Q: Sammy loved playing baseball. He would play every day, even if there was no practice that day! One day, Sammy went to the park with his mom to play catch with his friends, but as he was playing, he tripped over a rock, and his shoe slipped off! His shoe went flying into the air, high up into the sky, and Sammy watched as the shoe fell into old man Mr. Grumpy's yard. What was he going to do? His mom sat on a bench not too far away, reading a book. "Should I tell Mom?" Sammy thought to himself. He thought that maybe he shouldn't, because he might get in trouble. Instead, he was going to climb the fence into Mr. Grumpy's yard! "What, are you crazy?" Sammy's friend Billy said when he told him what he was going to do. Billy didn't seem to like the idea. "Mr. Grumpy is a mean old man, and he'll yell at you for sure. I think you need to tell your mom!" With that, Billy ran off to tell Sammy's mom! Sammy ran after Billy, trying to get him to stop, but Billy told the whole story before Sammy could get there. After Sammy's mom heard the story, she took Sammy by the hand and said, "Come on, Sammy, let's go get your shoe!" Sammy was worried. What was she going to do? Sammy's mom took him straight to mean old Mr. Grumpy's door, and knocked on it. "Oh no!" thought Sammy, "He's going to yell at me!" But the man who opened the door was a nice old man, and he smiled at little Sammy, and let them get his shoe. That's when Sammy learned that it's always better to be honest.

1. baseball
2. every day
3. his mom
4. his friends
5. a rock
6. his shoe
7. old man Mr. Grumpy's yard
8. on a bench
9. reading a book
10. because he might get in trouble
11. Billy
12. climb the fence into Mr. Grumpy's yard
13. no
14. tell Sammy's mom
15. Billy
16. She took him to Mr. Grumpy's door
17. yes
18. Mr. Grumpy would yell

Numbered questions:
1. What sport did Sammy love to play?
2. How often did he play?
3. Who went to the park with him?
4. Who did he play catch with?
5. What did he trip over?
6. What slipped off?
7. Where did it land?
8. Where was his mom?
9. What was she doing?
10. Why didn't he want to tell his mom about his shoe?
11. who is his friend?
12. How was he planning to get his shoe back?
13. Did Billy think this was a good idea?
14. What did he think Sammy should do?
15. Who told Sammys mom?
16. What did she do?
17. Was Sammy worried?
18. What did he think Mr. Grumpy would do?

Q: The phone rings. It's a friend who wants to tell you his or her latest health problems. You hate to be impolite and cut your friend off, but what can you do? Stephanie Winston, author of Stephanie Winston's Best Organizing Tips, offers his advice: Don't ask questions like "What's new?" They give the information that you have time to talk. After "hello", get right to the heart of the matter. Time your calls wisely. If you make a call right before lunch or dinner, or at the end of the workday, people chat less. Set a time limit. Start with, "Hi, I've only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about...." Or, "Gee, I'd love to talk more, but I only have a couple of minutes before I have to leave." Jump on a pause. Even the most talkative caller has to pause now and then. Quickly say, "It has been great talking with you." Then end the conversation. Forget niceties. Some people just don't take a hint. Cut your caller off and say, "I'd like to talk to you longer, but I'm afraid I have no enough time. Good bye." Then hang up. Find "a partner in crime". If nothing else works, ask someone in your home to help you. For example, one woman gives a sign to her husband, who shouts, "Jane, I think the roast chicken is burning." Avoid the phone completely. Use an answering machine to screen calls. If you have an important message for a chatterbox, leave the message when he or she isn't in.

1. at the end of the workday,
2. before lunch
3. an answering machine
4. a friend
5. No
6. her latest health problems
7. author
8. Stephanie Winston's Best Organizing Tips
9. Start with, "Hi, I've only got a few minutes
10. pause
11. Quickly say, "It has been great talking with you."
12. Forget niceties
13. Yes
14. Yes
15. Yes
16. her husband
17. Jane
18. leave the message when he or she isn't in
19. Yes
20. The phone

Numbered questions:
1. at what times of day do people chat less?
2. what other time?
3. what should you use to screen calls?
4. who called in the story?
5. did they want to talk about sports?
6. what did they want to talk about?
7. what is Stephanie's profession?
8. what did she write?
9. how should you go about setting a time limit for calls?
10. what do even the most talkative callers have to do every now and again?
11. how should you hurry them off the phone?
12. what if they don't get the hint?
13. and then just hang up?
14. can a partner help you with calls?
15. should you use an elaborate system with hand signals?
16. who yelled about chicken?
17. whose husband?
18. what is another way to avoid phone calls?
19. can you avoid the phone completely?
20. what rang at the beginning of the story?

Q: John thought about things that he liked to do.

Well, for one, he liked baseball. Compared to his friends, he was very good at the sport. He didn't even have to practice that much. He remembered that he once hit the ball so hard that it flew out of the park. Home run!

He was also a fan of basketball. He enjoyed watching people on television pull off crazy tricks like slam dunking (but he didn't really like all of the passes). He wasn't quite that good yet, but he was pretty good at making shots from the three point line. He knew that if he kept practicing, he would be really great someday.

Finally, he loved football. Unlike baseball and basketball, he didn't play football himself, but he was drawn to the games. He got a kick out of sitting in the stands, cheering on his team and friends. He once cheered so loud that he could barely speak at all for the rest of the day.

1. Three
2. Two
3. no
4. baseball
5. yes
6. he hit a home run
7. out of the park
8. watching people pull off tricks
9. slam dunking
10. no

Numbered questions:
1. How many sports does John like?
2. How many does he actually play
3. Does he need to practice them both?
4. Which is he good at?
5. has he eve done really well?
6. what happened?
7. Where'd it go?
8. What does he like about basketball?
9. like?
10. Is he any good?