Article: Old Bear Kevin Henkes(2008), under 40 pages Target Audience: Preschoolers Price: $3.8 Content: It is snowing really hard and Old Bear is getting ready for his long nap. As he sleeps, he dreams of being a cub again and enjoying the wonders of nature. He dreams about summer, fall, winter and spring and how each season brings him so much joy! The illustrations show the beauty of the seasons that Old Bear dreams about. Great book! Half-Minute Horrors Susan Rich(2009), 120~160 pages Target Audience: Intermediates (4th~6th grade) Price: $9.6 Content: Looking for a scary book that is also quick to read? How about a one-paragraph tale of terror or a simple drawing that will make your skin crawl? This book is a collection of very short stories, pictures and cartoons from an impressive group of authors and illustrators. Leaves David Ezra Stein(2007), under 40 pages Illustrated by David Ezra Stein Target Audience: Toddlers, Preschoolers Price: $3.4 Content: It's Little Bear's first year. Fall has come to his island. When the leaves begin to fall, he wonders what to do. However, after following his instinct and sleeping through the winter, he awakens in spring to find everything blooming once again. Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' Eileen Spinelli (2003) , under 40 pages Illustrated by Megan Lloyd Target Audience: Preschoolers Price: $3.5 Content: The Tappletons (bears) are gathered together for their big Thanksgiving feast. However, all is not going well during the preparations. The turkey slides out of the house, down a hill and into a pond. There are no pies at the bakery and the lettuce for the salad has been given to the rabbits. As they sit down for the feast, Grandmother Tappleton reminds them that although they have nothing to eat, they can still be thankful that they have each other. Question: What can we learn from the book Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'? Yes or no, is the answer "Family love is the most important thing."?
Yes

Article: High in the sky, a group of birds fly past. The 5-foot-tall creatures are whooping cranes, the tallest birds in North America noted for its loud call. The wild animals appear to be following much larger birds. But those aren't birds at all. They are three-wheeled aircraft called trikes , and the pilots flying them are wearing white helmets and white gowns. That plan might sound like a stupid idea, but it's not. The pilots are from an organization called Operation Migration. They are helping the whooping cranes learn to migrate, or move from one area to another when the seasons change. The cranes are endangered. In 1941,the species had dwindled to roughly 20 birds because of hunting and habitat loss. US wildlife officials counted 149 whooping cranes in November 1995,the most since the American government began taking censuses in the 1930s.Today,about 380 remain. In the fall, whooping cranes are supposed to migrate south. However, many of them don't know how. "With so few birds left, young whooping cranes typically don't have parents around to teach them," explains pilot Joe Duff. That's where the trikes come in. Each October, pilots dress up as whooping cranes and take to the skies in Wisconsin. The young birds follow them because they think the trikes are big whooping cranes. It takes about three months to reach south--with plenty of rest stops on the way. The pilots lead the cranes to refuges, or protected areas, in Florida. This spring, the birds will migrate north by themselves--no trikes needed! "It's nice because you know the birds are going to make it," Duff told WR News. Question: We can learn from the passage that whooping cranes . Yes or no, is the answer "are increasing in the past 15 years"?
No

Q: Article: Liz had been bleeding for a long time! She was my closest professional colleague and good friend at the time when we worked in an IT company. It was her first day back at work after an operation and I thought she should have taken a few more days to recover. Realizing that we couldn't stop the bleeding, we headed to the emergency room and spent hours there waiting to be seen. After the treatment, I drove her to my apartment. I had to leave her in my apartment while I dashed off to take a final exam for a very important course I was taking. Upon my return, we decided Liz was in a good enough condition to sustain a trip back from my Northern Virginia apartment to her home in Maryland. Although it was nearly midnight and we were both exhausted, we still decided to set off. Unfortunately, in a not particularly safe part of town, we heard my car make a strange noise, and then ti was shaking violently as we drove along. Quickly, I stopped the car in the road and found a tire had blown out. Not knowing how to change a tire and feeling scared, I was trying out to figure out what to do next. Liz, weak from losing all that blood all day and weighing only about eighty pounds to begin with, came out and tried to help me. I had to scream at her to get back in the car and relax. Within seconds, a taxi pulled up behind us. A huge man appeared and began walking toward us. I felt that the blood drained out of my face and I nearly fainted in fear. "Got a flat tire, girls?" he asked. "Yes," I answered in a trembling voice. In no time at all, the man changed the tire for us and rushed off back to his taxi. He refused any payment and did not even tell me his name. He would never know how badly we needed his services that particular evening. And I, with a grateful heart, will never forget his kindness. Question: Seeing the man coming out of the taxi, the author felt _ . Yes or no, is the answer "frightened"?
A: Yes

Article: Tracy Caulkins is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes : breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle. Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six. She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest as her talent became clear. Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate her training schedule. At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team. She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U.S. didn't attend the Moscow Olympics. She continued to train and compete. In 1981, Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985. In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak years. Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business. Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself. They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children. Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports. Question: When was Tracy Caulkins born? Yes or no, is the answer "Not mentioned"?
Yes