TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank, four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D") and the answer to that question. Your task is to classify whether the given answer is correct or not by providing "Yes" or "No", based on the article.
PROBLEM: Article: Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives. To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a mainly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient. Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to reducing biodiversity. All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require thorough thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are certainly more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be "zero impact". The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage. Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity. What is important is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.
Question: How do people often measure progress in agriculture?
Options: (A) By its impact on the environment (B) By its contribution to economic growth (C) By its productivity (D) By its sustainability
Asnwer: B

SOLUTION: No

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

SOLUTION: Yes

PROBLEM: Article: A group of British schools are banning skirts after helplessly watching the fashion of "hemline _ creep" when girls roll up skirts to show more of their legs.Rising hemlines among girls in their midtolate teens have long been a headache for schools.Now,it seems,girls who are leaving homes with perfectly proper skirt lengths manage to transform their uniform into microminiskirts by the time they get to school. Some are so short that the headmaster of Tewksbury School in Gloucestershire said they are "almost like belts".Obviously,they have become a bit of a distraction for both boys and male teachers. Robert Kelly,headmaster of Berwickshire High School in Scotland,said short skirts could cause "inappropriate thoughts" among boys.And Hilary Winter,headmaster of Piggott School in Wargrave,Surrey,described short skirts as a "difficult distraction for members of staff ". In the town of Ipswich alone three schools have removed skirts from their approved uniform list.David Hutton,headmaster of Northgate High School,said,"Unfortunately,despite getting in touch with specific parents,sending some girls home to change,requiring others to wear a schoolowned skirt for the day and repeatedly asking others to unroll their skirts,we still had some girls coming to school in inappropriate skirts." "I have therefore introduced a trousersonly policy,which will enable my staff to focus their time and effort on providing students with the best education possible." Girls at Nailsea School near Bristol are used to a uniform ban.Two years ago,they were forbidden from wearing trousers made by the clothing brand Miss Sexy,which were reportedly too low on the hips and too tight."Staff were becoming embarrassed by seeing too much of the girls instead of the uniform,"headmaster David New said."They were very low, hipsterstyle,very tight trousers." Now they have been banned from wearing skirts. "We didn't want to waste any more time on it.It just means that teachers can concentrate on what's important in education,"New said. Megan Throp,a 15yearold student at Guiseley School in Leeds,facing a trousersonly policy,told the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper,"Our rights and freedom of being young women have been taken away because we have been forced into wearing school trousers." However,students are likely to find another means of adjusting dress code ,as David New told the LA Times,"I suspect that,teenagers being teenagers,there will be a new uniform violation that becomes the habit,"he said."That was true when I was at school,and I'm sure it was true when my father was at school."
Question: What measure has Northgate High School taken to keep girls from wearing short skirts?
Options: (A) Asking parents not to buy skirts for their daughters any more. (B) Keeping girls wearing inappropriate skirts out of school. (C) Reminding girls not to roll up their skirts again and again. (D) Permitting only a small number of girls to wear skirts at school.
Asnwer: B

SOLUTION:
No