I'm not good at sticking to the rules, not even the ones I set myself. I'm really terrible with the rules set by others, especially companies. Even as a child, I could never stay inside the lines in colouring books. Some of you might put this down to poor hand-eye coordination, but I maintain that I was a rule-breaker right from the beginning. One of my roles as an engineer with a multiplicity of companies was to set up projects, define the scope of the work, contract the work out and manage the project. I was setting up a robot-based manufacturing cell for the company in the business of making early cellphones. The cell design required some equipment to be designed and built from scratch, so I got a local designer, Fergus, to give me a quote and got him started on the work. Now, any project will run over budget and take longer than planned and the contractor may come back for more money. And so it was with this designer; he wasn't really vocal about it, but he indicated that the work did take a lot more time and expense than he's originally budgeted. My usual reaction to these things is that this is not my problem. Most of the companies I've work for have lost money, so why should I give a rat's ass if some other company comes up a little short? In this case though, I liked Fergus and, as he was really a one-man operation, I decided to cut him some slack. But first, I had to get permission from my boss to drop another few grand into Fergus's jeans. My boss refused. Having someone tell me I can't do something really brings out my dark side; especially around the time of the full moon. Not long before, we had just waved a fond(-ish) farewell to our president as he was going on to greener fields. As a parting gift, the company bought him either a boat or a motor home, I forget which, and equipped it with three of their cell phones. What makes you think differently that makes you an engineer? A. I think outside the lines and have a unique way of seeing things. B. I think outside the lines. C. I was born a rule breaker. D. not enough information
A

Last week we talked about healthy eating on a budget. Today I want to take it a step further and focus on how to start clean eating on a budget. It is very similar with just a couple of extra steps. Clean eating focuses on fresh ingredients, no processed foods, and eating good foods as close to nature as possible such as: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cage-free eggs, grass-fed beef and grain-fed poultry, and raw milk (if possible) to your diet. Some of these may seem like a burden when you are on a small food budget, but with the tips below, you can eat clean and stay within your budget. I am sure you will recognize some from the previous post; but read through there is extra information that applies specifically to clean eating. A major component of clean eating is buying fresh produce rather than canned fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce is OK; but, if in-season fruit is available, it is always better to choose that. Buy in bulk, and freeze it yourself. Use Google to help you search for seasonal produce in your area. When you can buy it from a Farmer's Market, or even directly from the farmers, it will be less expensive. My next choice is SPOUTS Farmer's Marker, if there is one near you. Those sources will probably be the least expensive. For example: you may be able to buy strawberries, peaches, and nectarines very inexpensively in the summer and find that squash is a better buy in the fall. Always buy extra when the price is right and freeze the leftovers. When you first start reading about clean eating, you may find "experts" expounding the importance of certain superfoods that you should start eating. The reality is they are nutritious and excellent additions to your diet; but, you don't have to eat them just start a clean eating. If you cannot afford to add chia seeds of flax seeds to every smoothie or eat a pomegranate each morning, don't worry about it. Buy the clean foods you can afford and eat those you will be doing just fine. After the story, what budget does the narrator probably have? A. A reasonable budget B. They have no budget C. not enough information D. A small budget
A

U.S. lawmakers grilled Trump administration officials Tuesday about the war in Afghanistan, saying the new White House strategy was inconsistent and was not producing results. The comments made at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing reflected growing frustration in Congress about the U.S.-led war, which is entering its 17th year. As recently as November, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, acknowledged that the conflict remained a stalemate. Since then, a wave of high-profile insurgent attacks have rocked the capital, Kabul. The Taliban now controls or contests almost half the country, according to latest U.S. estimates. Despite the setbacks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, who is helping oversee the new White House strategy, gave a positive assessment of the conflict. "The president's South Asia strategy is showing some signs of progress," Sullivan said. "On the battlefield, we are seeing the Taliban's momentum begin to slow." But lawmakers from both parties expressed skepticism. "Something is clearly not working," said Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and longtime Afghan war critic. "By any standard, the current security situation is grim." Some lawmakers took aim at President Donald Trump, who last week said he didn't want to talk with the Taliban a statement that seemingly contradicted his own strategy. After Sullivan and a top Pentagon official told the lawmakers that the U.S. was in fact still open to negotiations with the Taliban, lawmakers pressed for more details. "You can see that the world and those involved in the peace process may be pretty confused about what the U.S. position is. What is it?" asked Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat. Sullivan said he thought Trump was expressing a reaction to last month's terrorist attacks, and was pointing out that "significant elements of the Taliban are not prepared to negotiate." "And it may take a long time before they are willing to negotiate," he added. But many in the Senate appear... After the end of the story, what will General John Nicholson try to achieve in the next years with Afghanistan? A. not enough information B. keep a steady stalemate at least C. give up D. improve from the stalemate
D