question: Hello Sandy, We have just returned form our holiday. We went with our friends,Edward Smith and his wife Tina, to the Yorkshire Moors. It is a beautiful natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills,miles of grassland with no people,just sheep and birds. Edward had just come out of hospital and he could not walk as far as before. However, this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch each day before returning to the place we lived in. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant! I took lots of photos from the place we lived in, across the valley below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam-powered trains are very popular. I took many photos of the train. Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early. We usually have snow in January. It rained all day, then snowed in the evening .Today we have bright sunshine! Both Jenny and I are well. I don't know if I told you, in the last e-mail , that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice, and she is enjoying the work. Please write to us to tell us your news. Yours, Victor
1. Is this written like a letter would be written?
2. Who wrote it?
3. To whom was it written?
4. what is the overall subject?
5. where did they go on vacation?
6. is it ugly there?
****
answer: 1. Yes
2. Victor
3. Sandy
4. unknown
5. Yorkshire Moors
6. No


question: Sam was driving. It was late, it was dark, it was raining, and he was out of cookies. His squirrel was asleep in the passenger seat, as was his hamster, in the back seat. He had gone down to the beach for the day, but it had started raining, so he had started driving back. But he had gotten lost. Now, he thought he was on the right way back. 

His headlights were not very strong. He could only see a few feet in front of him, except when the lightning hit. When the thunder came after, his squirrel, Joey, and his hamster, Broey, turned over in their sleep. 

Suddenly, lightning and thunder hit at the same time. There was a bright light and a crunching sound. A tree fell in front of the car! 

Sam hit the brakes. The car slowed down and stopped, and he got out. Sam walked up to the tree. He tried pushing it. It was too heavy. What would he do? 

He heard the car door open and shut behind him. 

It was Joey! And Broey! 

Together, the three of them pushed. Joey and Broey were small, but strong. And together, they moved the tree. 

They got back in the car. Sam was wet, and turned on the heater. He was tired, but he knew he would get home now - thanks to his animal friends.
1. Who was driving?
2. Is he alone in the car?
3. are people with him?
4. what is with him?
5. what is the squirrel called?
6. and the hamster?
7. where are they coming from?
8. is the weather good?
9. did that cause a problem?
10. did it cause something to fall?
11. what?
12. where did it fall?
13. did Sam run into it?
14. Did he leave the car?
15. could he move the tree?
16. who assisted him?
17. were they dry when they were done?
18. Did he think he would make it home?
****
answer: 1. Sam
2. no
3. no
4. a squirrel and hamster
5. Joey
6. Broey
7. the beach
8. no
9. yes
10. yes
11. a tree
12. in front of the car
13. no
14. yes
15. no
16. Joey and Broey
17. yes
18. yes


question: The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ),[note 1] is an island country located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 53,158 people (at the 2011 Census) is spread out over 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north,[note 2] Kiribati to the south-east, and Nauru to the south. About 27,797 of the islanders (at the 2011 Census) live on Majuro, which contains the capital. 

Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, with inter-island navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed. The islands derive their name from British explorer John Marshall, who visited in 1788. The islands were historically known by the inhabitants as "jolet jen Anij" (Gifts from God).
1. How did the Marshal Islands origianaly become populated?
2. When did the island become inhabited?
3. Who settled there?
4. What did the Europeans find?
5. when?
6. what is the official name of the Islands?
7. Where is it located?
8. How did it get its name?
9. When?
10. What were the islands previously known as?
11. What does that mean?
12. what was the last recorded population?
13. Does the country belong to any groups?
14. which group?
15. how many islands does the country consist of?
16. Who do they share boundaries with west of them?
17. to the south east?
18. What country is south of them?
19. Is there a country to the north?
20. Which one?
****
answer:
1. with stick charts.
2. during the 2nd millennium BC
3. Micronesian colonists
4. Islands in the archipelago
5. in the 1520s,
6. the Republic of the Marshall Islands
7. near the equator in the Pacific Ocean
8. from British explorer John Marshall,
9. in 1788.
10. "jolet jen Anij"
11. Gifts from God
12. 53,158 people
13. yes
14. the larger island group of Micronesia.
15. 1,156
16. the Federated States of Micronesia
17. Kiribati
18. Nauru
19. yes
20. Wake Island