question: CHAPTER II

THE ENCOUNTER ON THE RIVER

For the instant after the collision occurred none of the Rover boys uttered a word. Tom and Sam stared in amazement at Mumps, while Dick gazed helplessly at the damage done.

"Pull her away, quick, Bill!" cried Mumps in a low voice to the old sailor, who at once sprang forward and shoved the two yachts apart with a long boathook. Then the rudder of the _Falcon_ was put hard a port, and she swung, away for a distance of half a dozen yards.

"We are sinking!" gasped Tom, who was the first of the three brothers to find his voice.

"Mumps, you rascal, what do you mean by this work?" demanded Dick. And then, without waiting for an answer, he turned to Sam. "Steer for the shore and beach her--if you can."

"I don't believe we can make it, Dick. But we can try."

"We'll have you locked up for this, Mumps," shouted Tom.

"I couldn't help it--it was an accident," returned the former sneak of Putnam Hall glibly. "You should have kept out of the way."

"We'll see about that later on."

"Maybe you want us to help you."

"We shan't ask you for the favor," burst out Sam. "I'd rather drown first." But Sam did not exactly mean this. He and his brothers could all swim, and he felt certain that they were in no immediate danger of their lives.

"You had better not ask any favors. I wouldn't pick you up for a barrel of money."
1. Can Sam swim?
2. What about his brothers?
3. What happened to the boats?
4. Did the brothers say a lot after the crash?
5. What is the brothers' family name?
6. How many were there?
7. What were their names?
8. Who else was on the boat?
9. Besides Tom, Dick, Sam and Mumps, who else was on the boat?
10. What was the name of one of the boats?
****
answer: 1. no
2. yes
3. they collided
4. no
5. Rover
6. three
7. tom dick sam mumps
8. mumps
9. no one
10. the falcon

question: Musa Kayairanga of Rwanda is a traditional healer. He uses natural medicines to treat his patients. He learned how to use computers at a rural telecommunications center in his country. Musa Kayairanga says he exchanges information with doctors as far away as Canada. He also says the computer has improved his knowledge of using plants to treat diseases. Many people in rural areas are now able to communicate with the rest of the world. This is one example of how technology is changing life in developing countries.

Andrew Burns is an economist at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. He led a recent study of technology in developing countries. The study found that technology has spread faster in such countries than in rich nations. It also found that technological progress has helped raise wages in developing countries. And it reduced the percentage of people living in extreme poverty from twenty-nine percent in 1990 to eighteen percent in 2004.

Progress in communications technology has aided the growth of call centers in developing countries. Call centers are offices where most telephone calls for a business can be answered. For example, a woman in the United States who calls her computer company about a problem might speak with someone in India or Pakistan.

Call centers serve businesses in local and international markets. And they have added to economic growth by providing well-paid jobs and new skills for workers who might not have had such employment. Ahsan Saeed is a young call center worker in Karachi, Pakistan. He says the job improves his language skills, his sales skills and his ability to deal with people.( from VOA Special English )
1. Who works at the World Bank?
2. What is his position?
3. Where is it located?
4. What did his research conclude?
5. Anything else?
6. What?
7. That all?
8. Please tell me then
9. By how much?
10. Who is the first person mentioned?
11. Where is he from?
12. What does he do?
13. What treatments does he employ?
14. Like what?
15. What tools does he have?
****
answer: 1. Andrew Burns
2. He is an economist
3. Washington, D.C
4. That technology has spread faster in developing countries than in rich nations.
5. Yes
6. That technological progress has helped raise wages in developing countries
7. No
8. Technologyt reduced the percentage of people living in extreme poverty
9. From twenty-nine percent in 1990 to eighteen percent in 2004
10. Musa Kayairanga
11. Rwanda
12. He is a traditional healer.
13. Natural medicines
14. unknown
15. The computer

question: A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. "I think half of them fell off their chairs," Gerner says.

Gerner manages school facilities for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes ; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.

Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. "One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation ," Mark. McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. "You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool."

Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. "I don't believe in the new green religion," Gerner says. "Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I'm interested in those that work." But he wouldn't mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. "You never know what's going to start the interest of a child to study math and science," he says.
1. WHat new type of school design is being explored?
2. Where are they being tried?
3. Is location causing a problem for this type anywhere?
4. Where?
5. Why is it a problem there?
6. What is a benefit of the new school type?
7. Who asked for school designs featuring energy savings and cheaper building plans?
8. Did his specifications surprise anyone?
9. How many schools does he need to build?
10. How many new pupils will be coming into the school system?
11. Whay can't they squeeze into the current buildings?
12. Are all of the new schools built already?
13. How many are done then?
14. How many teams are currently working on designs?
15. How many will have their designs used for other schools?
16. Is everyone a hug fan of the new ecological based building philosophy?
17. Who has doubts?
18. WHay?
19. Does he think there is anything good about the trend?
20. What subjects in particular?
****
answer:
1. Green schools
2. all over
3. yes
4. Clark County
5. desert climate
6. teaching students about the process of harvesting wind and solar power.
7. Paul Gerner
8. yes
9. 73
10. 143,000
11. they are already crowded
12. no
13. unknown
14. Four
15. three
16. no
17. Gerner
18. Some of the building technologies are impractical.
19. Some green features might inspire students.
20. math and science