Q: The Liberal Party was a political party which, with the Conservative Party, was one of the two major parties in the United Kingdom in the 19th and early 20th century.

The party arose from an alliance of Whigs and free-trade Peelites and Radicals favourable to the ideals of the American and French Revolutions in the 1850s. By the end of the nineteenth century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone. Despite splitting over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to power in 1906 with a landslide victory.

It passed the welfare reforms that created a basic British welfare state. H. H. Asquith was Liberal Prime Minister between 1908 and 1916, followed by David Lloyd George, 1916-22. Although Asquith was the Party leader, the dominant figure was Lloyd George. Asquith was overwhelmed by the wartime role of coalition prime minister, and Lloyd George replaced him as the coalition prime minister in late 1916 but Asquith remained Liberal party leader. The two fought for years over control of the party, badly weakening it in the process. Historian Martin Pugh in "The Oxford Companion to British History" argues that Lloyd George:

The Lloyd George coalition was dominated by the Conservative Party, which finally deposed him in 1922. By the end of the 1920s, the Labour Party had replaced the Liberals as the Conservatives' main rival. The party went into decline after 1918 and by the 1950s won no more than six seats at general elections. Apart from notable by-election victories, the party's fortunes did not improve significantly until it formed the SDPLiberal Alliance with the newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. At the 1983 General Election, the Alliance won over a quarter of the vote, but only 23 of the 650 seats it contested. At the 1987 General Election, its vote fell below 23% and the Liberal and Social Democratic parties merged in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats. A splinter group reconstituted the Liberal Party in 1989. It was formed by party members opposed to the merger who saw the Lib Dems diluting Liberal ideals.

1. four
2. By the end of the nineteenth century
3. 1981
4. No
5. merger
6. Liberal
7. H. H. Asquith
8. David Lloyd George
9. Lloyd George
10. 1916 - 22

Numbered questions:
1. How many governments were formed under William Gladsone?
2. When?
3. When did the Liberal Party return to power?
4. Was it a close race?
5. What were they divided over?
6. Which ideals did they favor?
7. Who was Liberal Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916?
8. Who replaced him?
9. Who was more dominant?
10. What years was he the coalition prime minister?

Q: One school night this month I walked quietly up to Alexander, my 15-year-old son, and touched his cheek gently in a manner I hoped would seem casual.A year ago he would have ignored this disturbance but now he reacted impatiently and leaned back to his computer screen.

I made a mistake: breaking into my teenager's personal space. "The average teenager has pretty strong feelings about his privacy," Lara Fox and her friend Hilary Frankel told me. Mr.Frankel and Mr.Fox, both 17, are the authors of Breaking the Code, a new book that seeks to bridge the generational divide between parents and adolescents.It is being promoted by its publisher as the first self-help guide by teenagers for their parents, a kind of "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus" that explains the language and actions of teenagers.The girls dealt with issues including hanging out late, money, school pressures, smoking etc.

Personally, I welcome their opinions.The most common missteps in interacting with teenagers arise from the war between parents exercising their rights to know what goes on under their roof and teenagers firmly guarding their privacy.Teenagers can be quick to interpret their parents' remarks and respond with anger that masks their vulnerability . Ms Fox said, "What we want above all is your approval.Don't forget, no matter how much we act as if we don't care what you say, we believe the things you say about us."

Nancy, a New York child-raising expert said she didn't agree with everything the authors suggested but found their arguments reasonable."When your kids are saying, ' _ ' there are lots of ways to respond so that they will listen and that is what the writers point out."

" My parents helped me see that, " Mr.Fox told me, " even though they used to stay out late and ride their bicycles to school, times have changed and the way parents educate children is different.These days there is a major fear factor in bringing up kids.Parents worry about their child crossing the street." The writers said they hoped simply to throw light on teenage thinking.

1. Alexander.
2. 15.
3. Yes.
4. Impatiently.
5. Yes.
6. Lara Fox.
7. Hilary Frankel.
8. Authors.
9. Breaking the Code.
10. No.
11. Seventeen.
12. "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus
13. Self-help guide.
14. Parents.
15. Yes.
16. Explains teenagers.
17. Yes.
18. Smoking.
19. Yes.
20. New York.

Numbered questions:
1. What's the son's name?
2. How old is he?
3. Did he respond to his face being touched?
4. How did he react?
5. Do teens care much about their privacy?
6. According to who?
7. And who else?
8. Who are they?
9. What did they write?
10. Are they older ladies?
11. How old are they?
12. What's the book like?
13. What's it about?
14. For who?
15. Is it helpful for them?
16. How so?
17. Does it tackle tough things?
18. Like what?
19. Do teens get mad at their mom and dad's words?
20. Where's Nancy from?

Q: Robert Spring, a 19

century forger ,was so good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of Americans. Spring was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he became rich by selling his small but real collection of early U.S. autographs . Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating signatures of George. Washington and Ben Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of detection , he sent his forgeries to England and Canada for sale.

Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can't deal with a respectable buyer but people who don't have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemical.

In Spring's time right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the Southern states, so Spring invented a respectable maiden lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General "Stonewall" Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny's financial problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts . Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. All this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his forgeries from the originals.

1. selling false signatures
2. 1813
3. England
4. no
5. Philadelphia
6. 1858
7. open a bookstore
8. England and Canada
9. lessen the chance of detection
10. Miss Fanny
11. only daughter of General "Stonewall" Jackson
12. financial problems
13. yes
14. no
15. George. Washington and Ben Franklin
16. yes
17. no

Numbered questions:
1. What was Robert Spring good at?
2. When was he born?
3. Where?
4. Did he stay there?
5. Where did he move?
6. When?
7. Why?
8. Where did he send his "work"?
9. Why?
10. Who "sold" them ?
11. And she was suppose to be who?
12. Why was she selling?
13. Was there a big demand?
14. Was everything he sold a forgery?
15. Who were some of the people he copied?
16. Was he rich at one time?
17. Did he die rich?