to get the telephone to call the florist shop. The owner answered, and she asked him, if he would explain why someone would do this to her, causing her such pain.
"I know your husband passed away, more than a year ago," the owner said, "I knew you'd call, and you would want to know. The flowers you received today were paid for in advance. Your husband always planned ahead. He left nothing to chance."
"There is a standing order that I have on file down here. And he has paid, well in advance; you'll get them every year. There is also another thing that I think you should know. He wrote a special little card ... he did this years ago." "Then, should ever, I find out that he's no longer here. That's the card ... that should be sent to you the following year." She thanked him and hung up the phone ,her tears now flowing hard. Her fingers shaking, she slowly reached to get the card. Inside the card, she saw that he had written her a note.
Then,as she stared in total silence, this is what he wrote: "Hello my love, I know it's been a year since I was gone. I hope it hasn't been too hard for you to overcome. I know it must be lonely, and the pain is very real. If it was the other way, I know how I would feel. The love we shared made everything so beautiful in life. I loved you more than words can say. You were the perfect wife."
"You were my friend and lover; you satisfied my every need. I know it's only been a year, but please try not to grieve. I want you to be happy, even when you shed your tears. That is why the roses will be sent to you for years."
"When you get these roses, think of all the happiness that we had together, and how both of us were blessed. I have always loved you and I know I always will. But, my love, you must go on; you have some living still."
"Please ... try to find happiness, while living out your days. I know it is not easy, but I hope you find some ways. The roses will come every year, and they will only stop when your door's not answered, when the florist stops to knock. He will come five times that day, in case you have gone out. But after his last visit, he will know without a doubt. To take the roses to the place, where I've instructed him, and place them where we are, together once again." | What can we know about Rose's husband when he was alive? | He preferred to make arrangements ahead of time. | ['He knew his wife loved roses more than himself.', "He gave his wife a pleasant surprise every Valentine's Day.", 'He was so busy that he had to order roses in advance each year.'] |
Creating a self portrait is not your typical selfie!
When I taught in the traditional classroom, creating self portraits was something I had students do whether they were four or nine. In fact, I’d have them draw one on the first day of school and one toward the end of the year and to see the change over time was always so interesting.
At least once during the year, likely toward the beginning, I would center a lesson around self portraits.
In younger classes, there would be more than one.
Creating a self portrait teaches students to be aware of themselves. Where is her head in relation to her body? Where are her feet in relation to her legs?
It also teaches children spatial awareness. Where should he begin…with his feet or with his head? Where on the paper should his head be placed? How far down should his arms go? How can his whole body fit on a single piece of paper?
A Lesson on Creating Self Portraits
Whether you are in a classroom, or teaching a child at home, here is a simple lesson on creating self portraits geared toward young children, anywhere from age 2 through age 6. Keep in mind that their final product will show various levels of writing development, depending on what stage of writing they are in. (Basically, a two-year-old’s drawing should look very different than that of a five-year-old.)
The teacher will need to model how to draw a self portrait.
Gather the children around an easel or board and clip a paper to it.
Narrate the process as you walk through the steps.
“I am going to draw a picture of myself. I am going to start with my head.”
Use your hands to show your actual head on yourself so students are aware of what you talking about. The visuals also help English Language Learners (if you’re teaching in an English speaking classroom.) and build vocabulary for all students. | Why should the teacher use their hands when giving instructions? | so the students are aware of what the teacher is talking about | ['not enough information', 'so that deaf children understand', 'to make the children laugh'] |
Fernando and I were arguing about why I never took any real vacations.When he suggested we go off somewhere for three entire weeks,"You decide,"I said.
He chose a little fishing village off the coast and he planned out a schedule.Our trip was full of wormer and fun,but when we got there,the shabby hotel failed to satisfy us,so we left a day early for the beach.As we drove,we passed two orphanages .Christmas was only a few days away,and I felt that I should stop to do something for the children.
Then Femando came up with a plan to help the poor children we saw.We made a list of names,and then we went into town to buy new clothes,toys,and school supplies.For the rest of the day,we filled backpacks.We were excited about the celebration we had plantted for the next day,December 26,when we'd invite the families to the beach in front of the hotel and hand out the presents.
Fernando and I were still in bed at around 9:00 the next morning when we heard a cracking sound."What is that?"I asked.As if in response.water started pouring into our room.The children's backpacks we had arranged so neatly on the floor began floating around.The next thing I knew was that the roof was torn off.and Fernando and I were swept out.
I thought I was going to die.
Under the water, I forced myself to calm down and then I popped out.Suddenly I saw Fernando only four feet away.
"What just happened?"I asked Fernando.
"Tsunami !",he shouted to me."Just be strong.Whatever it was,"he told me,"It's all over now."But a few seconds later,another wave buried us.I tried to grab him as he reached out to me,but he fell back under the water,and I never saw him again. | What can we learn about the trip? | Their trip was satisfying at the beginning. | ['Fernando often argued with the author about their trips.', 'The author chose a little fishing village off the coast.', 'They would stay in the orphanages for Christmas Day.'] |
The rise of multinational corporations , global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR.
Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, America's relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other countries. Ten years ago, for example, the world's top five public relations agencies were American-owned. In 1991, only one was. The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative. A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S. companies.It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR.
Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? Firstly, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs. Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country. Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts in knowing a second language. Less than 5 percent of Burson--Marshall's U.S.employees know two languages. Ogilvy and Mather have about the same percentage. Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language. Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs. In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal. Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country.
Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN (Cable News Network). Turner recently announced that the word "foreign" would no longer be used on CNN news
broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as foreign. | What is the immediate cause of the downfall of America's public relations? | Other countries have increased their efforts in public relations. | ['The number of US public relations agencies had greatly decreased by 1991.', 'On the global scale, cultural differences have significantly shrunk.', 'The British companies are becoming especially sophisticated and creative in public relations.'] |
Since the beginning of time, man has been interested in the moon. The Romans designed a special day to show admiration and respect to the moon. They called it "Moonday", or "Monday", as we know it today. Later, the great mind of Leonardo da Vinci studied the moon and designed a machine to carry a human to the moon. Leonardo said that one day a great machine bird would take a person to the moon and bring great honour to the home where it was born.
Four and a half centuries later, Leonardo's idea was realized. Apollo II took three Americans--Collins, Aldrin, and Armstrong--to the moon. The mission did fill the whole world with great surprise, as Leonardo had said it would. A lot of essays, articles, and books were written about man's first moon mission. But perhaps the most interesting story was one written before the event----over 100 years before.
In 1865, French author Jules Verne wrote a story about the first journey to the moon. His story was very similar to the 1969 Apollo II mission.
Verne's spacecraft also contained three men--two Americans and a Frenchman. The spacecraft was described as being almost the same size as Apollo II. The launch site in Verne's story was also in prefix = st1 /Florida. The spacecraft in Verne's story was named the "Columbiad". The Apollo II command ship was called "Columbia". His account of sending the spacecraft into the space could easily have been written about how Apollo II was sent into the space.
Verne's story was the same as the actual event in several other respects. The speed of Verne's spacecraft was 36,000 feet per second; Apollo's was 35,533 feet per second. Verne's spacecraft took 97 hours to reach the moon; Apollo's time was 103 hours. Like Apollo's spacemen, Verne's spacemen took pictures of the moon's surface, relaxed on their seats, cooked with gas, and experienced weightlessness. They too came down in the Pacific and were picked up by an American warship.
What were the reasons for Jules Verne's extreme accuracy in describing an event 100 years or more before it actually occurred? He based his writings on the law of physics and astronomy . Nineteenth-century science and the vivid Verne's imagination gave people an unbelievably accurate preview of one of the greatest events of the 20thcentury. | Verne's story is very similar to _ . | the Apollo II mission | ['the first U.S space misison', "Leonardo da Vinci's story", 'a lot of other books on the same subject'] |
In today's world English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world. How can we master the English language? I'd like to give you some good advice.
First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Meon TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made.
Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. Remember you have to make a mistake before you can correct it. A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too.
Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to _ The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say "He is as strong as a cow." | If we want to learn English, we must first _ . | show interest in it | ['enjoy listening to it', 'watch English programmes on TV', 'practice speaking it'] |
Remembering names is an important social skill. Here are some ways to master it.
Recite and repeat in conversation.
When you hear a person's name, repeat it. Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips. You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial.
Ask the other person to recite and repeat.
You can let other people help you remember their names. After you've been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name mad pronounce it correctly for you. Most people will be pleased by the effort you're making to learn their names.
Admit you don't know.
Admitting that you can't remember someone's name can actually make people relaxed. Most of them will feel sympathy if you say. "I'm working to remember names better. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue. What is it again?"
Use connections.
Link each person yon meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual. For example, you could make a mental note: "Vicki Cheng -- tall, black hair." To reinforce your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible.
Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.
When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering every one. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.
Go early.
Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time. There're fewer names for you to remember. And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others --- an automatic review for you. | If you can't remember someone's name, you may _ | tell him the truth | ['tell him a white lie', 'ask him for pity', 'ask others to help you'] |
Here are Important Travel Notices from United Airlines, March 20, 2016 7:12 AM. Information is updated as it is received.
* 1. Travel and the Zika virus
If you have a ticket for travel to a country affected by the Zika virus (as listed on the CDC website) and have concerns, please contact the United Customer Contact Center with any questions or changes to your reservation. Customers advised to avoid the affected regions based on CDC guidance may change their destination or travel date without a fee or may choose to receive a refund if their tickets were booked before February 29, 2016. The new travel date must be within the validity of the ticket. Additional charges may apply if there is a difference in fare for the new travel route.
* 2. Longer lines at security checkpoints
Procedural changes at TSA checkpoints throughout the United States may result in longer lines at security checkpoints. Please plan accordingly and allow for extra time at the airport. The TSA advises arriving at the airport two hours before your flight for US travel and three hours before for international travel. To save time at security, we encourage you to visit www.tsa.gov.com and apply for TSA pre-check.
* 3. Notice for flights departing the European Union, Norway and Switzerland
EU Regulation 261/2004 requires airlines to provide the following notice: If you are not allowed to board or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask at the check-in counter or boarding gate for the form, stating your rights, particularly about compensation and assistance. | Travelers have to pay additional fees when they want to _ . | change to a dearer route | ['change their reservation', 'change travel date', 'receive their refund'] |
Amanda has n't arrived here yet , so I do n't have the full report on her adventures . It 's hard to drive as many miles as we all do in this sport without having an occasional travel adventure , much as we all try to avoid them . | Why would the narrator be anticipating Amanda 's arrival ? | The narrator wants to know about Amanda 's recent adventure . | ["The narrator wants to know about Amanda 's job interview .", "The narrator wants to know about Amanda 's marathon .", 'None of the above choices .'] |
Lancôme Juicy Tubes changed my life.
Ok, well that’s a slight exaggeration but it was the first high-end make-up item that I ever bought and it made me feel like I was really getting somewhere. I’d got a good job, was in the process of buying my own house and I could afford to buy premium beauty products. I chose a transparent lemon yellow gloss with tiny flecks of iridescent glitter in, and over the following months I treated myself to several other Juicy Tube variants including a shimmery nude gloss called Pamplemousse which I wore on nights out for years (incidentally Pamplemousse is still going!).
Fast forward several (ahem…) years and Juicy Tubes are still going strong, but there’s a new member of the Juicy family vying for attention – the Juicy Shaker.*. Another lip product, this one is a nourishing tinted lip oil which acts a bit like a gloss, and I was sent two of the new shades to try out – Piece of Cake and Show Me The Honey.
Juicy Shakers are a bi-phase nourishing lip oil, when the product is allowed to settle the pigment falls to the bottom and the oil rises to the top, giving a split effect. Then you need to shake the bottle to mix the two layers together, giving the product it’s name. The ingredients include sweet almond oil, omega 3 and cranberry oil and really help care for your lips unlike most other glosses.
Show Me The Honey is a nude coral shade, it looks rather orange and scary in the bottle but in reality it’s much more of a gentle shade. Piece of Cake is a damson pink, and again looks much darker in the bottle. I found that Piece of Cake matches almost exactly with the natural colour of my lips so it’s perfect for when I want my make-up to look really pared back with glossy supple natural looking lips. | Why was the author using Juicy Tubes? | the author wanted lip oil | ['not enough information', 'the author wanted hair shampoo', 'the author wanted good juice'] |
Ok, this one is not missing a class but much better story IMO. When I was in middle school, if you didn’t have homework completed or goofed off in some way, teachers could make you stay after school for ‘after school help.’ It was essentially a mandatory study hall and if a teacher called you out, you had no choice in the matter.
