(Question)
As part of my job, I regularly travel and over the last couple of years or so, I’ve been traveling pretty often. I’ve had the privilege to travel pretty widely across the US and abroad and I fully know how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. While sometimes exhausting, it’s a perk for me to get to go to some pretty cool places, meet a variety of people, and see and do some amazing things. I’ve also broadened my personal travel, largely due to the overall comfort level I’ve developed with travel in general, thanks to my job. Like lots of other people, I post pics to social media here and there of my travels and I’m sure it can look quite glamorous at times. Being totally honest, sometimes it is. 🙂 I’ve been to some exceptional restaurants where I have enjoyed some spectacular meals. I’ve embraced the notion of trying all sorts of new foods and most of it has been delicious. I’ve picked up phrases and bits in all sorts of other languages (jack of all trades, master of none), learned things about various cultures, and best of all, I have had many incredible experiences and seen many iconic/historic/inspiring things. Like the Colosseum and other antiquities in Rome, the Parthenon and the Acropolis in Athens, the Eiffel Tower and so much more in Paris, the beaches where we stormed the shore on D-Day in WWII, the Empire State Building, the wonders of Yellowstone National Park, the beaches of Hawaii, Big Ben and Windsor Palace in England, the Liberty Bell, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. As incredible as those experiences and sights have been, the process of getting to and from these places is anything but glamorous. Whoever said “getting there is half the fun” never had to fly smushed up in an economy seat for 9+ hours. For me, being there (or being back home) is 100% of the fun. Getting there and back is just a necessary evil until we invent a better form of travel. What is probably true about the writer?  A. not enough information  B. they love to fly places  C. they prefer the economy section more than first class  D. they do not like to fly
(Answer)
D


(Question)
I do not fully understand exactly what you are asking so I will restate what I believe you are asking and then I will answer it. What was the best excuse that a student ever gave for having failed to do something? I would have to say that I was most entertained by a student’s response to “Why are you late for school?” The student said, “I awoke in time this morning but there was a mouse sitting on the edge of my bed. I looked at him and he looked back. The mouse said to me, ‘Go back to sleep’ and what could I do? He had a gun.” The following has worked a few times too when students refuse to talk. That is, I know that one of the assembled students was the culprit for some activity. When they will not talk, I interview them one at a time while the others are kept away from each other. Then when they are assembled before me again, I say, “Thank you gentlemen. I know who did it so you others are free to return to class.” All but one arises and leaves. This works more times than not. For years I have given assignments via email and I have collected assignments via email. Nothing has ever gotten lost this way and things are timestamped. I do not have to make photocopies and even students who are not present the day that the assignment is announced in class, get the assignment in a timely manner. One young lady told me, “I turned it in but you must have lost it.” “Okay,” I said, “Open your sent folder and show me that you sent it.” She replied by saying, “I delete my sent folder to keep from clogging up my email.” I told her that I understood and that she could show me an empty sent folder to prove that she was telling the truth. She said, “I lied.” Why students refuse to talk?  A. She interviews them one at a time  B. They do not know what to say  C. They know they will be in trouble  D. not enough information
(Answer)
C


(Question)
My fraternal twins were born 2 months early. The staff had already stopped premature labor at six months gestation but it proceeded too quickly this time. Total labor 2.5 hours. Needless to say, they were tiny - female 2 lbs. 3 oz, male 3 lbs. 10 oz. Female was born dark blue - luckily, I was at the finest maternity hospital in this half of the State (McGee Women’s). They brought the female around to breathing, while I cried, thinking that she was dead. The twins were rushed to the NICU, too tiny to breast feed except with pumped milk through a feeding tube. Both were watched closely by doctors and nurses as they were not passing waste properly. The day it was decided that the male needed surgery, the female was discharged to home. The male was transferred to another very good hospital for surgery for a temporary colostomy. He was discharged to home after a week. What broke my heart was that I was allowed to visit him in the hospital but his older brother and twin sister were not allowed. Prior to his discharge, the staff instructed me in changing and maintaining his colostomy bag on a daily basis. He kept the colostomy bag until he was about 5 months old; back into the hospital for the colostomy reversal. The sign that I hung above their shared playpen said “Whatever doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger”. How did I cope with it? Mostly alone. The hospital offered group sessions for parents of severely premature infants. During the very first session, I had a zen realization that, once I realized that the circumstances were out of my control, I GAINED control of myself and my life. A bit like the Serenity Prayer. I shared that epiphany with the group and they looked at me like I had two heads. I had never heard of the Serenity Prayer and I’d been an atheist since age 13, so religion was not my go-to then, nor is it now. That realization helped. The twins are 37 now. Why did the babies have to go to the NICU?  A. because the labor was too long  B. not enough information  C. because they were in a small town  D. because they were born 2 months early
(Answer)

D