Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
The game pad controllers were more-or-less copied directly from the Game & Watch machines, although the Famicom design team originally wanted to use arcade-style joysticks, even taking apart ones from American game consoles to see how they worked. However, it was eventually decided that children might step on joysticks left on the floor and their durability was also questioned. Katsuyah Nakawaka attached a Game & Watch D-pad to the Famicom prototype and found that it was easy to use and had no discomfort. Ultimately though, they did install a 15-pin expansion port on the front of the console so that an arcade-style joystick could be used optionally. The controllers were hard-wired to the console with no connectors for cost reasons. 

At June 1985's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo unveiled the American version of its Famicom. This is the system which would eventually be officially deployed as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the colloquial "NES". Nintendo seeded these first systems to limited American test markets starting in New York City on October 18, 1985, following up with a full-fledged North American release of the console in February of the following year. Nintendo released 17 launch titles: 10-Yard Fight, Baseball, Clu Clu Land, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Golf, Gyromite, Hogan’s Alley, Ice Climber, Kung Fu, Pinball, Soccer, Stack-Up, Tennis, Wild Gunman, Wrecking Crew, and Super Mario Bros.h[›] Some varieties of these launch games contained Famicom chips with an adapter inside the cartridge so they would play on North American consoles, which is why the title screen of Gyromite has the Famicom title "Robot Gyro" and the title screen of Stack-Up has the Famicom title "Robot Block".
1. When did Nintendo reveal their version of the Famicom?
2. Where was it?
3. What would the Famicom be called?
4. What state was it first released in?
5. How many titles were put out?
6. Was Mario one of them?
7. Was Frogger one of them?
8. What were the controllers modeled after?
9. Why was the plan changed from joysticks?
10. What was the other reason?

Numbered answers:
1. June 1985.
2. Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
3. This is the system which would eventually be officially deployed as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the colloquial "NES".
4. New York City
5. 17
6. yes
7. no
8. Game & Watch machines
9. their durability was also questioned.
10. children might step on joysticks


Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
The grandfather of Nell Trent owns a shop of odds and ends. He wants to make sure his grandfather is provided for when he dies. His memory of his daughter's suffering and early death gives him a fear of poverty. Gambling becomes an addiction for Nell's grandfather, which results in his financial and physical ruin. Nell and her grandfather flee from their home and begin a journey that has no destination. For Nell, all she wants is a peaceful existence with enough to live on. 

They come across many interesting people on their travels and often meet with the kindness of strangers. Yet, in a colorful world, they also face the reality of the Industrial Revolution. From simple villages and fields of flowers, they go into a dirty city full of mass unemployment and plague victims --- where children die of starvation and many are abandoned. 

The story isn't only about Nell and her grandfather, but also the people who are connected to them directly or indirectly. There is Richard Swiveller, a careless young man who is a friend of Nell's older brother, who wants Swiveller to marry Nell for the fortune he thinks she has. Daniel Quilp is a cruel moneylender, who manages to fool the grandfather into borrowing large sums of money from him. There is honest Kit, a boy employed at the shop, who becomes a victim even though he never harms other people. Kit desires to help Nell, whom he considers an angel that has always inspired the best in him. The mysterious Bevis Marks, who is a generous customer to some people and an enemy to others, also has his own reasons for looking after Nell and her grandfather. 

Unlike Dickens' other works, The Old Curiosity Shop is a book of contrasts: the purity of Nell compared to the dishonesty of Quilp, fresh air and scenic villages to the polluted, stone-covered city, etc. Even people's reaction to the book presented a cruel contrast. At first, Nell Trent was praised and considered Dickens' best character. Later, she was criticized by many well-known people like Oscar Wilde. While characters in Dickens' other books are moving towards a better future, Nell and her grandfather are fleeing for their life and their story is moving towards a sad ending.
1. Who owns a shop?
2. whose?
3. Did they meet many people?
4. What is the time period?
5. Is the story only about them?
6. Who else is it about?
7. Only close relatives?
8. Like whom?
9. Who was he?
10. What he wanted?
11. Who is the author?
12. What is the name of this novel?
13. Do some people disagree with the concept?
14. Did any famous author disagree?
15. Like who?
16. Is this novel different from author's other books?
17. Did the main characters stay home?
18. Where did they go?
19. Is there any mysterious character?
20. Who?
21. Was he good with the main characters?

Numbered answers:
1. grandfather
2. Nell Trent
3. yes
4. Industrial Revolution
5. no
6. people who connected to them
7. indirectly
8. Richard Swiveller
9. a friend of Nell's older brother
10. marry Nell
11. Dickens
12. The Old Curiosity Shop
13. presented a cruel contrast
14. yes
15. Oscar Wilde
16. yes
17. no
18. no definite destination.
19. yes
20. Bevis Marks
21. yes


Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
What is the hottest English word of 2013? It's "selfie", according to Oxford dictionaries. Selfie is a photo that one takes of oneself, according to the Oxford online dictionary. People usually take selfies with a smartphone and send them to a social media website. The word was first used in 2002. In the past 12 months, its frequency in the English language has increased by 17,000 percent, said Oxford dictionaries. Now, almost everybody knows it. "Almost every day, I take a photo of myself at school, and save it in my Qzone (QQ)," said Huang Xu, 13, from Hunan. These photos record her happy and sad moments. Pop stars also take a lot of selfies. Li Chunping, 14, from Harbin, is a big fan of Yang Mi. "She has used many selfies to tell us what's going on in her personal life," said Li. What makes people love selfies? Some people say it's narcissism . "The rise of the selfie is a perfect symbol for our narcissistic culture. We're crying out: Look at me!" said US psychiatrist Carole Lieberman. Young people are using selfies to make friends online, Jonathan Freedland wrote in The Guardian. "The usual purpose of taking a selfie is to share online. They express a human need to connect with others," wrote Freedland. Huang Xu agrees with that. "During summer vacation, my classmates and I shared many selfies online. Hair or clothes were not our interests. Through these photos, we got to know each other's holidays and feelings," said Huang Xu.
1. What term is the subject of the article?
2. What was it declared as?
3. According to who?
4. When was it first used?
5. What does the term mean?
6. What culture is it fitting for?
7. What is one of the main reasons to take a selfie?
8. What message do they send?
9. IS there a need that is conveyed?
10. What is it?
11. Who claimed this?
12. Where was this quoted?
13. Are style and trends what one looks at in selfies?
14. What do they get from the photos?
15. What do the photos record?
16. Who takes a lot of selfies?
17. Do famous people?
18. Any in particular mentioned?
19. Why does she take them?
20. Has there been an increase in the use of the term?


Numbered answers:
1. selfie
2. the hottest English word of 2013
3. Oxford dictionaries.
4. 2002.
5. a photo that one takes of oneself,
6. our narcissistic culture.
7. to share online.
8. Look at me!"
9. Yes
10. a human need to connect with others
11. Jonathan Freedland.
12. The Guardian
13. No
14. to know each other's holidays and feelings
15. happy and sad moments.
16. Huang Xu,
17. Yes
18. Yang Mi
19. to tell us what's going on in her personal life,
20. Yes