Now, I was in Biology class towards end of my middle school career and was sitting at one of those lab tables next to another student. We both had newspaper routes (yes, people actually delivered actual newspapers to people’s homes in the 1980s), so it would make us late for our deliveries if we were made to stay after school. This biology teacher would check our vocabulary assignment every week and I totally spaced it this week - Oh Crap! Now, my lab mate had most of his done, but just didn’t quite finish. Our teacher is working his way around the classroom checking assignments. So, he checks my lab partner, “well Scott, looks like you will be staying after school today.” This fellow student knew I didn’t have mine either, but also knew I was a pretty good student. I feel like I am sweating bullets and trembling as the teacher approaches me. In a near panic, I reach into my folder and pull out a prior week’s assignment. He looks it over and says “OK, good job” or something like that. Scott is looking at me in utter disbelief. Even funnier was the fact that this week’s assignment required 6–7 pages of paper to complete. The one I had blindly grabbed from folder had 2 pages, with barely anything in second page. It was totally obvious what I had done, but our teacher gave me a break that day. I managed to make it thru all three years without needing any ‘after school help!’
This was a large public school and they still paddled students if the infraction was serious enough. I know none of that is allowed these days, but those were both good deterrents for me!! | Why was his lab partner kept after school? | He had not finished his assignment | ['not enough information', 'He was late for class', 'He did the wrong assignment'] |
People are being lured onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don't realize that they're paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
Most Facebook users don't realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they're paying for Facebook, because people don't really know what their personal details are worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook--you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things--your city, your photo, your friends' names--were set, by default , to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook's vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don't share information, they have a "less satisfying experience."
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they're online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. "I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them," Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it's only the beginning,which is why I'm considering deactivating my account . Facebook is a handy site, but I'm upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don't trust. That is too high a price to pay. | What does Senator Charles Schumer argue for? | Setting rules for social-networking sites | ['Setting guidelines for advertising on websites', "Stopping sharing user's personal information", 'Removing ads from all social-networking sites'] |
As you grow rapidly through your teenage years you will experience a lot of changes.
The changes may seem monumental and they may seem to happen quickly. Don't panic! You will deal successfully with this time! The changes may seem difficult and your new-found responsibilities may seem daunting but you're not alone. Everyone that you've grown up with is going through the same things!
With more responsibilities you will find more freedom to make your own choices. This is a time to be well informed about your choices so that you can make healthy balanced decisions that will help shape your future. You may already know your career path or you may have no idea at all of what you want to do. Both situations are fine! If you are diligent, the right opportunity will be ready for you. Young adulthood means greater freedom and more choices. You will probably begin to want to do things independently of your family/ care-givers. Try not to shut your family out of your life and remember to be considerate even though you are older and are capable of looking after yourself. Your family have been with you since you came into this world and they will be around you when you leave this world.
It is also perfectly natural in this time of transition to want to spend more time with your friends than your family. Choose your friends wisely. Real friends are rarer than hen's teeth. A true friend will stand with you, whatever the circumstances are.
This period of transition is a part of the circle of life. There are some people who will be with you throughout the life's journey and there will be some people with whom you part and go separate ways. Leaving school/college can be hard. The reality is that you may not ever see all of your classmates again. Sure, there may be reunions and you will keep in touch with some of them. But the fact is you will need to leave some of them behind as you move forwards on the path that you feel is right for you. | The author thinks teenage stage is _ . . | so exciting and challenging that the young should make balanced decisions for their future | ['too hard for young students to get through', 'a very important time for young students to break away from their parents', 'a period when young students may pay little attention to their future plans'] |
Alfred Alder, a famous psychiatrist, had an interesting experience. When he was a small boy he got off to a poor start in arithmetic. His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him. In this way, they too developed the idea, "Isn't it too bad that Alfred can't do arithmetic?" He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability, feeling that it was useless to try, and that he was very poor at arithmetic, just as they expected.
One day he became very angry at the teacher and the other students because they laughed when he said he saw how to do a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve.
Adler succeeded in solving the problem. This gave him confidence. He rejected the idea that he couldn't do arithmetic and was determined to show them that he could. His anger and his new found confidence stimulated him to go at arithmetic problems with a new spirit. He now worked with interest, determination, and purpose, and he soon became extraordinarily good at arithmetic. He not only proved that he could do arithmetic, but he learned early in life from his own experience that, if a person goes at a job with determination and purpose, he may astonish himself as well as others by his ability.
This experience made him realize that many people have more ability than they think they have, and that lack of success is as often the result of lack of knowledge of how to apply one's ability, lack of confidence, and lack of determination as it is the result of lack of ability. | Alfred gained confidence in learning arithmetic _ . | after he managed to find a solution to a difficult problem | ['after his teacher made his parents know his ability in arithmetic', 'after he grew up and became famous', 'after his parents gave him encouragement'] |
My father lost something valuable to him that didn’t resurface for years after his death.
My dad was a World War II veteran and an officer. All officers were issued the classic Ray Ban sunglasses with the wraparound wire rims. He wore them almost all the time for the next thirty years after the War, then one day in the 1970’s, he misplaced them. He was heartbroken, crestfallen, that he lost something he cherished from his military service—the symbolic military issue Bausch & Lombs coveted by every officer who served.
I wanted so badly to be my dad’s Hero. I overturned every piece of furniture in the house, rifled every dresser drawer, every nook and crannie, underneath beds, the garage, the yard, you name it. I was on a Mission. I wanted to walk up to him and say, beaming, Here Dad! I found your sunglasses! But alas, after several weeks, no success. I was crushed by my own failure.
He passed away, and his possessions were divided among our family.
Fast forward to a few years ago. My Cocker Spaniel was sniffing around in the bathroom, and a box fell out of the bathroom closet with a crash. I went to investigate and chide the dog…when the first thing I saw on the bathroom floor next to the overturned box was the yellowed leather case, and his wire rim sunglasses. I picked it up, held it in my hand, and I, a grown man, immediately burst into tears, sobbing. Suddenly, I was nineteen again. My wife asked what was the matter, and I told her the whole story.
I figured after his passing, his sunglasses—which evidently were in the house the whole time—were probably tossed into one of many anonymous cardboard boxes, and I happened to be the one who carried off the box containing them.
So here Dad! I found your sunglasses! I love you! Am I still your hero? | How does the son feel about his Dad losing his Ray Ban sunglasses? | upset | ['not enough information', 'indifferent', "glad because he'll finally get a new pair"] |
I had a terrible accident and was transferred via a helicopter to the Pittsburgh Hospital. I was conscious of my accident and friends, and family passing out at the sight of me. It was no picnic!
Late one evening ,I could hear the nurses in the next room repeatedly talking to a new patient. "Sandy, your mom is here. Open your eyes. " This had gone on throughout the night. "Sandy ,your dad has some flowers for you. Open your eyes and look at them. " I asked the nurse as she checked in on me what had happened to Sandy. The nurse said that Sandy was about 17 and had been involved in a car wreck. She was in a deep coma , not in good shape. Over the next few nights ,I started talking to Sandy. Although, it was said silently, I started to urge her to open her eyes or say something. Her parents visited with me one evening, and they seemed to be from an important family but in much grief, much like the faces of those that had visited me. And there I was speechless, immobile and had no real way of easing their pain. It became very important to me to pray for her recovery, not my own. In some strange way, I believed that if Sandy would just open her eyes ,my own situation would get better.
Sandy never came out of the coma as far as I know. During my stay in hospital, there were many times I felt like I was in an emotional coma. But I still could hear "just open your eyes. " Even now I think of her quite often. I remember the long nights in the hospital, the smell of the hospital environment and the helplessness we all felt. Even though Sandy's situation was bad, I am thankful for understanding what it means to let go of your own problems and concentrate on others. | The author prayed for Sandy's recovery because he felt that _ . | he would recover if Sandy recovered | ['he could help the nurses in the hospital', "Sandy's parents were sad and helpless", 'Sandy was in a very bad situation'] |
Despite my blog name, I’m not actually all that adventurous. Think more suburban adventure rather than skydiving or wild camping. But, over the years I have ended up overcoming a few challenges that I hadn’t precisely expected to be faced with.
This blog has always been, and will forever more be a record of my personal adventures. It is a journal of the chaos, delight, opportunities and travails that we encounter all rolled in with an obsession for photography (as far as my skillz extend) and a dash of humour (well, I try anyway).
DRIVING IN AMERICA
Covering 800 miles of American freeways in less than 10 days is something I never thought I’d do to be honest – an inexperienced driver at best I’ve driven short distances (and through a Florida tropical storm from Cape Canaveral back to our Orlando apartment) – but somehow we survived unscathed driving diagonally the length of Louisiana from New Orleans to Shreveport, through the crazy traffic of Dallas and along the long, undulating motorways of Texas.
I’ll be honest, and admit that did we encounter a couple of challenging and scary situations – a truck driver changing lanes not allowing me enough time to enter a motorway (I luckily just popped into a shoulder lane), getting lost in the middle of Dallas skyscrapers (we jammed every device we had onto navigation), accidentally assuming a road was much narrower than it really was (luckily the road was relatively quiet so I just guided her nimbly over to the correct lane) and dodging some of the twits who pulled out in front of us – one with a trailer full of wood – but overall it really was fine.
COMMUNICATING IN OTHER LANGUAGES
You’ve decided where to go, booked the flight, found a hotel, decided what to do… and then you get to your destination. And, if you’re exploring outside the traditional western world, you probably won’t speak the local language – and the locals may or may not depending on how far outside the tourist traps you venture. | After the end of the story, the author probably did what? | Have more suburban adventures. | ['Go skydiving.', 'Take a wild camping trip.', 'not enough information'] |
I was born in Minneapolis. The city is in my blood. But I live in the country, and have been forced to deal with things that are difficult. One thing I've always had trouble with is birds. How could anyone enjoy staring out of the window for hours at these creatures? My mother had always been one of those ridiculous birdwatcher types. She tried to raise her children to have respect for wildlife, but with little effect on me.
One evening, a bird had been sitting on the same perch , as if frozen, for ten minutes. My mother got a ladder and took the bird from his perch. She inspected him. It seemed that his tongue was hurt, and that he was unable to drink from the feeder. My mother handed him to me while she went inside for an eyedropper .
Never in my life had I felt as frightened as when I was holding that tiny life in my hands. I placed the eyedropper inside the long beak. At first, the bird only trembled, but finally he managed to swallow. After a few minutes, he glided to a tree nearby and returned again. He flew to the tree and then back to me again and again. It didn't take me long to realize that he was sending me a message, a sort of "SOS".
I walked toward the tree, where I found the tiny creature trembling in the evening air. I slowly reached into the grass to pick up the bird. "Please, be okay." He had asked me for help. Now he owed me a favor in return and I was asking him to stay alive.
However, what I saw was another dead bird lying besides the bird. It must have been a very sad picture: a child wiping her face with her one free hand, while the other palm was cupped around a tiny, dying creature. Fate was taking its own course. Its pulse was hardly noticeable, and the body was growing colder.
I realized there were some things I could change and some I must simply accept. In either way, the two worlds sometimes collide and strangers must ask for, and be willing to receive, help from others. Without this, survival is not only impossible, but meaningless. | What did the author learn from her experience? | People should help others even strangers. | ['Offering help brings happiness.', 'People cannot accept what they cannot change.', 'The human world is different from the animal world.'] |
I was twenty-two, and in Bolivia. I'd been to every other country in South America, and now I was set on getting into Chile, the last on the list.
After several days, I reached the hills. It was cold, and even the distant mountains were clear. The days were lonely, but one evening I met Filomeno and his fellow teachers. They tried to persuade me not to go to Chile, saying it was a bad place, and that I would be killed. I didn't believe them. I knew nothing of the current politics; I just wanted to go there.
So I walked into the mountains, feeling excited, and came to a sign with the word "Chile" on it. A frightening soldier appeared, stuck a gun in my back, and pushed me down a slope to the police station. The police chief then told me, "There's nothing for you here." I explained that I had come to see this beautiful country. But he was annoyed.
In the evening they filled me with food. There was laughter, and I was less tense. Then the police chief took me to a tiny cell. I lay down on the mattress . Even though I had no light and none of my possessions, I felt _ . At least I had arrived! And what a story I'd have to tell! The next morning I was released, and I was told that Chile didn't want me. Throwing my belongings into my backpack, I shouted and screamed at the soldiers. After all this effort I was being sent home! I stomped towards Bolivia expecting to feel a bullet. But I'd be back! I told myself. | The author went to Chile to _ . | complete his trip plan | ['visit his friend Filomeno', 'settle there forever', 'risk his life'] |
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.
Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."
Blue interrupted, "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life."
Yellow chuckled . "The sun is yellow, as well as the moon and the stars. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile."
Red could bear it no longer. "I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood-life's blood! I am the color of danger and bravery. I bring fire into the blood. I am the color of passion and love."
Purple stood at his full height. "I am the color of royalty and power. I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey."
Finally Indigo spoke with determination, "Think of me and I am the color of silence. I represent thought and reflection. You need me for balance and contrast , for prayer and inner peace."
The colors went on boasting , each showing off his or her own advantages. Suddenlythere came a flash of bright lightening. Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down. The colors were scared to death.
In the midst of the quarrelling, rain began to speak, "You foolish colors. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."
Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.
From then on, when it rains, colors will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color.
Whenever a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another. | To show their power, the kings would prefer to _ . | purple | ['yellow', 'red', 'indigo'] |
I was a student nurse at the time. I was assisting in the delivery of an infant. My specific task was to work with the rather over-excited father-to-be. He was an absolute delight to work with…very solicitous of his wife all throughout, very cooperative with the staff, and very appreciative of the help we were giving the mother-to-be. The background was that after 7 years of marriage, and 2 tragic miscarriages, THIS pregnancy had come to full term, and the child—deliberately they did NOT want to know the gender—was healthy, and both “mom” and “dad” were excited about the upcoming birth. The child finally emerged, the MD held up the child, and “dad” blurted out “It’s a girl!! You wanted a girl!!! Oh my God, she’s beautiful!!” Then he buried his face on his wife’s shoulder and was sobbing for pure joy. The MD quickly put him to work…he was to cut the umbilical cord. “I’m not going to hurt her, am I??” MD assured him no, he wouldn’t. He made the cut, and came immediately over to the wife…”Honey…are you all right?? I didn’t hurt you??”” While the his daughter was being bathed and checked out by the APGAR nurse, he excited called out the various observations—she as healthy..she was pinking up…she was so beautiful “I can’t believe it.” When the nurse returned the little girl to “mom”, the three of them cuddled together, tears just pouring from his eyes…and we in the birthing suite were all getting teary-eyed ourselves. That was 30 years ago, and I still get tears just thinking about what I consider the most beautiful moment of my life, one that I was lucky to share with these two wonderful people. | The father cut the umbilical cord: | Immediately before asking his wife if she was alright. | ['not enough information', 'While the APGAR nurse was assessing the baby.', 'Before finding out the baby was a girl.'] |
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed in a financial report filed with the government’s ethics watchdog Tuesday that he had reimbursed his personal lawyer more than $100,000 for unspecified expenses.
In his annual financial disclosure form, which was released by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that he had “fully reimbursed” his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the range of $100,000 to $250,000 in 2016.
Trump’s lawyers have previously said the president reimbursed Cohen for $130,000 Cohen paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to keep her quiet about a sexual tryst she said she had with Trump 10 years earlier.
Trump has denied the affair but recently confirmed reimbursing Cohen through a monthly retainer to stop “false and extortionist accusations” made by Daniels about an affair. Cohen has also acknowledged making the payment.
The disclosure said that while the payment to Cohen was not a “reportable” liability, Trump chose to list it “in the interest of transparency.” It did not say why Trump had left it out of his 2017 financial disclosure documents, though one of the president’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, has said that Trump didn’t know about the payment when he reported his finances last year.
The Office of Government Ethics, in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, said it had determined that the payment to Cohen constituted a loan that should have been reported. However, it said the information Trump provided in his latest financial form met “the disclosure requirements for a reportable liability” under the Ethics in Government Act.
Under the Ethics in Government Act, top government officials are required to report all debts in excess of $10,000 during the previous reporting period. “Knowingly or willfully” falsifying or failing to file reports carries civil and criminal penalties. Trump listed several hundred million dollars in liabilities in his financial report.
Critics seized on the OGE’s letter to charge that Trump’s earlier omission of the payment could amount to a violation of federal laws on financial disclosures. | Who is Rudy Giuliani? | Trump's lawyer | ['not enough information', 'Deputy Attorney General', 'Government official'] |
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The conservative leader of South Korea’s main opposition party on Thursday spoke out against the upcoming U.S.–North Korea summit. He also voiced concern that political considerations are driving U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to compromise joint security for more false denuclearization promises from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I am rather pessimistic about whether this negotiation will work out well or not. The only means for North Korea to maintain its regime is its nuclear program. The moment that North Korea gives up its nuclear program, and the moment it opens up to reform, the Kim Jong Un regime will collapse,” said Hong Joon-pyo, the chairman of the Liberty Korea Party.
On June 12, Trump and Kim will meet in Singapore to try to reach an agreement to end the North’s threatening nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic incentives and security guarantees that could include a formal peace treaty to replace the armistice that has been enforced since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Many South Korean conservatives had voiced strong support for Trump’s “maximum pressure” polices to force Pyongyang to unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons through tough international sanctions in place that ban 90 percent of the country’s trade, and the threat of military action.
But they have been troubled by recent statements coming from the Trump administration indicating the United States may be willing to soften its demands for the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of the North’s nuclear program before offering any sanctions relief.
Hong is worried that Trump may seek a deal that would quickly end the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program that directly threatens the U.S., and leave the regional nuclear threat to be resolved later.
Trump seems overly intent to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough, Hong said, to shift the media focus away from the ongoing special prosecutor investigation he is facing over Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 election. Trump has strongly denied any allegations of collision with Moscow and has called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt.” | Who is trying to achieve diplomatic breakthrough to shift focus from the Russia investigation according to Hong? | Trump | ['not enough information', 'Clinton', 'Kim Jong Un'] |
Depending on when I finish all the individual trash I might add one or two . a part of me feels comfortable with the list I have , and a part of me is nervous that I ' m cutting myself off from certain possibilities . I have to finish the blue packet , too , and get that to K Manc . Momma K is filling out the parent portion as we speak in Fl . | What may happen after they complete their form(s ) ? | They will submit their form to the proper person . | ['They will check over the form .', 'They will review the answers on their form .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good-humored face. Living alone, every day he worked in his garden. In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his. All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower's place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell.
Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller. So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he'd never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits. The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend.
The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship.
In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger. Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then.
"There's no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts." The Miller said to his wife, "When people are in trouble they shouldn't be bothered. So I'll wait till the spring comes when he's happy to give me flowers."
"You're certainly very thoughtful," answered his wife, "It's quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship."
"Couldn't we ask Hans up here?" said their son. "I'll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits."
"How silly you are!" cried the Miller. "I really don't know what's the use of sending you to school. If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody's nature. I am his best friend, and I'll always watch over him, and see that he's not led into any temptation. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour. Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn't be confused. The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see that." He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea.
Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans. Again he talked about friendship. "Hans, friendship never forgets. I'm afraid you don't understand the poetry of life. See, how lovely your roses are!"
Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter.
"I'll give you many good things. I think being generous is the base of friendship." said the Miller. "And now, as I'll give you many good things, I'm sure you'd like to give me some flowers in return. Here's the basket, and fill it quite full."
Poor Hans was afraid to say anything. He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller's basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller.
The next day he heard the Miller calling: "Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?"
"I'm sorry, but I am really very busy today."
"Well," said the Miller, "considering that I'm going to give you my things, it's rather unfriendly of you to refuse. Upon my word, you mustn't mind my speaking quite plainly to you."
Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted.
One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came.
"Hans," cried the Miller, "My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I'm going for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it's such a bad windy night. It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me. You know I'm going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return."
"Certainly," cried Hans. He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller's house in time to save the boy. However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned.
At Hans' funeral, the Miller said, "I was his best friend. I should walk at the head of the procession." Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. | What's the main cause of Hans' tragedy? | Blind devotion to a friend. | ['True friendship between them.', 'A sudden change of weather.', 'A lack of formal education.'] |
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday pushed back against a North Korean state media report that U.S. President Donald Trump agreed during this week’s Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un to gradually lift sanctions against Pyongyang, saying Trump had been very clear about the sequence of steps in the process.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Trump offered to lift sanctions against it as relations improve, indicating a phased-in approach where concessions would be provided at various stages of the denuclearization process.
Speaking at a news conference in Seoul alongside South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, the U.S. secretary of state said the Trump administration would not repeat the mistakes made by past presidents that rewarded Pyongyang for denuclearization promises.
“When we refer to the mistakes of the past. They were providing economic and financial aid relief before the complete denuclearization had taken place. That is not going to happen. President Trump made that clear,” Pompeo said.
President Trump described his meeting with Kim as a resounding success and in a tweet said, “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” But the U.S.-North Korea joint declaration was vague on details, providing no clear definition on what constitutes denuclearization, set no timeline for the dismantlement process, and said nothing about outside verification requirements.
Pompeo, however, pointed out that in the Singapore statement both countries reaffirmed the inter-Korean Panmunjom declaration from April, in which both South and North Korea agreed to uphold all past agreements that did specify detailed nuclear prohibitions and verification requirements.
The secretary of state and his counterparts in Seoul and Tokyo said they are united in support of the U.S.-North Korea agreement, and in agreement on the goal of complete, irreversible, verifiable dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program.
After the summit, President Trump surprised allies in the region by calling the joint military exercises with South Korea “provocative” and saying they will no longer be held, as long as North Korea continues to make progress toward denuclearization. | What did the U.S. think about the promises made in the past about denuclearization from North Korea? | not enough information | ['they probably thought they were empty promises', 'they probably thought they were sincere', 'they probably thought they were partially respectful'] |
I have such a love / hate relationship with Vogue . I love to look at all the pretty things and then hate that i ca n't afford them . I saw these shoes i adored in the fall fashion issue . Went to the designer 's website and realized i will never pay that for shoes i ' m going to wear out in less than a year . | Where does the narrator look for fashion tips that we know of ? | magazines | ['shoe stores', 'Amazon', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Caroline was born in a hostel ' little better than a house of ill - fame ' , as Bess described it , outside Naples , and Clifford in Rouen . Bess was relieved when he was born later than she expected because she had been worried about the dates . Bess had many affairs and her child might as easily have been the Duke of Richmond 's son as the Duke of Devonshire 's . The name Clifford , one of the Devonshire titles , was carefully selected to demonstrate his paternity . Georgiana lavished affection on all the duke 's children , but there was one other child she longed to have closer to her : Eliza Courtney , her daughter by Charles Grey , who was taken from Georgiana just after her birth . | Why was there so much emphasis on paternity and lineage ? | Such topics are big among royals . | ['None of the above choices .', 'Georgiana filed a paternity suit .', 'Georgiana is claiming paternity .'] |
It's often difficult to remember how or why you became friends with someone, especially if you've been friends with a person forever. But because of the very specific set of circumstances, I remember exactly how Barend and I became friends. This, of course, was long before he became famous for inventing the easy-foldable map, and infamous for the series of bodies he'd decided to bury in his backyard. Barend and I became friends because he had one of the most attractive shadows I'd ever seen. I remember gazing out over the playground, watching a waning sun scatter its dying light over the monkey bars, the metal skeleton contrasting against the turquoise sky, when I noticed this kid coming toward me. He was one of those mostly invisible characters; faded jeans, dirty jacket, snot caked on his upper lip. I probably wouldn't have noticed him if not for his shadow. For some reason, his shadow immediately caught my eye. Now, I'm not one for noticing shadows in general, never really noticed a shadow before or since, but this kid had the most incredible shadow I'd ever seen. I cannot even put in words what that means. What specific set of properties make an ordinary shadow into an incredible one, I'm not sure anyone can, but his shadow was like a piece of art; I didn't necessarily understand it, but I liked it. And that's why this boring looking kid and I first became friends. Our kindergarten games were harmless and boring, but when puberty hit, Barend began to change. We were both expected to change, but I guess some kids just change more than others. Bared didn't want to kill at first. Like many overachievers in the death game, his first brush with the craft came about more or less accidentally. All the elements had been in place, with all the players and attributes coming together as if gathered by some evil force, but, even then, I really had to push the kid. | What is probably true about Barend? | He grew up to become a murderer, | ['He grew up to be a philanthropist,', 'He became very wealthy.', 'not enough information'] |
SEOUL — The U.S. and South Korea remain united in pursing a diplomatic solution to end the North Korean nuclear threat, but their national security priorities may differ over what would be the role of the U.S. military in Korea after a denuclearization deal is reached.
