Q: When Abraham Lincoln was young, he worked in a store. One day a woman came into the store and bought some things. They added up to two dollars and six and a quarter cents. The bill was paid, and the woman was satisfied. But the young storekeeper, not feeling quite sure about his calculations , added up the things again. To his surprise he found that it should have been but two dollars. "I've made her pay six and a quarter cents more," said young Abe, upset. It was an unimportant thing, and many salespersons would forget it, but Abe was too careful for that. "The money must be paid back," he decided. At night, he closed the store and walked to the home of his customer. He explained the matter, paid over the six and a quarter cents, and returned satisfied. Here is another story of young Lincoln's strict honesty. A woman entered the store and asked for half a pound of tea. The young man weighed it out. This was the last sale of the day. The next morning, when beginning his duties, Abe discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales . It flashed upon him at once that he had used this in the sale last night, and so, of course, given his customer short weight. Many people would not have been much worried by this discovery. But Abe weighed out the balance of the half pound, shut up the store, and carried it to the customer. I think that the name, so often given in late times to President Lincoln, of "Honest Old Abe", was well deserved .

Answer the following questions:
1. Who is the story about?
2. How old was he during the story?
3. What was his job?
4. What nickname was he eventually given?
5. Who came in the store first?
6. Did she buy anything?
7. How much did she pay?
8. Did she think there was a problem?
9. What did Lincoln do after she left?
10. Was the bill correct?
11. How much should he have charged her?
12. Did he just forget about it?
13. What did he do?
14. When did he go?
15. What did the next woman want to buy?
16. Was the sale correct?
17. Why not?
18. How did that happen?
19. How did he solve this problem?
20. Was his nickname appropriate?
A: 1. Abraham Lincoln
2. young
3. worked in a store
4. Honest Old Abe
5. a woman
6. yes
7. two dollars and six and a quarter cents
8. no
9. added up the things again
10. no
11. two dollars
12. no
13. went to her home to return the money
14. at night when he closed the store
15. half a pound of tea
16. no
17. he gave the customer short weight
18. a weight was left on the scale
19. carried it to the her
20. yes

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Giglio, Italy (CNN) -- Francesco Schettino, the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia cruise liner, wants to get back on the ship. His lawyers Monday formally asked a panel of three judges for permission to tour the ship's bridge and engine room as part of a defense strategy that he says will prove that was not the only person responsible for the disaster.

The liner, which crashed on the rocks off Giglio Island in January 2012, killing 32 people, was rotated back to vertical last Monday. The unprecedented maneuver, called parbuckling, exposed a twisted mass of metal, dotted with mattresses, passenger luggage and deck chairs on the ship's previously submerged starboard side. Now that the Concordia is upright, there can be further investigation of the captain's alleged mishandling of the ship.

Read more: Concordia righted

Defense lawyers for Schettino agreed with lawyers representing more than 200 civil parties against the captain, including Giglio Island and several passenger and environmental advocacy groups, in asking for a new examination of the ship now that it is upright. Such an examination could include divers going deep into the belly of the vessel to examine whether watertight doors sealed properly, and whether automatic generators functioned. He also wants to walk the judges through the command bridge in a re-creation of the night of the crash. Half of the command bridge was submerged for 20 months.

The trial began with preliminary hearings last March, but Monday was the first time the court heard any substantial evidence in the case. A panel of maritime experts addressed the role of the Indonesian helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin in the accident. Rusli Bin and four others were convicted in a plea deal in July for their role in the disaster. A Florence court is considering the validity of those plea bargain agreements.

1. In what month did initial steps of the court case begin?
2. What did the hardcore proof start being shown?
3. What day did the hardcore proof start being shown?
4. Who is being accused?
5. What happened to the boat?
6. Into what?
7. When?
8. Did anyone die?
9. How many?
10. What's it called when they turn a boat right side up?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. March
2. unknown
3. Monday
4. Francesco Schettino, the captain
5. rashed
6. the rocks off Giglio Island
7. January 2012,
8. yes
9. 32 people
10. parbuckling

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

The War of 1812 (18121815) was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.

Since the outbreak of war with Napoleonic France, Britain had enforced a naval blockade to choke off neutral trade to France, which the United States contested as illegal under international law. To man the blockade, Britain impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy. Incidents such as the "ChesapeakeLeopard" Affair inflamed anti-British sentiment. In 1811, the British were in turn outraged by the "Little Belt" Affair, in which 11 British sailors died. British political support for a Native American buffer state, which conducted raids on American settlers on the frontier, hindered American expansion. On June 18, 1812, President James Madison, after receiving heavy pressure from the War Hawks in Congress, signed the American declaration of war into law. Senior figures such as Lord Liverpool and Lord Castlereagh believed it to have been an opportunistic ploy to annex Canada while Britain was fighting a war with France. The view was shared in much of New England.

1. Who signed a declaration for America?
2. When did he do it?
3. What specific declaration was it?
4. Which war did this begin?
5. Who was it between?
6. Did the Brits view it as part of a larger engagement?
7. Which one?
8. What other country was a major player in that conflict?
9. Which country had a naval blockade imposed on them?
10. Did the US believe this was legal?
11. What did the Brits do to keep the blockade running?
12. How long did the American war last?
13. Did people believe this conflict was an attempt to add more territory to the US?
14. Which people in particular?
15. Was this opinion common in much of the South?

Numbered answers:

A:
1. James Madison
2. 1812
3. American declaration of war
4. The War of 1812
5. he United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies
6. Yes
7. the Napoleonic Wars
8. Canada
9. France
10. No
11. impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy
12. 3 years
13. Yes
14. Senior figures such as Lord Liverpool and Lord Castlereagh
15. No