Article: Pat O'Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, Pat had no _ to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands. Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly up to the group and said to Lord Northwood, "Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?" Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his friends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion , he said, "but why are you out so early in the morning?" "Well, sir" said Pat, "I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite." The whole crowed burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit(,), and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits. Question: What made the whole crowd burst into laughter? Yes or no, is the answer "Pat's quick and humorous response"?
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Article: The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking? Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are. The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your friend who is slow to learn that he has the potential of an Einstein, _ . In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written. In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable." Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation . In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts. The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic viewpoint. Call it the power of negative thinking. Question: According to the study of the Canadian researchers, _ . Yes or no, is the answer "encouraging positive thinking may actually discourage people"?
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Article: The lights dimmed,the musical hall grew quiet and out walked the conductor shiny and white and 4 feet and 3 inches tall. ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony , in a performance of "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha". "Hello, everyone," ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra. As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked the actions of a conductor, nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to excited shouts from the audience. Later, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education. Honda spokeswoman Alicia Jones says it is the first time ASIMO has conducted an orchestra, and it may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance. But ASIMO has its limits. ASIMO's engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony's education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can't respond to the musicians. "It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a set of gestures," said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical director. "If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control." But several musicians also said ASIMO was more realistic than they expected. "The movements are still a little stiff , but very humanlike, much better than I thought," Hutchinson said. Question: Whose conducting was ASIMO made to copy? Yes or no, is the answer "Charles Burke's."?
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Article: Farmers may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can at least try their best to reduce losses. For example, they can plant crops that are more likely to survive extreme weather. In north-central Vietnam, people with small farms do not plant rice between September and December. Seasonal rains might destroy the rice. So instead, they plant lotus seeds on raised beds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the lotus seeds _ . Farmers in the Philippines are showing new interest in crops like winged beans, string beans, arrowroot and cassava. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center says traditional crops like these can survive the fierce storms that often strike the islands. The United Nations says some African farmers grow bambara groundnuts during long dry periods. The seeds of this drought-resistant plant can be boiled for eating or for making flour. In some parts of the world, farmers grow vetiver grass. Researchers in Thailand wrote about vetiver in 2007 in the journal Science Asia. They noted that the grass can absorb and control the spread of harmful waste waters, like those from pig farms. Agricultural expert and author William Rivera says vetiver resists difficult conditions. It reduces damage from heavy rains. And vetiver planted on earthen dams may strengthen them against breaks and flooding. William Rivera also speaks approvingly of alfalfa. Its deep roots can find and take up groundwater. Those roots also help hold the soil against winds. And alfalfa can be a valuable food source for animals. The deep and extensive roots of sunflowers make them another good candidate for resisting extreme conditions. The tall plants have brightly color1ed heads that provide seeds and oil. North Dakota grows more hectares of sunflowers than any other American state. But North Dakota is better known as a top wheat producing state. Hans Kandel works at the North Dakota State University Extension Service in Fargo. He says farmers in some parts of North Dakota plant wheat that is... Question: From this passage we may safely conclude that _ . Yes or no, is the answer "some crops can help farmers to fight against extreme weather"?
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