“That is going to be the moment of truth, so to speak, when the United States and South Korea will have to agree on what kind of security alliance we want to maintain moving forword,” said Go Myong-Hyun, a North Korea analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday revived the June 12 Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, eight days after canceling it. Trump said he was convinced of Kim’s commitment to denuclearization by the renewed diplomatic talks that included a visit to Washington by Kim Yong Chol, the North’s former intelligence chief, who carried a letter from the North Korean leader.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been influential in facilitating the U.S.-North Korea summit, in getting Kim to agree to the broad goal of denuclearization, and in urging Trump to stay committed to the diplomatic process to resolve differences with North Korea.
President Trump seems to be leaning now towards Moon’s approach versus the more confrontational stance advocated by some of his security team in demanding that North Korea unilaterally and completely disarm before any concessions are granted.
Friday Trump downplayed expectations for a major breakthrough at the summit, saying it will be the beginning of a process. He also backed away from his “maximum pressure” approach that stressed tough sanctions and the threat of military force, focusing instead on brokering an agreement to end the North’s nuclear program for economic aid and security guarantees that could include a peace treaty to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
South Korean officials said there is possibility that Moon may join Trump in Singapore to help negotiate a nuclear deal with Kim, as the South Korean leader shares both Trump’s overall goals, and has developed a positive working relationship with his North Korean counterpart during their two previous summits. | What is probably true about Trump's view of Moon's approach? | it improves over time | ['not enough information', 'it decreases over time somewhat', 'it decreases over time dramatically'] |
Electronic book publishing has many of the same risks and opportunities as electronic music publishing. By delivering text direct to the user's computer screen, the e-book could cut down costs, and allow creators to deal directly with their audience, bypassing traditional publishers and readers. But it also raises the possibility of mass piracy . Phil Rance, founder and managing director of Online Originals, a London-based e-book publisher, sums it up. "No one wants Napster to happen to books."
Indeed, the most popular MP3 have put the frighteners on an industry that generally operates some way behind the "bleeding edge". The Mata Group, a leading US-based market researcher, says publishers are far too concerned about protecting their rights, "We believe all the recent legal control over Napster is like putting a finger in a river that is already overflowing. Publishers need to deal with reality and come up with new ways to develop wide electronic distribution , asking the question: 'How can we use the certainty of wide distribution to our advantage?'"
At the moment, most publishers would like to limit the use of e-books to the person who bought them, or to the computer used to download them. If that can be done, e-books become just an extra income stream in a publishing industry that would continue to operate the way it does today, according to Terry Robinson, business manager for Adobe's e-paper group. "If you've cracked digital rights aspect, you've cracked the market," he says.
Robert Nichols, Books Director at BOL agrees, "Rights management is absolutely important. Publishers just say that 'until copyright is secure, we're not going to talk'." | What do publishers care most about e-books? | Copyright. | ['Price.', 'Quality.', 'Popularity.'] |
Strawberry fields dotted with hunched-over workers picking and packaging, then pushing the delicate red fruit to waiting trucks -- it is a typical winter scene embedded in the patchwork of homes and farms that make up eastern Hillsborough County.
That scene is changing, though, as the labor pool shrinks and technology comes knocking. Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki and his engineer partner Bob Pitzer are banking on technology.
As strawberry season wrapped up in February, their driverless strawberry-picking machine drove into the fields for some test runs. The results were impressive and enlightening , Wishnatzki said.
For some three years now, farmers have been forced to abandon millions of dollars worth of strawberries in fields, mostly in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, because they lacked laborers, industry experts say. The problem has been just as serious in California, Arizona and other farm communities.
The reasons for the shrinking worker pool are numerous. Migrant workers who have picked the fields for years are aging. Young adults in migrant families already in the United States are getting better educations and have more choices these days, including the construction industry, which again is on the upswing. Stricter security is allowing fewer undocumented workers to cross the border from Mexico. And Mexicans are having much smaller families now -- just over two children per family, compared with 7.3 per family in 1960, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released in 2012.
And since Mexico's economy bounced back faster than that of the U.S., more Mexicans have been able to find work closer to home, according to the study.
"We came up with a concept we perceive as a necessity," Wishnatzki said. "The labor pool has been shrinking for over 10 years now. It has been pretty harmful." So in 2012, he and Pitzer formed their partnership, Harvest CROO Robotics, to develop a mechanical picker.
The Harvest CROO design has multiple picking heads that will move across a field, picking 25 acres over a three-day period, the typical time for picking fruit as it ripens. It has a "vision system" to distinguish between red and green strawberries and is able to get under the leaves to find and pick the ripe berries.
Picking strawberries is nothing like using a combine on a corn field, coming through and thrashing down the plants. Strawberries are delicate and ripen in various intervals, which Harvest CROO is taking into account in developing its machine.
A strawberry-picking machine will never completely replace the need for human labor in the fields, Wishnatzki said, but if the machines can supplement labor enough to keep the industry profitable, he and Pitzer will have met their goal. | The mechanical picker is introduced due to _ . | the labor shortage | ['the market demand', 'the aging of the local population', 'the new concept of farming'] |
So our adorable dog ran into a skunk ... face first at 12:30 last night . S let her outside , and within 2 minutes we heard a yelp and she ran for the door . We let her in and were assaulted by the smell of burnt cat pee ( aka eau du ' skunk ) . | What may happen after they let their dog back in ? | They will spray their house with freshener . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They will wash the skunk so they do n’t smell .', 'They will have to clean their entire house .'] |
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea human rights advocates are considering more practical ways to reform the repressive practices of the Kim Jong Un government, as denuclearization talks continue to end the country’s economic and diplomatic isolation.
Rights activists hold out hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will confront Kim at their expected Singapore meeting in June about ongoing atrocities in North Korea, including a network of political prison camps and widespread government sanctioned abuses in the country.
Benedict Rogers, with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious freedom oriented organization, urges President Trump to emulate former President Ronald Reagan who once publicly called on the leader of the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall that separated democratic West Germany and the Communist East.
“Mr. Trump’s message should be, Mr. Kim if you seek peace, come to the gates of the prison camps, open the prison camps, tear down the walls of the prison camps,” said Rogers at a North Korea human rights conference in Seoul on Thursday.
It is unclear if human rights will be part of the agenda at the U.S.-North Korea nuclear summit, if it happens. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol have been meeting this week in New York to overcome the main obstacle to the summit; the gap between the U.S. demand for rapid and complete denuclearization and North Korea’s more phased in approach that would provide early sanctions relief.
Brad Adams, the Asia director at the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday, “Whatever the outcome of nuclear talks, human rights-related sanctions should remain in effect until North Korea changes the way it treats its people.”
The United Nations has passed 13 resolutions addressing human rights abuses in North Korea, most recently in March of this year at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. | Why does Rogers urge Trump to be like Reagan? | To assist people of the world suffering from religious oppression | ['not enough information', 'to advocate for legalized marijuana', 'to help advocate for abortion'] |
Ever get that feeling you're being watched? Well, if you're a dog-owner, you may have a point. Dogs are able to watch people's interactions with one another to determine who holds yummier treats, according to a new study. This study joins others that show dogs are good observers of human behaviors and feelings. It offers evidence that dogs use information not only from people's direct interactions with them, but also their interactions with one another.
In the study, dogs watched a man ask two women for some of their corns. Both women gave the man corns when he asked, but in response to one woman, the man showed his enthusiasm and said the corns were so delicious. In response to the other woman, he gave the corns back and called them _ (in Spanish;the study was conducted in Argentina). After these interactions, the man left and an assistant holding the dog let the dog go. While many dogs didn't approach either woman, the dogs that did have a preference tended to prefer the woman with the yummier food.
Other studies of dogs' people-watching ability have found dogs are able to tell the difference between happy and sad faces in their owners. They prefer people who give others food when asked over people who don't give others food. And in one study, dogs turned toward crying people more often than toward talking people.
So how much do dogs really understand about the humans around them? That's not totally settled yet. In a strange twist to the Argentine study above, when the researchers tried an experiment in which they put two plates of corns on a table and had a man react to each plate, dogs didn't preferentially approach the tastier plate afterward. You could say dogs watch for the interaction between two persons, not just how a person reacts. Yet a previous study found dogs will choose boxes that people reacted to happily, but not boxes people reacted to with a disgusted face.
Well, either way, you can be sure Fluffs is keeping an eye on you, to the best of her ability. The study was published in the journal PLOS One. | What does the study mentioned in this passage show? | Dogs can read human actions and feelings. | ['Dogs prefer yummier foods.', 'Dogs can interact with humans easily.', "Dogs like to copy human's behavior."] |
It 's a bit foggy out by the lake this early in the morning . Texas in July does n't get mornings that are too terribly chilly , but as the warming air hits the cold lake water , a fine layer of mist blankets the glassy surface , and curls into the grassy shore . Katherine is sitting in the dewy grass , her back against an old oak tree . It is the very spot she had pointed out to Doc a few days previous . | Why does Katherine not care about getting wet from the dewy grass ? | Katherine knows that it is temporary and will dry , it is also warm . | ['Old oak trees prevent moisture in the surrounding area , Katherine is dry .', 'Katherine is an animal and is used to being wet .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
Every kid wishes to be an adult. But now as grown-ups, some adults find they cannot leave childhood behind. They become "kidults" (kid+adult). Being a kidult has become a lifestyle-choice among young people across Asia.
Some kidults collect toys they once played with. Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world. It is not unusual to see a 20-something woman with a big, Garfield-shaped cushion on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory.
Other kidults still enjoy children's stories and fairy tales. For example, Bloomsbury even published the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children's book!
"Kidults can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, child-like emotion may be needed in such a rough and dry society," said Lee Sojung, professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University. He added that kidult culture may fill the generation gap between adults and kids. It could give children and their parents books, movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together. He may be right.
Tim Greenhalgh, a professor, explained that some kidults just refuse to grow up. They cling to childhood because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them. Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood.
" So, they can escape from increasingly complex and stressful lives that are hard to deal with." Greenhalgh said. | The main cause of the kidult culture is that _ . | modern life is stressful and hard. | ['some companies are taking advantage of it.', 'some people like to stay young and energetic.', 'some people wish to fill the generation gap.'] |
Yes I definitely have. It was over ten years ago now… I was diagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder but presenting with symptoms of Bi Polar Mania. I was in hospital for treatment and of course the psychiatrist wanted to medicate me until the manic phase subsided so as to better stabilize me and get the right diagnosis, etc. It is an art, Psychiatry, as far as I’m concerned. I do not have the education to elaborate on say, Pharmaceuticals or Cognitive Science (other than a few college courses on Behavioral Psychology) nor can I comprehend these fields of reference as clearly as I’d like to, but what I experienced was… GETTING THE WRONG MEDICATION!! for my presenting psychological manifestations.
I was put on Seroquil; too sedating even in minute doses. Prozac. Sent me over the edge, and a complete 180 to the point where I was extremely delusional and dangerously suicidal. These mind-altering medications can be fatal. It was scary and literally ruined my life for a time…
I was worse than minorly-depressed or hypo-manic (conditions much more manageable than what I previously described) for a long time when I first started a regime with Zoloft, but it did wind up being the best drug to manage my depressive state and enable me to function in a more socially adaptive manner. Then they added Lamictal, which has truly kept me stable ever since.
But yes, it is a trial and error method as far as I can tell... My Mother never wanted me to try any medication because she said “They” were using me like a guinea pig, but when the benefit outweighs the risk, they take the risk. You can’t always trust medicine but if you have an experienced doctor you should trust them especially if you want to get better, whatever your ailment may be.
I have osteoarthritis, DSP, and Sciatica also, so am familiar with drugs used to treat physical health issues too but no huge issues with these medications, not like psychiatric drugs that’s for sure. | The writer finally became stable after taking: | Lamictal | ['Seroquil', 'Prozac', 'not enough information'] |
A place so classy that even the bathroom stalls had their own mirrors , and crystal chandeliers dangling dangerously over our heads the entire time . Delicate morsels of food , each deliciously rich , were served to us on stacked plates , and our menus contained genteel accounts of this history of both our tea , and the Tea Room . The waitress even attempted to put a folded napkin in my lap , but I took it off her . My little brother had accompanied me there , only to take one look at the prices on the menu and ring up his friend to tell him all about it . | Why did the writer 's little brother ring up his friend ? | Because he was surprised at the high prices on the menu . | ['Because the place was very classy .', 'None of the above choices .', 'Because the bathroom stalls had mirrors .'] |
Are you fond of tomatoes? Bunol,a town in Spain,held its yearly tomato festival on the last Wednesday of August.Thousands and thousands of people made their way from all corners of the world to fight in it,the world's biggest food fight.Tons of fully-grown tomatoes were thrown in the streets.
