Q: "I don't want to write a story about girls!I don't know anything about girls."Louisa May Alcott told her publisher,Mr Niles.But she was desperate for money.She seemed to be the only one in her family who could make some money.Niles had asked her to write something she knew,instead of the romantic adventure stories she had been writing."So I plod away,"Alcott wrote,"though I don't enjoy this sort of thing."It was 1867,and the horrible Civil War was over.Now Alcott could turn her energy to making money.

Alcott wrote a simple story of life in her family,their pillow fights on Saturday nights and the amateur plays they performed."Our experiences may prove interesting,though I doubt it."("Good joke."she wrote years later.)Her book described her days growing up with four sisters in a family that had no money.She sketched a loving mother who took time to be interested in each child,and she told of the death of a beloved sister.She portrayed her family and friends in her book Little Women.Finally,in July of 1868,she finished writing.With a sigh and a headache,she sent off all 102 handwritten pages of her book.

Niles thought the book was dull,and so did Alcott.But when she received her copies of the book,Alcott thought it seemed better than expected."Not a bit sensational,"she wrote,"but simple and true.We really loved most of it."Niles asked some girls to read Little Women,and they loved it.If girls liked it,Alcott was satisfied.

In three months,all the copies of Little Women had been sold out.It was already time to print more books!Niles thought she could sell three or four hundred more copies."An honest publisher and a lucky author made a dull book into a golden egg for ugly ducking,"Alcott wrote in 1885.Later,with a great sign of relief,she was able to write,"Paid off all the debts!Now I feel that I could die in peace.If my head holds out,I'll do all I hoped to do."

1. Author
2. romantic adventure stories
3. Mr Niles.
4. something she knew
5. life in her family
6. No
7. To make money
8. Little Women
9. Yes
10. In three months,all the copies of Little Women had been sold out.
11. Yes
12. 300 to 400 more copies
13. No
14. He thought the book was dull
15. They loved it
16. 1867
17. 1868
18. July
19. handwritten
20. 102

Numbered questions:
1. What does Louisa May Alcott do for a living?
2. What kind of stories does she usually write?
3. Who is her publisher?
4. What does he want her to write about
5. And what was that?
6. did she want to?
7. Why did she do it?
8. What did she end up writing?
9. Was it a success?
10. How do you know?
11. Did they make more?
12. How many more was she expected to sell?
13. Did she like the book at first?
14. What did Niles think of it?
15. What did the test group of girls think?
16. When did she start writing it?
17. When did she get done?
18. What month?
19. What kind of pages did she mail away?
20. How many?

Q: Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the country's far north. With an area of , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999.

Ancient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zirid, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French colonial empire. Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria.

Algeria is a regional and middle power. The North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa, while it has the 9th largest reserves of natural gas. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent; most of Algeria's weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations and is the founding member of the Maghreb Union.

1. yes
2. North Africa
3. yes
4. 16th largest
5. natural gas
6. yes
7. Sonatrach
8. yes
9. largest company in Africa
10. Russia
11. yes
12. African Union
13. United Nations
14. Maghreb Union
15. yes
16. yes
17. Numidians
18. Phoenicians
19. Abdelaziz Bouteflika
20. 1999

Numbered questions:
1. Is Algiers the capital of Algeria?
2. What part of Africa is it in?
3. Does it have oil reserves?
4. How does OPEC rank it?
5. What does it supply to Europe?
6. Does it have a national oil company?
7. What is its name?
8. Does Algeria have a military?
9. Is it large?
10. Where does it get its weapons?
11. Is it allied with Russia?
12. Name one of the organizations it belongs to?
13. What's another?
14. And yet another?
15. Was it ever part of the French colonial empire?
16. Are Berbers indigenous to it?
17. Name one of the ancient countries that was there?
18. And another?
19. Who is the president?
20. Since when?

Q: The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It has no known date of foundation, but there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".

The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it does not have a main campus and instead its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments.

1. no
2. 1096
3. Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris
4. the combination of two ancient universities
5. Oxford and Cambridge
6. 38 constituent
7. No
8. they are scattered throughout the city centre
9. the university of Cambridge was established
10. the university of Oxford
11. yes
12. weekly tutorials
13. classes
14. lectures

Numbered questions:
1. Do we know when Oxford was founded?
2. How far back is there evidence of teaching?
3. Why did it grow quickly in 1167?
4. What is "Oxbridge"?
5. Which two?
6. How many constituent colleges does Oxford have?
7. Does it have a main campus?
8. Where are its buildings and facilities?
9. What happened in 1209?
10. What is the oldest university in the English-speaking world?
11. Do all the colleges govern themselves?
12. How is most undergrad teaching organised?
13. What are the supported by?
14. And what else?