Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

The Caucasus or Caucasia is a region situated at the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, , located on the west of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. The Greater Caucasus acts as a natural barrier separating Europe from Southwest Asia, the latter including the Transcaucasus and Anatolia regions.

The Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern partsthe North Caucasus and Transcaucasus, respectively. The Greater Caucasus range in the north is within the Russian Federation, while the Lesser Caucasus to the south is divided between several independent states, namely Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. The Transcaucasus extends eastwards to the Caspian Sea and northwestern Iran, and extends westwards into northeastern Turkey.

The region is known for its linguistic diversity: aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian, and Northeast Caucasian families are indigenous to the area.

Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" (7779 AD) derives the name of the Caucasus from Scythian "kroy-khasis" ("ice-shining, white with snow"). German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the Latvian word "Kruvesis" also means "ice".

In the "Tale of Past Years" (1113 AD), it is stated that Old East Slavic ("Kavkasijskye gory") came from Ancient Greek ("Kafkasos"), which, according to M. A. Yuyukin, is a compound word that can be interpreted as the "Seagull's Mountain" (-: , , , , "a kind of seagull" + the reconstructed * "mountain" or "rock" richly attested both in place and personal names.)

1. what seas is the area in between?
2. What is the Europe's highest mountain?
3. where is it located?
4. in what region?
5. What is it known for?
6. What does the greater Caucasus seperate?
7. Where is the name dervived from?
8. meaning?
9. anything else?
10. and who has noted that?
11. What languages are spoken here?
12. any other?
13. and who is indigenous to the area?
14. Where would you find Transcaucasus?
15. Whatis included in the Russian Federation?
16. Transcaucasus extends eastward to what?
17. and?
18. and westward?
19. What year was Tale of past years written?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. Black Sea and the Caspian Sea
2. Mount Elbrus
3. Greater Caucasus mountain range
4. west
5. linguistic diversity
6. Europe from Southwest Asia
7. Scythian "kroy-khasis"
8. ice-shining, white with snow
9. ice
10. Pliny the Elder's "Natural History"
11. Turkic languages
12. Indo-European
13. Northeast Caucasian families
14. southern part
15. The Greater Caucasus
16. the Caspian Sea
17. northwestern Iran
18. into northeastern Turkey
19. 1113 AD

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

CHAPTER 10. Containing the Sequel of the Midshipman's Disaster

Major Bagstock, after long and frequent observation of Paul, across Princess's Place, through his double-barrelled opera-glass; and after receiving many minute reports, daily, weekly, and monthly, on that subject, from the native who kept himself in constant communication with Miss Tox's maid for that purpose; came to the conclusion that Dombey, Sir, was a man to be known, and that J. B. was the boy to make his acquaintance.

Miss Tox, however, maintaining her reserved behaviour, and frigidly declining to understand the Major whenever he called (which he often did) on any little fishing excursion connected with this project, the Major, in spite of his constitutional toughness and slyness, was fain to leave the accomplishment of his desire in some measure to chance, 'which,' as he was used to observe with chuckles at his club, 'has been fifty to one in favour of Joey B., Sir, ever since his elder brother died of Yellow Jack in the West Indies.'

It was some time coming to his aid in the present instance, but it befriended him at last. When the dark servant, with full particulars, reported Miss Tox absent on Brighton service, the Major was suddenly touched with affectionate reminiscences of his friend Bill Bitherstone of Bengal, who had written to ask him, if he ever went that way, to bestow a call upon his only son. But when the same dark servant reported Paul at Mrs Pipchin's, and the Major, referring to the letter favoured by Master Bitherstone on his arrival in England--to which he had never had the least idea of paying any attention--saw the opening that presented itself, he was made so rabid by the gout, with which he happened to be then laid up, that he threw a footstool at the dark servant in return for his intelligence, and swore he would be the death of the rascal before he had done with him: which the dark servant was more than half disposed to believe.

1. Where are they?
2. What was to be known?
3. who was to know him?
4. who is reserved?
5. who was tough?
6. who was JB?
7. Who was major's friend?
8. What was his last name?
9. where was he from?
10. who was absent?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. Princess's Place
2. Dombey
3. J. B.
4. Miss Tox,
5. Major
6. Joey B
7. Bill
8. Bitherstone
9. Bengal
10. Miss Tox

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Affirmative action in the United States tends to focus on issues such as education and employment, specifically granting special consideration to racial minorities, Native Americans, and women who have been historically excluded groups in America. Reports have shown that minorities and women have faced discrimination in schools and businesses for many years and this discrimination produced unfair advantages for whites and males in education and employment. The impetus toward affirmative action is redressing the disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Further impetus is a desire to ensure public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.

Affirmative action is a subject of controversy. Some policies adopted as affirmative action, such as racial quotas or gender quotas for collegiate admission, have been criticized as a form of reverse discrimination, and such implementation of affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by the majority opinion of Gratz v. Bollinger. Affirmative action as a practice was upheld by the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. Affirmative action policies were developed in order to correct decades of discrimination stemming from the Reconstruction Era by granting disadvantaged minorities opportunities. Many believe that the diversity of current American society suggests that affirmative action policies succeeded and are no longer required. Opponents of affirmative action argue that these policies are outdated and lead to reverse discrimination which entails favoring one group over another based upon racial preference rather than achievement.

1. where is affirmative action?
2. what is the disadvantage?
3. where is it used?
4. who?
5. when did it start?
6. is it widely accepted?
7. where was it decided?
8. how long has discrimination been going on?
9. is it still discrimination?
10. where did it come from

Numbered answers:

A:
1. United States
2. discrimination
3. employment
4. women
5. 2003
6. no
7. Supreme Court
8. decades
9. no
10. Reconstruction Era