No one knows exactly how this event started.Maybe it came from a local food fight between friends,or a joke that was played on a bad musician.
On Wednesday,at 11am,the fight began.A cannon shot was fired to start the fight.At first,people fought one another,but slowly they began to fight in groups.After exactly one hour,the fight ended when the cannon shot was fired once more.At this point,no more tomatoes could be thrown.
Those who attend this event are encouraged to wear protective glasses.And they must press the tomatoes before throwing so that they won't hurt others.Another rule is that no one is allowed to take anything -- such as a glass bottle -- into the fight.Although it is forbidden to tear another person's clothing,the crowd seems to tear the shirt of any clothed person,whether they are men or women.
Fire trucks are used to clean the streets after the fight with water provided from a Roman channel .The government seems more concerned with cleaning up the town than the visitors,and people go to the Bunol River for a wash. | After the tomato fight,the town government _ . | cleans up the streets with fire trucks | ['provides water to the people', 'takes people to the Bunol River', 'holds other activities about tomatoes'] |
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a thinly veiled criticism of China, even while insisting on closer relations with Beijing, during a speech Friday in Singapore.
Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense conference, Modi called for the Indo-Pacific region to embrace freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and respect for all nations, regardless of their size.
"We will promote a democratic and rules-based international order in which all nations, small and large, count as equal and sovereign," the Indian prime minister said. "We will work with others to keep our seas, space and airways free and open."
While those comments did not specifically mention China, Modi's remarks are seen as a reference to Beijing's increasingly assertive behavior toward its smaller neighbors in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Modi also implicitly criticized the United States. He slammed growing protectionism, presumably a reference to recent tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. He also said nations should keep their commitments — a possible reference to Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
India has grown close with the U.S., especially as China projects its growing military power beyond its shores.
The U.S.-India relationship, Modi said, "has resumed new significance in the changing world." An important aspect of that partnership is "a shared vision of an open, stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific," he added.
For decades, India has embraced a non-aligned status, which means it does not choose sides between world powers. In keeping with that position, Modi warned against a "return to great power rivalries."
The Indian prime minister also insisted that "Asia and the world will have a better future when India and China work together in trust and confidence, sensitive to each other's interests."
India is the world's largest democracy. It has the world's seventh-largest economy. Within a decade, it is expected to pass China to become the world's most populous country. | What did Modi warn against? | A return to great power rivalries. | ['Iran', 'not enough information', 'United States'] |
Researchers have established that when people are mentally engaged, biochemical changes occur in the brain that allow it to act more effectively in cognitive areas such as attention and memory. This is true regardless of age.
People will be alert and receptive if they are faced with information that gets them to think about things they are interested in. And someone with a history of doing more rather than less will go into old age more cognitively sound than someone who has not had an active mind.
Many experts are so convinced of the benefits of challenging in the brain that they are putting the theory to work in their own lives. "The idea is not necessarily to learn to memorize large amounts of information," says James Fozard, associate director of the National Institute of Ageing. "Most of us don't need that kind of skill. Such specific training is of less interest than being able to maintain mental alertness." Fozard and others say they challenge their brains with different mental skills, both because they enjoy them and because they are sure that their range of activities will help the way their brains work.
Gene Cohen, acting director of the same institute, suggests that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities individually as well as in groups. Cohen says that we are frequently advised to keep physically active as we age, but older people need to keep mentally active as well. Those who do are more likely to maintain their intellectual abilities and to be generally happier and better adjusted. "The point is, you need to do both," Cohen says. Intellectual activity actually influences brain-cell health and size. | Which of the following statements would Cohen most probably support? | No matter whether it is done in group or alone, mental activity is always good for brain-cell health. | ['Older people should keep mentally active by challenging their brains.', 'Physical strength is more important to older people than mental health.', 'People who engage in more mental activities but less physical ones are always happier.'] |
SEOUL — The recent U.S. missile strikes against Syria could increase pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, or reinforce in Pyongyang the need for nuclear deterrence.
The United States, France and Britain fired 105 missiles at three Syrian chemical weapons facilities on Saturday, in response to an alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma that killed at least 40 people and wounded or sickened hundreds of others. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied any use of banned weapons.
The combined military strike on Syria comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are preparing for an expected summit in late May or early June to discuss dismantling the North’s nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees.
Trump’s willingness to use force against Syria can be seen to reinforce his “maximum pressure” campaign message, that in addition to imposing tough sanctions banning most North Korean exports, the U.S. would take military action, if necessary, to force Kim to terminate his nuclear program and end the continued development of a nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.
Calling the U.S. attack on Syria “a warning for Pyongyang,” the South Korean newspaper the Korea Joongang Daily, in an editorial on Monday said, “If Kim wants to be free from the fear of a potential raid, then he must be willing to denuclearize.”
From this perspective the U.S. show of force in Syria will increase pressure on the leadership in North Korea to offer meaningful nuclear concessions at the Trump-Kim summit.
“Unless it abandons at least part of its nuclear and missile capabilities then the Trump administration will not be satisfied,” said Bong Young-shik, a political analyst with the Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul
However the U.S. military strike on Syria could also reinforce concerns in North Korea that giving up its nuclear deterrent would make the country more vulnerable to a similar attack.
“If it thinks that its regime is not guaranteed, it will keep the nuclear program,” said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor of American studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul. | What does political analyst most likely believe? | North Korea should decrease their weapons capabilities. | ['North Korea and America will create a strong five year long treaty about nuclear programs.', 'not enough information', 'North Korea and America will come to a strong understanding at the summit.'] |
Sometimes stopping for long hugs . By midnight we were back with the group and I did not number close as I felt I had easy contact thru her friends and she was getting very tired for me to make more moves , plus I was confident for bouncing with her twice and getting thru some comfort stage . Laila - The sister from earlier in my postings . More IOI 's from her , she loved watching me work the group . I had all the girls laughing and my hands were on all of their backs . | Why is the group so cohesive ? | They are working to help one another . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They are all married couples working in the group .', 'They are all couples of men and women .'] |
There were times it was only schoolchildren who felt sick before they got their grades. But now teachers in Germany are scared, too, as they are being graded by their students.
Many teachers are opposed to it. They don't mind being evaluated . But they are upset because the results are then being posted on the Internet and accessible to millions of Internet users. On the websitewww.spickmich.deduring the past four months students have posted evaluation of 100,000 teachers.
The teachers are graded on categories such as "motivated", "good instruction", "easy examinations", or even "sexy". Many teachers think that their privacy has been violated.
The creators of the website say that the students are only being offered the chance to provide teachers with some feedback about their classroom instruction. Bernd Dicks, who founded the website with three friends, says that the students are largely quite satisfied with their teachers. On a grading scale of one to six, the teachers' average grade is 2.7 and it has been improving lately. He often says the impression is that students are bullying their teachers. But there is also bullying of the students by teachers.
"Teachers must also learn to live with criticism," he added. But still, the website is not totally immune from manipulation , as one teacher near the northern city of Hanover recently proved. He registered himself on the website as a student and then rated his own teaching colleagues highly. Within a few days, seven of his colleagues were listed in the top 10 ranking of Germany's best teachers. | Many teachers are opposed to the website because _ . | their privacy has been violated | ['they are afraid of being assessed', 'their evaluations are unfair', 'the results are not satisfying'] |
It must have been around nine o'clock when I drove back home from work because it was already dark. As I came near to the gates I turned off the head lights of the car so as to prevent the beam from swinging through the window and waking Jack, who shared the house with me. But I needn't have done so. I noticed that his light was still on, so he was awake anyway--unless he had fallen asleep while reading. I put the car away and went up the steps.
Then I opened the door quietly and went to Jack's room. He was in bed awake, but he didn't even turn towards me.
"What's up, Jack?" I asked.
"For God's sake, don't make a noise," he said.
The way he spoke reminded me of someone in pain who is afraid to talk in case he does himself serious injury.
"Take your shoes off, Neville," Jack said.
I thought that he must be ill and that I had better give way to him to keep him happy. "There is a snake here," he explained. "It's asleep between the sheets. I was lying on my back reading when I saw it.I knew that moving was _ . I could not have moved even I'd wanted to." I realized that he was serious. "I was depending on you to call a doctor as soon as you came home," Jack went on. "It has not bitten me yet but I dare not do anything to upset it. It might wake up. I'm sick of this," he said."I took it for granted that you would have come home an hour ago."
There was no time to argue or apologize for being late.I looked at him as encouraging as I could and went to telephone the doctor. | The reason why Neville thought that Jack must be ill is that Jack _ . | behaved strangely as if he were badly hurt | ['asked Neville to take off his shoes', 'made a gesture to show the presence of the snake', 'was afraid to upset the snake sleeping between the sheets'] |
Over the next 20 years, we are going to send more and better robots to Mars. Those robots will send back better pictures, maps, samples, and weather reports. There is a limit to what robots can tell us, though, so eventually we will have to send people to study the planet.
Before people can visit Mars, we need to invent a spaceship that can take us there. Mars is very far away. Depending on where Mars and Earth are in their orbits around the sun, it could take between six months to a year to get there.
The moon is much closer, and we were there, 25 years ago. Over the next 10 years, we are going to work on building a new spacecraft that can go to the moon. Using this craft, we will practice the skills we need to go to Mars.
Once we return to the moon, we are going to build a station so that people can live and work on the moon for months at a time. This is important so that we have a place to start from when we want to visit Mars, but it is also important because it gives us practice with living away from Earth.
By the time you are old enough to be an astronaut, we will have people spending months on the moon. By the time you are old enough to be a commander of a space mission, we will be taking trips to Mars. By the time your kids are old enough to be astronauts, we may have people living on Mars. Wouldn't it be cool to get a postcard from someone who was building a house on Mars? Wouldn't it be cooler if it was you who sent the postcard? | A space station on the moon is important because _ . | it gives us experience with living on other planets | ['people can plant crops in it', 'the new spacecraft can only land in it', 'it is a place for astronauts to have fun'] |
U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had instructed his representatives not to sign a communique by all seven leaders attending the G-7 summit in Canada, citing statements by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made after he left.
"Very dishonest and & weak," Trump tweeted in response to Trudeau's remark that the new U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel were "insulting."
"Based on Justin's false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers, and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!" Trump added.
"International cooperation cannot be dictated by fits of anger and throwaway remarks," French President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement about Trump's withdrawal from signing the communique. The statement also said Trump's action is a display of "incoherence and inconsistency."
"Germany stands by the jointly agreed communique," Germany spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
Trudeau closed the summit Saturday by refusing to budge on positions that place him at odds with Trump, particularly new tariffs on steel and aluminum that have irritated Canada and the European Union.
He said in closing remarks that Canada would proceed with retaliatory measures on U.S. goods as early as July 1.
"I highlighted directly to the president that Canadians did not take it lightly that the United States has moved forward with significant tariffs," Trudeau said in the news conference following the two-day summit. "Canadians, we're polite, we're reasonable, but we will also not be pushed around."
British Prime Minister Theresa May echoed Trudeau, pledging to retaliate for tariffs on EU goods. "The loss of trade through tariffs undermines competition, reduces productivity, removes the incentive to innovate and ultimately makes everyone poorer," she said. "And in response, the EU will impose countermeasures."
Trudeau and May also bucked Trump on another high-profile issue: Russia. Trump wants to have Russia — which was pushed out in 2014 over its aggression in eastern Ukraine — rejoin the group. Trudeau said he was "not remotely interested" in having Russia return to the group, made up of the world's seven most advanced economies. | What retaliatory measures did the EU impose on the US? | not enough information | ['imposed limits on quantities across all goods', 'increased tariffs on all US goods', 'they did not take any counter measures'] |
So , here is what happened today ... I went and played disc golf , and while several of us were sitting around , chilling , waiting for the other people to finish my phone rings . T of T&T called me , saying that he and T were going to go to Backstreet for the blues jam , and invited me to come out , and to bring my bass . I figured what the hell , so I went out there and took my bass . I ended up getting called up on stage to play and we played like 6 songs . | Why is the narrator so sweaty and red ? | They have been playing music . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They have been running around .', 'They have been working out .'] |
When I first entered high school, I knew no one at my school. All my friends in middle school went to other schools. I wanted to make some new friends. However, I was shy and wasn't good at making new friends. On my first day at school, I looked at others who were talking in groups happily. How I wish I were one of them!
