Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

"The Height of the season," said Bonamy. 

The sun had already blistered the paint on the backs of the green chairs in Hyde Park; peeled the bark off the plane trees; and turned the earth to powder and to smooth yellow pebbles. Hyde Park was circled, incessantly, by turning wheels. 

"The height of the season," said Bonamy sarcastically. 

He was sarcastic because of Clara Durrant; because Jacob had come back from Greece very brown and lean, with his pockets full of Greek notes, which he pulled out when the chair man came for pence; because Jacob was silent. 

"He has not said a word to show that he is glad to see me," thought Bonamy bitterly. 

The motor cars passed incessantly over the bridge of the Serpentine; the upper classes walked upright, or bent themselves gracefully over the palings; the lower classes lay with their knees cocked up, flat on their backs; the sheep grazed on pointed wooden legs; small children ran down the sloping grass, stretched their arms, and fell. 

"Very urbane," Jacob brought out. 

"Urbane" on the lips of Jacob had mysteriously all the shapeliness of a character which Bonamy thought daily more sublime, devastating, terrific than ever, though he was still, and perhaps would be for ever, barbaric, obscure. 

What superlatives! What adjectives! How acquit Bonamy of sentimentality of the grossest sort; of being tossed like a cork on the waves; of having no steady insight into character; of being unsupported by reason, and of drawing no comfort whatever from the works of the classics? 
1. Who is speaking?
2. What do they say?
3. Are they being serious?
4. Why?
5. What is her last name?
6. Why else?
7. In what way?
8. Why else?
9. Had he expressed happiness to see him?
10. Is this upsetting him?
11. What is going on around him?
12. Where?
13. Over what?
14. What else are they looking at?
15. Doing what?
16. Anything else?
17. And the other people?
18. Who else?
19. On their stomachs?
20. What does the other person say?
21. Does this excite him?

Numbered answers:
1. Bonamy
2. The Height of the season
3. No
4. because of Clara
5. Durrant
6. Jacob had come back from Greece
7. very brown and lean
8. Jacob was silent
9. No
10. Yes
11. motor cars passed
12. over the bridge
13. the Serpentine
14. children
15. They ran down the grass
16. stretched their arms, and fell
17. the upper classes walked upright
18. the lower classes lay
19. No
20. "Very urbane,"
21. Yes


Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be "like a magic carpet...You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag". Then he paused: "But you'll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel." It was a rare -- indeed unique -- occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout's Wonderful Bag, a leather case. Grout's aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn't that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout's day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn't do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated tyre. So, in a 21st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons, has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse . Throughout, the tyre remains inflated. Will the young Fitzsimons's folding wheel make it into production? I haven't the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It's as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there's plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than PS1,000 that can be knocked down so small that it can be carried on a plane -- minus wheels, of course -- as hand baggage. Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie's imagination? No. But it's progress.
1. Who invented the folding bicycle?
2. He once compared the perfect portable bike to what?
3. Who eventually invented the folding wheel?
4. What was Grout's bike called?
5. The case was made of what material?
6. He wanted a bike small enough for what?
7. In the 21st century, is the folding wheel concept dead?
8. What is the name of the British designer?
9. What did he create?
10. Can you buy a folding bike?

Numbered answers:
1. Andrew Ritchie
2. a magic carpet
3. William Henry James Grout
4. Grout Portable
5. Leather
6. train travel
7. No
8. Duncan Fitzsimons
9. wheel
10. Yes


Question:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km (4,036 sq. mi.), it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent. 

The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a maritime culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550–539 BC). In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire's leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era.
1. About how long ago was the first civilization in Lebanon?
2. Was this before recorded history?
3. Was it a land based culture?
4. Who lived there?
5. Were they there a long time?
6. Approximately how long?
7. Who took over after that?
8. Was it a Jewish state then?
9. What tradition was established there?
10. What was it called?
11. Was this in the mountains?
12. Were the Maronites forced to change their beliefs when the Muslims came in?
13. What other group came to prominence at that time?
14. Did they get along well?
15. What happened with the Maronites during the Crusades?
16. Are those influences still felt today?
17. Is Lebanon a sovereign state?
18. Name a country that borders it/
19. What country is Lebanon north of?
20. Is it one of the larger countries in Asia?


Numbered answers:
1. seven thousand years
2. yes
3. no
4. the Canaanites/Phoenicians
5. yes
6. over a thousand years
7. the Roman Empire
8. no
9. a monastic tradition
10. the Maronite Church
11. yes
12. no
13. the Druze
14. no
15. they re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church
16. yes
17. yes
18. Syria
19. Israel
20. no