question: When Gretchen Baxter gets home from work as a New York City book editor, she checks her Blackberry at the door. 'I think we are attached to these devices in a way that is not always positive,' says Baxter,who'd rather focus at home on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. 'It's there and it beckons . That's human nature (but)...we kind of get crazy sometimes and we don't know where it should stop.'

Americans are connected at unprecedented levels93% now use cell phones or wireless devices;one third of those are 'smart phones' that allow users to browse the Web and check e-mail,among other things. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road,staying in touch with friends and family,efficiently using time once spent waiting around. The downside:often,we're effectively disconnecting from those in the same room.

That's why,despite all the technology that makes communicating easier than ever,2010 was the Year We Stopped Talking to One Another. From texting at dinner to posting on Facebook from work or checking e-mail while on a date,the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention,not to mention social anxiety. Many analysts say it's time to step back and reassess.

'What we're going to see in the future is new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected like never before,' says Scott Campbell. 'It can be a good thing,but I also see new ways the traditional social fabric is getting somewhat torn apart.'

Our days are filled with beeps and pings*----many of which pull us away from tasks at hand or face-to-face conversations. We may feel that the distractions are too much,but we can't seem to stop posting,texting or surfing.

'We're going through a period of adjustment and rebalancing,' says Sherry Turkle and she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off.

'Our human purposes are to really have connections with people,' she says. 'We have to reclaim it. It's not going to take place by itself.'
1. Where does Gretchen work?
2. What does she do?
3. Does she have an iPhone?
4. What kind of phone does she have?
5. Does she use it at home?
6. What does she focus on instead?
7. How many people use cell phones?
8. How many of those are smartphones?
9. Is there a downside to being connected?
10. Does this effect face to face conversations?
11. How?
****
answer: 1. New York City
2. she's an editor
3. no
4. a Blackberry
5. no
6. her husband and 12-year-old daughter
7. 93%
8. one third
9. we're effectively disconnecting from those in the same room
10. yes
11. Our days are filled with beeps and pings

question: The city of Bern or Berne (German: Bern, pronounced [brn] ( listen); French: Berne [bn]; Italian: Berna [brna]; Romansh: Berna [brn] (helpinfo); Bernese German: Barn [brn]) is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their (e.g. in German) Bundesstadt, or "federal city".[note 1] With a population of 140,634 (November 2015), Bern is the fifth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.

The official language of Bern is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the Alemannic Swiss German dialect called Bernese German.

In 1983 the historic old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the world's top ten cities for the best quality of life (2010).
1. What is the de facto Swiss capital?
2. How else it it spelled?
3. How many people live in the area?
4. How many cities are in there?
5. What is the official language?
6. Is it the same Germany spoken in Germany?
7. What do most people speak?
8. Is it a bad city to live in?
9. How good of a place to live is it?
10. In the county?
11. How many people live in the city?
12. Is it the biggest city in the country?
13. What is its ranking?
14. What is the city called by the residents?
****
answer: 1. Barn
2. Bern or Berne
3. 406,900 in 2014
4. 36
5. German
6. no
7. Bernese German
8. no
9. top ten
10. world's top ten
11. 140,634
12. no
13. fifth
14. Bundesstad

question: (CNN) -- It's not often that a Nobel Peace Prize laureate gets fired, but the Bangladeshi government said Wednesday it did just that in dismissing Muhammad Yunus from a top post in the pioneering bank he founded.

Grameen Bank's general manager, however, disputed the government's claim.

K.M. Abdul Waddod, the general manager of the Bangladesh Central Bank's regulation and policy department, said his bank, the regulatory authority in the South Asian nation, had sent for a second time a letter to the Grameen Bank chairman, urging the ouster of Yunus from his post of managing director because he was past retirement age.

The government, which has a 25% stake in Grameen, said that by the bank's own rules, Yunus, now 70, was required to end his service when he turned 60.

"He did not inform us he is over that age," Waddod said. "The bank did let him go."

Muzammel Huq, the new government-appointed Grameen chairman, told CNN that he had received the letter of the central bank.

"The central bank has removed Professor Yunus as managing director of the bank and I'll act accordingly under the bank's law," Huq said.

He said the deputy managing director of the bank will take over until Yunus' post can be filled.

But a Grameen Bank statement said Yunus had not been fired.

"This is a legal issue," said the statement signed by Jannat-E-Quanine, Grameen's general manager. "Grameen Bank has been duly complying with all applicable laws. It has also complied with the law in respect of appointment of the managing director. According to the bank's legal advisers, the founder of Grameen Bank, Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, is accordingly continuing in his office."
1. Who got fired?
2. From what job?
3. Who has a one-quarter stake in Grameen?
4. Was there a specific time by which Yunus was to leave the company?
5. What age is this in years?
6. So how many years overdue is Yunus for retirement?
7. Did he tell anyone he was 70?
8. How did they find out?
9. Who heads that deparment?
10. What honor is Yunus known for?
11. Who founded the bank?
12. In what country?
13. In what geographical area is that country?
14. What news outlet is reporting this story?
15. Who appointed the bank's chairman?
16. Who is the chairman?
17. True or False: Huq says he will oppose the removal of Yunus as director.
18. Who will take Yunus' place?
****
answer:
1. Muhammad Yunus
2. managing director of the bank
3. The government
4. retirement age
5. 60
6. 10
7. no
8. Bangladesh Central Bank's regulation and policy department
9. K.M. Abdul Waddod
10. winning Nobel Peace Prize
11. Muhammad Yunus
12. Bangladesh
13. South Asia
14. CNN
15. government
16. Muzammel Huq
17. False
18. deputy managing director of the bank