I guess I was very lucky then. At lunch in the dinning hall, when I was eating at a table alone, a girl came to me. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" she asked. I immediately shook my head. She smiled and sat down opposite to me. I felt a little _ and didn't know what to say at all, but I really wanted to communicate with her. It was a good opportunity to make friends with her. When I looked up, I found she was smiling at me. Her smile calmed me down. "I really like this school. It's beautiful, but I don't know anyone here. All my friends went to other schools," said the girl. Hearing her words, I immediately said, "my friends are not here either. Can we be friends?" I was surprised. I couldn't believe I would say something like that, and to my surprise, that girl immediately said "yes". We both smiled.
We became very good friends. Now it's the beginning of a new term again. Many students may have no friends at their new schools. If you are also as shy as I used to be, please don't be afraid to talk to others. You may get a surprise and make a new friend. After all, others want to make new friends, too. | We know on her first day at school, the author _ . | hoped she could make some new friends | ['only knew a few people at her school', 'met some old friends at her new school', "hoped she could go to her old friends' schools"] |
Lots of folks don't think about what they eat over the holiday season until January, when they stare sadly at the number on the scale and then hurry off to hit the gym, join Weight Watchers or pick up the latest diet book.
It doesn't have to be that way. Health experts say you can still enjoy the holidays.
"It's OK to indulge , but it doesn't mean you have to gain weight," said Karen Ansel, a New York-based registered dietitian and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Jessica Crandall, a registered dietitian from Denver who's also an ADA spokeswoman, added that gaining weight during the holidays and then working hard to lose it again is not good for a person's body.
For starters, people interested in maintaining their weight during the holidays should keep eating on a regular schedule, the two dietitians said. Research has shown that people who skip meals -- particularly breakfast -- end up eating more throughout the day. "Try and stick to consistent meal times so you can avoid being overly hungry," Crandall said. "When you're overly hungry, you can make some bad decisions regarding what you eat. Don't starve yourself during the day waiting for that party at night -- because you'll eat too much or overeat."
Ansel suggests that you think now about the foods you really enjoy and plan to focus on those while eating less of more common fare.
Be careful, too, about alcohol intake, for a couple of reasons. Alcoholic drinks, particularly the fancy ones handed out at holiday time, tend to come loaded with calories. "It's usually what you're adding to a drink that contains the calories," Crandall said. Also, if you're drunk, you might forget to watch what you're eating. "It totally lowers your inhibitions ," Ansel said.
Other holiday eating tips, suggested by Crandall and Ansel, include:
*Eat lots of vegetables, and eat them first before moving on to the other items on your plate.
*Recognize that many holiday extras, like cheese or cranberry sauce, come loaded with calories. "If those aren't your favorite foods, don't put them on your plate," Crandall said.
*If your favorite food has a lot of calories, be sure to minimize your portion. "Two bites cure the craving," Crandall said. "After that, you're just really feeding your old habits.
*After a big holiday meal, don't sink into a chair or couch. Go for a walk outdoors or participate in some other activities that help burn off some of the calories you've just eaten. | Which of the following is the proper way to keep slim according to the passage? | Sitting less and walking more after meals. | ['Eating more vegetables than rice and other food.', 'Eating more cheese or cranberry sauce.', 'Never eat food with a lot of calories.'] |
Surfing the net when you should be finishing a work report, changing clothes when you have a train to catch, or perhaps even lying in bed when you've promised yourself you'll work out. Sound familiar? You aren't alone. We all procrastinate sometimes, especially when it comes to things we aren't really fond of. And while the number of activities we delay doing in any given week varies from person to person, it's fair to say that none of us is super-efficient 100 percent of the time.
A study revealed that we spend about 218 minutes procrastinating every day, which amounts to 55 days of lost time each year. We might not think these figures particularly worthy of worry, but when we look at the overall impact of procrastination on our lives, _ Not only does this cost financial loss, it also affects peace of mind. And procrastination isn't just a money thief ---- it steals time too. In general, people who continually put things off are unhappier, as well as being less wealthy and healthy.
So why do we do it? "When we avoid taking action, we're really avoiding pain," explains psychiatrist Phil Stutz. For most of us, pain avoidance isn't limited to one situation. It applies to almost anything that's painful. Most of us try our best never to leave a comfort zone. That's why we sacrifice something much more valuable: time. "Our time on earth is limited," Stutz adds. "Every moment is an opportunity we'll never have again. Procrastinators act as if they have all the time in the world. But deep down, they know they're wasting parts of their life. The trouble is, most of them don't know how to free themselves."
One way he says we can reach this level of freedom is by overcoming the pain of avoidance using daily visualization . "Picture the pain you're avoiding as a black cloud in front of you," Stutz says. "Notice how you're fed up with the ways this pain has held you back in life, and tell yourself that you're determined to conquer it. Then it's time to get through the cloud and to the other side -- where you're free." It is obvious that this tool works when we want to procrastinate. We then get into the habit of moving "towards" pain instead of away from it.
In addition to the fact that procrastinators suffer more health problems, procrastination also destroysteamwork and personal relationships because it shifts the burden of responsibilities onto others. So next time you think about putting something off, remember the impact it will have. Experts insist: procrastinators can change their behavior, it takes a lot of self-work but in the end, it's worth the effort. And start today, not tomorrow. | One possible way to stop procrastination is to _ . | overcome it mentally | ['avoid the pain', 'take some self-work', 'reach the freedom'] |
But it also shows that Europe is more of an oil exporter to be sensitive to such news in that manner . Now I ' m a slightly educated FOREX trader trainee . No I still do n't have the courage to be a full - time FOREX trader . You can lose your pants if you become lazy and unlucky . | What does the narrator like to trade on ? | None of the above choices . | ['They like to trade commodities .', 'They like to trade stocks from Europe .', 'They like to trade oil .'] |
Jekyll is a good show . The new Sigur Ros is good too , from what I ' ve heard . I became irate today for a short period of time . I rarely ever get angry , but it 's really not pretty when I do . I had quite episode after I hung up the phone , and both of my parents immediately came into my room to see what was wrong . Luckily , I was able to pump some monsta - jamz on the way to my encounter with the person who made me extremely angry , and was cool - headed for the most part when I arrived . | Where might I have been listening to some monsta - jamz on the way to my encounter ? | I was listening to the music in the car as I was driving . | ['I was listening on an old - fashioned boom box .', "I was listening to music on my parents ' stereo .", 'I was listening to the music on my ipod in my bedroom .'] |
On my first day of work at Moro Assurance, I arrived nervously, totally wet and nearly half an hour late. I had forgotten to take an umbrella, had missed the bus and was mow ready for a good scolding . It was then that I met Nicky Jonathan, the Managing Director.
She was a small, birdlike woman. Her appearance gave others the impression of a nervous, easily-flustered person. I soon learnt, however, that her true character was calm, warm and kind, yet very professional. After reminding me that lateness would not be tolerated in the office, she laughingly admitted to me that she had been over an hour late in her first morning because she had lost her way, which was typical of her. After a wet, awful morning, this kind office manager led me to my seat; yet her kindness and super ability didn't stop surprising me there.
During the years I worked with her, my admiration for Nicky steadily increased. Her ability to deal with several matters at once seemed almost miraculous . I remembered one occasion when nearly everyone in the office had gone down with the flu, yet Nicky managed to keep the office running smoothly without seeming stressed. The most striking thing about Nicky was her understanding towards others. _ If she sensed that something was wrong, she would call you into her office and encourage you to talk. Not only was she a good listener, but the advice she offered was always sound as well.
All in all, Nicky is the most admirable person I've ever mer. I will always remember her as the "guiding light" in my working life. | It can be inferred from the text that _ . | Nicky may have given the author many useful suggestions | ['it was winter when the author met Nicky', 'when talking, Nicky liked listening rather than speaking', 'Nicky was not respected by all the employees in the office'] |
It was told a long , long time ago that the world was once a dull , grimy black and grey . The colours were boring , and showed no feelings . Everyone in the little town , acted as if nothing was wrong , and moved on in their daily lives . But it was until a young painter named Dakota could n't stand it any longer . | What kind of account is being told ? | It is a parable . | ['It is an eyewitness account .', 'None of the above choices .', 'It is a police report .'] |
Plant World Garden Centre is located between Torquay and Newton Abbot. The Garden is laid out to represent the five continents of the world. Our inspirational gardens contain countless rare and foreign plants seldom seen outside their native lands.
Our Famous "Gardens of the World"
It was designed , built and planted in 1986 as the first ever " Map of the World Gardens" . It takes visitors half an hour or more to drive along the winding pathways around the "world map" and see which plants grow in which countries. The neighboring rare plant nurseries ( ) enable visitors to take home plants and trees growing there. We give a warm welcome to garden clubs and gardening societies, many of whom make annual visits.
Latest News
Our new Garden website is released! We hope you like our new website which we have tried to fill with interesting information and history about our lovely gardens.
Seeds
We produce and sell over 3 ,000 varieties of flower and vegetable seeds. Many are rare ,and unusual. All of them can be purchased on our sister website : www. plant-world-seeds.com.
Scenic Cafe
Our hilltop cafe offers one of the most incredible panoramas ( ) of Britain. The menu includes toasted sandwiches and jacket potatoes. In addition ,many home-made cakes are offered, including the famous Devon Cream Teas. We always use local produce whenever possible-our ice creams are from Language , our home-made soups come from Rod & Bens ,and our bottled drinks are supplied by Heron Valley.
Opening Times
We are open 9:30 am - 5 :00 pm, seven days a week, from late March to mid October ( please call first to confirm at the start/end of season) . .
Garden Admission Prices
Day ticket : ~ 3
Season ticket : PS 10
Kids under 12 go free | From the new- Carden website ,visitors can | get information about the past of the gardens | ['purchase over 3,000 varieties of flower seeds', 'buy all kinds of local produce', 'fill the website with their interesting stories'] |
Students must apply for a place before attending any class.Applications,either by post or in person,are dealt with strictly in the order _ are received at the Adult Education Office.
You can apply:
BY POST-use the card provided with the exact fee.You will be accepted for the course unless it is full.in which case we will inform you.An acknowledgement will not be made nor a receipt sent unless you provide a stamped addressed envelope.Receipts will normally be given out at the first class.
IN PERSON-call at the Adult Education Office(first floor,Block C)between approximately 9:00 a.m.and 3:30 p.m.(2:30 p.m.on Friday),or at the College Reception Desk(at the main entrance)at the other times(in the evenings until about 7:30 P.m.-not Fridays).Students should note that popular classes may be full before the course is to start,so that early application is strongly advised to avoid unhappiness.
For the AUTUMN TERM,applications will be accepted by post(preferably)or in person from 1st August.
For the SPRING TERM,applications will be accepted from 1st December.
For the SUMMER TERM,applications will be accepted from 1st April. | Where can students apply in person? | At the College Reception Desk after about 3:30 p.m.. | ['At the Adult Education Office at 9:30 p.m..', 'At the Adult Education Office after about 3:30 p.m..', 'At the College Reception Desk at 2:00 p.m.on Fridays.'] |
More over smart phone, the intelligent watch is about to take your spot as the latest hi-tech current, allowing wearers to glance at messages and even take calls without touching their phones. The i'm Watch, available since 2011, is the flagship product of an Italian company--i'm. This smart watch is an assist to the smart phone, with which it can communicate by Bluetooth wireless technology. It means you can leave your phone in your pocket as you answer or reject a call, review e-mails or read updates from friends on Twitter or Facebook.
The i'm Watch also has its own applications, such as i'm Sport, which links with a heart rate detector to allow a runner to check his pulse. Such functions already exist in specialized sports watches but not on watches that are linked to smart phones.
With a square shape, a 3.8-centimeter touch screen and various color1s, the i'm Watch sells for a minimum of 300 Euros($390) for the basic model and prices climb to 16,000 Euros for a luxury model in silver or decorated with diamonds.
