question: It was Christmas Eve. When everyone went to bed, Bunny couldn't fall asleep. He still couldn't think of what he wanted as a special Christmas present. He wondered how Santa -- Father Christmas would know what to bring him if he didn't know himself.,. . As he was sitting up in bed, Bunny heard a big noise on the roof and a sound downstairs. It was Santa Claus, he realized. Bunny jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to the stairs. He hoped to take a look at the old man before Santa left for his next stop. By the time Bunny was at the bottom of the stairs, everything was silent again. Lots of presents were put under the Christmas tree, but Santa was gone. A little disappointed , Bunny turned to climb back upstairs when he heard a cry. "Hello," said Bunny. "Is somebody there?" He was answered by another cry. Bunny looked around the big pile of presents to see what was making the noise. Right under the tree was a funny looking brown animal with big feet and sad eyes. It also had antlers on its head. Bunny almost mistook it for a dog. "Are you a reindeer?" asked Bunny. "Yes," replied the brown animal with antlers. "My name is Ralph." "And you were pulling Santa's sled ?" "I was until I got air-sick," replied Ralph. "Santa had to leave me here and go on with the other seven reindeer." "Isn't it a bit unusual for a reindeer to get air-sick? I mean, isn't flying what reindeer are famous for?" "Not me, I'm afraid. It makes me scared. I always feel sick when it comes to flying," replied Ralph. "But everyone wanted me to pull Santa's sled, so when it was my turn I gave it a try. I'm afraid I just wasn't _ for the job. Now I'm stuck here and I don't know how to get back to the North Pole." "Well, if you like, you can stay with us as a friend," said Bunny. As he made the offer, Bunny suddenly realized the special present he wanted from Santa was a new friend!
1. Who heard a big noise?
2. Did he know what he wanted for Christmas?
3. Where did he run to after he jumped out of bed?
4. What did he find under the tree?
5. What else?
6. What color was it?
7. Was it a zebra?
8. What was it?
9. Was he happy?
10. What was he called?
11. Why wasn't he pulling the sled?
12. Does flying make him scared?
13. Why is he stuck there?
14. Why couldn't he get back to the North Pole?
15. What did Bunny say to him when he found out Ralph was stuck?
16. What did Bunny think the reindeer was at first?
17. What did Bunny realize was his special present?
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answer: 1. Bunny
2. no
3. to the stairs
4. presents
5. an animal
6. brown
7. no
8. a reindeer
9. no
10. Ralph
11. he got air-sick
12. yes
13. Santa had to leave him
14. He doesn't know how
15. you can stay with us as a friend
16. a dog
17. a new friend

question: Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants in either manuscripts or printed books. Ancient scribes made alterations when copying manuscripts by hand. Given a manuscript copy, several or many copies, but not the original document, the textual critic might seek to reconstruct the original text (the archetype or autograph) as closely as possible. The same processes can be used to attempt to reconstruct intermediate versions, or recensions, of a document's transcription history. The ultimate objective of the textual critic's work is the production of a "critical edition" containing a scholarly curated text.

Many ancient works, such as the Bible and the Greek tragedies,[citation needed] survive in hundreds of copies, and the relationship of each copy to the original may be unclear. Textual scholars have debated for centuries which sources are most closely derived from the original, hence which readings in those sources are correct.[citation needed] Although biblical books that are letters, like Greek plays, presumably had one original, the question of whether some biblical books, like the Gospels, ever had just one original has been discussed. Interest in applying textual criticism to the Qur'an has also developed after the discovery of the Sana'a manuscripts in 1972, which possibly date back to the 78th centuries.
1. Is the Bible ancient?
2. What other works are considered ancient?
3. How many copies do they survive in?
4. is the relationship of copies to the original always clear?
5. What type of scholars debate about the sources?
6. How long have they debated about them?
7. What are they debating about the readings?
8. What presumably had one original souce?
9. Did Greek plays also have one original?
10. Is there a question about how many originals the Gospels had?
11. What type of criticism is there interest in applying to the Qur'an?
12. When did this interest develop?
13. Whose manuscript had been discovered?
14. How far back might it date?
15. Is that earlier or later than when we put a man on the moon?
16. Does Textual criticism concern itself with any books?
17. Who made alterations when they copied manuscripts?
18. How did they make copies?
19. What does the critic want to do to the original text?
20. Can the same process be used for intermediate versions?
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answer: 1. Yes
2. the Greek tragedies
3. hundreds
4. No
5. Textual scholars
6. for centuries
7. which sources are most closely derived from the original
8. biblical books that are letters
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. textual
12. after 1972
13. Sana'a
14. to the 78th centuries.
15. earlier
16. yes
17. Ancient scribes
18. by hand
19. reconstruct it
20. Yes

question: As the forceful king of Macedonia , Alexander the Great overthrew the Persian Empire, becoming a hero that would survive centuries after his death.

Born in 356 B.C., Alexander III was the son of Philip II and Olympias. Alexander's parents wanted him to receive the finest education, and arranged for him to study under Aristotle, regarded as one of the greatest scholars.

Alexander's father was a strong leader. Philip II built an impressive army and established the Macedonian kingdom; he was even planning to attack Persia shortly before his death.

In 336, Philip was murdered by one of his guards. Although it was obvious that the guard had a personal hatred, there are clues that other people were related to it.

After Alexander was cleared as a suspect, he succeeded his father without opposition, and killed those said to be responsible for his father's murder, as well as all rivals. He was then just 20 years old. He then prepared to attack Persia.

In the spring of 334, Alexander led the army made up of nearly 50,000 soldiers into Asia, which is called "the most powerful military expedition ever to leave Greece", He soundly defeated the Persian army at the Granicus River, sending a strong message to Darius III, leader of the Persian Empire.

In 333, Alexander faced Darius at Issus, a mountain pass. The Macedonian army was greatly outnumbered but able to work the narrow mountain passageway to their advantage. Darius managed to escape. Continuing down the Mediterranean Coast, Alexander took every city in his path.

In 332 Alexander declared Egypt to be part of the Greek Empire and was crowned Pharaoh .

When Alexander left Egypt in 331, he defeated the Persians again and was crowned leader of Asia.

In 323, however, Alexander developed a fever on the way back home and died 10 days later at Babylon. He was just 33 years old.
1. What nation did Alexander rule?
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answer:
1. Evidence: As the forceful king of Macedonia