Question: Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, in the part of the Levant known as the Land of Israel. The Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judah. Some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as 'Hebrews'. Though few sources in the Bible mention the exilic periods in detail, the experience of diaspora life, from the Ancient Egyptian rule over the Levant, to Assyrian Captivity and Exile, to Babylonian Captivity and Exile, to Seleucid Imperial rule, to the Roman occupation, and the historical relations between Israelites and the homeland, became a major feature of Jewish history, identity and memory. 1. How long have people in Israel existed?
2. Where?
3. According to what?
4. Where did Jews originate?
5. When?
6. What kind of group were they?
7. What did they call their homeland?
8. What god did the first Israelites associate with?
9. What population did they grow from?
10. What group of people did they merge with?
11. Combined, what were they known as?
12. What was one of many historical events that influenced Jewish identity?
13. Is it referenced in detail within the Bible?
14. Were there any other major historical events that influenced the area?
15. How many groups of people were held captive and eventually exiled? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. as far back as the 13th century BCE
2. somewhere in Canaan
3. The Merneptah Stele
4. in the Middle East
5. during the second millennium BCE
6. a national and religious group
7. Kingdom of Israel
8. god El
9. Canaanite
10. incoming nomadic groups
11. 'Hebrews'
12. the Roman occupation
13. no
14. historical relations between Israelites and the homeland
15. unknown

Question: Edmonds, Washington (CNN) -- For Michael Reagan, the portraits always start the same way.

"I do the eyes first so I get this connection with the face," he said. "I am pretty exhausted after a picture. Just try staring at a photograph for five hours without any distractions."

Reagan, a professional artist for 40 years, is known for his vivid etchings of politicians, celebrities and athletes.

Today, he has a new subject: fallen members of the military.

It all started three years ago when the wife of a Navy corpsman who was killed in Iraq asked Reagan to draw her late husband.

Reagan insisted on doing the portrait for free. Then he had a realization.

"I looked at my wife and told her what happened and said, 'Now we need to do them all,' " Reagan remembered.

"Doing them all" meant closing his art gallery and reaching out to the families of fallen service members.

Most of the troops Reagan draws are U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has recently started drawing portraits for family members of British and Canadian troops killed in those conflicts.

Many families were unsure why someone would offer to do a portrait for them at no cost. They wanted to know why someone would volunteer to, as Reagan puts it, "participate in the worst time of their life."

Slowly, word among military families spread and requests for portraits began pouring in. Reagan, a Vietnam veteran, grew to know the faces of hundreds of troops lost to war. 1. How long has Reagan been an artist?
2. What is his new subject?
3. How do the portraits start for Reagan?
4. Did it all start 5 years ago?
5. How long ago did it start?
6. What are most of the troops Reagan draws?
7. Has he drawn portraits for troops from other places?
8. Where were they from?
9. What are most families unsure of with him?
10. Is Reagan a veteran?
11. Of which war?
12. Who first asked Reagan to draw her late husband?
13. Did he draw the picture for free?
14. What was his realization?
15. What is Reagan known for?
16. Does he feel energized after a picture?
17. How does he feel?
18. Did he keep his art gallery open? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. 40 years
2. fallen members of the military
3. He does the eyes first.
4. no
5. three years ago
6. U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan
7. yes
8. Britain and Canada
9. why he would offer a free portrait
10. yes
11. Vietnam
12. the wife of a Navy corpsman
13. yes
14. That he needed to do them all
15. for his vivid etchings of politicians, celebrities and athletes.
16. no
17. exhausted
18. no

Question: Strasbourg (/strzbr/, French pronunciation: [staz.bu, stas.bu]; Alsatian: Strossburi; German: Straburg, [tasbk]) is the capital and largest city of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (ACAL) region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin departement. The city and the region of Alsace were historically predominantly Alemannic-speaking, hence the city's Germanic name. In 2013, the city proper had 275,718 inhabitants, Eurometropole de Strasbourg (Greater Strasbourg) had 475,934 inhabitants and the Arrondissement of Strasbourg had 482,384 inhabitants. With a population of 768,868 in 2012, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France and home to 13% of the ACAL region's inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014.

Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Ile (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is immersed in the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. 1. What is the historic city ?
2. Where is Strasbourg located?
3. What was important about Grand Island?
4. When?
5. By who?
6. How many people were in the Eurodistrict?
7. What culture is big there?
8. Are their Muslims there?
9. What is worship place called?
10. When did it become a place? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. Grande Ile
2. France
3. Was a World Heritage site
4. 1988.
5. UNESCO
6. 915,000
7. Franco-German
8. Yes
9. Strasbourg Grand Mosque
10. 27 September 2012