Q: Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- Hong Kong lawmakers resumed debate Wednesday on a bill that may result in the region's first statutory minimum wage.

The Minimum Wage Bill is a controversial piece of legislation that lawmakers hope will protect the most vulnerable workers in Hong Kong, one of the few places in the world without any sort of minimum wage law.

The debate is set to take two to three days.

A recent government survey showed that around half a million workers in Hong Kong earn less than $4 an hour. These include low-skilled workers from the catering, retail, and cleaning industries.

According to Man Hon Poon, a policy researcher at the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Union, the lack of legal protection for workers has led to serious exploitation.

"Workers in restaurants have to work for 12 hours or even 14 hours a day to earn a living," he said. "They cannot even go to the cinema."

Legislator Tommy Cheung, however, claims that the government should not interfere with the free market economy, which he says has served Hong Kong well in the past. A minimum wage could deter investors and lead to increased unemployment, said Cheung, who represents the catering industry.

"There is one fear within the industry, that they would have to close down," he said. "When you see a closure, everyone loses out."

The government first proposed the current bill in 2008 following a failed attempt at a voluntary minimum wage. Labor unions, however, have been lobbying for a minimum wage since 1998, following the Asian financial crisis.

1. statutory minimum wage
2. Hong Kong
3. yes
4. two to three days
5. yes
6. Yes
7. Man Hon Poon
8. Policy researcher at the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Union
9. yes
10. Legislator Tommy Cheung

Numbered questions:
1. what are they trying to legislate?
2. where?
3. are they currently discussing the issue?
4. how long is the discussion expected to last?
5. are people currently being expolited?
6. did someone say that?
7. who?
8. his position?
9. is someone who legislates mentioned by name?
10. who?

Q: Fifty-five years ago Barbie Millicent Roberts first came out in the world of toys. Since then, Barbie doll, as everyone called her, has become the most famous toy doll in history. Her parent, the Mattel Company, said that 90% of all American girls between 3 and 10 have at least one Barbie at home. However, Barbie is facing some trouble at present, There are many similar dolls on the market in competition with her. Another doll named Bratz, for example, came to life fifteen years ago. She looks more like today's pop stars with heavy makeup and miniskirts. It seems that Barbie has lost her magic among older girls. "For young girls, playing with a Barbie is much fun. But when you get older, you want something smarter and more modern," Says Vera Shepherd, a shopkeeper in a New York toy shop. It is good news that on the international market Barbie is still No. 1. Although Mattel is selling fewer Barbies in the United States these years, sales in other countries are still going up. In January 2009, Mattel opened its first Barbie store in Shanghai, where girls can shop, eat, drink or even become _ for their own Barbies. Mattel is planning big celebrations for Barbie's 55th birthday. Fashion designers from all over the world will make new dresses for Barbie. How long will Barbie stay popular in the world of toy dolls? It is hard to say, but 55 is surely not the age to retire .

1. Fifty-five.
2. Barbie Millicent Roberts
3. 90% of all American girls.
4. Mattel is selling fewer Barbies in the United States.
5. There are many dolls in competition with her.
6. Bratz.
7. unknown
8. Fashion designers from all over the world will make new dresses for Barbie.
9. a shopkeeper.
10. Surely not at 55!
11. unknown
12. The international market.
13. when you get older, You want something modern.

Numbered questions:
1. How old is Barbie?
2. What is her full name?
3. How many American girls have her?
4. Why is she having problems?
5. Why?
6. Like who?
7. What happened in Singapore?
8. What is happening for her birthday?
9. Who is Vera?
10. When should Barbie retire?
11. Who are her parents?
12. Where is Barbie still number 1?
13. Why do the older girls like Bratz better?

Q: Scientific American (informally abbreviated SciAm) is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein, have contributed articles in the past 170 years. It is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States(though it only became monthly in 1921).

"Scientific American" was founded by inventor and publisher Rufus M. Porter in 1845 as a four-page weekly newspaper. Throughout its early years, much emphasis was placed on reports of what was going on at the U.S. Patent Office. It also reported on a broad range of inventions including perpetual motion machines, an 1860 device for buoying vessels by Abraham Lincoln, and the universal joint which now can be found in nearly every automobile manufactured. Current issues include a "this date in history" section, featuring excerpts from articles originally published 50, 100, and 150 years earlier. Topics include humorous incidents, wrong-headed theories, and noteworthy advances in the history of science and technology.

Porter sold the publication to Alfred Ely Beach and Orson Desaix Munn a mere ten months after founding it. Until 1948, it remained owned by Munn & Company. Under Munn's grandson, Orson Desaix Munn III, it had evolved into something of a "workbench" publication, similar to the twentieth-century incarnation of "Popular Science".

1. 1921
2. Many famous scientists,
3. Albert Einstein
4. Rufus M. Porter
5. 1845
6. yes
7. Alfred Ely Beach and Orson Desaix Munn
8. ten months
9. reports of what was going on at the U.S. Patent Office.
10. "this date in history"
11. excerpts from articles originally published 50, 100, and 150 years earlier.

Numbered questions:
1. When did SciAm become a monthly publication?
2. Who famously contributed to the magazine?
3. Anyone in particular?
4. Who was it founded by?
5. When?
6. Was it sold soon thereafter?
7. To whom?
8. How long after it was founded was it sold?
9. What did it emphasize early on?
10. What section is included in current issues?
11. What kinds of articles does it publish in this section?