The Red Cross is an international organization which cares for people who are in need of help. A man in a Paris hospital who needs blood, a woman in Mexico who was injured in an earthquake, and a family in India that lost their home in a storm may all be aided by the Red Cross. The Red Cross exists in almost every country around the world. The world Red Cross organizations are sometimes called the Red Crescent, the Red Mogen Daid, the Sun, and the Red Lion. All of these agencies share a common goal of trying to help people in need. The idea of forming an organization to help the sick and wounded during a war started with Jean Henri Dunant. In 1859, he observed how people were suffering on a battlefield in Italy. He wanted to help all the wounded people regardless of which side they were fighting for. The most important result of his work was an international treaty called the Geneva Convention . It protects prisoners of war, the sick and wounded, and other citizens during a war. The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881. Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the public, such as helping people in need, teaching first aid and providing blood. The author really tries to make the reader see that this organization  _  . A) costs very little money B) works in many nations C) teaches first aid if necessary D) is called the Sun
B


Some couples spend every waking minute together. Others fill their hours with personal hobbies,outside interests and even part-time jobs, just to keep their distance from each other! "There should be private time and couple time," suggests Dr. Stephen Treat at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia."You don't want your latter years to turn into a process where two people unite as one. If you hold too tightly to your partner, it's going to cause resentment and anger. If you're completely separate, you'll both be lonely and disconnected. You need balance. So you have to talk about how you'll achieve that." The right balance? It's different for every couple. "Having a conversation about time can be difficult,but it's important for both partners to process those feelings out loud," Dr. Treat says. "You should not be accusing and act as a judge--ask the difficult questions, but do it in a loving way. You could say something like, 'How are we going to be as individuals and how are we going to be as a couple?' " Barbara and Chris Christensen have achieved the balance that works for them. In addition to daily routines that keep them close--including about 10 minutes for a daily check-in and about a half hour of relaxation time--they each maintain separate interests and friendships. "We have found that we need time apart," Barbara says. "I have a group of women friends that I have known for the last 30 years. We have dinner out once a month. We women also have parties and weekend or weeklong vacations as a group at a beach or somewhere. Chris, a former fighter pilot, has many aviation-oriented  groups and friends and also a poker-playing group of our friends. I may be with him during the poker night, but I don't play, and the wives usually watch a chick flick' DVD or something while the poker group has an evening of fun. We have found it important to have separate time as well as together time." Barbara and her friends do the following EXCEPT  _  . A) having dinner regularly B) holding parties C) having weekly vacations at the beach D) having fun playing poker
D


*Question*
Edda, a Little Valkyrie's First Day of School Written and illustrated  by Adam Auerbach. 32 pp. Christy Ottaviano/Holt. $15.50. Edda's home is in Asgard, "a land full of magic and adventure." But Edda, the littlest Valkyrie, doesn't have quite enough to do, until her father flies her "all the way to Earth for the first day of school." The contrast between home and school is hard to get used to (in one, she can ride reindeer; in the other she gazes guinea pig  through glass at the classroom). In his first picture book, Auerbach mixes the two worlds perfectly. Children are likely to appreciate the joke. Planet Kindergarten By Sue Ganz-Schmitt. Illustrated by Shane Prigmore. 32 pp. Chronicle. $14.99. After careful preparations and a successful blastoff, a boy finds himself in a very unfamiliar environment. "We're aliens from many galaxies  on Planet Kindergarten," he reflects as he sees his very varied classmates for the first time. Prigmore, who designs for the movie industry, uses black backgrounds and bright colors to give this space adventure visual excitement and humor. The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade By Justin Roberts. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. 42 pp. Putnam. $18.99. It makes sense that the author of the long, rhyming lines in "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade" is a children's music performer. The story is about the power of one small person to fight prejudice. Sally, whom no one ever seems to notice, is "paying super extra special attention" to the "terrible stuff" happening around her. When she decides to take action, she's not alone for long. And Two Boys Booed By Judith Viorst. 32 pp. Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $16.59. Ever felt quietly confident one minute, and a shaking mess the next? In Viorst's story about determination, a little boy wakes up thinking about singing his song in the class talent show. If you are interested in space adventure, you would probably choose  _  . A) Edda, a Little Valkyrie's First Day of School B) Planet Kindergarten C) The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade D) And Two Boys Booed
**Answer**

B