So far, the watch has already found 30,000 buyers, 80 percent of whom are men aged 25 to 50. "Seventy percent are iPhone users, 25 percent Samsung and the rest are other telephones using Google's Android operating system," said Massimiliano Bertolini, a manager of the company, which aims to sell more than 200,000 watches this year. The company's target market is the person who is always glued to his smart phone, even in meetings or at the movies, or people who wish to keep an eye on their heartbeat during exercise. They will especially target women with advertisements emphasizing its design rather than its technology. | Which of the following statements about the i'm Watch is correct according to the text? | It has a wide range of prices. | ["It can control a runner's pulse.", 'It can replace the smart phones.', 'It is popular among teenagers.'] |
After this I have a major backlog of other games I need to get to ... Even when we got home there was a little bit of a surprise for us - my sister had dropped off a big ol' chair that her friends discarded . We 're re - doing the living room and need all new furniture , so she thought we could use it . We might not be able to though - it 's pretty big & smells kinda bad & might not fit . Besides , my mom already ordered new furniture . | What did Mom decide to buy ? | A new item for the place . | ['A new TV for the living room .', 'Furniture from the local thrift store .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
We took a cab from the airport to Copacabana and got to see some of the favelas from the freeway . Rio 's infamous wealth gap is certainly well deserved . We went straight to our hostel , Che Lagarto , only to find out that we could n't check in until 2 pm . | What may they have done until the could check into their room ? | They enjoyed some local tourist attractions that were near the establishment they had reservations at . | ['They decided to visit Copacabana to see some of the favelas from the freeway .', 'None of the above choices .', 'Nothing at all , they sat in the lobby until 2 PM .'] |
I have no experience with a lazy 21 yr old. Both my older children have always been independent. My oldest moved out when she started college and never moved back in after she graduated. My other daughter wanted to move out as soon as she hit 21 but her dad and I gave her some rules or rather instructions she had to follow before she can pack her bags and move in with the boyfriend.
1st she had to show us that she had 3months rent saved up in her savings account. Not just her half of the rent but the whole rent. Which was about $3,600 dollars. You never know if something happens to her or she looses her part time job she can still pay her rent. Nobody wants an eviction on their record.
2nd since she was still going to school and we were paying for it we wanted to see proof every semester that she was enrolled. Education is a big deal to me.
3rd she had to get on BIRTH CONTROL. I don't want any ooops sorry Mom I am pregnant. Now I can't finish school because I have to work full time to pay for my baby.. I was a teen Mom and I didn't get to go to college so it is 100% important that my kids go and finish.
She complied with all or requests and is doing remarkable. She has been out on her own for almost 2years .
So I'm really don't have any advice to give but maybe if you show a little tough love and give your kid a kick in the pants and tell hi it's time to grow the hell up…. Get a job and pay some rent, or go to school and get an education. No more freeloading around here.
Sorry that's all I got…. | What did the daughter have to show proof of every semester? | that she was enrolled | ['that she had a job', 'not enough information', "that she wasn't pregnant"] |
Making lists is relaxing. It dictates the shape of the immediate future; it calms you down (it's OK, it's on a list somewhere) and it makes you feel good when you cross something off List-making is standard practice in therapy for depression). It might even help you to get things done too. The more you have to do, the more you need a list and few people with high-powered jobs get by without them. Women always think they're better at lists than men. Men tend to have tasks which they assemble 'into Action Plans whereas women just have lists of Things To Do.
James Oliver, psychologist, has created his own "time management matrix ". He writes a list of things to do and then organizes them into _ : things that have to be done straight away, other things that it would be good to do today, things that are important but haven't got to be done immediately and things that are less urgent but that he doesn't want to forget. "Using categories to order the world is the way the human mind works," he says. "After that, you should divide things into levels of importance." But he also warns, "If people get too absorbed in making lists, it doesn't work. They have too many categories and lose their ability to decide which is the most important."
It's all a question of what works best for you, whether it's a tidy notebook, a packet of Post-it notes or the back of your hand. Having tried all these, student Kate Rollins relies on a computerized list, which is printed out each morning. "My electronic organizer has changed my life," she says. "Up to now, I've always relied on my good memory, but now that I'm working and studying, I find I've got too much to keep in my head."
So what are you waiting for? No, you're not too busy to make today the first day of your upgraded time-managed life. In fact, there's no better time than the present to begin to take increased control of your work and life. So, get out your pencil and pen and make a list. | We can learn from the passage that _ . | too much listing might be misleading | ['good memory helps in list making', 'women usually make a lot more lists than men', 'people with high-powered jobs make lists most'] |
We did n't really take any notice as we were engrossed in ourselves and the film . Shortly afterwards another came to sit down in the row in front , directly in the front of the other guy whose view of the screen was now slightly blocked , so when he moved to the seat next to Sandy , we did n't take much notice . After a few minutes Sandy whispered in my ear that the guy next to her was stroking the outside of her leg . I looked across and could make out his hand at his side , gently moving against Sandy 's leg . | What happened before the pervert started stroking the girl 's leg ? | They bought tickets to a movie . | ['They bought tickets to a football game .', 'They bought tickets to a play .', 'They bought tickets to a concert .'] |
i have n't written here in forever . my internet just got hooked up in my new place , so i ' m thrilled to be able to write again.i did AMAZING this past week . was doing so well . | Why did I not write for a long time ? | I stopped writing because I moved places and I had n't set up my Internet yet . | ['I stopped wring because I did not have access to Internet .', 'None of the above choices .', 'I stopped writing because I just set up my Internet and then I had to move .'] |
He ca n't tell Jude the truth because the truth is too much for even an adult to handle . The truth is enough to sting at an adult 's heart and bring tears to a grown man or woman 's eyes . The truth causes disgust to well up in his stomach and a fair amount of shame to release itself into his bloodstream . | How does the narrator feel about themselves ? | They feel disgusted . | ['They feel that they are tellling a white lie .', 'They feel that they are in the right .', 'None of the above choices .'] |
It 's odd . I feel guilty because I have n't written anything in over a month . I ' m the only one who reads this , but I should keep up with the cathartic exercise all the same . So much has happened . | Which of these is most likely descriptive of the narrator 's last month ? | busy | ['None of the above choices .', 'dull', 'guilt ridden'] |
he will scratch at the carpet and ill yell at him and hell stop . then a second later he 'll scratch at the door claws and all . ill get the spray bottle out and spray him . but it does nt bother him . | What kind of animal may he be ? | A cat | ['A guinea pig', 'A hamster', 'A dog'] |
It is one of those days following one of those nights . The kind of night that finds me wanting to crawl into bed at 7 and find a sense of peace in a book or in sleep . Such nights do n't happen often , but when they do , I am left trying to sort through the gray and the mist to find the cloud with the silver lining . It is there ; it is sometimes more difficult to find than others , but it is there all the same . | Why is the narrator in bed so early at night ? | The narrator is looking to get some much needed rest . | ['None of the above choices .', 'The narrator is looking to get up at 4AM .', 'The narrator is looking to get up early in the morning .'] |
The latest fashion in the kitchen is the food steamer.All the stores are selling them;everyone wants one.Steaming is one of the simplest and healthiest ways of cooking food.However,that cooking time is usually longer than with other methods.In case you're thinking of buying a steamer,I've done a survey about the steamers available on the market to help you decide which will suit you best.
Folding Steamer
The simplest and least expensive is the folding stainless-steel version.
Advantages:This is a good,basic design which sits inside a variety of different shapes of pans with the water under it;a ring in the centre allows for easy lifting and it's easy to clean.
Disadvantages:It only holds small dishes.Also,if you put too much water in the pan,it will boil up through the vegetables and they will be watery.If you put too little water in and let it get dry,you will burn the pan and get strange-smelling vegetables.
Steaming Pan
This is a three-layered black Teflon-coated version with a lid and two double-handled steamers,which sits on the oven ring.The brand I bought is calledNutritious Living.
Advantages:This is an excellent steamer, lightweight,easy to clean,and of all the steamers I've tried,this cooks the fastest.Fish and chicken can be cooked on the bottom with rice or vegetables on the top.It's easier to store.
Disadvantages:Water can boil away until the pan is dry,but if you make sure you fill the pan up to the suggested level and do not overcook the food,this should not happen.You cannot see the food cooking from the top.It doesn't supply a dish for cooking rice.
For serious users of steamers,I recommend having one of each version.If you just want to try it,get the folding stainless-steel type. | The food steamer is popular with people because _ . | food can be cooked simply and healthily | ['it can save time and money', 'it is easy to clean and store', 'it is available in any store'] |
Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused of killing farm animals. They are officially classified as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.
Famers can also call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population. Hunting consists of running after a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox, the kill it or a hunter shoots it.
People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport. They wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers, and follow strict rules of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly are expensive, so most hunters are wealthy.
It is estimated that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox-hunting. But over the last couple of decades the number of people who are against fox-hunting, because they think it is brutal , has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to pass off without some kind of conflict between hunters and hunt opponents . Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly opponents discourage the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the trail of the fox's smell, which the dogs follow.
Noisy conflicts between hunters and opponents have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as running after foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox-hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party member of Parliament , Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain. | The opponents of fox-hunting often discourage the game by _ . | confusing the fox hunters | ['using violence', 'taking legal action', 'seeking help from farmers'] |
If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice. There are four skills in learning English. They are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills, you should first master the skills of reading and listening.
Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentence, the meaning of the unfamiliar words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammars or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you _ , but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example, in other passages or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.
As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening. For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.
If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve quickly, and you can be a fluent English speaker one day. | To improve your reading, when you read you should _ . | think about what you are reading actively | ['look up all the new words in the dictionary', 'spend more time studying grammars', 'copy as many words and sentences as possible'] |
" I was gone by that point , and Loren had you and then - well , you know the rest . It 's a sad story , but still , I think there is hope in it . " There were a million things I wanted to say , and a million thoughts I could n't vocalize . | Why has the narrator refused to talk to Loren ? | The narrator ca n't form her thoughts correctly . | ["The narrator ca n't get to Loren due to geography .", 'None of the above choices .', "The narrator ca n't speak to Loren by rule ."] |
Unconventional in every way, Edward Estlin Cummings made striking use of grammar. His arts were poetry, painting, and drama, and in all of them he was an experimenter. The poetry -- for which he is best remembered -- was marked by strange combinations of words and expressions and produced in very strange print. The unusual techniques that Cummings used served to present his ideas more forcefully and effectively than would have been the case with more ordinary styles.
Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 14, 1894. He graduated from Harvard College in 1915 and received a master's degree in 1916. During World War I he served as an ambulance driver in France. He spent six months in prison because of his friendship with another American who had supposedly criticized the countries that fought against Germany in the First World War. This experience increased his distrust of all officialdom , a distrust that showed itself in many of his later poems as well as in his first book, "The Enormous Room", published in 1922.
Between the two world wars Cummings divided his time between Paris and New York City. His first book of poetry was "Tulips and Chimneys" (1923). The poems in the book were collected in "Complete Poems" (1968). The strangeness of his style was criticized by some, but others found it meaningful.
Among Cummings' plays were "Him", first performed in 1927, and "Tom" (1935), a work based on "Uncle Tom's Cabin". An experimental prose book, "Eimi" (1933), recorded a 36-day visit to the Soviet Union.
Cummings died at his home in North Conway, N.H., on Sept. 3, 1962. He was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost. He was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. | The text is mainly about Edward Estlin Cummings' _ . | life and works | ['creative ideas', 'great artistic abilities', 'influence on American literature'] |
I spent a good part of the day with my dad today , moving stuff back to their place etc . I felt bad at some points because I was getting irritated and taking it out on him . My heart wrenched a bit when I went to touch his arm as I thanked him ( he actually spoke to an associate at Zellers not once but TWICE to find prices for me , definitely not a common occurrence from him ) . | Why may he have thanked his Dad ? | His Dad helped him a lot . | ["Because it was n't a comon occurrence .", 'None of the above choices .', 'Because he felt bad .'] |
So Barney ( you know ... the big purple dinasour ) , is by far Caroline 's very FAVORITE thing in the whole word right now . Everything is Barney - even her birthday was a special " Barney Day ! " Well , we heard that Barney was going to be at the Kenwood Mall . | What will Caroline 's reaction be to getting to see Barney in person at the mall ? | She will be overcome with joy for having met her idol | ['She will have a bad time and choose not to go to that mall again', 'She will run away , terrified , and begin to cry , as this has scared her', 'She will find the experience boring and overrated'] |
Facebook has a long track record and sordid history of abusing their users’ trust and privacy, including the most recent and egregious cases currently making headlines with Cambridge Analytica as well as election meddling in the US and Britain. As if that wasn’t enough, it then came to light that they have also been tracking and storing users’ phone call and text message data, including “who contacted whom, what time, and how long the conversation was.”
