Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

The region, as part of Lorraine, was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and then was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century, and formalized as one of the provinces of France. The Calvinist manufacturing republic of Mulhouse, known as Stadtrepublik Mulhausen, became a part of Alsace after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798. Alsace is frequently mentioned with and as part of Lorraine and the former duchy of Lorraine, since it was a vital part of the duchy, and later because German possession as the imperial province (Alsace-Lorraine, 18711918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries; France and Germany exchanged control of parts of Lorraine (including Alsace) four times in 75 years.

With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine (Alsatian, Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the Battle of Tolbiac, and Alsace became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Clovis' Merovingian successors the inhabitants were Christianized. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the Frankish realm, following the Oaths of Strasbourg of 842, was formally dissolved in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun; the grandsons of Charlemagne divided the realm into three parts. Alsace formed part of the Middle Francia, which was ruled by the youngest grandson Lothar I. Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine, was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers Charles the Bald (ruler of the West Frankish realm) and Louis the German (ruler of the East Frankish realm). The Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the stem duchy of Lorraine in Eastern Francia after the Treaty of Ribemont in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the stem duchy of Swabia.

1. What did the Alemannian's language help create?
2. What part of Lothar's realm was given to his son?
3. Why didn't his kingdom last long?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. modern-day dialects
2. Lotharingia
3. unknown

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Closing arguments are set for Wednesday in the trial of Mexican soap opera actress Fernanda Romero on federal charges that her marriage was an illegal sham intended only to earn her a U.S. work permit.

On Tuesday, Romero tearfully testified that she really loved Kent Ross, the pizza deliveryman she married five years ago.

Their marriage was real, but it soon fell apart because of his drinking and her focus on a modeling and acting career, Romero told jurors.

Romero is accused of paying Ross $5,000 to marry her on June 12, 2005, but the prosecutor alleged they never lived together as a couple.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real blocked defense lawyers from using evidence they said would show Romero was set up and turned in by a vengeful photographer angry that she rebuffed his romantic advances.

The job of convincing jurors the marriage was real fell on Romero, a 28-year-old actress-singer-model who starred in Telemundo's "Wounded Soul" soap opera. The prosecutor suggested Romero was using her professional acting skills to sell her own fiction.

Romero testified she married for love, not a green card.

"To be in a loving relationship, forever and ever, like my parents," she testified.

The couple didn't have a family wedding because he is Mormon and she is Catholic, she said.

They kept separate Hollywood apartments because he couldn't break a lease and she traveled a lot, she said.

The first months were "very loving, fun," she said. "We socialized together, passionate. It was the honeymoon stage."

1. Who is Fernanda Romero?
2. Why is she being accused?
3. Whom did she marry with?
4. How long ago did Fernanda Romero get married?
5. Why did the marriage fell apart?
6. How much did Romero pay Ross to marry her?
7. When did they get married?
8. Did they live together?
9. Did Romero love her?
10. Why the couple did not have a family wedding?
11. Why the couple did not live together in Hollywood?
12. How was the first months of the relationship?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. a soap opera actress
2. that her marriage was an illegal sham
3. Kent Ross
4. five years ago
5. his drinking and her focus on a modeling and acting career
6. $5,000
7. June 12
8. no
9. yes
10. because he is Mormon and she is Catholic
11. he couldn't break a lease and she traveled a lot
12. very loving, fun

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

When talking with young Swedish students, Mo Yan showed respect for Chinese authors that he learned writing from, particularly Shen Congwen, who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize.

"Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun and Shen Congwen, they are more qualified for the Nobel Prize than me," he said,. Among the writers he learned from, he said he especially felt close to Shen Congwen, as they have similar life experiences.

Both of them left school early and did not get formal education. Shen quit after high school and Mo only finished the fifth grade. They both joined the army after school. " We both learned from the book of life," said Mo.

The themes of their writing are also similar. Both writers have their hometown as the theme and root of their writings. Shen'works are mostly about his hometown, Xiangxi, and most of Mo's stories are set in his hometown, Gaomi, in Shandong Province.

Mo said he also learned from Shen how to deal with characters in a fiction. Unlike most Chinese writers, Shen has a humanistic touch towards all of his characters. Said Mo, "In his works, there are no particularly bad person or good person. Even gangsters and thieves have their humane side," he said.

"I try to use the same approach in my writing. It shows the ability of a novelist when he treats all the characters as humans," he said.

Mo said he also learned Lu Xun's depth and Lao She's humor. "They are all my teachers, and I am the student," he said. "I feel ashamed from my heart that teachers did not get the prize, but the student got it."

1. Who received 2 nominations for the Nobel Prize?
2. Who praised Shen?
3. Why did Mo feel close to Shen?
4. Who else did Mo commend?
5. And?
6. Did Mo finish school?
7. How much school did he complete?
8. What about Shen?
9. What did they do after quitting school?
10. What did Mo call this experience?
11. Are the themes of their writing similar?
12. What is the basis of their writings?
13. What is Mo's hometown?
14. And Shen's?
15. What did Mo say he learned from Shen?
16. What is unusual for Shen in his writings?
17. Does Mo try to replicate this in his writing?
18. Why?
19. What quality did Mo learn from Lu?
20. And Lao?

Numbered answers:

A:
1. Shen Congwen
2. Mo Yan
3. they have similar life experiences
4. Lu Xun
5. Mao Dun
6. no
7. fifth grade
8. high school
9. joined the army
10. learning from the book of life
11. yes
12. their hometown
13. Gaomi
14. Xiangxi
15. how to deal with characters in a fiction
16. he has a humanistic touch towards all of his characters
17. yes
18. it shows the ability of a novelist
19. depth
20. humor