Q: CHAPTER XVIII

Some one opened the door at the other end of the room, and Nancy felt that it was her husband. She turned from the window with gladness in her eyes, for the wife's chief dread was stilled.

"Dear, I'm so thankful you're come," she said, going towards him. "I began to get--"

She paused abruptly, for Godfrey was laying down his hat with trembling hands, and turned towards her with a pale face and a strange unanswering glance, as if he saw her indeed, but saw her as part of a scene invisible to herself. She laid her hand on his arm, not daring to speak again; but he left the touch unnoticed, and threw himself into his chair.

Jane was already at the door with the hissing urn. "Tell her to keep away, will you?" said Godfrey; and when the door was closed again he exerted himself to speak more distinctly.

"Sit down, Nancy--there," he said, pointing to a chair opposite him. "I came back as soon as I could, to hinder anybody's telling you but me. I've had a great shock--but I care most about the shock it'll be to you."

"It isn't father and Priscilla?" said Nancy, with quivering lips, clasping her hands together tightly on her lap.

"No, it's nobody living," said Godfrey, unequal to the considerate skill with which he would have wished to make his revelation. "It's Dunstan--my brother Dunstan, that we lost sight of sixteen years ago. We've found him--found his body--his skeleton."

Answer the following questions:
1. what did Godfrey tell Nancy to do?
2. where did he point for her to sit?
3. who was Godfrey to Nancy?
4. did he have to tell her something?
5. was she feeling dread before he opened the door?
6. was he trembling?
7. who was the news he delivered about?
8. was he related to Godrey?
9. how so?
10. was he alive or dead?
11. who did Nancy think the news might be about?
12. when did Godrey lose sight of Dunstan?
13. what was left of him?
14. who was also at the door?
A: 1. Sit down
2. a chair opposite him
3. her husband.
4. yes
5. yes
6. yes (his hands were)
7. Dunstan
8. yes
9. his brother
10. dead
11. father and Priscilla
12. sixteen years ago
13. his skeleton
14. Jane
Q: On the southern fringes of Donetsk, in the shadow of a huge steel plant, a cacophony of barking overwhelms the dull thud of artillery fire. The PIF animal shelter is crammed with almost 1,000 dogs of all sizes, ages and breeds (though the number that can claim any sort of pedigree is probably in single figures).

Many are orphans of the conflict that has shaken this city for the past six months. Their owners have left or in a few cases been killed by the shelling. Some have been discovered tied up and emaciated; others carry the scars of shrapnel or hobble around on three legs. There are several in every cage, with a handful of straw to protect them from temperatures that plunge far below freezing at night.

The director of the sanctuary is Victoria Vasilieva, a tall middle-aged woman with jet black hair, whose compassion for the animals in her care is unstinting. She cradles a young dog called Jennifer, the only survivor when a shell hit her family's home near the airport. Jennifer was found traumatized in the ruins and it has taken weeks to gain her trust.

Vasilieva says that the dogs here used to be terrified by the sounds of war. Now, like the people of Donetsk, they hardly notice them.

Inside the office block, a puppy -- mostly black Labrador - is recovering from a broken leg and shrapnel wound. Vats of oatmeal are cooking in the yard. It's like feeding an army. A few very lucky dogs are going to new homes in Germany, Finland and Russia, but the great majority will remain at the shelter so long as there is money to feed them.

Answer the following questions:
1. Who is director of the animal shelter?
2. Is she a young woman?
3. Does she have a lot of sympathy for the animals there?
4. Which animal is she holding during the story?
5. Were there any other survivors where she was found?
6. What happened to her family's house?
7. What was the extent of the dog's injuries?
8. Is she having trouble warming up to Victoria?
9. Where is this shelter?
10. What sits next to it?
11. how many dogs are housed at the shelter?
12. Are the majority full blooded breeds?
13. What's been happening there to cause so many dogs to be impounded?
14. For how long?
15. What's an example of how a dog might end up there?
16. Have some of them lost a limb?
17. How many are in each cage?
18. What do they have for warmth?
19. What is the black lab puppy healing from?
20. What do the dogs eat?
A: 1. Victoria Vasilieva
2. no
3. yes
4. Jennifer
5. no
6. a shell hit it
7. she was traumatized
8. yes
9. Donetsk
10. a steel plant
11. almost 1,000
12. no
13. conflict
14. six months
15. being discovered tied up and emaciated
16. yes
17. several
18. a handful of straw
19. a broken leg and shrapnel wound
20. oatmeal
Q: Melissa Harris-Lacewell is associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought" and writes a daily blog titled The Kitchen Table.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell says African-Americans remain skeptical about racial progress in the U.S.

PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) -- America was proud of itself for electing Barack Obama. The pride was not just partisan and ideological; it was also specifically and clearly racial.

The morning after Obama's win, The New York Times declared "Racial Barrier Falls in Decisive Victory." The Los Angeles Times asserted that "for the first time in human history, a largely white nation has elected a black man to be its paramount leader."

Some black commentators openly wept on election night, thrilled with witnessing the election of our first black president. Even Sen. John McCain, conceding defeat, pointed to the greatness of the American promise fulfilled in the election of his opponent. Obama's victory offered the possibility that the scars of America's racial legacy were healed or, at least, that they were less raw.

For many African-American citizens, the election of the first black U.S. president was cause for celebration and open-mouthed wonder about an outcome that seemed so unlikely just two years earlier, when Obama announced his bid.

Despite this joy, many black citizens were dubious that his victory represented the destruction of any particular racial barrier.

African-Americans were both proud of and excited about Obama, but in the 45 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, black Americans had seen doors to power, influence and wealth open just enough to admit just a few without fundamentally altering opportunities for the majority.

Answer the following questions:
1. Who wept on election night?
2. Why?
3. Who was elected?
4. Who lost?
5. Why were some people skeptical?
6. How long had it been since the Civil Rights Act was passed?
7. What did the newspaper declare?
8. What did Obama's victory offer?
9. Who was dubious?
10. Why?
11. Who wrote the article?
A:
1. Some black commentators
2. thrilled with witnessing the election of our first black president
3. Obama
4. Sen. John McCain
5. racial progress
6. 45 years
7. "for the first time in human history, a largely white nation has elected a black man to be its paramount leader."
8. possibility that the scars of America's racial legacy were healed or, at least, that they were less raw
9. many black citizens
10. victory represented the destruction of any particular racial barrier.
11. unknown