This is nothing new, as we can see from this 2012 “study” in which they deliberately manipulated news feeds to influence users’ emotional state. And again with their settlement with the FCC back in 2011 (that they likely violated with their recent offenses) over deceiving consumers by telling them their information was private, but then repeatedly sharing it and making it public.
And then there’s The Ugly Memo, in which a FB exec justifies growth at any cost in the name of connecting people, even if that results literally in people dying:
We talk about the good and the bad of our work often. I want to talk about the ugly.
We connect people.
That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.
And still we connect people.
The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good.
And up until this most recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook was negotiating with various healthcare organizations to share patients’ health data with FB so they could match it up to your social circle to allegedly provide better health care. Um yeah right.
Each time this stuff happens, they issue an apology (or a justification for their behavior) and promise they will take steps to better inform users and protect their privacy, but it’s clear that this is just lip service at this point. | What is nothing new? | Facebook abusing their users trust | ['not enough information', 'Facebook making headlines', 'Facebook deliberately manipulating news feeds'] |
"I pity the empress. Poor empress." "Do you think Zhen Huan really loves the emperor?" From campuses to offices, from shopping malls to the streets, talk about Legend of Zhen Huan is everywhere.
Unlike other long TV series, Legend of Zhen Huan, the 76-episode Qing dynasty drama series, has kept attracting new audiences along the way. It has enjoyed widespread popularity on the Chinese mainland over the past months.
The story is seemingly the same as those dramas which look into the lives of women in the imperial palace. _ focuses on plots and intrigues within the Inner Palace during Emperor Yongzheng's reign.
The heroine, Zhen Huan, initially a kind and innocent young lady, enters the emperor's harem of concubines. Discovering that the palace is a cruel and harsh place, Zhen learns how to survive on her own.
However, Legend of Zhen Huan seems to arouse more discussion than any drama series. Why? Some experts say it's because it's a well-made series from inside out.
Niu Hanting, deputy editor-in-chief of Art Panorama magazine, told Xinhua News Agency that the sets, props and costumes are carefully chosen. And the screenplay and dialogue are well-written. "The series takes care of every detail a good period drama should have," Niu said. "From that aspect, it's no coincidence that Zhen Huan could be big." More importantly, Niu added, the TV series strikes a chord among audiences in different ways. "For example, as a woman, Zhen is hurt by the man she once loved. And as a newcomer to the palace, she finds herself caught in the fierce infighting and she has to survive," Niu said, "Everyone may find themselves in Zhen's position at a certain point."
Then it's not hard to understand why the story of Zhen Huan is even seen as a survival guide for newcomers in the workplace. Its director, Zheng Xiaolong, once admitted that in terms of society today, the "promotion" of Zhen Huan reflects a person's career path in some way. "Whether the principles can be applied in today's society, or not, I want to make the story as real as possible," Zheng told Sina.com. "There are many fairytale-like series that make audiences ignore or avoid reality, and the complexity of humanity." "But Legend of Zhen Huan, is a series that makes you think." | We can learn from Niu Hanting that she _ . | speaks highly of Legend of Zhen Huan | ['thinks Zhen has had effects on newcomers', 'makes little of Legend of Zhen Huan', "wants newcomer to follow Zhen's example"] |
But I can see why they want to do it ... with the Georgia Dome , Phillips Arena , the convention center and all of that sort of ritzy downtown area all within spitting distance , they want to make this area into a nice place for people to come spend money . But yeah ... whenever I ' m in a new place and out adventuring , I suffer from the " oh , what 's over there ? " disease . | What is the venue like ? | The venue is very attractive . | ['The venue is far from downtown .', 'The venue is not very nice .', 'The venue is cheap .'] |
Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?
The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils .
People's choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies' reactions toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.
Red can cause a person's blood pressure to rise and increase people's appetites . Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial websites will have a red "Buy Now" button because red is a color that easily catches a person's eye.
Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.
The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully. | Muslims regard green as a symbol of heaven mainly because of their _ . | cultural values | ['commercial purposes', 'personal experiences', 'physical reactions to the color'] |
It was the Reebok 10 K marathon . I was 6 hours standing up , going from one place to the other , collecting tea / coffee cups , napkins , glasses , garbage , serving drinks . My feet are alright , though they hurt . My face ... oh god MY FACE ! | What may be the reason why their face hurts ? | They have a sunburn . | ['None of the above choices .', 'They were smiling so much .', 'They had an allergic reaction .'] |
We all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on the radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.
Yes, that is true, I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light I get weird looks from some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!
The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish!
No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I don't care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how frugal , how rich, and so on...No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not?
Life is so short. You never know when this beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity ? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life:
"Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth."
When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence.
So don't lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails (......) you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your stomach hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn't want to feel good? | What does the writer think of the people who look very serious? | They are foolish. | ['They are honest.', 'They are educated.', 'They are perfect.'] |
An American psychotherapist Glenn Doman wrote a best-selling book calledHow to Teach Your Baby to Readin 1963. Now translated into 17 languages, this book arose from his work with brain-damaged children in Pennsylvania. Doman and his team of specialists had wondered why brain-injured children didn't improve with treatment. Then they realized that orthodox methods of treatment only relieved the symptoms, not the problem, which of course was the brain itself. So they develop a new approach. "All we do for all the children here is to give them visual, auditory and tactile stimulation with increased frequency, intensity and duration, in recognition of the orderly way in which the brain grows," says Doman. "The result was that by 1960 we had hundreds of severely brain-injured two-year-olds who could read and understand." The team had discovered that even children who had half their brains removed could, by stimulation, achieve higher IQs than the average normal child.
Then the team began to think if such amazing results could be achieved with brain-damaged children, what would happen if the same treatment were given to normal children? So eight years ago the Better Baby Institute was opened for the benefit of normal children. The same stimulating environment was provided, and by the time the children left, around seven years old, they could generally speak and read three foreign languages, play a musical instrument, read three full-length books a week and do all the other things that a so-called "normal" child could do.
In Doman's view, the child's passion to learn during the years up to six must be fed. He believes that, like muscles, the brain develops with use, especially so in those first few years.
Nowadays, parents come from all over the world to Pennsylvania to see and learn from the workof Doman and his team; they want to discover how they can fulfill their roles as nature's teachers, by using their love, understanding and instincts for the benefit of the children. For in the words of Doman, "every child born has a greater potential intelligence than Leonardo da Vinci used". | At the Better Baby Institute _ . | the idea of "normal" achievement was challenged | ['unnatural development of children was achieved', 'children developed at a normal standard rate', 'children needed seven years to develop normality'] |
Almost all theme park accidents can be prevented.Here, based on coverage of theme park safety, are some tips to help you and your family stay safe on your next visit.
If you are visiting with a child, take a moment to explain the ride to them, and tell them what they should do.They are depending upon you to keep them safe.Set a good example for them by following the rules of the park, and make sure that they know you expect them to follow those rules, too.
Tell them to stay seated, to hold the grab bar or put their hands in the laps, and not to stick their knees and feet outside a ride vehicle.Make them look to you for the okay to get on or off a ride, too.And never put a crying child on a ride.If your child starts to cry, let others pass you in line until your child is calmed.Or, gently _ the queue and find something more relaxing to do.
Young kids can't keep an adult's pace in a theme park.Let them take plenty of breaks.
"Kids get tired," said TPI reader Matt Johnson, a father of four."Tired kids make parents even more tired.And tired kids and parents may get hurt -- physically and emotionally." He advises that parents plan a mid-day break, perhaps a swim back at the hotel, to avoid mid-day heat and crowds."You will see cranky families having a miserable time while you are refreshed and having a great evening." | We may infer from Matt Johnson's words that _ . | not all the families are relaxed or happy when they visit a theme park | ["he doesn't like to visit a theme park with his children", 'parents with many children may be tired of visiting a theme park', 'visitors should arrange everything carefully before starting'] |
You should be asking yourself if you feel you deserve better than this ! This guy obviously has some major hang - ups that are n't going away any time soon . Run as fast as you can and find a guy who appreciates you for who you are . | Why is the speaker giving this advice to the subject ? | They want to help them respect themselves and find a satisfying relationship | ["They dislike the subject 's boyfriend and are intentionally trying to undermine the relationship", 'They hope that the subject will leave their boyfriend for them and they can be together', "They do n't know what they 're talking about . They just enjoy appearing wise and knowledgeable"] |
Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.
Hetty made her money on the New York stock exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn't own a house, because she didn't want to pay taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels. She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn't cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.
Hetty's family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn't want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.
But eventually Ned got his revenge . At the age of 81, Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty's meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother's fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery. | What fact can be learned about Hetty Robinson from the passage? | She worked for a bank. | ['She was nice to her son.', 'She died from extreme anger.', 'She came from a poor family.'] |
Laresce was born with a condition called hypermobility which meant her joints were"bend".The condition can use severe joint pain and lead to dislocations .
But rather than feel sorry for herself, she used her misfortune to inspire her to become Britain's strongest schoolgirl.
Just two years ago,the condition left Laresce in so much pain that she couldn't even take part in sports.But now she has six British and World Champion power lifting records.It's an incredible achievement.
Laresce's trainer Tania George said her condition is the secret to her success."She has more flexibility in her back than most people,which gives her the technique of bending her back strongly and safely.Most power lifters would kill to try to bend their backs like Laresce.She has perfected the technique to lift incredibly heavy weights,"Tania said.
"I used to suffer a lot of pain from my hypermobility.I remember coming home from school with pains in my knees,joints and hips.It would stop me doing normal things at schoo1.The pain would be so much that some nights I couldn't sleep at all and I just couldn't face going to school like that.And after each dislocation,I had to do six months of physiotherapy to recover,"said Laresce.
However, since taking up the sport of power lifting 18 months ago she is now effectively cured."really enjoyed the feeling of power I got and the excitement of people encouraging me to do my very best,"she said.
"I've made lots of friends a It's an incredible feeling when everyone's cheering me on.It's the support of other people that makes the difference to winning.Becoming a champion was a big surprise--I just started off for fun and wasn't expecting anything.So to win six titles over just a few months was amazing." | Laresce had to do long-time physiotherapy to _ . | recover from joint dislocations | ['reduce the pains in knees and joints', 'fall asleep easily during nights', 'do normal things freely at school'] |
Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health,but many do not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant health effects.Environmental Protection Agency studies indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 3~5 times,and occasionally more than 100 times,higher than outdoor levels.These levels of indoor air pollutants may be of particular concern because most people spend about 90% of their time indoors.
There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home.These include sources such as oil,gas,coal,wood,and tobacco products,building materials,wet or damp carpet,and furniture made of certain pressed wood products,products for household cleaning and maintenance,personal care,or hobbies,central heating and cooling systems.
Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures.These include _ of the eyes,nose,and throat,headaches,dizziness.Such immediate effects are usually shortterm and treatable.Sometimes the treatment is simply removing the person's exposure to the source of the pollution,if it can be identified.
The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors.Age and preexisting medical conditions are two important influences.In other cases,whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity,which varies tremendously from person to person.Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeated exposures,and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.
Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases,so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.While pollutants commonly found in indoor air are responsible for many harmful effects,there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems.People also react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants.Therefore,further research is needed to better understand the effects of indoor air pollution and to find efficient ways to protect our health. | Which of the following might be the best title for the passage? | Danger from Home | ['Reactions of Pollution', 'Pollution Resources', 'Different Pollutions'] |
There are two types of twins; identical and non-identical twins. Identical twins are formed from a single egg in mother's body which divides to from two separate babies. Identical twins look the same, and are often dressed by their parents in clothes of the same colors. It is often difficult to tell identical twins from each other, even when they are standing side by side. Non-identical twins come into being when the mother produces two separated eggs a the same time, both of which grow to form babies. In this case the twins look like normal brothers and sisters and are easy to tell one from the other.
In the 1970s and 1980s a scientist did some research into twins. He invited many pairs of identical twins to university and asked them to take part in a week of tests. He was particularly interested in adopted twins who had been separated at birth. He would give the twins different kinds of tests to study their speed of thinking, their speech, their memory, the ways they saw and heard different things, and so on. Time and time again he found separated twins who preferred clothes of the same color, used the same kind of shaving soap, wore the same shaped square glasses and the same colored socks.
There is a third type of twins, but it is a very unusual one. Twins which are joined together at birth are known in western countries as Siamese twins. | This passage mainly tells us _ . | what has been found out about twins | ['the main types of twins', 'how twins are formed', 'how a scientist studied twins'] |